Restaurateur’s Recipe for Success

Joel Rama del Prado has been selecting the right elements resulting in a gastronomic and ergonomic delight. His sweet success catches the eye of Jareliese Mauro.

In spite of his intimidating appearance, Joel has the endearing disposition of both team player and a leader. Being a managing partner to Michel Lhuillier for their restaurant, Pino!, he makes sure that costumers eat only gourmet Cebuano dishes prepared with a dash of whimsy and classy touch—like Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Governor Gwen Garcia. “My philosophy is that a business can’t be run on a remote control mode. One has to be hands-on all the time. Pino! is the fruit of my friendship with Michel, our hard work, and our love for good food,” informs the experienced businessman in a ‘been there, done that’ candor.

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Joel comes from a long bloodline of politicians and business people—the Chongs, Velosos, Ramas and del Prados. Who could forget his grandfather, the late Don Vicente Rama, former senator and father of the Cebu city charter, having authored a bill to make Cebu a city. He keenly remembers childhood memories of family affairs which started in the dining room, with servings of extensive heirloom recipes filling the table. At a tender age of 10, he used to cook his favorite Spanish dishes such as lumpia con cocido, callos, and Binatan. And thus started his love affair with food. As time stretched and elapsed, his dream of setting up a restaurant always found him back, entering the recesses of his mind. Evident, the year has been good to him, his partner, and the restaurant, what with a good mix and number of the metropolis’ bourgeoisie, expats, and spillover tourist waiting to be attended to and served plates of colonial flavors with.

A far cry from being run-of-the-mill, Pino! is considered as a perfect gauge for fine dining. What makes it hard to compete with are the reasonable prises of food. “Pino! is for all classes and all ages. I want Cebuanos to be proud of a restaurant which puts Filipino cuisine on a pedestal,” retorts Joel, fancifully considering the conceptualization of the restaurant as his most compelling achievement yet. This is why, if any issue bubbles to the surface, Joel’s strict yet approachable nature can be witnessed and felt in his leadership skills. “I’m very particular, yet liberal. I define the standards of creating dishes yet I’m very open to innovations and discoveries. I dissect what my staff creates, a total of 30 people in the kitchen, including 1 executive chef and 2 sous chef,” admits Joel.

Responsible for all the daily operations, from purchasing to marketing, the tiredness in his voice betrays him but even in his busyness, it never dulled his brilliant wit and talent to crack a good joke. Nothing like a youthful stamina in a body of a 34-year old. As if on cue, while Joel weaves and tells the success story of Pino!, his brainchild, his mistress, of which he devotes his time and attention to, the magnificent chandelier of the restaurant shines brightly, spilling color to sun-hiccuped walls, the robust Peruvian steak on the table, and the sturdy mahogany antique table. The splendor and rich detailing of Pino! are made possible by all the furniture provided by Joel’s own antique shop, J. del Prado Arts and Antiques, in Sikatuna. His welcomed time of diversion includes going out of town with his lovely wife, Carla Larrazabal, chillaxing in lounges, listening to Mozart, and reading books on cuisines. After all, even in the tightest of schedule, every hard-working man deserves a time to relax and enjoy a good massage—something Joel loves to be pampered with.

Joel beckons, without any reservation, a new generation—of the young and young at heart—who all have been exposed to accessible and flavorful cuisine. His winning ingredients of good food, ambiance, service, and managerial skills have given him the key to the demanding costumer’s heart and stomach.