David del Rosario used to wear a suit everyday, rub elbows with CEOs during happy hour, and sweat it out working for the man. Now, the shaggy-haired chef surfs when he wants to and rarely puts on a t-shirt. This is the story of the man behind CEV — one of Siargao’s top restaurants; moreover, a lesson in sticking it to the man and letting it all hang loose.
LOOSE KEYS: Take us back 10 years ago. How would you describe yourself then, and what were you doing with your life?
DAVE: I was a short haired dude with a desk job, working for money. I was a stock broker. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a super stressful job. I was working in finance for around 9 years, with only one thing on my mind: earning money. Ahhhh and I was boring and basic as fuck.
LK: That’s hard to believe. I can’t even imagine you in that way.
DAVE: Just look at the pictures. Them pictures don’t lie.
LK: (Looks at photo proof) Oh my god. You look like a Lego toy, a Lego man! That’s one hell of a transformation! Hold on, let’s rewind — tell us about the early beginnings of CEV.
DAVE: It was actually when I took a vacation and went to New York for the first time, which was maybe 5 years ago. The moment I stepped foot out of the airplane and saw the tall buildings in New York, I felt like ~ I could achieve anything ~ and so that made me excited to do my own thing. And I fell in love with the city. That opened my eyes and my mind and my soul to like, something more than what I was doing in Manila, something that could get me out of my funk of being an unhappy basic bitch.
LK: So you quit your job?
DAVE: So I quit my job and decided to go to cooking school in New York. I enrolled in a culinary school and restaurant management course where we worked on a final thesis and had to make a business plan — and CEV was my business plan. Also for that course, I had to do an internship. I looked specifically for a ceviche only restaurant and I found like this little stall inside the Gansevoort Market called “Mission Ceviche” by Chef José Luis Chavez. But yeah, I worked for them for 3 months. I basically was getting the idea of how to prepare ceviche well, and I was really learning how restaurant operations work. Ah yeah, and that’s how it happened. I went back to the Philippines, took a trip to Siargao, decided to open a restaurant here, fell in love with the place, the community, the surf, the beach, my friend Nicci, my friend V. And here we are.
LK: You hustled and the universe provided for you. So why in the universe did you decide to focus a restaurant solely on Kinilaw?
DAVE: You know, ever since I was a little kid one of my favourite foods was Kinilaw, which is probably the most underrated and under-promoted Filipino dishes. It’s an easily understandable and appreciable food — which I think people should know more about, because people know about ceviche. That was my goal when I opened the restaurant.
LK: Loose Keys and CEV have such a great symbiotic relationship with one another (CEV is housed within the Loose Keys bar/kitchen in Siargao). How did this situation come about?
DAVE: One night, me and V were grilling a big ass tuna at a party, and V asked me if I wanted to take over the kitchen at Loose Keys. At first, I was set on doing things by myself because I already had a piece of land. But the day after, that piece of land didn’t push through. So then I said, “ah, this might be a good sign” since Loose Keys is like already known, the guys are cool, I think it’d be great. So I decided to do it and we’ve had a really good relationship because they focus on the drinks and I focus on the food. I’ve met a lot of my best friends on the island because of this thing.
LK: We need each other, we family.
DAVE: We do need each other.
LK: Let’s talk about the CEV family. You employ an all-women staff, with the exception of 1 dude. First off, right on! Secondly, is there some radical reasoning behind this?
DAVE: Well, yes of course. I love women (laughs at own joke). I have a lot of respect for women, especially in the workplace. I think that women are definitely a lot more organized, detail oriented, I think they follow rules more, and they’re just better workers in my opinion (than men). Women are great, women are great, and Dale is too (the lone male CEV employee). That’s why I employ an all-woman staff, more power to women!
LK: More power to women! Speaking of great things, CEV recently celebrated its 1 year anniversary. You revamped the restaurant menus, added new dishes, and are rounding out one dope AF year. It’s wise to say that you’ve really dialed in on CEV’s defining characteristics. So, what is the quintessential CEV cuisine?
DAVE: I think the CEV cuisine is something new, it’s something creative. And there’s a lot of flavors and textures you wouldn’t expect to be put together that actually work. And that’s what I want to emphasize in the food that we put out. It’s something that will surprise you. 
LK: Is it Filipino?
DAVE: There are many Filipino components, but definitely not traditional. If you look at all the components of the Kinilaw bowls we serve, they are Filipino though. I just put it in a way that works as a meal. As Filipinos we don’t just eat one thing with rice, we also mix and match many different things that’s on the table. So what I’m doing is just putting it all together in a bowl or a plate. But yeah I think that’s the defining thing, there’s a lot of textures, there’s a lot of flavours, and its gonna surprise both your tastebuds and your mind. The dishes are also really colourful and playful. Not refined at all, its like an organized mess, I think.
LK: I like that. An organized mess. So, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from running your own business on this fast-growing vacay/destination island paradise?
DAVE: Initially, it was to hire the right people. A good team. Because to be honest, it’s very hard to find a good team on a tourist island. I’m very lucky that I was able to choose the right people — many of them have stayed with me for the entire year. Most of them actually. Another thing I’ve learned is to stay focused. It’s so hard to stay focused on this freakin’ island! Especially when your co-business owners, Loose Keys, is the most popular bar on the island. You easily get sucked into parties, having fun, and sometimes its hard to be a good business owner or boss when you are distracted. So I think staying focused is definitely the key.
Also I think, it’s just having the right kind of mindset. Which is more relaxed and chill. I feel like if the work environment is very friendly, family style, just chill, and you kind of let go of the small things, your employees will appreciate that and be loyal. You just gotta be chill man, it’s an island!
LK: You gotta let it all hang loose. Conversely, I’ve heard you have a small obsession with your CEV bowls. What’s up with this obsession — do people actually steal them?
DAVE: The literal, like the physical bowl? The wooden bowls? Ah yeah, I am. I’ve had to replenish the entire amount of bowls that I fucking bought last year.
LK: That means every single bowl you bought last year has been stolen?
DAVE: Well maybe 3/4 of them have been either broken or stolen. (Laughs) They’re custom made for CEV though, so I guess that’s why they are special. They’re apparently made in Quiapo with mango wood and acacia, combined together.
LK: Wow ok, I guess that explains it! Any closing remarks for us?
DAVE: Come try the food at CEV, but please don’t steal the bowls. Drops mic.
CEV is located in Loose Keys (General Luna, Siargao). Follow CEV and David’s journey at fb.com/cevsiargao and IG: @cevsiargao