Passion, commitment, a love of adventure and a riotous desire to experience the world’s culinary scene from top to bottom have defined the journey that has led Trevor to head the world’s largest Thai restaurant brand – Mango Tree. With big dreams, but feet firmly on the ground, the astute Canadian has succeeded in planting restaurant flags throughout Asia as he hurtles towards the 100-restaurant mark. And now, the Asian culinary expert is turning his attention to Europe for a new challenge as he eyes restaurants in Europe’s leading capital cities in his quest to take Thai food around the world.
But in many ways Trevor is an accidental restaurateur. 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.
Since then everything has fallen into place for this natural born restaurateur who has notched up over 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 70 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. He has also become wine connoisseur par excellence and can hold his own amongst the best sommeliers.
Not a man to rest on his laurels, Trevor is a relentless adventurer forever dreaming up fresh quests to challenge himself. A keen skydiver and mountaineer, he has already climbed Kilimanjaro and Mount Fuji to raise money for a close friend’s physically disabled son. Soon, he will embark on his most ambitious challenge yet – scaling a 6,000-foot mountain in the Himalayas. No less exhilarating has been the ride that has seen the Exquisine Global now operates more than 71 dining destinations and is striding confidently towards its target of operating 100 outlets worldwide
Despite his relentless schedule, Trevor still ensures that he spends quality time with his family. He believes that life is a balance between crafting meaningful personal moments and giving back to the world with important social and community activities. 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.