Founding Story
I would like to tell you that inspiration struck me when I was sitting on the edge of my seat, a bundle of nerves, as listening intently to the keynote speaker’s words on my graduation day. I would like to tell you that I wanted to etch every one of the words spoken into my memory and that it was then that a vision for the rest played out in my mind. I would like to say all that, but that’s not the truth. The truth is that I never made it to my graduation day. I dropped out of school before my O-Level. It wasn’t because I couldn’t study, but because I had come to the realization that life wasn’t all about degrees and diplomas. It was about hard work and more importantly, about smart work. At the end of the day, your place in society is determined by more factors than the university you graduated from and the string of letters that follow your name in your business card. My journey, with the end goal of making my own place in the world, started with simple work at a few call centers. From that, I moved on to opening up my own advertising and event management company. I spent a few years in that industry before exploring the arena of online businesses in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Having experimented with a wide variety of business fields, and considering my own passion for the food, it was inevitable that I plunged into the food industry. I started that with a franchised Calorie Counter outlet in the Maldives. I got to where I am today step-by-step. By no means was it an easy journey. It took time, and a lot of patience. At no point did I bask in overnight success. Whatever venture I pursued, whatever its scale, I gave it my all. I enjoyed tastes of success here and there, I set SMART objectives and I put in consistent work towards a singular goal. So why the Steak and Coffee House? It wasn’t an edict from on high or a suggestion from a psychic. I wish it was a story as flashy as all that. The answer is simple. I’ve always been fond of steak. To my great disappointment, I’d never tasted anything but the classic steak in Sri Lanka or the Maldives, where I reside. However, I have the good fortune of traveling around the world and during my trips to Singapore, Malaysia and the like, I’ve had the opportunity to indulge in some good steak. One such opportunity in particular has stuck with me. Visiting the restaurant of the internet-sensation Nusret Gökçe, perhaps more famously known as ‘Salt Bae’, in Turkey, I had what is most definitely the best steak experience of my life thus far. My travels and my experiences with a variety of steaks lead to a curiosity in me and I experimented with different recipes at the comfort of my kitchen. Two years and a multitude of charred meat, uncooked beef, leathery bites and trial and error later, I felt I was ready to move all the steak making from my humble kitchen to a place I could dedicate for it. And thus, the Steak and Coffee House was born, with its first branch opening in Maldives. The Steak and Coffee House is separated from its brethren by it’s menu, which incorporates Asian flavors into the steaks. Just by throwing in herbs and spices that would satisfy the Asian palate, we set ourselves apart from other steakhouses, which often follow the Western recipes, a blend of salt and pepper with basic herbs. The Steak and Coffee House is not mere a money-maker for me. It’s an integral part of my journey in finding my place in the world and the result of my genuine passion being realized. On a final note, we’d like to extend a warm welcome to all of you to drop in, experience a fine steak experience and let us know what you think. All we can see is, not giving us a try will be a huge missed-steak.
