Q&A with Mario Sequeira FCSI - Foodservice Consultants Society International

What kind of work do you specialise in?
With over 30 years’ experience in the hospitality industry overseas and in Australia, I offer foodservice design and management consultancy services to hotels, motels, taverns, restaurants, cafés, hospitals, aged care, commissary kitchens, sporting venues and educational institutions. I also specialise in master planning, concept design and liquor licensing advisory services.

What do you enjoy most about your profession?
I thrive on achieving the best outcomes for my clients. Being the owner of a niche consultancy business and blessed with a hardworking and dedicated team means I can enjoy the freedom and flexibility of the consultancy services we offer, all focused on maximising the end customer’s experience. Best of all is my passion to savour the variety of cuisines and awesome wines and spirits being produced in Australia and globally.

What does being an FCSI mean to you?
Being an FCSI consultant offers our clients the satisfaction that they are engaging with a qualified professional who is bound by a code of best practice. As an FCSI consultant, our business is driven by the FCSI Code of Conduct that requires us to provide the best possible service to our clients, and a value system that is very closely aligned to my own personal and moral beliefs.

What are the biggest challenges FCSI members are facing?
Challenges include equipment dealers offering free foodservice design services, predominantly based on the biggest margins they receive from equipment manufacturers. As an FCSI consultant our advice is totally independent and based on the best outcomes for our clients. There’s also the lack of exposure of FCSI in Australia, and the need for a strategic succession plan within the FCSI Asia Pacific Division.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?
To successfully complete the major projects our business is involved with and revisit Europe for a spiritual and culinary fix. I plan to visit Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Germany with my dear wife who patiently puts up with my long working hours that I am addicted to. Of course my overarching goal for the rest of the year and into the future is to stay healthy and do my very best every day while continuing to learn and improve professionally and personally.

What achievements in your career/life are you proudest of?
Having migrated from India as a young chef travelling on my own, I have successfully made Perth, Western Australia, my home and contributed to and been successfully involved in the hospitality, tourism and liquor industry. Over the years, I have been actively involved in my local parish community, cultural and social organisations, helping young adults with disabilities and the schools that my daughters attended.

What are your interests away from the office?
I love playing and viewing sports, following the stock market in Australia and globally, reading motivational books and above all spreading the good news of my Catholic faith that has sustained me well over the years. With my good friends I also host a live cultural radio show on a voluntary basis that streams worldwide once a month.

Current projects in Australia