CHEF JONAH TRINIDAD | From Celebrity Chef to Barber Shop Owner

There’s an old saying, “If you can’t trust your barber, then who can you trust?”

That seems to be the summary of Chef Jonah Trinidad‘s answers to my query on why he chose to put up a barber shop as his first non-food business venture.

Chef Jonah who was first seen on television in the 2005 GMA Network “Cook-Off” show KA-TOQUE together with JL Chang, Rosebud Benitez, Nino Logarta, Mitchie Sison, Darlo Lopez and Jeremy Favia. A former student of Chef Gene Gonzales and a graduate of DLSU Saint Benilde, Chef Jonhs as he is fondly called by friends, honed his culinary skills with brief stints in Indonesia and the USA before going on nationwide television, and the rest as they say was history.

With Chef Jonah Trinidad in his 1108 Barber Shop

Taking a break from food related stuff, Chef Jonah together with his girlfriend Cheryl decided to put up 1108 Barber Shop in Quezon City. The coziest, complete and very traditional two-seater Barber Shop that I have been to.

While the shop’s design was mostly from the combined creativity of the couple, the quality of service was however patterned to international standards that they have acquired from a master barber in Singapore who works at Truefitt & Hill, the oldest barber shop in the world (since 1805).

So when you avail of a service at 1108 Barber Shop, you are actually experiencing how is it genuinely done in Truefitt & Hill – from the hot towels to the shaving process – it’s all very traditional. The good news is, you get the full service at a price that’s just a fraction of what the other “branded” barber shops are charging.

Here are some of the services being offered at 1108 Barber Shop and their current service fees:

I have experienced their haircut and shave first hand and I am very much satisfied. I would actually go back to this place for my next trim.

They plan to put up another outlet in the future and get even more creative by adding more services like a bar or a restaurant, but for now Chef Jonah is trying to learn all he can from managing his new passion project.

If you’re planning to visit, there’s a tricycle terminal at the back of SM City North EDSA in Misamis St., near SM Annex and just across the DEPED NCR Office. Ask the driver to drop you off at 1108 Barber Shop in Road 13 in Bagong Pag Asa, just past Road 8.