Dubai OFW takes a break from corporate career, opens restaurant

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — She calls it “gourmet Filipino food.”

And so with this in mind, Gina Valbuena took a big turn after her job as Business Support Manager to the CEO for Asset Management of a giant hospitality company in Dubai and opened a restaurant in the city that she named Kubyertos Cuisine.

“Looking back at our favorite family meals in my hometown Davao, I remember that side by side to our Sinaing na Tulingan and Pipino Ensalada were my mother’s laughter and smiles,” Valbuena told GMA News Online.

“In many ways, I felt this similar joy in Dubai as I became part of the robust Filipino community here. This is the experience our team wanted to bring to Kubyertos Cuisine: the comfort of our homes brought together by our food,” she added. Kubyertos is Tagalog for cutlery, from the Spanish word cubiertos.

Valbuena said Dubai, being an international expatriate city and host to Expo 2020, is the perfect place to showcase the Filipino cuisine before the world culinary stage.

Expo 2020 was postponed last year due to the pandemic and will be opened from  Oct. 1 this year to March 31, 2022 instead. The restaurant is located quite close to the Expo 2020 site south of Dubai and is expected to be at the receiving end of the throngs of international visitors going to and coming from the exhibition areas. Some 192 countries, including the Philippines, will be participating and have already constructed pavilions at the site.

Organizers said up to 25 million visitors are expected for the five-month duration of the international event. Among the highlights of the world expo is Paris’ Eiffel Tower which was built to be the entrance to the 1889 World Expo.

Global community

Valbuena said another factor playing in favor of a world-class Filipino dining destination in Dubai is the city’s “global community.”

“Dubai is an international environment. The beauty of the emirate is that the diverse cultures do not compete with each other, but work hand in hand. To complement the global community in Dubai, we designed our menu not only to the Filipino palate but to entice the international market as well,” Valbuena said.

“I have very high regard for our local culture, immense awe for Filipino talents, hospitality and congeniality and deep appreciation of delectable dishes from different regions of the Philippines – what could be better than showcasing all of these to our greatest inspiration, the overseas Filipinos, and proudly introducing the same to the rest of the world?” she said.

Filipino fingerprints

Asked why she embarked on opening a restaurant after a break from a very comfortable corporate job, Valbuena said that as she, along with her husband and three children, have been in Dubai for the past 17 years, she “has become witness to the mark of the Filipinos in this country.”

“Whether we like to admit it or not, our fingerprints are all over the first bricks that built this beautiful nation. I wanted us to be proud of this fingerprint – to be proud of our presence and identity in the UAE,” she said.

Valbuena said she “wasn’t looking to only serve good food” when she thought of launching Kubyertos as a homegrown, Filipino-owned brand. “I also wanted to empower the Filipino community,” she said.

“Inspired by many local brands that are thriving, I envisioned our team to be part of that community. What made me decide to open Kubyertos Cuisine was quite simple: to be a part of the many great brands that bring pride to our country,” Valbuena said.

She said their plan is to position Kubyertos Cuisine as “Filipino representation among the great Asian cuisines – creating a destination into our heritage.”

Pandemic

Valbuena said the dining venue was not spared the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our team had to quickly innovate to form new business models and respond to an environment no one could predict. We released new menus, put three-meter distance between our tables, and masked up. The response we got from the market was empowering, and if I had the words to articulate my feelings, it would be that this is the Filipino grit persevering through tough times,” she said.

Valbuena earned her BSC Degree major in Accounting with Magna Cum Laude recognition from Ateneo de Davao University. Before moving to Dubai, she had a long stint with subsidiaries of JG Summit Holdings (Universal Robina Corp. and Robinsons Land Corp.).

Aside from the restaurant, Valbuena also owns a salon and spa, Kiesha Beauty Lounge, which caters to the local market.  —KBK, GMA News