Cyma Group founder Chef Robby Goco shared nuggets of wisdom at the Manila Gastronomiya event recently held at the Grand Westside Hotel in Parañaque.
He was among the attending chefs, restaurateurs, business owners, food producers, and experts who discussed strategies for accelerating industry growth through gastronomy tourism in a full-day hospitality symposium.
“You set very, very high standards and make sure that you never, ever break them,” Goco advised rising restaurateurs.
He recalled a time when, faced with a strong competitor, he raised his menu prices, obtained better ingredients, improved overall operations, and even changed his service sequence.
While people would say the business move was suicide, it actually ended up killing his competition altogether.
“It was a hard slug to success. There were no shortcuts. I developed a vision. I always strive for excellence in giving the customer a good experience. To have a soul, in essence, in what I was doing,” Goco sobers.
Goco’s hard work has resulted in him being quite the decorated chef, with some of his awards and citations including “Best Specialty Restaurant” and “Philippine’s Best Restaurants” for Cyma by Philippine Tatler, “10 Outstanding Entrepreneurs” by Summit Magazine, and a Finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
“I brought in good people who could help me achieve what I wanted because I could not do everything. I was humble enough to admit that I needed help so I could be great at what I did,” Goco contemplates.
He takes pride in providing a source of livelihood for around 200 employees, with an estimated 700 family members depending on his success by extension.
His philosophy of demanding the best from himself likewise trickles down to make for an inspired workforce.
“The world is full of passionless people who just do it for the sake of doing it or do it because of the money. The world is not better off because of them. They cannot develop a capacity to attain greatness,” Goco punctuates.
“But you can have an opportunity to do something great if you decide every day to love and take your career seriously. and you are fully committed and determined to do it, all the blessings will happen. And then work becomes a labor of love. And when there is love, there is more than enough grace to overcome each day.”
