Mango Tree Worldwide has announced an ambitious program of expansion on its fifth anniversary yesterday at Mango Tree BGC. By 2020, they will significantly extend their branded restaurants and cafés in the Philippines, including that of re-‐styling of not only restaurants in Manila bu throughout the world.
The brand will host a special charity dinner in which the children will entertain guests with a special performance. A donation will be made by Mango Tree and its franchise partners Mother Spice Food Corporation as a part of an ongoing commitment to Miss Possibilities Foundation.
Present at the event were Mango Tree Worldwide Managing Director. Trevor MacKenzie, Mango Tree CEO, Chef Pitaya Phanphensophon and Ms. SuzannaPavadee Vicheinrut Yuzon, former Miss Thailand and President of Miss Possibilities Foundation ( a non-‐ government, non-‐profit organization which supports children with special needs.
The cultural capital of Thailand, Chiang Mai and the northern Lanna kingdom are among the inspirations for five new dishes, each one given a delicious twist by Mango Tree CEO, Chef Pitaya Phanphensophon. The highlight dishes are led by Kanom-‐Jeen Nam Ngiaw, a rice noodle creation originating from the ethnic Shan community made with garlic, red curry paste, yellow bean sauce, diced tomatoes, turmeric, fish sauce, spring onion and coriander; slow-‐cooked with either chicken or pork ribs. Sai Oua or northern Thai sausage
will also be among the offerings. Krapaw Bacon, Moo Ping.
Mango Tree Branches: Bonifacio Global City, Trinoma, GreenBelt 5
Pitaya Phanphensophon is a passionate man with a twinkle in his eye and a smile that invites one in return. That passion, united with an unwavering belief that work should also be fun and an irrepressible joie de vivre is what sets the Mango Tree brand apart and on a course for global success.
For Pitaya, however, it's not about how many locations he has but that every single restaurant bearing the Mango Tree or COCA brands must deliver on its promise to its customers. “Being born into the restaurant business, it's in my blood. I wish to see our brands and restaurants around 500 years from now.” With a smile, he adds: “That's called taking the long view.”
Since his father's passing and Pitaya taking the reins of the business, he has grown the brands in Thailand and internationally, with flagship restaurants in top international cities including Bangkok, London, Tokyo, Dubai, Jakarta, Manila and Hong Kong.
Pitaya loves rolling his sleeves up, either in the kitchen, as a very hand-on CEO, hosting a monthly television cooking show, teaching cooking classes in his R&D kitchen, and or regularly holding his own dinner parties where he cooks for his family and friends.
“My love affair with Thai food started in earnest when I was in boarding school abroad. Myself, and my fellow Asian students missed rice from Thailand. So it all started with a small rice cooker, soya sauce and sweet Chinese sausage. Later I added mushrooms and chicken before moving on to more elaborate recipes.”
He has his own cookbook: “I Am Not a Chef, But I Sure Am a Good Cook”, in which he elaborates on his philosophy of passion in cooking. “Cooks who love what they do make the best food. That's why I empower our cooks in our restaurants to nourish their passion for what they are doing, and to let the love shine through in their work.”
Showing no signs of slowing down and a bundle of energy in the kitchen, Pitaya brings fun and laughter to an arena more often marked by stressed out chefs and heated tempers. His energy inspires his loyal team to go the extra mile and aspire to his example.
A husband and father of four children, Pitaya resides in Bangkok, Thailand. Aside from his busy travel schedule he always seems to find time to put on the apron and experiment with something new: hence, the innovative concepts and delicious twists that frequently enliven the menu at Mango Tree restaurants around the world.
The Mango Tree group is a dynamic, innovative and fast-growing company that has a vision to bring authentic Thai cuisine with a creative twist to the world, and to plant a Mango Tree in every major world city. At the vanguard of the global Thai food explosion, the Mango Tree group comprises the Mango Tree, Mango Tree Bistro and Mango Tree Cafe brands, as well as Coca, the contemporary steamboat suki concept. The group's heritage dates back to 1957, when Khun Srichai Phanphensophon opened the first Coca restaurant in Surawong, launching the suki trend in Thailand. The pioneering spirit continued when the group's CEO and celebrity chef Pitaya Phanphensophon, Srichai's son, opened the first Mango Tree restaurant in the heart of Silom in 1994. Today, the group operates more than 70 restaurants and cafes in 15 countries in Asia, the Middle East, and the USA. Part cultural ambassador and part culinary innovator, Mango Tree has charted a course to become the premier global Thai cuisine brand, delivering quality Thai cuisine, stylish design, and intuitive service that always exceeds diners' expectations.
TREVOR MACKENZIE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, EXQUISINE SYSTEM HK CO. LTD.
(A subsidiary of COCA Holding International which owns Mango Tree and COCA group of brands worldwide)
Trevor MacKenzie is an accidental restaurateur, and a natural one. The self-taught and self-made entrepreneur worked his way through his career’s early years across various jobs and industries in a search for his passion in life, including character-forming time as a cowboy in Canada’s Rocky Mountains.
Trevor’s search ended when destiny intervened. A chance stint bartending at night to help him pay for a ‘mac daddy’ apartment he had rented overlooking the stunning seafront of his native Vancouver introduced him to the buzz of the food and beverage business. By the second night, he knew he was where he belonged. Within a month, he had set up the bar, set up the restaurant, and been appointed the restaurant’s trainer. The fit was seamless. The rest is history.
That restaurant stint also sparked a lifelong love affair with the grape; Trevor is a wine connoisseur par excellence and can hold his own amongst the best sommeliers.
Since then everything has fallen into place for this natural born restaurateur who has notched up 20 years in the industry, honed his craft at legendary restaurants in some of the world’s foodie capitals, and gone on to open more than 50 restaurants in Asia, the Middle East and the US.
A brief stop-over in Thailand sparked a chain of events that resulted in a meeting with Mango Tree Worldwide and COCA Holding International CEO and entrepreneur Pitaya Phanphensophon. Pitaya gave Trevor the big opportunity he had been searching for.
Since joining the group to drive franchising of the brand, Trevor and Mango Tree have picked up a slew of prestigious awards, including Outstanding Thai Franchise to the World, the Excellent Franchise Leadership Award, a nomination for International Franchiser of the Year and a Q Mark Award from the Thailand Department of Import and Export, and the Prime Minister’s Export Award.
Not a man to rest on his laurels, Trevor is a relentless adventurer forever dreaming up fresh quests to challenge himself. He has climbed Mount Fiji and Mount Kilimanjaro as part of a charity effort to help raise money for a close friend’s physically disabled son. An upcoming trip to Dubai will see him indulge his love of skydiving.
No less exhilarating has been the ride that has seen the Mango Tree group’s international outlets grow to now gross over USD $50 million annually, across 70 outlets, with a target of 100 restaurants worldwide by 2016.
A true and passionate believer in his product, Trevor shares the vision of his CEO: to take the Mango Tree brand, and the magic of Thai cooking to a growing global audience, eventually planting a Mango Tree in every major international city worldwide.
