Owner of Luke’s Oyster Bar and Chophouse: ‘We’ll be around in Singapore as long as Singapore wants us’

He may own and run six restaurants, but chef Travis Masiero swears all he ever wanted was one. “When I first got into the business, I just wanted to work with the best people in the industry and understand [cooking] as a profession rather than a skill or a way to get by,” said the 45-year-old who came to Singapore in 2005 to fill the role of executive chef and general manager at the now-defunct Wine Garage.

Then a fresh-faced 26-year-old from Boston, USA, Masiero planned to stay for two years before heading back out to discover what else the world had to offer. Eighteen years on, it appears he instead discovered a world of his own in Singapore.

By 2011, Masiero had opened his first restaurant, Luke’s Oyster Bar and Chophouse, a decidedly wasp-ish establishment tucked away on Gemmill Lane that quickly drew in the corporate set with their deep expense accounts and penchant for vodka martinis. The restaurant thrives to this day, but two years after its opening, it became apparent that the business had to grow or risk losing valuable team members. A 54-seat establishment can only take its team so far, after all.

A second restaurant seems a natural progression for any successful restaurateur, but Masiero calls it the hardest business decision he’s had to make. “So many restaurants find it difficult to understand that once we get to a certain level of success, opening a second restaurant is quite difficult. I had no interest in opening more than one restaurant and I was very content. The idea of it really got me thinking, ‘Can you do this again? Maybe we only have this one magic potion, and we really don’t know what we’re doing.

“But what do you do with all the wonderful people you have on your team? At some stage they get poached or go work for someone else. So how can I create an opportunity for them to grow?”

There was only one answer to that question despite the persistent doubts.

Even in today’s age of big-name chefs with multiple restaurants in their eponymous stable, many diners insist that the experience is better when said chef is on the premises. At the time, Masiero was wont to agree. “I felt guilty because I really thought I had to be in the restaurant for people to have a good experience. But then I told myself that if I’m actually a good chef, I can train my people, and they can deliver the same quality of experience as if I were in the restaurant. You just have to trust people to do their jobs, do it well and be professional, which was my goal in the first place.”

Once he conquered that mental hurdle, the opportunities rolled in.

Building sustainable careers for his staff has turned out to be a winning strategy for Masiero, but there must be far more to fostering loyalty than rolling out new outlets to feed the career growth of those on the line. Restaurants are nourished on repetition and consistency, elements that bore anyone with a dynamic streak. So, what keeps his team committed to showing up for Masiero year after year?

“Honestly, I don’t know how to answer that question. I guess I look at it simply. You have to treat people with respect and compensate them well. I’m just fortunate that they decided to come work with me. The reality is it’s my responsibility to create opportunities for them. And that’s what I try to do. As soon as we get to a certain level, we think, how can we promote these sous chefs to chef de cuisines, or general managers to operations directors, and so on. So that’s a goal that I think will continue to guide the business.”

Among Masiero’s A-team are individuals who have worked alongside him since his Wine Garage days, including Rex Tan, now the group’s director of kitchens and head of human resources, group wine director Balamurugan Pasupathi, and Luke’s general manager Michael Tai. Others like group operations manager Stanley Ang, group executive chef Boon Teow, and Nixta’s general manager Lalaine Yap have been with the Travis Masiero Restaurant Group for well over a decade. What grounds them, said Rex Tan, is the generous sense of ownership Masiero imparts and the simple fact that he never fails to show up for them.

“No matter what question I ask him, whether about work or personal, he will always reply and follow up,” said Tan. “This is something my wife or my family does for me, and in the workplace, he is that [person] to us. If we need an answer, he will find it. He can joke and put himself down, but he also has the answers for us. He doesn’t just treat us as employees; he treats us like family members or friends.”

Masiero still doesn’t see himself opening more restaurants. He no longer cooks on the line but spends his time focusing on R&D with his team and managing his establishments, namely Luke’s Oyster Bar & Chophouse, its upscale extension The Clubroom, two Blue Label pizza outlets, Mexican restaurant Nixta, and Luke’s Alpine Club in Niseko.

“My focus now is on how to keep my team grounded, the restaurants full and our guests happy. I know it sounds simple — like, cook good food and people will come back. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. To create a business with these attributes is something I work towards every day. I have 80 to 85 employees that I work for, and I have to make sure they get looked after, that I provide opportunities for them, and that they’re happy to be here. It’s very different from the early years when I was just focused on creating the best food I can make and the rest took care of itself,” he said.

“We’ll be around in Singapore as long as Singapore wants us, which I hope will be another 20, 25 years of business.” With that kind of timeline, he’s going to need a few more restaurants.