Albert Sotelo

After living in several US cities for the past 20 years, I, Albert, have returned to the Philippines with a totally different point of perspective. Together with my husband - Chef Kevin Mize, an Arkansas native, we are about to open the very first authentic American diner in Baguio City this February 2014. Armed with several years of corporate experience in Finance, Business Entrepreneurship and Airline operations knowledge with the some of the best companies in the world - if not the best, I return to the Philippines with gumption to face every challenge ahead. My husband, with his years of culinary experiences and medical research background, he, too, jumped with both feet landing squarely into a new country with only opportunities to pick and choose from. Its been two and a half years since our arrival since July 2011. We started selling cheesecakes and cookies at a night market in Manila that reminded us of small country style coops in Little Rock and the outskirts of Dallas. We now supply our cheesecakes to the Manila Polo Club, about to start a cookie franchise to rival Mrs. Field's together with Unang Hakbang Foundation, started an Incubator Kitchen for small entrepreneurs like ourselves and run a management and consultancy firm. We are proud of having consulted for small mom-and-pop entrepreneurs to even the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (because of my airline management experience with American Airlines in DFW). When choosing why we do what we do, we always strategically evaluate every move and act decisively. So, for those of you we are about to meet online or in person who may have questions on what its like for us to move back or simply want to have a nice conversation over coffee (on us? Sure!) Welcome to our world. Welcome to our Philippines.