Nicco Santos: A Palate For Chicken Rice and Compassion

Written for: PURVEYR Issue 4: Success, 2017
Photos by: Marvin Conanan

“I don’t think I’m successful,” was the first thing that Nicco Santos said to me as I sat down inside his fairly new Southeast Asian joint. With that disclaimer abruptly dispensed off the bat, it was clear that the interview I had planned out was not about to go according to plan. But as the portrait photographer and renowned chef behind Your Local, Hey Handsome, and Any Any would later reveal, some of the best things are born out of spontaneity.

For Nicco, it was a recipe of impulse, gut, the right company, and a whole lot of chicken rice that brought him to where he is today. At his early thirties, Nicco has had a shout-out from Condé Nast Traveler as one of the world’s must-visit restaurants for Your Local, a future podium spot at Madrid Fusion, and a cult following for the national treasure that is his Salmon Donburi dish. Despite all that under his belt, he’ll continue to argue that, no, he isn’t successful. But it’s not a case of humble-bragging either. While the likes of Bobby Flay and Gordon Ramsay might paint a picture of the typical chef archetype as having a palate for chaos and management by fire, Nicco is a far cry. Instead, he builds his kitchen ethos around compassion, his team, and making people happy. True enough, as I glanced around the blue-tiled walls of Hey Handsome, the scene before me was unlike an episode from Hell’s Kitchen.

The diverse constellation of staff that surrounded him has come to be his family – from his partners and sous chef, Quenee, down to each bartender and server. Having grown up as a quiet kid in a broken household, it is they who filled the void and fueled Nicco’s desire to create dishes that feel like home. And that, in essence, is what he equates success to – being able to look around him and see the family he built and the lives he’s changed along the way. It’s the perfect complement to how he views the experience of food – it should feel like coming home to someone you love. Everything else comes secondary.

“Now, my purpose has changed and I have a better sense of identity.”

To start things off — other than being a chef, photographer, entrepreneur, etc. — who are you, on a more personal level?

I think I’m a life artist. Is there such a thing? Well, I’m a chef, yes. I’m also a photographer. But, for me, what ties them both together is that I’m always trying to be present, more than anything. I’m always thinking about how short life is. Ever since I took on that mindset, I’ve had less time for myself, but that’s not really a bad thing. It gets tiring sometimes, but I get to help out more people that way. I’m also a student. I’m still trying to see what my real purpose is in terms of culinary or creating food.

So you’re just on a constant journey of self-discovery?

Yeah, it doesn’t end. How I started out is so different from where I am now. The pursuit has completely changed. I started thinking about cooking when I was nine years old. Coming from a broken family, it was a lonely childhood. I was raised by my grandparents, and growing up in school was weird. My classmates would talk about their parents and made me feel left out. I didn’t realize this until I was 23 years old. I only started cooking because every time I’d be at my mom’s house, she had a group of chef friends who were quite famous in the culinary world.

So since then, you were surrounded by all these people in the industry?

Yes, and I loved seeing them in their element. They’d just be in their jackets and uniforms, completely immersed in what they were doing.

And this is what spiked your curiosity?

I guess, yeah, but at the same time, I loved the idea of hanging out with my mom and being part of a group of people. Being in such a positive environment made me want to start cooking too. Eventually, I started making food for my tight group of friends every weekend. I enjoyed the idea of making people happy that way, and through it, I realized I longed for a family type of relationship. It filled the void from growing up in a household without parents. When I got my first culinary team, it filled it even more. Slowly, things didn’t feel as empty. Now, I have my friends, staff, mentors, wife, and my son. Growing up, I was repressed and pretty much alone in my head.

Even as a kid in school, I was always quiet. I thought that people might make fun of me and what I had to say – that I wasn’t good enough. So I just stayed silent because I was so scared of my voice being heard.

Would you say you didn’t have a normal childhood?

Very different. It wasn’t until I was 25 or 26 that I started to make peace with my past. I spoke to both my parents about it. They told me what happened, and I understood. They were teenage parents who didn’t know what they were doing, so they gave me up to be raised by my grandmother instead. As I started to figure things out, I felt more complete. Now, my purpose has changed and I have a better sense of identity.

And how did this newfound sense of self translate into your work?

That’s when I opened my first restaurant. At the start of my career, all I did were kiosks. I’ve always been into Southeast Asian cooking, but it was during high school when I became really intrigued with cooking. I tried chicken rice and all these other dishes. After graduating, I went to culinary school where I thought

want to do the same. That moment sparked his purpose for cooking again – and to have someone acknowledge that? Best feeling ever. Seeing him that way made me think that if I can keep doing this for the rest of my life, I’ll be a happy man. I’m getting teary-eyed right now just remembering it and it’s not even me.

It looks like you completely build your work ethos and success off your team.

Yes. I hardly ever think of myself. Like right now, we’re going through a price surge because our produce – local seafood and meats – are limited. So my team and I have been working to produce more plant-based food. But the biggest win for me is being able to work with the farmers. Some restaurants now are getting into vegetarian and vegan dishes because it’s “trendy” and “cool.” That’s stupid. Everyday, I work closely with these farmers.

We visit their farm. Let’s say they have kangkong that no one wants to use because the leaves are a bit tattered. It’s still food. So we’d make sure to use it and include it in our dishes because we don’t want their hard work to go to waste. There aren’t a lot of farmers who deal directly. Usually, there’s a middleman but I want to eliminate that. So yeah, it’s still about making the lives of people around me more meaningful. Currently, I’m trying to attract other people who feel the same way. The more we are, the more we can create a bigger impact. It’s not easy, but it’s a step.

“I wanted a brand that makes people and my team feel good.”

So it still goes back to the first reason you even got into cooking – making people feel good.

Yes. My restaurant is called “Hey Handsome,” dedicated to the uncles and aunties who call their customers “handsome”. At Singapore hawker centers, that’s how they call people’s attention. They also say “pretty” in Chinese, but “handsome” is the easiest to say. They’d see people getting fed up from waiting too long in line and say, “Hey handsome, what can I get you?” It instantly uplifts their mood. So I wanted a brand that makes people and my team feel good.

What does a normal day in your life look like?

I like to start my days with my son. We wake up, eat breakfast, play, go to the park, anything! Afterwards, I’ll put him to sleep while I go out. If it’s not too busy at the restaurant, I try to meet my wife and son for dinner. My life really revolves around my family and my staff. I don’t have friends. Well, I do but they’re my partners now. There’s no separation. It’s never home versus work for me. If I’m at “work”, it still feels like home.

Is this how you always imagined yourself to be? Or did you have another career path that you initially planned?

Before, I thought I was going to be an architect. I loved to draw but I hated math. As I’ve mentioned, I was so quiet growing up. So how I took everything in was through my other senses. I still draw but only when I’m trying to conceptualize food. Now, though, I get more inspired by smell.

How does smell play a part in your inspiration or creative process?

For example, we’re at the farm and I smell lemongrass or burning coconut leaves. I become so inspired to, say, recreate it in a dish. Or I associate it with a color or staff member. My nose is very sensitive. If I’m in Your Local, I can smell Yardstick’s coffee roasting machine burning from the back end through the door. But basically, yeah, I didn’t always picture myself doing this for a living. I could have also been a doctor, or a banker.

Banking and food are such polar opposite careers.

So much money though! My wife is actually in the industry. When I met her, I thought, “Damn, I met a banker.” It could have been me wearing a suit. I wouldn’t have to bring knives around with me. I’m kidding, but I’m really just not into the corporate life.

Did you always feel that way?

In high school, I planned to go to business school because it was the safe choice. But honestly, money and “stability” have always been secondary to me. If you ask me, I don’t even see myself as the textbook version of “successful”. If success means fulfilled, then sure, I’m successful. But it’s never about the money. I’m happy with the family I’ve built. Before, it was just me and Roy, my guy. Now I have a staff of 50? 55? That’s a lot of family. Because of everyone, everywhere I go feels like home. We all hang out after work hours and talk about our personal lives. It feels very natural to me.

From cooking, how did you get into photography?

Like I said, I’m a very visual person. I’ve always been interested in weird, slightly awkward spaces and shapes. It’s what got me into abstract photography. I was in Singapore for a month so I just picked up my uncle’s old camera and started taking pictures. I took a basic photography class. When I was in college, I got to join a studio lighting course with my mentor, which is when I experienced shooting models.

From abstract, you moved on to shooting subjects?

Yeah, so I would watch my mentor in action. I saw how he would look at the model and how he directed them. But it was his relationship with his subjects that intrigued me. He had a way of creating an atmosphere that was safe and comfortable with his presence, and this enabled the model to transform into whatever role he or she had to play for the shot. It wasn’t the lights or technicalities that interested me. I was inspired by the person and their dynamics.

“I’m not sure exactly what a “good” restaurant means, but it should always come from a place of love, built from a foundation of wanting to make people feel great.”

Are there any similarities in the way you approach your subjects and the way you do with food and ingredients?

Yes. Honestly, I usually wing it. With food, I like to create dishes that encapsulate a feeling. I mean, food was my gateway to feelings of belongingness. With models, I also like to be as natural and spontaneous. Models are artists too, and sometimes they want to explore with their poses. But other times, they also channel their emotions into their work. I met this model one time who came to me for a shoot. All of a sudden, she started crying. Apparently she had just gone through a break- up. I was shocked and kept offering to reschedule but she insisted on pushing through with it. After that, I was in awe because she was able to translate all these feelings of sadness and anger and went all out.

So it’s nice when my models can use what they’re going through as a form of art. You can’t fake emotion, even in a photograph. I don’t want to go like, “Okay, pretend you just saw your boyfriend walking down the street and look happy.” No. We’ll go to the beach, you know, feel the breeze in your hair. I want to document them in their natural state instead of directing them so much. With both food and photography, it’s hard to force inspiration.

How has photography helped you in your journey as a “life artist”?

Like I said, it was the people and their dynamics that interested me more with photography. I found it inspiring and empowering when both model and photographer would go out of their shell to try something daring. I came to want that for myself too. I was only able to start speaking in front of groups of people when I was 25. I never did that. So I made a sort of breakthrough list of things I wanted to get over with. One of them was to be able to talk to an audience, and flying. It’s basically a list of things that scared the shit out of me. So yeah, now, I really enjoy working with people who aren’t afraid to show that they’re vulnerable and they’re scared. But they’ll do it anyway.

But how do you deal with people who don’t operate on the same wavelength as you do – both models and staff?

Well, if we’re a good fit, then of course we can produce better work. I would rather not force it. Even with my team. If we don’t believe in the same things, then I’ll move along. I just want to find like-minded people who can help make the service industry better. I want to make it the norm to treat your staff well. For some, they think all they deserve is minimum wage, or service charge is unnecessary. It’s terrible. I know I can make a difference if it starts with me. I’m just hoping people will eventually follow. I mean, if your team is happy with their job environment, then it shows in the quality of their work too.

Did you have a gateway meal or dish that made you go, “Oh, this is why I want to cook”?

It’s usually braised food for me – anything warm that feels like a hug. Rendang, laksa, adobo. If it’s a mom, grandmother, or uncle cooking it, you can tell it’s made with love.

So you want to recreate that feeling through your dishes now?

Yes. Sometimes, I stick with the old family recipe, but other times, I try to make a different interpretation of the dish. Finding that balance can be tricky but I’m figuring it out.

What challenges have you encountered with breaking into the local food industry?

Mostly the taste profile. When I started doing Southeast Asian cuisine kiosks, my palate wasn’t that aligned with Singaporeans’ or Malaysians’, of course. It just developed over the years. So with Hey Handsome, I wanted to make it as authentic as I could. When we first opened, it was great. Got a lot of recognition for doing something new, but it never really hit home for Filipinos. I’m still trying to find that sweet spot, because foreigners who come here enjoy and it proves that local talent can go global. But on the other hand, I also want to make Filipinos happy with something they’re familiar with. Maybe through discovering provincial, traditional Filipino food, I’ll figure out that balance.

Another problem is the sense of entitlement that people have towards service staff. It breaks my heart when they get treated badly. I mean, we get up in the morning, come to the restaurant, spend hours prepping everything because we want to please our guests. But I guess there are just some people who get off putting others down. So if you’re a customer, try to be open to experiencing the person who’s serving you. Let them take care of you and give them the respect that is due.

From everything you’ve shared so far, it’s clear that your vision as a chef is very personal. But how do you balance that with the realities of running a business?

I do have my vision as an artist and a chef, but I have to be professional and understand that people have preferences when it comes to the food they look for. I know that I won’t be able to take care of my team if business is bad. So again, what matters to me is my company. I try to see it as a whole first and make sure every decision I make is good for the team. Sometimes, it sucks when people talk shit about your food, but it’s okay. We learn and grow from there.

By your definition, what makes a good chef or a successful restaurant?

For me, it’s when your team can stand on their own without you, or when they can be recognized for their own work instead of yours. I’m not sure exactly what a “good” restaurant means, but it should always come from a place of love, built from a foundation of wanting to make people feel great. Isn’t that how restaurants should be anyway? Wanting to connect and take care of customers who come in for an experience. Personally, I love coming back to establishments where I get greeted by name. It feels like I’m home. That’s why I tell my staff to pretend like the guests are their grandmother, or boyfriend. I guess we really try to create a space of love. It might sound cheesy, but yeah.

You keep insisting that you don’t see yourself as “successful” even with all these achievements under your belt – awards, recognition, etc. But is there any time in your career where you ever thought, “This is it. I’ve made it”?

Not at all! I think the only sense of me “making it” is really being able to look around me and see this incredible support system I now have. Sure, we get recognition. It’s good for business, and it makes my staff giddy with excitement when they see their work featured in all these magazines and lists. They get so proud and show all their families and friends.

And that is your own “pinch me” moment?

Yes. Even if the feature is about me, it’s never about me. I remember my first feature in Rogue for Your Local. I saw my face and it made me happy for about 30 minutes before I started to doubt myself again. I mean, yeah, it was great but it was nothing compared to our next feature where they talked about my team. I thought, “Holy shit. This is amazing. I showed my guy, Roy, and told him, ‘Uy, nasa magazine ka na! (Hey, you’re in a magazine!)’” Every time, they’re like gushing little kids and I feel like a proud parent.

With all these things you have on your plate, how do you manage a healthy work-life balance?

I’m actually not so healthy. That’s the only downside to this. I don’t get to take care of myself as much. Instead of exercising or what, all I want to do is play with my son or come to the restaurant. But I really make it a point to spend a good amount of time with my kid and make sure there’s never a day where he’ll say that his dad wasn’t there.

What is one thing you would like to do that you’ve never done before, like something else you want to accomplish?

Remember my bucket list, which included getting over my fear of flying? Well, when I first went on a long-haul flight to New York, I became so inspired that Your Local was born as soon as I came back. The things I absorbed during my trip were enough to create a new concept. It was only a matter of connecting Brooklyn and Legazpi Village, and then boom – Your Local. So now I’ve been itching to travel to the States again, or somewhere far. But first I have to get on that plane again and face my fear. Now for this other thing I want to do, you might think it shallow but I want to learn how to sing. I promised my wife I would sing for her on her birthday but I didn’t get to do it. I guess for someone who came from a repressed childhood and grew up thinking that whatever I said wasn’t good enough, singing would be the ultimate breakthrough.

Career-wise, I want to one day put up a hotel. I think that’s the next level of hospitality I want to learn. Oh, I also want to make an app, star in a Japanese film, and learn how to understand Bloomberg. My wife’s into it.

What’s next for you – whether it’s as Nicco Santos the chef, restaurateur, or photographer?

I mentioned one day hoping to open a hotel, right? Well it’s sort of happening. I made this recent partnership with a group from Bangkok to build a hostel in Poblacion. These people, like me, also believe that taking care of people should be at the core of the company. When I found them, I thought, “Was this a gift from God? Did he hear me?”

It was a match made in heaven.

Yes! At first, I didn’t know what to make of it. I wanted todoitsobadlybutIhadsomuchonmyplatethatI didn’t know if I could take on another concept. But as I got to know their concept and the team, I couldn’t not be a part of it. I’m a little scared because it’s going to be in Poblacion, Makati – a completely different market from what I’m used to. But I’ve been studying non-stop to see how I can best contribute to the neighborhood and make a difference. Oh, I’m also going to do a talk for Madrid Fusion next year.

Wow, so you went from being a shy kid to speaking in Madrid Fusion!

I know, right? Sometimes it doesn’t feel real. But I also want to be an example to kids who were like me and are going through the same thing – those who don’t feel like they’re good enough. I want them to know that they are, and they can make things happen.

Last question, if you were food, what would you be?

Hmm, I would probably be sushi. I respect sushi so much, like it could be the last meal I have before I die. Not because it’s delicious, but because so much goes into the preparation and process. It’s like an art form. And it’s gone in one bite. That’s kind of like a metaphor for how I look at things.

Giving it your all, even if it’s a one-time thing?

Yes. Sushi chefs go through a lot of training. It takes years just to perfect the dish. Much like success, which could take forever. But if you stick with it long enough, show up, and stand by the face of rejection, it pays off. No rush, though. Like a sushi. Be patient.

But it’s always worth the bite.

It’s always worth the bite, for sure. Super duper worth the bite. Yeah, I’m definitely sushi.

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You can follow Nicco Santos and his concepts on these pages: Instagram: @niccosantos / @yourlocalph @handsomecome / @anyanyph