How to open a restaurant in a full recession…. (I must be insane) 

Actors – Michele English and Russell Clement – winners of the BBC 2 “The Restaurant” 2008

Trainers – Raymond Blanc, Brasserie Blanc, and Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons

It is now official; we are in a recession. The turmoil in the banking world intensifies and turns into a dizzy waltz of lost billions. The once-trusted financial institutions are crumbling. Doom and grim news from the biggest names in global finance are sending more distressing signals. We, the small businessman, restaurant owners, shopkeepers, et al. are watching wide-eyed, dazzled by the carnage, trying to evaluate how it’s going to affect our businesses. 

Yesterday, I met a friend of mine, who is known to be an optimist. His words were “It’s going to get worse!” I thanked him for his assessment and optimism, then went back to my business (BB) preparing it, strengthening it, setting up the back-up plans, and looking into every aspect of our business where we can save money without undermining the standards. Our board is strong, our team is strong led by a by an experienced MD, John Lederer, and a no less experienced executive chef who has worked with me for more than 25 years. We were also the very first, three years ago, with the most competitive offer on the market, an £11.50 menu, including a quality glass of wine. So we feel confident enough. But I don’t have a crystal ball (to tell how tall the tsunami will be).

“My” other business is more urgent, and actually, more worrying.

Following the BBC 2 programme, “The Restaurant,” I must now deliver the prize to the winners, Michele and Russell, and open a restaurant with them. 

If mad-dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun, a mad Frenchman (who should know better), is opening a restaurant with untried amateurs who have done two months of running a virtual restaurant on television. They are good, but is it enough?

Following the TV reality programme, Michele and Russell are now entering on the reality of opening their own restaurant. Their enthusiasm is fantastic, their dreams marvellous, and their passion exciting – but, to succeed, practice is needed, and it will be a hard long slog. And the slog has a tendency to get in the way of the first three emotions. As Victor Hugo said “Et l’on voit de la flamme aux yeux des gens jeunes, mais, dans les yeux du vieillard, on voit de la lumière.” In other words “in the young you will see the flame, but in the eye of the old, you will see the light.”

So, with the team of Brasserie Blanc, we are preparing and training Michele and Russell. The great dilemma in training people is teaching them the things they need to know without weakening their enthusiasm. 

They have taken on the challenge; with knowing and firm hands we are teaching them the non-emotional aspect of the business, the rigour, the mathematics, the food costing, the systems – financial, legal, and operational. These will be the foundations of good business practices, and, we hope, the success of their restaurant. 

Now they are about to apply their training on the real battlefield. We have now seen sites, and they have singled out three of them that have potential. Which site will they choose? Will it be the right choice, will they have learned a sufficient amount to be successful enough to beat the credit crunch, and prove to me that I’m not insane to have started this adventure? After all, the tricky part of reality television is that it makes you believe that anyone can become a professional in any chosen field, after only two months of virtual life on television. 

Next, we will test Michele and Russell’s abilities and metal in a proper cook-off, and the preparation of their business plan. 

Stay tuned for video casts, and blogs will follow. It’s heating up!