After cooking a few good diners or lunches, we dream about being a restauranteur, and those cooking programs make us search "restaurant for sale" on the internet.
Well, how difficult it can be? Trust me, cooking some great meals in your home kitchen and impressing your family and friends is just the tip of the iceberg. It takes significant risks and a different level of motivation to accept this great challenge.
With cutthroat competition and everyday changing trends, it can be very tough to be the one. As I said earlier, food is only one part of it, but you need to nail every single aspect of your plan. You will do everything else apart from cooking, so keeping your mind and motivation at the right spot is very important. You would need to up-skill yourself on every level. If you are serious about it, then 24 hours in a day would feel significantly less. A wise friend once told me that money saved is money earned, and it's true when running your own small food business. Wages, bills, rent, online ordering giants, commissions, discounts, offers, and food costs will not let you breathe.
Social media has completely changed the game. In my early day of hospitality (15 years age,2004), marketing was getting yourself published in newspapers, magazines, few billboards (if one could afford) and on top of all which will always be gold, "World of Mouth" was all you needed. Now, it's just a few clicks and a few $$. It sounds easy but trust me, its more complex than the old days. Running your food business will make you learn all about social media, bookkeeping, accounting, industry laws, and everything else (Chef, waiter, dishwasher, busboy, handyman, cleaner, marketing guru...)
If everything goes according to the plan and after paying all the bills and working day and night, emptying your wallet to zero, if you somehow takeoff in this crazy industry, then the REVIEWS on social media will haunt you. They might not let you sleep these days, one lousy review holds power to shut you down, so there is no chance to slack. This industry can burn you out very quickly. Forget weekends, forget kids, forget parties and no more holidays (at least for a start)
Whatever I say, 15 years have passed, and I'm about to open my 4th Restaurant, which means I'm going to repeat all the things (which I warned you about). My Restaurant is called Sacred Bites, and I have a lot to share with all of you. Whatever I say, after 15 years, it has become catch 22 for me. It's a love-hate relationship. I love the food part of this industry and the rush of adrenaline on active service, but it drains you out pretty quickly too.
I love the industry and can't think of anything else. I have found this great platform to share my thoughts with like-minded people. This is my first ever blog and a lot more to come, so please come back for some excellent personal recipes and my life experiences if you like what I just said.
Thanks