- 3 years ago
Setting the bar for food and beverage businesses, The Curator Coffee and Cocktails in Makati landed the 34th spot in this year’s 50 Best Bars in Asia list!
Owners David Ong and Jericson Co share the story behind the establishment.
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Owners David Ong and Jericson Co share the story behind the establishment.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 setting the bar for food and beverage businesses.
00:03 The Curator Coffee and Cocktails in Makati
00:06 landed the 34th spot in this year's 50 Best Bars in Asia list.
00:11 The owners, David Ong and Jerick Sun Koh,
00:14 share the story behind this establishment.
00:17 Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us and congratulations.
00:21 Thank you.
00:21 For seven times, you are part of this Best Bar Asia list.
00:27 Not only the top 100, but the top 50.
00:30 How does it feel, Jerick Sun?
00:31 Oh, it feels great.
00:33 It's a testament to our team.
00:35 It's a testament to the love song of coffee and cocktails
00:39 that we want-- the service of coffee and cocktails
00:41 that we wanted to do.
00:43 We just happen to be very fortunate in having
00:45 a team that backed us up and owners
00:50 that we work very well together in singing
00:53 that song of Filipino hospitality in just
00:56 the language of coffee and cocktails.
00:58 And what was the inspiration, David,
01:01 for the creation of the Curator Coffee and Cocktails
01:04 10 years ago?
01:06 10th anniversary.
01:07 Congratulations.
01:08 Thank you so much.
01:09 So actually, all four of us lived in Vancouver
01:12 for quite some time.
01:14 Jerick Sun and myself worked in Shanghai.
01:16 And in this time, we found our love for both specialty coffee
01:20 and craft cocktails.
01:21 And serendipitously, we all came home around the same time
01:25 in 2012, and we decided to put up a place that had both.
01:29 So coffee during the day, cocktails at night,
01:32 a place where we could have really good coffee
01:34 and really good cocktails for us.
01:37 That's how it started, really, just something
01:39 that we just enjoyed for ourselves.
01:42 And then it just kind of grew from there.
01:43 Absolutely.
01:44 I mean, coffee by day, and then cocktails by night.
01:49 My goodness, that's a full cycle.
01:51 So are you both baristas and bartenders as well?
01:56 Yes, we both actually worked at hospitality institutions
01:59 before opening the Curator.
02:00 We worked at Starbucks.
02:02 I worked at a bar.
02:03 Lens.
02:03 Lens, coffee.
02:05 So that actually helps that we can work with our bar team
02:08 and know what it takes to mop the floor, clean a bathroom.
02:12 And--
02:13 Grassroots training.
02:14 Yes, deal with a customer that may or may not be--
02:18 that are having a bad day that you'd have to deal with.
02:21 That's all actually a big part.
02:24 All four owners, Tiffany Yu and Bernice Yu,
02:27 also worked at hospitality institutions themselves.
02:31 But David, what were the birth pains?
02:33 I mean, coming from Vancouver, working in Shanghai,
02:37 and then of course now in Manila.
02:39 I mean, you're talking about first world.
02:41 You're talking about efficiency in China.
02:43 And here, it's a totally different culture.
02:47 Like 10 years ago, it was like five coffees and five
02:51 cocktails sales in a day.
02:52 Oh, yeah.
02:54 So it was like grassroots.
02:55 Obviously, you try to do something different.
02:59 People-- I wouldn't say we're slow to take it on.
03:02 But I think that if they knew that we were there,
03:05 that they would come.
03:06 But again, like birthing pains, as you mentioned,
03:08 it takes time to deliver this love song that we spoke of.
03:12 Here we are 10 years later.
03:13 I think we're stronger than ever.
03:15 So it took some time, really.
03:17 But really, everything, like from just our skill set
03:22 being OK to where it is right now,
03:25 then all the other stuff as well.
03:27 I mean, you were expats.
03:28 I was also an expat.
03:30 I've experienced working abroad for 25 years.
03:32 And coming back here to the Philippines
03:35 is still a culture shock after working for more than two
03:37 decades abroad.
03:39 So how did you make that adjustment, Jerickson?
03:41 Oh, showing the team the type of hospitality,
03:46 the generosity that we wanted them to show to our customers.
03:51 So the larger question is, how do you
03:55 have someone sell a product that really they've never
04:00 experienced before, or really they won't be
04:02 able to afford to experience?
04:04 I mean, a drink back then was $450.
04:06 Now it's a little bit more than that.
04:08 How do you translate that to someone that might not
04:11 be able to afford that?
04:12 Then you just show them the generosity
04:13 that you want to give them.
04:15 You give your bar team enough leeway,
04:16 your coffee team enough leeway that if the customer does not
04:19 like it, take it back.
04:20 It's OK.
04:21 We're here to sell an experience, not a product.
04:23 So if you don't like it, make sure that at least
04:26 the experience, or write a great ending chapter
04:29 for the customer.
04:30 And this culture has led to you guys winning your first Top 50
04:37 Asia award in 2016.
04:40 Yes.
04:40 Yes.
04:41 Yeah, wow.
04:42 2016.
04:43 2016.
04:43 2016.
04:44 That's just like eons ago.
04:47 We were not married.
04:48 We did not have kids back then.
04:50 Under 30.
04:50 Under 30.
04:51 Under 30.
04:51 We were under 30 back then.
04:54 How has the product creation developed since then?
04:58 So I'm glad you asked that.
05:00 And this kind of ties to what Jerison said last.
05:02 So I rolled up my sleeves here so you could see our logo.
05:05 Our logo is basically a coffee cup,
05:08 which signifies specialty coffee.
05:10 Then it's also a cocktail glass, or a coupe,
05:13 which symbolizes the cocktail cement.
05:18 So yeah, we like to geek out.
05:19 We like to innovate in both coffee and in cocktails.
05:23 But then what's most important for us, like Jerison said,
05:26 is to add value to something.
05:28 And we do that by experience.
05:30 So it's an ampersand, really.
05:32 So an end sign.
05:33 So does Jerison Housa have the same tattoo?
05:35 I can't have that.
05:36 I have a skin condition.
05:37 Yeah.
05:37 Otherwise, he'd have it right here on his neck.
05:39 That's your excuse.
05:40 Yeah, yeah.
05:41 That is your excuse.
05:42 Jerison.
05:43 OK, but winning Asia's 50 best bars seven times since 2016,
05:51 has this opened new opportunities for both of you
05:55 and your two other partners?
05:56 Yeah, it has.
05:59 More so that it actually--
06:01 if we wanted to expand, we are looking at places.
06:05 It's just finding the right message,
06:08 the right song to sing.
06:10 Right now, how much that helped us,
06:14 we have at least six of our alumni bartenders
06:17 who have now moved on to much higher paying
06:20 jobs in different countries.
06:21 In Singapore, actually.
06:23 So they actually can use us as a calling card.
06:26 It's like, oh, OK, you used to work for the curator?
06:28 Oh, OK, here's $3,000 Singapore dollars per month.
06:33 It actually kind of helps.
06:34 And it's helped prove their CV.
06:36 Yeah, it does improve their CV.
06:37 It's a source of joy for us seeing that they have families,
06:42 that they're able to make a life out of this.
06:45 That's a really fun part of that.
06:47 But for the curator, coffee and cocktails,
06:50 winning already seven times, isn't this already
06:52 a business card to expand across the Philippines
06:56 and maybe in Southeast Asia?
06:58 Yeah, I'll take this one.
07:00 [LAUGHTER]
07:02 No, I'm kidding.
07:03 But--
07:04 Erase the fun, sis.
07:07 But it's true.
07:08 It is a calling card.
07:09 And that's exactly what we say.
07:11 Curator, we've been around for 10 years.
07:14 But we find that it's time to--
07:17 I guess this is our thesis, after winning this year,
07:20 to try to help shine a light on other bars.
07:22 Because we have so much other bars
07:24 with talented Filipino--
07:27 emphasis on Filipino bartenders.
07:29 Because we're truly one of the best in the world.
07:32 Because nobody, in my opinion, is
07:34 better than a Filipino in terms of hospitality.
07:36 Therefore, we put up a new company, actually.
07:39 My segway.
07:41 It's called Pour House Hospitality.
07:43 And this is what we offer as a solution.
07:47 But what about multiplying the curator and cocktails?
07:51 It wouldn't be--
07:52 I wouldn't put it as the same as the curator.
07:54 We always felt like the curator is off that place.
07:58 The same way I don't want the franchise of this place
08:01 in Makati is exactly the same experience
08:03 that I'll get in Pasig.
08:05 But you can open in other cities.
08:07 Yes.
08:09 That's one part of it.
08:10 Our wives and our families have to be
08:12 involved in that kind of business.
08:14 But a curator in Vancouver or London
08:16 to showcase Filipino hospitality in that sense
08:20 would be fantastic.
08:21 We are looking at other spaces, as Jackson said.
08:24 We also have a few projects on the way.
08:26 Yeah, but aren't you also spreading yourself too thin?
08:28 You also have Oto and Poblacion.
08:30 You have YKW Roasters at the Grid.
08:32 And you have this Edsa Beverage Design Group.
08:35 And others, when you can just use your curator and cocktails
08:39 template to get rich.
08:40 Ah.
08:41 Ah, OK.
08:41 OK.
08:42 That's what I'm trying to get at.
08:43 Yeah, yeah.
08:44 Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.
08:45 So there has to be--
08:47 You have to build a new concept and start to get rich.
08:49 Well, there has to be a very clear distinction on what
08:52 we sell.
08:53 We sell an experience and not a product.
08:56 Translating that into a product via other iterations
09:01 of the business or other iterations of our partnership
09:04 is a little bit more difficult.
09:07 It's so easy to just say, oh, yeah, sure,
09:09 we're going to come up with a canned product.
09:11 But it's not.
09:12 The curator and the bar is an experience.
09:15 It's very much also the people that we--
09:17 It's also very distinct.
09:19 Yes.
09:19 I mean, you stand out above the rest.
09:21 You're above a bar.
09:23 You know?
09:25 You've risen--
09:25 We've risen--
09:26 A bar above.
09:27 Yeah, you've risen the bar in terms
09:28 of coffee shops and cocktails.
09:30 But of course, what about the competition?
09:32 Don't they just copy from you?
09:34 Ah, we can copy the concept of the curator and cocktails.
09:38 What do you think of that?
09:39 Honestly, coffee and cocktails have
09:41 become a trend over the last few years,
09:43 as well as other trends such as fat washing.
09:48 Hidden bars.
09:50 Yeah, hidden bars as well, but also different processes
09:52 and stuff.
09:53 But I'll be first to say that we aren't the first to do it.
09:59 At least in the Philippines, we are.
10:01 But in the world, absolutely not.
10:03 There's a place called Fuglen in Oslo
10:06 that combined both specialty coffee and craft cocktails
10:09 way before we did.
10:11 So I think here, what I'm getting at is authenticity.
10:15 It's so subjective.
10:19 It's what you do with it, and how you localize it,
10:22 and how you make it your own, and stuff like that.
10:24 But tell me, Jerickson, how do you become part
10:26 of Asia's 50 best bars?
10:29 Is it like the judges are totally unknown to everyone?
10:34 I know it.
10:35 There's an academy.
10:36 So there's an academy.
10:37 50% of the academy are bar owners and bartenders
10:40 from Southeast Asia, or from Asia.
10:43 Like beverage directors of hotels, and whatnot.
10:46 And you don't know who they are?
10:47 We don't know who they are.
10:48 We don't know the whole list.
10:49 We know who some of them are, but you know some from--
10:53 You have an idea.
10:53 You have an idea.
10:55 We don't know who they are, Jerickson.
10:58 25% are press.
11:00 25% are--
11:02 Tastemakers.
11:03 Tastemakers is their term.
11:04 It's people who travel, go to bars and restaurants.
11:08 And then, because part of the criteria
11:10 is that you should have been to the bar that you
11:12 vote for in the last 18 months.
11:14 I'm really curious.
11:15 You're four partners.
11:15 You've been together for 10 years.
11:19 How challenging is it to work with friends, with partners?
11:23 Do you clash?
11:24 And who's basically responsible for which part of the business?
11:27 Jerickson.
11:29 I'm on the training of the bar team and the service,
11:33 the internals.
11:35 David is on the externals of the business.
11:38 And then our other two partners are helping out on admin
11:41 and some other touch points.
11:43 It's actually very rewarding seeing each other grow,
11:49 and seeing each other change, and realizing
11:51 how much you've changed because of your partners.
11:55 Now you have families.
11:56 Yes, yeah.
11:57 And godparents of each other's kids, that type of relationship.
12:02 There's always challenges, but there
12:05 are good days and bad days.
12:07 And to be honest, the good days are pretty great,
12:09 and are very, very vast in between the bad days.
12:14 And David, what is the big goal, the big ambition
12:18 for your businesses and for the four partners?
12:21 So that's the next bar.
12:24 We like to refer to it as our one last bar, or our legacy bar.
12:29 But it's not just going to be us.
12:31 We have a few other people in our pocket
12:34 that we'd love to showcase.
12:36 Still Filipino, Filipino hospitality.
12:39 But yeah, we won't share much because we--
12:42 We haven't signed anything.
12:43 Still under wraps.
12:44 Yeah, and we'd love to manifest it, for sure.
12:48 There is a bigger list.
12:49 There's the worlds.
12:50 There's the worlds.
12:51 Tales of the Cocktails.
12:52 And you don't get that with the bar
12:55 that we have where we spent a hilariously
12:57 small amount of money on.
12:59 But now that we've been able--
13:01 But now that we've been able to prove ourselves,
13:02 I think we can ask for a little bit more money, and raise that,
13:06 and make a bastion for all Filipinos to look into.
13:12 Like, hey, I want to go there.
13:13 I'm proud to go there, and proud that this is a Filipino bar.
13:16 And why can't we do it?
13:18 Yeah.
13:20 Gentlemen, we are very proud of your achievement.
13:23 Thank you very much.
13:24 Keep it going.
13:24 Keep it going.
13:25 2024 all the way to 2030.
13:27 Always part of that Asia's 50 Best Bars list.
13:31 Very best.
13:32 Thank you.
13:32 Jarek-Son, David, thank you so much for joining us.
13:35 Thank you.
13:35 Thank you so much.
13:36 And all the best.
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