The adage, “Hard work pays off” truly applies to this former restaurant cleaner who now owns the largest sushi chain in Norway. True story.
Roger Asakil Joya, who hails from Cavite in the Philippines, used to just clean a sushi restaurant, but now, he is the proud owner of five restaurants – three of which are Michelin-starred restaurants – not to mention 45 other restaurant chains.
According to the official website of Michelin, a Michelin star is awarded to restaurants that make use of top-quality ingredients, where dishes with unique flavors are prepared to a consistently high standard.
Joya also has a net worth of around $27 million every year, according to news reports.
When he got to Norway when he was 17 years old, he started as a restaurant cleaner. It was here where he began to dream of becoming a sushi chef.
‘’When I got a chance to work in this sushi (restaurant), I found out there was a good opportunity to start my career as a sushi chef so I worked hard to come up in the hierarchy of this competence. When I reached this level, I started Sabi Sushi in Stavanger,” said the chef.
One of his restaurants, Sabi Sushi, is also featured on Norway’s tourism website.
“Honesty, authenticity and certainty. These are the simple basic pillars on which both Japanese cuisine and Sabi Sushi are built upon,” the website describes the restaurant. “Only fresh, short-distance ingredients are used and the food is courageous in its simplicity… Pure ingredients and good craftsmanship. This is Sabi Sushi.”
Furthermore, Joya also helps other people build their own restaurants and ultimately, reach their dreams.
‘’My advice to those who have a dream, learn economics about restaurant management because it’s not as easy as you think,” he said.
