Advocating authentic Asian cuisine
Apr 21, 2020
COCA and Mango Tree Restaurants Worldwide is meeting passenger demand for real Asian food in travel hubs, and aims to offer dishes that are so full of flavour they will attract customers from all around the globe. Mark Lane spoke to Managing Director Trevor MacKenzie about the continued growth of the Mango Tree Kitchen concept in airports.
Trevor MacKenzie describes himself as an ‘accidental restaurateur’. That is remarkable when you consider that as Managing Director he has overseen the growth of Thai business COCA and Mango Tree Restaurants Worldwide to become a US$90 million turnover operation. He is now responsible for more than 70 restaurants across 14 countries, with a target of breaking through the century barrier over the next few years.
That expansion is currently being spearheaded by new Mango Tree restaurant and café openings in airport and railway stations in key Asia Pacific markets including China, Japan, Thailand and Singapore. Five such eateries commenced trading in 2019 and three more Mango Tree-branded operations – one at Singapore Changi and two at Guangzhou Baiyun airports – have already opened their doors this year.
So how did a Canadian, born in Kamloops, south-central British Columbia – whose early adult life included a spell as a cowboy in the Rocky Mountains – come to preside over one of Asian cuisine’s finest international restaurant operations?
The story begins with MacKenzie moving to Vancouver in 1988 and setting up a contracting business with his brother. Destiny intervened when a chance stint bartending at night [to help MacKenzie pay for an expensive apartment he had rented overlooking the stunning seafront in Vancouver] introduced him to the buzz of the food & beverage business.
The venue was a fledgling fine dining restaurant called Blue Water Café & Raw Bar, which went on to become known as one of Vancouver’s premier restaurants. He was an instant hit in his bartending role and later shunned promotions to management level. Instead, he became the highest grossing sales waiter at the venue, a status he holds to this day. “Back then I prided myself on giving people memorable experiences, and that has been my mantra in developing the Mango Tree restaurant business,” MacKenzie says.
His big break in the restaurant business came during a brief holiday stop-over in Thailand in 2003, where a “chain of events”, in MacKenzie’s words, resulted in a meeting with Mango Tree Worldwide and COCA Holding International CEO, cook and entrepreneur Pitaya Phanphensophon.
The now-retired Phanphensophon, the host of a popular cooking show on Thai television, was the second generation owner of the family Thai COCA Restaurant business, which had opened its first dining venue in 1957. A second brand, Mango Tree, opened its first restaurant doors in the heart of Bangkok in 1994. The pair instantly bonded and later Phanphensophon gave MacKenzie the hospitality industry opportunity he had been searching for.
MacKenzie recalls that first meeting with fondness. “When I came to Asia I didn’t really appreciate what real Asian cuisine was,” he admits. “When Pitaya invited me for my first lunch with him at a COCA restaurant, he said ‘what would you like?’, and I said ‘chop suey or chow mein is fine’. He laughed and said ‘that’s American Chinese food, you won’t find that on our menu!’.”
Aiming high: Trevor MacKenzie expects his group to break through the 100 restaurant barrier in the next few years
MacKenzie’s love of the COCA and Mango Tree cuisine and his education into what makes great, authentic Thai, and Asian food, began that day, courtesy of the man he describes as his “intuitive and visionary mentor”. According to MacKenzie, Asian food is rapidly growing in popularity around the world because it is “full of flavour and not so one-dimensional”. He adds: “It is based on fresh ingredients and not the processed foods you often find in the US and Europe in particular.
“These days, you won’t see me eating processed food like you have at McDonald’s, even though I do admire them as a restaurant group. I have actually watched the McDonald’s founder movie multiple times; it is very inspirational.
“Although the likes of McDonald’s still have their place in modern day dining, more and more people are seeking healthier foods, and authentic Asian food like ours fits that bill as it is generally ‘farm to table’ and cooked fresh. It’s not often you can find food like this in airports in particular and we are starting to make big inroads into changing that.”
“I prided myself on giving people memorable experiences, and that has been my mantra in developing the Mango Tree restaurant business.”
One of two Mango Tree Kitchens to open at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport so far this year
An early 2020 opening for Mango Tree Kitchen at Singapore Changi Airport
Healthy message: Trevor MacKenzie emphasises the ‘farm to table’ nature of Mango Tree and COCA cuisine
