WEBVTT
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00:00:07.440Hi, I'm Ted Sharmer, founder of One Voice Hospitality, and I've been in the game for over three decades.
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00:00:08.960In fact, I've worked it out.
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00:00:13.679I actually started in January 91, so I think I've exceeded 35 years.
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00:00:15.679Did you say in the game or on the game?
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00:00:20.960I love public speaking, and in fact I love the people and characters in my industry.
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00:00:25.359It's in the nature of hospitality to talk and engage and likewise property people to network.
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00:00:29.280So loving the chat and the sector meant only one thing a podcast.
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00:00:30.640So bring them all together.
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00:00:34.079There's plenty of successes and at the same time plenty of struggles.
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00:00:37.119I think it's important to share our worlds with you.
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00:00:45.679So over this series I'm going to talk to some of the industry's leading figures, hear their stories, and really make this a conversation starter for our industry.
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00:00:48.799So please subscribe for the ongoing series if you haven't already.
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00:00:50.000And I hope you enjoy it.
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00:00:53.840So if you can hear in the background there's a bit of music, a bit of chatter.
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00:01:02.719We're in a very, very sexy Banconi Soho with a fellow that likes hats nearly as much as me.
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00:01:04.079I would say more.
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00:01:06.239More, I would agree with that more.
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00:01:14.879And we we're kind of, I'm not going to quite say brothers from another mother, but we share some quirky natures in our glasses.
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00:01:24.319Hat and glasses collections that are way too large for men of our age where we should be subdued and demure.
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00:01:27.680Well, well, well said, sir, but you know, we carry on as we are.
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00:01:28.319We do.
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00:01:45.439And just just to introduce you, uh I'm sitting with the lovely, charming man of many hats, David Ramsay, co-founder of Many Hats Made Glasses, co-founder of Banconi, as well as many other amazing food and beverage, oh I hate that term.
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00:01:54.000As well as other many other hospitality experiences that um that people have grown to know and love.
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00:01:57.359Well, firstly said welcome to Banconi and thank you, very kind.
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00:01:58.560Thank you, sir.
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00:02:05.840Um we're both smiling on this rainy day uh that's hit us on uh beginning of Tuesday, the 8th of September.
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00:02:10.319So uh summer is over, but the sun is shining in Banconi, obviously.
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00:02:21.280Um, and I I wanted to sit down with you, as I have with others, to explore your journey and maybe you can tell us what what started your interest in hospitality?
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00:02:24.479Because I know I know that's not where you started, but what what happened?
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00:02:25.599Yeah, well it's interesting.
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00:02:29.199I chat with my wife about this quite a lot because my mum can't really cook.
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00:02:32.560Uh my dad told me she was the best cook in the world, she really wasn't.
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00:02:36.560Uh so I didn't really grow up in a household where hospitality was even that prevalent.
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00:02:41.280We used to go to the harvester of a Sunday and order the roast chicken.
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00:02:43.919Uh, and that was kind of hospitality for me growing up.
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00:02:45.280You know, and it's it's it's interesting now.
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00:02:52.560I sort of look at my kids who are sort of grown up, and they've grown up with all these crazy and amazing and wonderful sort of cuisines and restaurants in their lives.
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00:02:56.400And I think I had my first Thai meal when I was at university, so it was probably about, I don't know, 19 or 20.
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00:02:57.599That was a pot noodle.
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00:02:59.919No, no, it was actually it was actually right.
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00:03:05.439There's a there's a long story about me getting to fight and getting beaten up, and all I could have was soup uh because they broke my jaw.
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00:03:07.039Right, okay, oh dear.
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00:03:11.840And uh yeah, uh but sorry, our coffees have just turned up.
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00:03:12.000Yeah.
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00:03:12.879Thank you, Mihail.
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00:03:16.960Um, so yeah, so you know, it wasn't really where I sort of started from.
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00:03:25.199I think I think my love affair with hospitality sort of started when I first started working in London, aged whatever I was, 21, 22.
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00:03:26.319First job.
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00:03:30.400Um, I was working for a little consultancy firm off Maribone High Street.
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00:03:33.280We had a lot of, you know, we had a lot of really cool clients.
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00:03:38.879We did a lot of work with people like Orange Um and Mitchell and Butlers as they are now, but it was Bass.
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00:03:44.080Uh and actually my first, my first, literally my first job out of the university.
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00:03:52.240I used to do a lot of um, I suppose that no, I suppose actually, when I was at university, a lot of events, a lot of promoting, a lot of nightclubs, a lot of um Mayballs.
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00:04:00.479So that's probably where it started in one sense, but that wasn't really about food, that was about having a good time and being a student, and honestly meeting girls.
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00:04:02.080Uh, and that was a lot of fun.
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00:04:06.240Uh so that that actually was in my sort of 19, 20, 21-year-old sort of self.
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00:04:14.479Uh, I think then when I started working in London, sort of like with what I'd call you know proper job, um, we started taking, you know, I did a lot of work for Bass as they were.
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00:04:23.600The first job I actually ever did, first day, first day of the job, was uh Bass were looking at opening, we worked on the sort of like the creation of all by one and the first few sites.
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00:04:39.439And my my literally my first job, first afternoon, first day of being a grown-up in Inverti Farmers, was to wander around Marybone on a pub crawl, uh, basically telling Bass who the competition was, what they were doing, restaurants, pubs, cafes, everything.
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00:04:42.079They were they're opening a site on Paddington Street.
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00:04:48.079Uh, and the only advice my boss then gave me was drink half pints, not pints.
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00:04:50.240Uh, because you've got a long afternoon of it.
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00:04:50.959And he was right.
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00:04:56.000My notes by the end of the day were entirely illegible, completely incomprehensible, but I had a great afternoon.
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00:05:08.480Uh so it kind of started there, but also we we took out we took clients out to um sort of like what I'd call like proper restaurants, and that was probably my first real taste of fine dining and sort of you know real food.
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00:05:17.759And I remember we used to go to the orrery quite a lot at the top of Maribone High Street, um Galvin, which was actually at that point on Maribone High Street.
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00:05:19.920I remember it was one of the coolest places I ever went to.
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00:05:22.560It was, you know, the first time I went there, I couldn't find it.
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00:05:30.000I think it was on the first floor above, um, I can't remember what it was above now, but you could you're walking down the street, you could hear the clatter of cutlery and the chatter, and you're like, where is it?
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00:05:36.560It was just this little door that took you upstairs, and it was this incredible restaurant with this, you know, just a quality of food that I hadn't really experienced before.
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00:05:38.639And I I just really got into it.
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00:05:45.040And I think my passion sort of is a bit broader than just hospitality.
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00:05:52.639I've always worked in my career sort of like uh you know, in in brands and the consumer sector in one shape, form, or another.
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00:06:01.600Um from consultancy, I got quite quickly into private equity and working for funds, investing in consumer businesses.
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00:06:06.800Um that's kind of where it's sort of really, really started for me.
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00:06:09.120So I always used to say there's a sign above St.
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00:06:14.639Christopher's Place, which if you go past, it's like it's etched in stone and this archway that's quite easy to miss.
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00:06:18.240But I used to work on Wigmore Street, so I passed it a lot, and it says food, fashion, fun.
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00:06:22.639And that's kind of what I adopted as my little business card, what I do.
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00:06:26.240Um so I was in private equity investing predominantly in food, fashion, and fun.
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00:06:29.839Uh, and that was probably takes me up to about 2011-12.
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00:06:38.959We, you know, I was worked with a fund that back then was called Near Capital, we invested in poor bakeries, we've actually a lot of private equity guys say they're hands-on, they're not.
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00:06:39.920We actually really were.
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00:06:44.560We we kind of ran pull ourselves and took that from two to 28 sites in four years.
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00:06:52.240I learned a lot about scaling hospitality businesses, I learned a lot about keeping the quality by doing that.
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00:07:00.959We also invested in a brand called Lageret, which we took from four sites in Paris to I can't really number, probably about 40 uh globally.
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00:07:04.879Um, first in London, which was what's now the private cafe in Harrods.
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00:07:15.519So we we basically, in fact, we we we created that space by concreting over what was a ramp down into a sort of a warehouse area underneath Harrods, and it was just dead space in Knightsbridge.
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00:07:22.959Um, and our fired, there's a crazy story about literally bumping into our fired with the food director who basically told us no, no, no, no, no.
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00:07:25.360We've no space here, we don't want to do it, no, no, no.
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00:07:30.399And uh it wasn't me, but one of my colleagues pitched to our fired, why don't we concrete over the ramp?
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00:07:33.040And he said, That's a great idea, do it, and that was it.
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00:07:37.680And I can't remember how many months later, four months later, there was a Ledger A trading there, uh, and that was incredible.
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00:07:40.160So I learned I learned a lot from the people I worked with.
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00:07:43.199Um, I learned a lot from the the guys in the funds at NEO.
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00:07:51.759They were, you know, they were interesting people, um, but there was some great stuff, and we had a lot of success with food to start with.
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00:07:59.040Um I sort of came out to become what I'd say is an entrepreneur, for want of a better word, as much as anything, in 2011.
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00:08:02.879So that's like 15, 16 years ago almost now, it's the beginning of 2011.
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00:08:11.279Uh having done quite a lot of eyewears and glasses and sunglasses, a bit of food with things like Paul and Lagerie.
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00:08:14.000We also invested in a brand called Obico, if anyone remembers that.
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00:08:20.560I think there's still a few of them dots around London, but that's mostly in Italy and the US and Turkey and places like that these days.
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00:08:25.199Um I probably focused the first few years.
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00:08:30.800No for no real reason other than it's where the opportunities do themselves in sort of fashion and sunglasses and some stuff for Linda Farrow.
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00:08:36.879I did adventure with the founders of All Saints, uh, where we kind of tried to do it again, but a bit more westward as I used to call it.
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00:08:38.320It was a bit more funky and punky.
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00:08:39.840Uh it was cool.
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00:08:45.679Uh, and then I was on the board of in fact I was chairman of a brand called House of Hackney, so I was doing all this sort of stuff.
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00:09:11.679And actually, my first restaurant on my own was a little business called Stacks Diner in Kingley Court, where we were the Halal kings of burgers and fried chicken, and we actually got the 2019 award of Best Halal restaurant in London in the Halal Food Awards, which I thought was incredible because it was burgers and chicken, and I was very pleased with it, but slightly scared that we really were the best food in London when we were doing some great burgers and great chicken, but that's what it was.
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00:09:19.840Um and that was actually I opened that on a bet uh with someone that I couldn't do something better than actually Obica.
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00:09:27.840Uh and I couldn't, and there were sort of like two or three beds, it was like I couldn't do same bed and obaco, we couldn't do it for less than a certain amount of money, which we did.
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00:09:30.000Uh, and it was an incredible experience.
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00:09:41.120I mean it was 42 covers and a postage stamp-sized um first floor unit in Kingney Court, and we were turning those covers literally 12 to 14 times a day on a Saturday.
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00:09:50.480We had you know, we've mastered the art of virtual cues, uh, you know, because it's on the first floor when we actually had a physical queue, which was pretty typical for us.
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00:09:53.200Uh it was blocking fire exits and all that sort of thing.
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00:09:55.759So we kind of worked out how to have cues without having cues.
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00:09:59.440There was lots of lots of challenges, lots of fun, really exciting.
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00:10:02.320And that ran its course for 10 years and that was great.
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00:10:08.080Um and somewhere along the way, I remember sort of talking about doing something else.
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00:10:11.759I mean, stacks in Kingney Court was incredible.
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00:10:19.600Uh, and I if we uh we had 42 covers, and it was like if I had more covers, I'd you know, if I had 84 covers, I would literally double this business, I'd double it.
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00:10:21.279You know, the demand was there.
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00:10:28.799Uh but I knew that Shaftsbury, the landlords of Kingley Court, would never let me do another one because I had a couple of other operators in there doing burgers, they definitely didn't want more burgers.
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00:10:52.159It was what it was, and so the the genesis of the Banconi idea really came from let's do something that sort of mirrors the economics of Saks because they were that they were kind of incredible, um, but it's not burgers, because I can't do burgers, and then I can maybe open something across the way, and that's kind of where the initial ideas for Banconi became, you know, it's where they came from.
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00:10:58.000Uh and it was like, let's do something that like burgers is well understood, well, pasta ticks that box.
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00:11:06.080It was also kind of interesting when you looked at the evolution of the sort of burger market and even the pizza market.
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00:11:23.519There were two or three generations that kind of happened, you know, from so if you take burgers, you know, the original QSR was McDonald's and Burger King, and then you had the next generation, which was probably spearheaded by GBK in the mid-90s as a better burger, slightly more sort of like casual dining than QSR.
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00:11:28.879Uh then there was a second generation of that which was sort of spearheaded by the likes of Patium Bun and Honus Burger.
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00:11:33.360Um, somehow I managed to acquire Honus Burger on the way as well, by the way, with uh Funford Active.
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00:11:40.559Um and you know, then there was like, you know, there was a new wave of sort of like people coming through.
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00:11:45.120So it's like there was a worked out there's like three generations, three waves of burgers in about three decades.
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00:12:00.399You could say the same for pizza with Pizza Express, um, sorry, Pizza Hut to start with, then the next generation was Pizza Express, then you kind of had the Wave B, which was Strada, um, and then there was the next next new wave generation, which was the likes of Pizza Pilgrims.
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00:12:03.120Um it's gone one step ahead again.
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00:12:05.200Yeah, which is so we're now looking at the next generation.
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00:12:08.480You have people at Alicat's emerging and you know, all these guys.
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00:12:10.399Uh so these things sort of revolutionized.
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00:12:15.519And actually, when you looked at pasta, it was kind of carluchos for 20 odd years on its own.
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00:12:18.000And there was no regeneration.
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00:12:21.600It's like, well, I don't, you know, you then look at stats.
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00:12:29.039I remember we found a probably very spurious stat online somewhere, which is I think it was 68% of bricks eat pasta twice or more a week.
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00:12:33.360And I'm sure most of that is sort of, you know, in a pan at home, you know, boiled dry pasta.
00:12:33.759 -->
00:12:37.840But it did say something about the ubiquity of um pasta as a product.
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00:12:41.279People understand it, people get it, people like it and they eat it.
00:12:41.519 -->
00:12:53.360And so we set out to do something which was like a better pasta concept, um, and sort of, I guess, capitalised on what felt like a slightly overlooked sector.
00:12:53.600 -->
00:12:57.120You know, we did a load of analysis on how many burger places there are, how many pizza places are there?
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00:12:59.120You know, obviously the answer is they're just a lot.
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00:13:07.759Uh and uh we then looked at how many pasta places there are, and I think there was a spaghetti house, I think Padella had one site in Borough which was doing incredibly well.
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00:13:08.080Yeah.
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00:13:10.720So we kind of looked at that and said, Well, they're doing they're doing pretty well.
00:13:10.879 -->
00:13:15.519Now I actually tried to meet those guys, talk about doing it together, and they bounced me in about three or four meetings.
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00:13:19.840And I remember I send them a grumpy email saying, Well, if you don't do it with me, I'll do it on my own without you.
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00:13:21.279And they didn't heed that.
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00:13:23.120So uh Frank Any Man exists.
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00:13:23.679So sorry.
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00:13:29.360I've got a couple of uh observations as I seem to always do.
00:13:29.679 -->
00:13:33.519Um well the first one is remembering a story you told me about porn.
00:13:33.919 -->
00:13:36.720Yeah, um, and a tuna sandwich.
00:13:36.799 -->
00:13:42.159If you would like to share that, I found that I actually shared a bakery, I think it was salmon.
00:13:42.240 -->
00:13:43.840Is this the one where someone kept on writing in?
00:13:44.159 -->
00:13:49.440This was the one on tuna, and if I remember it right now, I might have got it completely wrong.
00:13:49.679 -->
00:13:53.440Their sales were in decline, and you said that that's the one.
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00:13:54.080Okay, fine.
00:13:56.320 -->
00:13:58.240I've actually shared that with somebody, and I'll tell you in a moment.
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00:14:01.039What I would say about yeah, Paul was interesting, right?
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00:14:17.759So there's there's not a short, short way of saying this, but um the the French the the French had brought Paul to the UK, they'd kind of given up on they had a site on Bedford Street in Covenant Garden, they had a site on Marybone High Street, um uh and both sites were doing all right.
00:14:17.840 -->
00:14:21.039Their sales were pretty good, but they weren't making any money, they were losing money, in fact.
00:14:21.120 -->
00:14:27.600And I think that the French had sort of like got to the point where they'd I don't know how many years it was, they'd been trying trying at this for like four or five years.
00:14:28.399 -->
00:14:45.279And they'd sent, you know, their best bakers, their best general managers, the the sons of the founder had kind of come to, you know, sort of and they'd all kind of given up on it and said, um it's not, you know, this is not working, you know, the UK is not ready for you know French bakeries, it's not us, it's the British.
00:14:45.440 -->
00:14:52.559Uh, you know, sorry everyone who's French listening to this, but that sort of French attitude of is the same, it was reciprocated the other way with the Brits, right?
00:14:52.720 -->
00:14:57.600So historically it's like, why it's the British, it's all their problem, you know, they're the difficulty here, not us.
00:14:57.919 -->
00:15:07.440Uh, and I think when the deal was done on Paul, it was, you know, I think they were actually looking at us with a bit of pity in their eyes, saying, Well, you can you can run the uh the administration, not us.
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00:15:09.120And it was kind of interesting.
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00:15:19.440So this is it it kind of it's very anachronistic, you know, it was a time and a place, and the market has moved on incredibly since whenever this was 2005, 6 or whatever.
00:15:20.320 -->
00:15:30.639Uh and um the the the reality was that they were they'd taken a cookie-cutter fit of the French boulanger and stuck it in London.
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00:15:42.480And I remember I can't remember the number now, but they had some like 42 different types of bread on the menu, which is you know, the mark the the baked goods market, the bread market has moved on incredibly since then.
00:15:42.559 -->
00:15:50.080So this sounds like I'm crazy, but the British sort of bread matrix, as I always used to joke about it then, was brown, white, sliced, not sliced.
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00:15:51.840And that was it, that was your options.
00:15:52.240 -->
00:15:59.120Uh so when all of a sudden they were talking about fugas and you know, sourdough baguettes, like people are going, I don't actually know what you're talking about.
00:15:59.759 -->
00:16:07.600Um I mean, so everyone's gonna remember the sourdough revolution, as I call it, only really happened in lockdown when everyone was getting starter kicks and you know trying to bake it at home.
00:16:07.759 -->
00:16:09.200That's actually only a few years ago.
00:16:09.440 -->
00:16:12.879So going back 20 odd years, um, yeah, it was incredible.
00:16:13.039 -->
00:16:17.360So but what what the French said was, you know, the Brits don't buy bread.
00:16:17.679 -->
00:16:24.399What they didn't really understand was they were they were not presenting it to the market in a way that the market was ready to digest it.
00:16:24.639 -->
00:16:32.000And I think even in today's market, if you put 40 odd varieties of bread, I think that would be mind-boggling still for the British market.
00:16:32.639 -->
00:16:39.200Um but the sort of the gap in the market they'd really missed was actually the British their conclusion was the Brits don't really eat bread.
00:16:39.279 -->
00:16:40.320And it's like that's not true.
00:16:40.720 -->
00:16:44.639You know, at that time Pret was you know young but pushing through.
00:16:44.799 -->
00:16:47.360You know, people were eating sandwiches every day for lunch.
00:16:47.600 -->
00:16:52.559You know, that was normal, but it was pretty much you know the brown, white, slice, not sliced sort of stuff.
00:16:52.960 -->
00:17:02.320Um the baguette sandwich didn't really exist, and so I think at that point when we when we inherited Paul, I think it had like three sandwiches on the menu.
00:17:02.639 -->
00:17:06.720We increased that range to I think it was that 10, 11.
00:17:07.119 -->
00:17:12.480So we actually had a proper sandwich offer rather than like an afterthought in what was basically a bakery business.
00:17:12.720 -->
00:17:16.960We added things like coffee because if you think about it, you know, why would you go to the boulangerie for coffee?
00:17:17.039 -->
00:17:19.119The French didn't really understand that, they thought we were mad.
00:17:19.359 -->
00:17:26.480Uh and actually, interestingly now, you can buy coffees in pools in Paris, that I've noticed, and I always have a slight rye smile because they were so disdainful of it.
00:17:27.759 -->
00:17:33.359Um and uh yeah, the tuna sandwich, uh, you know, they was like, why would you do that?
00:17:33.440 -->
00:17:34.559It's disgusting.
00:17:34.799 -->
00:17:38.799Uh the chef, you know, the we had French chefs, uh, we ran the business in the UK.
00:17:38.880 -->
00:17:46.880The French business was independent, we were sort of independent, but there were supply agreements, and we actually had some of their chefs sort of like, or bakers I should say, they're like, Why would you do a tuna sandwich?
00:17:46.960 -->
00:17:47.440It's disgusting.
00:17:47.519 -->
00:17:50.960It's like, well, tuna sandwich is like the second most popular sandwich in the UK.
00:17:51.039 -->
00:17:53.920If we don't do it, we're missing a trick here.
00:17:54.000 -->
00:18:08.079And all of a sudden we put the tuna sandwich on the menu, and funny enough, our you know, there's an interesting equation of you know, when you looked at sandwich sales plus bread sales, it was basically the same as a pool in France on just bread sales.
00:18:08.240 -->
00:18:11.920So, yeah, the English do eat bread, they just eat them, eat a lot of it as sandwiches.
00:18:12.400 -->
00:18:22.720And so we created an offer that actually reflected how the Brit, the average Brit, the average Londoner at the time, was buying and eating and consuming bread, which was sandwiches.
00:18:23.039 -->
00:18:27.599Tuna sandwiches, funny enough, true to type, became our second best-selling sandwich afterhand.
00:18:28.079 -->
00:18:28.720Well, there you go.
00:18:28.799 -->
00:18:38.000That's that's the story I wanted to say, and it's ironic that you I have mentioned uh, in fact, a few people have ripped me about my tuna sandwich uh at Pret because it's a go-to.
00:18:38.240 -->
00:18:38.559Yeah.
00:18:38.720 -->
00:18:41.200Um, and I did I did repeat your story.
00:18:41.279 -->
00:18:43.119I'm not going to name the bakery.
00:18:43.279 -->
00:18:46.640Uh it's a wonderful bakery in Fitzrogan.
00:18:46.960 -->
00:18:53.680I said you must now do a tuna sandwich, and and I repeated your story, yeah, and sure enough it's selling very well.
00:18:53.759 -->
00:18:54.720So thank you, David.
00:18:54.799 -->
00:18:59.279You're you're still adding value to the London bakery scene without even trying.
00:18:59.440 -->
00:19:02.079I I'm not sure I'm going to take much credit for tuna mayo.
00:19:02.240 -->
00:19:05.680Well, no, but uh, but um but there there is wisdom there.
00:19:05.839 -->
00:19:06.079Yeah.
00:19:06.240 -->
00:19:09.839Um so so I think probably everybody's probably now heard enough about Paul.
00:19:09.920 -->
00:19:17.200Let's forward wind into the past a bit because you mentioned I mean look, the one thing I would also say is I I I work very, very hard.
00:19:17.279 -->
00:19:24.480I I have a lot of fingers and a lot of different pies, and I always like creating stuff and doing stuff for people and working with other people and their brands.
00:19:25.119 -->
00:19:29.759Uh the reality is I couldn't do this without the people around me.
00:19:30.000 -->
00:19:30.559Of course.
00:19:30.720 -->
00:19:40.799You know, there are I have some incredible colleagues who are far more talented in many ways, very different from me, and it's you know, hospitality is all about people.
00:19:41.279 -->
00:19:45.119It's easy to it's easy to, you know, this is uh you've asked to do a podcast of me.
00:19:45.200 -->
00:19:49.680I kind of feel like I should be sat here with I don't know how many people it's ten people around me.
00:19:49.920 -->
00:19:51.920Yeah, without whom none of this would be possible.
00:19:52.160 -->
00:20:02.079Yeah, no, I've we'll we'll we'll dive deeper into that, but just rewinding a bit or forward winding a bit, however you want to put it, into uh into the pasta bit.
00:20:02.160 -->
00:20:22.559You said you did this research, and it's I remember listening to very similar research, it might have been the same, and it really struck a chord because how I heard it and understood it was how popular pasta was, but also the fact that pasta in the UK is not considered to be an Italian category of cuisine.
00:20:22.720 -->
00:20:24.000That's how I heard it.
00:20:24.960 -->
00:20:34.559And it transcended um the the the category, and it was just it's we're having it's not we're having Italian tonight, we're having pasta tonight.
00:20:34.720 -->
00:20:40.319And that that I thought was a remarkable achievement for uh for for the category.
00:20:40.400 -->
00:20:46.400So I I really liked, I really it just I don't know why I found it interesting, but but you seem to as well.
00:20:46.880 -->
00:20:48.640I would sort of agree and disagree with that.
00:20:48.720 -->
00:20:50.160Uh I think it's a complicated thing.
00:20:50.240 -->
00:20:54.079I don't think people are confused is not the right word, but I think there is confusion.
00:20:54.480 -->
00:21:04.160So I always think of food, food categories as a matrix of food products down one side and sort of like nationalities and regions and sort of like you know, down the other.
00:21:04.400 -->
00:21:12.880So I have plenty of arguments with, I'm having an argument with a with a landlord in Dubai at the moment about putting a banconia into their estate, but they're saying we've got another Italian.
00:21:12.960 -->
00:21:19.279I'm like going, ah, but you know, it's not an Italian, it's not full service, and this other place does, you know, primis secondi, you know, the whole lot.
00:21:19.359 -->
00:21:24.160You know, they do a bit of pasta, but not that much, they do pizza, you know, we are very pasta focused.
00:21:24.720 -->
00:21:28.799Um I think what's happened in London is interesting with pasta, because I don't think we're alone in this.
00:21:28.960 -->
00:21:31.920I think you know clearly pasta originates from Italy.
00:21:32.480 -->
00:21:34.000Therefore, it is Italian.
00:21:34.160 -->
00:21:35.119I get that.
00:21:35.359 -->
00:21:45.920Uh I think I think what Will and I, you know, when we first sort of like were kicking around the ideas of Banconi back in probably 2017, actually.
00:21:46.240 -->
00:21:47.680It's a long time ago now.
00:21:47.839 -->
00:21:59.839Um, we were very conscious of the fact that both of us were sort of like, in fact, Will and I weirdly went to the same school, not at the same time, well, we were at the same time, he was a few years younger than me, but um, but we grew up in the same parts of South London fundamentally.
00:22:00.880 -->
00:22:05.440I think we share less than zero drops of Italian blood between us.
00:22:05.839 -->
00:22:18.960And we were very, very sort of thoughtful about creating a pasta concept, an Italian sort of style pasta concept, when there was no Italian heritage, there's no story about our nonna's favourite recipe or anything like that.
00:22:19.039 -->
00:22:21.279You know, we don't really have nonnas, we have grandmothers.
00:22:21.680 -->
00:22:23.119It's an important distinction.
00:22:24.799 -->
00:22:30.880And so there's something I think that's that's incredible and I wouldn't say unique anymore.
00:22:30.960 -->
00:22:37.279I think Paris is definitely on the same trajectory as London in terms of international cities.
00:22:37.440 -->
00:22:44.079But we created something with Banconi where it was pasta, but it wasn't necessarily or strictly Italian.
00:22:44.160 -->
00:22:51.039So if you look at any of our menus, our menu changes frequently, you know, every month there's sort of like one or two on, one or two off, that sort of thing.
00:22:51.119 -->
00:22:53.440It evolves, you know, continuously.
00:22:53.680 -->
00:23:01.599I would say probably at any point in time, probably a third-ish of our dishes are like a caccia pepe, for example, is probably the best example.
00:23:01.759 -->
00:23:09.920A third of our dishes, maybe a bit less than that, are what I'd call our version of an authentic, legitimate Italian pasta dish.
00:23:10.000 -->
00:23:13.119Now, Caccia Pepe is a northern Italian dish, you know.
00:23:13.359 -->
00:23:15.839We do our version of it, it's a good version of it.
00:23:15.920 -->
00:23:19.920It's probably not that different from a good one you'd get in, I don't know, Turin or whatever.
00:23:20.559 -->
00:23:26.720Um, but we also started to sort of like experiment quite a lot.
00:23:26.799 -->
00:23:34.000So our signature dish, the one that's from day one, has actually been our best seller, and today I think it's still our best seller, actually, is the silk handkerchiefs.
00:23:34.240 -->
00:23:45.119And our first chef, uh Louis, was his background was um Le Candeloccotelli, the Giorgio, uh, and also uh at Pierterre.
00:23:45.200 -->
00:23:53.920So his his his heritage was um both fine dining French and sort of fine dining Italian.
00:23:54.079 -->
00:23:57.039And this dish sort of you know, I think is the sort of the epitome of that.
00:23:57.119 -->
00:23:58.079It's a very beautiful dish.
00:23:58.160 -->
00:24:03.759I think the reason it's quite so popular is it's uh got this big config on the top, but it's very Instagrammable.
00:24:03.839 -->
00:24:12.160So it kind of, you know, we you know, I like to say uh we broke the internet, that's a total exaggeration, but I'll keep saying it in case some someone one day actually believes me.
00:24:12.240 -->
00:24:17.839Uh but we were we were allegedly, I don't know who measured this or how it's measured, but again, I'm gonna keep repeating it and not question it too much.
00:24:18.000 -->
00:24:20.000Apparently, I think it was 2019 or 2020, I can't remember.
00:24:20.160 -->
00:24:24.400One of our first years, we were it was the most Instagram dish in the UK, and I kind of get it.
00:24:24.480 -->
00:24:26.799Uh, you know, it's a it is a pretty dish.
00:24:26.960 -->
00:24:29.759It is basically a combination of French and Italian food.
00:24:29.920 -->
00:24:33.119So it's pasta, that's the Italian bit, kind of done.
00:24:33.279 -->
00:24:44.319Uh, it's then topped with a Bur Blanc, uh, config egg, chalots uh in the Bur Blanc, and also we have some walnuts, which are not strictly French, but a very French ingredient.
00:24:44.400 -->
00:24:50.720But Bur Blanc, Config, these this is classic French, you know, sous vide sort of light is a classic French technique.
00:24:51.200 -->
00:25:02.319And this dish is basically we sort of always joked that um this dish was kind of like if the if the French had invented pasta and did a vegetarian pasta, vegetarian carbonara even, this is kind of it.
00:25:04.240 -->
00:25:08.480And this dish, you know, doesn't it didn't exist in Italy.
00:25:08.799 -->
00:25:17.440It has been, it's one of the actually one of things I'm most proud of in a very sort of like weird and abstract way, but it's one of the you know it has been copied by quite a few Italian restaurants now.
00:25:17.839 -->
00:25:23.759And I love the fact that we've got these two kids from South London who are getting our knees dirty on the streets of Crystal Palace and Stretham.
00:25:24.240 -->
00:25:35.599Uh that have somehow, you know, between them and with help from, you know, again, very talented others, uh, in this case Louis, we've managed to um we've managed to export pasta to Italy.
00:25:36.000 -->
00:25:40.000Well, people struggle, don't they, to find a point of difference, that signature.
00:25:40.240 -->
00:25:57.119I I I I'm not gonna name but there's been pancakes and everyone goes to a particular place when they were evolving and this, that, the other, and to create that dish that nobody else has done and it's brilliant, and people want it, and people photograph it, is a is a good is a great achievement.
00:25:57.279 -->
00:25:57.599Well done.
00:25:57.839 -->
00:26:08.960And I'm just I'm just gonna quickly say sorry about the grandmas because you're making me chuckle in my head because I remember and you've um I'm grateful you've joined us to a few of the R200s that we sponsored now.
00:26:09.039 -->
00:26:26.400But we went to Bologna once, and we there was a fresh pasta making um restaurant that we went to where they they make it in front of you, and it's where they do the soup with the I can't remember what the pasta's called, but you have you've got to kind of knot it with the filling inside of it.
00:26:26.559 -->
00:26:33.359And we had one, there was one grandma um doing it, and there was a younger lady doing it.
00:26:33.519 -->
00:26:48.400And if I tell you, the younger lady was kind of piecing it together piece by piece at a certain pace, but the grandma it was like it was like she was an absolute machine doing it blindfolded, just churning these pastas out.
00:26:48.480 -->
00:26:50.559It was just it was a glorious thing to watch.
00:26:50.640 -->
00:26:52.880I've got a photo of it somewhere and I will share it with you.
00:26:53.119 -->
00:26:56.559You can see us making pasta in the window here in Soho right now, indeed, yeah.
00:26:56.960 -->
00:27:00.000Cutting out the um was a tomato reveal, wasn't it?
00:27:00.720 -->
00:27:01.519Yeah, it looks delicious.
00:27:01.599 -->
00:27:06.319So I think it's actually uh caramele beef with with tomato, it's actually very good.
00:27:06.559 -->
00:27:07.039Well, there we go.
00:27:07.200 -->
00:27:09.839For anyone out there listening, if you like caramele beef, you know this is the place to come.
00:27:10.000 -->
00:27:13.119Yeah, and if you don't kick me out, I'll probably uh I'll probably enjoy it.
00:27:13.200 -->
00:27:15.519No, I've got a 1230 in East London.
00:27:15.759 -->
00:27:19.680Um so your first was here, if I'm not mistaken.
00:27:19.839 -->
00:27:21.839No, the first was Covent Garden, we're in the 4th Street.
00:27:22.240 -->
00:27:22.880Got you.
00:27:23.119 -->
00:27:28.079Uh which is an interesting location.
00:27:28.160 -->
00:27:36.000It's kind of honestly it's one of it's it's probably our on a sort of like bums per cover sort of ratio, it's probably our busiest restaurant.
00:27:36.079 -->
00:27:38.799It's not it's not as busy as some of the others because it's not quite as big.
00:27:38.960 -->
00:27:42.079Uh, but it's it's been an incredible success for us.
00:27:42.319 -->
00:27:49.279Um yeah, I mean that was uh an interesting, you know, you you sort of like wandering around town, you'll get a fed because you do this all the time.
00:27:49.359 -->
00:27:54.079I was wandering around town with Will, and we had a deck of paper saying, you know, we've got a great idea for Pasta.
00:27:54.640 -->
00:27:59.680And uh, you know, it was basically trying to get landlords to sort of back us.
00:27:59.759 -->
00:28:12.160And you know, we we ideally wanted to open on something like Beak Street or somewhere, and I remember having that conversation with Julio Shawstreet, uh, and it was like, yeah, we're not sure about the Beak Street site, uh, because we don't really know if you're gonna be successful, is what she didn't say.
00:28:12.319 -->
00:28:18.400Uh, but we've got this one we can't really shift, also what she didn't say, over on William the Fourth Street, which is sort of common garden.
00:28:19.200 -->
00:28:20.160Uh, how about that?
00:28:20.240 -->
00:28:20.880And you know what?
00:28:21.119 -->
00:28:30.079When you start off, biggest can't be choosers, and you know, it was a case of either we do this and give it a go, or we spend another I think it took us about a year or so to find our first property.
00:28:30.160 -->
00:28:43.039You know, it's not easy when you you know I had a bit of a background with the Paul stuff and you know the Ladure, and you know, Will had his own restaurant business over in Crystal Palace, but it was still an untested sort of thing.
00:28:43.279 -->
00:29:02.160And I, you know, I totally understand you know the hesitancy to give us a super front sight when you've got a queue of other people who have got really very strong credentials, not just uh you know, seven pages of whatever it was we had saying, you know, Michelin quality food, casual dying prices before we'd actually cooked a dish.
00:29:02.319 -->
00:29:04.559Uh so I love that, I love the Michelin claim.
00:29:04.640 -->
00:29:05.839Honestly, I was so nervous about that.
00:29:05.920 -->
00:29:13.519But you kind of got to go out there and sort of, you know, you gotta you gotta fake it until you make it, as I saw someone say on a movie quite recently, I quite like that.
00:29:13.599 -->
00:29:21.759But it's true, we faked it before we made it, and um yeah, and but Julia took a bet on us on a site, but honestly, I'm not sure who else you'd have put in there.
00:29:21.839 -->
00:29:23.759Um it's not the easiest site for sure.
00:29:24.319 -->
00:29:28.240And actually, what every forgets was that was when the page eight hotel, which is across the road, was being redeveloped.
00:29:28.319 -->
00:29:36.079So there's scaffolding and like you know, sheets of plastic flapping in the wind, and on a rainy day like today, that street was pretty bleak.
00:29:36.319 -->
00:29:41.680Yeah, but but like you say, you've you've made it in that location, which is a good location, but not a triple A.
00:29:42.000 -->
00:29:46.400So the way the way I look at that one is is you know, it's almost best defined by what it's not than what it is.
00:29:46.480 -->
00:29:57.839It's a very good physical geographic location because it's very close to proper Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, Theatre Land.
00:29:57.920 -->
00:29:58.799But it is none of the above.
00:29:58.880 -->
00:30:05.359It's not it's not really when you say Covent Garden, you think of the you know the market and stuff, it's about a five or ten minute walk away from there.
00:30:06.160 -->
00:30:07.839So it's not really true.
00:30:08.400 -->
00:30:20.079We call it Coven Garden because honestly, it's a WC2 postcode, and that's kind of enough from uh, you know, but it's it's it's very close to the tube, it's very close, you know, it's very close to Charing Cross, it's very close to the the action, it's just not the action.
00:30:20.160 -->
00:30:27.680It's the it's the it's the secondary tertiary street in a prime, super prime sort of macro location.
00:30:27.920 -->
00:30:28.240Yeah.
00:30:28.400 -->
00:30:29.440And then you went on.
00:30:29.839 -->
00:30:30.720Soho was number two.
00:30:30.960 -->
00:30:31.599To do Soho.
00:30:31.920 -->
00:30:32.640So it's number two.
00:30:32.799 -->
00:30:35.680So we did that, it was supposed to be Westfield actually.
00:30:36.400 -->
00:30:40.640Uh and we were, I never got so close to doing a deal and not doing it, I think.
00:30:40.720 -->
00:30:41.440It's probably fair to say.
00:30:41.519 -->
00:30:59.039We were literally going to go in and sign, and then I think it was some Anna who was doing RPR, uh, said, Oh, I've just spoken to a former colleague of mine who said that Westfield are putting in pastel into the good bit, and we were going into the bit that was still a little bit unproven, because as I said, that's kind of where we were in terms of the sort of sights we were getting.
00:30:59.279 -->
00:31:00.799Um, and I can't be true.
00:31:00.880 -->
00:31:04.640I'd I'd spoken to the people at Westfield and they they promised us, you know, exclusivity.
00:31:04.720 -->
00:31:09.279And I know she picked up the phone, I'm not going to name names, but you know who you are, Rachel.
00:31:09.519 -->
00:31:12.000Um and said, what's going on?
00:31:12.079 -->
00:31:13.759And it was like there's an awkward silence.
00:31:13.839 -->
00:31:22.160Uh and I said, Surely you're talking about Stratford, not White City, and there's a much longer, even more awkward silence because then actually we tried to put test out, and I said, Okay, we're out.
00:31:22.400 -->
00:31:25.039It wasn't quite that quick, but fundamentally that's what happened.
00:31:25.279 -->
00:31:28.160Of course, as I say, lots of people around me, we kicked it around, and it was hard.
00:31:28.240 -->
00:31:33.119We'd spent a lot of money on designs and all sorts of you know, leases and all sorts.
00:31:33.200 -->
00:31:35.119We were, you know, we didn't have a lot of money at that point in time.
00:31:35.200 -->
00:31:41.680We hadn't, you know, we've got one restaurant that was kind of chugging along and doing really well, but it was early days for us, and we didn't have money to around.
00:31:41.759 -->
00:31:45.519So we lost that, and Soho became the new Westfield.
00:31:45.599 -->
00:31:49.119Uh and honestly, it it was a it's worked for us, you know.
00:31:49.200 -->
00:31:54.000It took our brand in a bit more of a central London foodie direction.
00:31:54.160 -->
00:32:01.359I think our food quality, again, credit, we've got some incredible chefs that work with the business, uh, like really talented people.
00:32:01.680 -->
00:32:08.880And I think our food our food quality ended up being higher than we actually originally anticipated.
00:32:09.279 -->
00:32:18.480And all of a sudden we're foodie, we won the Michelin Bib Gourmand in I think the first year we could, which was I don't know, probably March 19, maybe 20.
00:32:18.559 -->
00:32:18.880I don't know.
00:32:18.960 -->
00:32:24.079We've had it, we've won it seven out of seven years, so whenever that works out, you know, counting backwards, that was the first year we got it.
00:32:25.119 -->
00:32:31.599Um and then all of a sudden, you know, this this sort of promise or you know, Michelin quality food, casual dining prices.
00:32:31.759 -->
00:32:33.519It's like, oh my god, we actually did it.
00:32:34.400 -->
00:32:36.000I think we were more surprised than anyone.
00:32:36.160 -->
00:32:37.920Um, but our food was incredible.
00:32:38.000 -->
00:32:39.200I'd love to take some credit for that.
00:32:39.359 -->
00:32:40.720I can take zero credit for that.
00:32:41.680 -->
00:32:54.720Uh, you know, we have these very talented guys who work and women who work every day in our kitchens, who create dishes, who the the the key to these businesses, creativity is really important.
00:32:55.519 -->
00:32:58.400You know, creating the silk handkerchiefs, incredible.
00:32:58.559 -->
00:33:01.039It's actually all about consistency of delivery.
00:33:01.279 -->
00:33:15.119If you make an amazing dish but it turns up on someone's you know table and it's a bit shit because something's overcooked, something's oversalted, you know, it doesn't matter how great the idea was, the execution is poor.
00:33:15.359 -->
00:33:15.839Absolutely.
00:33:16.079 -->
00:33:17.119No one's gonna come back.
00:33:17.279 -->
00:33:21.279So the guys in our kitchens and on you know front of the house, they work incredibly hard.
00:33:21.440 -->
00:33:25.200They're very proud about what they do here, and I'm very proud of the fact that they are proud.
00:33:25.839 -->
00:33:29.680You know, the culture in these businesses are drivering.
00:33:30.000 -->
00:33:37.119Fundamentally, I think hospitality is the pro you never lose sight of the fact that if you're in your restaurant business, your core product is the food.
00:33:37.200 -->
00:33:38.559That's what people are actually paying for.
00:33:38.640 -->
00:33:40.799They say, oh, that dish is£14.50.
00:33:40.880 -->
00:33:41.759That's what you're paying for.
00:33:41.839 -->
00:33:43.279That's how the economics of it work.
00:33:43.440 -->
00:33:46.880But hospitality is actually all about, it is experiential.
00:33:47.039 -->
00:33:48.960Everyone talks about experiential as a new economy.
00:33:49.119 -->
00:33:53.759It's been happening for centuries and centuries and centuries, millennia actually.
00:33:54.240 -->
00:34:01.119It's all about, you know, Aristotle uh relatively famously once said, man is a social animal.
00:34:01.440 -->
00:34:14.719I read philosophy at university, so honestly, I can whack lyrical about this shit, but um, you know, if if Aristotle was saying it in whatever it was, the you know, whatever century BC, I can't remember, but you know, this has been going on for a little while.
00:34:15.039 -->
00:34:20.159I um I I go back further and say it was all about breaking bread in the Bible.
00:34:20.480 -->
00:34:38.559So you know, I mean it it's it's before that, but but we'll come back to hospitality as a as a as a concept towards the end, and I think we've got a little bit more to go because you have lent your hand not just to Banconi but but many other uh businesses.
00:34:38.639 -->
00:34:40.960But but you're up to how many now of Banconi?
00:34:41.840 -->
00:34:44.159We just opened number six in Russell Square.
00:34:44.400 -->
00:34:45.199Yep, yeah.
00:34:45.519 -->
00:34:58.719Uh three weeks ago, we have what we're referring to as Oxford Street, that is actually sort of Henrietta Place, uh, which is the sort of the northeast corner of what was Debenham's, just north of Oxford Street.
00:34:58.880 -->
00:35:05.039Uh that'll open in November, and we've got more in the pipe, and hopefully including Paris next year.
00:35:05.119 -->
00:35:06.800So I think we're at six now.
00:35:06.880 -->
00:35:11.519I think if we fast forward 12 months, we'll probably be at nine, I think.
00:35:12.320 -->
00:35:13.679Very good, very exciting.
00:35:14.000 -->
00:35:14.719So, yeah.
00:35:14.880 -->
00:35:32.719So the exciting thing is so we decided, you know, my my background, I sort of talked about Paul, I talked about Lagerie, I talked about, you know, I didn't talk about, you know, I worked on a uh, you know, I was on the board and sort of led the turnaround of an eyewear business called Alain Meekly, not very well known in the UK, but quite it was maybe not anymore, but it was quite a big thing in Paris back in the day.
00:35:32.800 -->
00:35:34.800But it was in 55 markets globally.
00:35:34.960 -->
00:35:38.239It was a proper international business, 60, 70 million turnover.
00:35:38.559 -->
00:35:39.440That's kind of my background.
00:35:39.519 -->
00:35:45.119I sort of like was, you know, doing franchise agreements in I don't know, Hong Kong and all sorts of crazy and weird and wonderful stuff.
00:35:45.199 -->
00:35:46.960So my background's very international.
00:35:47.199 -->
00:35:50.079I'm really, really excited to be taking Bangkone International.
00:35:50.559 -->
00:35:54.559Yeah, we've got conversations in Dubai, who knows what will happen there, but fingers crossed.
00:35:55.119 -->
00:35:59.440It feels like we're putting a flag in the ground in Paris in 2027, which I think is exciting.
00:35:59.599 -->
00:36:04.400I think Paris is ready for what we're doing.
00:36:04.480 -->
00:36:16.239I think our foods, you know, the sort of like the we you know it's it's a bit of a wanky term, but what we really do here, if you want to sort of describe it in two or three words, is we do creative pasta.
00:36:16.320 -->
00:36:19.280It's not necessarily Italian pasta, it's creative.
00:36:19.599 -->
00:36:27.840And Ben, our um exec chef, who you know comes from a fine dining background, is incredible.
00:36:28.320 -->
00:36:42.159He just keeps coming up with these dishes that some of which are so we've got a Nocchi dish at the moment with Gordon Zolo, you know, it it's kind of it's kind of quite Italian, but he's I can see his fingerprints all over it, and it's actually, I had it last night for dinner.
00:36:42.239 -->
00:36:44.000It's incredible, it's really delicious.
00:36:44.239 -->
00:36:50.320But he's also coming up with you know the beef and caramella, which I was talking about earlier, which is again, it's it's is it Italian?
00:36:50.559 -->
00:36:52.559Not really, kind of, could be.
00:36:52.719 -->
00:36:57.119We've got the hoggett dish, which is you know, actually, it's got Thai basil in it, soy sauce.
00:36:57.440 -->
00:36:58.320It's kind of Asian.
00:36:58.400 -->
00:37:01.280We do quite a lot of Asian sort of style pasta.
00:37:01.519 -->
00:37:16.639And actually, there's an interesting story about Delugo and how an Italian chap who opened a noodle store on the corner of Gerard Street, uh, all of a sudden had a lot of Chinese people, this was like the Windrush generations, but the sort of Chinese version of this, which probably happened in the 50s rather than the 60s.
00:37:16.800 -->
00:37:21.519You know, the Chinese immigrants in London who were starting to open restaurants because that was kind of what they did.
00:37:21.679 -->
00:37:23.440They're like, we need a source of noodles.
00:37:23.519 -->
00:37:34.719And funnily enough, they all started buying thinner pasta from this Italian chap on Gerard Street, and they started opening their restaurants up around him, and that's why we have Chinatown.
00:37:35.280 -->
00:37:38.079Because of an Italian man who made pasta on Gerard Street.
00:37:38.239 -->
00:37:40.800I find that stuff fascinating and incredible.
00:37:41.119 -->
00:37:47.840Um, but you know, it sort of shows this sort of like this lineage of sort of multiculturalism in in London.
00:37:48.880 -->
00:37:51.280I I would very much say I'm part of that.
00:37:51.360 -->
00:37:53.039I'm you know, I was born and bred in London.
00:37:53.119 -->
00:37:55.679I'm half Iranian, half English, or half Persian, I should say.
00:37:55.840 -->
00:37:57.840That's the that's the cooler way of saying it.
00:37:58.079 -->
00:37:59.280Uh a bit like the cat.
00:37:59.599 -->
00:38:00.639Uh so yeah.
00:38:00.960 -->
00:38:02.079Yeah, just in the second one.
00:38:02.480 -->
00:38:03.760And you know, I've grown up with this.
00:38:03.840 -->
00:38:05.760I grew up sort of like in South London, you know.
00:38:05.840 -->
00:38:17.920I I was just talking to my wife, I went to see a um Benjamin Zefaniah exhibition last night, it was all about, you know, sort of like uh from Birmingham, but urban poetry, sort of like he's a raster, it's kind of cool, I love it.
00:38:18.000 -->
00:38:21.360I grew up sort of like wandering, you know, grew up and went to school sort of near Brixton.
00:38:21.599 -->
00:38:30.159I remember this the I was just saying to her, you know, the the the the soundtrack of my early youth in the sort of like mid to late 70s was reggae.
00:38:30.400 -->
00:38:35.679You know, I used to walk past these markets and you just hear reggae sort of like chattering around in the background.
00:38:35.840 -->
00:38:37.199I love it, I find it soothing.
00:38:38.320 -->
00:38:42.000Uh and actually that's what is that's what's interesting about London to me.
00:38:42.239 -->
00:38:43.920I think Paris is on the same trajectory.
00:38:44.000 -->
00:38:45.280I started talking about this earlier.
00:38:45.519 -->
00:39:07.119I think there's something about the culture clashes in cities like this, where it's acceptable for two South London kids to create pasta, which is traditionally Italian, throw in a bit of Thai, a bit of it doesn't really matter, Middle Eastern, a bit of this, that just throw it in, just put it into the mixing pot.
00:39:07.280 -->
00:39:17.440And as long as the dish, as long as the dish is actually good, and even better if it's interesting, and even better if it's pushing a few boundaries and still good, London accepts it.
00:39:17.840 -->
00:39:20.000In fact, London cherishes it.
00:39:20.400 -->
00:39:39.920You look at you know, businesses like Kiln, you know, it's it's it's this sort of you know mix of sort of like authentic authentic I find the word authentic is slightly dangerous, but it's a mix of authentic Thai techniques that thrown in with local produce and a bit of sort of like you know local sort of skills as well.
00:39:40.000 -->
00:39:45.840And you have this sort of concept which is is both I I talk about not so much authenticity because is it authentic Thai?
00:39:45.920 -->
00:39:47.360Well I'm not sure who's Thai in that business.
00:39:47.440 -->
00:40:04.800I don't know, there may be, I'm not saying there are or there aren't, but I suspect it's a bunch of people from all over the world who have a passion for Thai food and who have a passion for good produce because they come from good chefing backgrounds, and that's kind of what's ingrained in them, and they're quite right to you know prefer good over bad produce.
00:40:04.880 -->
00:40:06.800I mean that's statement of the obvious, right?
00:40:07.119 -->
00:40:21.360Uh and they've created this concept which everybody loves, you know, and I think I think that's what I love about London, it's very accepting of creativity and creative food, which is not strictly authentic, but it is honest.
00:40:21.519 -->
00:40:33.119I talk a lot about the word honest and truthful, which is it's honest to use someone else's techniques, not claim them as your own, but then use local produce because you know what you know.
00:40:33.199 -->
00:40:37.920So, for example, I remember having a mackerel colouring kill once, which was a green mackerel green curry, which was incredible.
00:40:39.840 -->
00:40:43.599And I thought like the same thing, I don't think mackerel's indigenous to Thailand.
00:40:44.159 -->
00:40:47.760And I looked it up actually, because I'm I'm a bit like that, I'm a Wikipedia junkie.
00:40:48.000 -->
00:40:55.679Uh and it's not, but they do do curries with oily fish, which are indigenous to the Thai regions.
00:40:55.840 -->
00:41:03.760Uh and you know what, it would be a little bit disingenuous in my view to start shipping that particular fish over to the UK, frozen, blah blah blah.
00:41:03.840 -->
00:41:05.440It's use our local fish.
00:41:06.159 -->
00:41:06.639Absolutely.
00:41:06.719 -->
00:41:11.440I mean you're you're it's the playbook of Santiago Lustra of Coal and all of it.
00:41:11.519 -->
00:41:20.639I mean, it's it's it's a well-established format now to engage with our produce, which is fantastic, and give it a twist.
00:41:20.719 -->
00:41:23.440And you know, London is unique in that sense, I think.
00:41:23.519 -->
00:41:33.360I'm gonna say unique, it's a bit of a strong word, but you know, we certainly sit apart in the rest of Europe in the spectrum of cuisines that we have and the way in which you can mash it up for sure.
00:41:33.760 -->
00:41:36.719So tell us about other other bits and bobs.
00:41:36.800 -->
00:41:45.199I'm gonna say bits and bobs, that's a bit rude, but you know, you have other interests, you have other operating businesses that you're involved in, which are very exciting.
00:41:45.519 -->
00:41:54.880Yeah, so um we had a pub and hotel business outside of London called Grosvenor Pubs and Inns, which I did with my business partner Jason Myers.
00:41:55.039 -->
00:42:01.199Um that kind of after I think it was eight or nine years, sort of came to a natural end uh back in February.
00:42:01.920 -->
00:42:02.159No.
00:42:02.480 -->
00:42:05.519Uh it was a great business.
00:42:05.840 -->
00:42:11.519It was a it was a proper journey through Covid and you know it was kind of crazy, and we went through a lot.
00:42:11.679 -->
00:42:19.840Uh, and I think you know, sort of fast forwarding to today, it's like we we we there's a there's definitely a love of pub industry, there's a very great love of hotel industry.
00:42:19.920 -->
00:42:21.920I want to do more basically, we both want to do more.
00:42:22.719 -->
00:42:39.920Uh and I think we recognise that you know through a combination of COVID, um Brexit, you know, the since we started it, you know, there's a lot of a lot of proper hand grenades got thrown into the British sort of hospitality sector.
00:42:40.079 -->
00:42:42.480There's everything that everyone's talking about, that is the problem.
00:42:42.559 -->
00:42:44.400If you haven't signed up, please sign up.
00:42:44.480 -->
00:42:46.000Uh a big supporter of that.
00:42:46.079 -->
00:42:47.679I think you know we're overtaxed, isn't it?
00:42:47.840 -->
00:42:49.760We're materially overtaxed in the industry.
00:42:50.079 -->
00:42:53.920Uh we pay, what is it, as a sector, someone was someone showed me something.
00:42:54.079 -->
00:43:06.320We pay, we are nine percent of the UK economy, we pay 34% of uh the POE bill and business rates bill.
00:43:08.559 -->
00:43:11.679We're over-indexing on the like other taxes.
00:43:11.920 -->
00:43:16.400I think it's only fair we under-index on something else that actually rebalances that.
00:43:16.480 -->
00:43:19.760And funny enough, when we're we're being overtaxed, you know, what is it?
00:43:19.840 -->
00:43:23.840I think Tom Kerrige was talking about one in three, well, what was it, three businesses a day?
00:43:24.079 -->
00:43:25.280Let's do the maths on that.
00:43:25.440 -->
00:43:27.599That's 20 something a week, 21 a week.
00:43:27.840 -->
00:43:29.119Let's call it 20.
00:43:29.280 -->
00:43:32.320That's a thousand businesses a year are closing in this sector.
00:43:32.639 -->
00:43:37.280And each one of those businesses is probably circa 20 jobs, maybe more.
00:43:38.159 -->
00:43:43.599It's 20,000 people out of work, and then we're not even talking about the industries that rely on our industry.
00:43:43.679 -->
00:43:48.320Like, you know, Ted, you're an agent, you know, hospitality agent and financier.
00:43:48.559 -->
00:43:56.960Without hospitality, your business goes, but you know, the obvious stuff is the agriculture, the fisheries, the bakeries, the people who supply us, they're all gonna go under pressure.
00:43:57.039 -->
00:43:58.559What about the accountants that are focused on our set?
00:43:59.039 -->
00:43:59.760There's there's so many.
00:44:00.880 -->
00:44:02.639So many jobs that are relied to this.
00:44:02.880 -->
00:44:06.559And before we even start talking about the importance to society, you know, man is a social animal.
00:44:07.039 -->
00:44:08.480Aristotle was quite, you know.
00:44:08.800 -->
00:44:10.000Hospitality does a job.
00:44:10.320 -->
00:44:17.199In lockdown, mental health started skyrocketing because people suffered from isolation.
00:44:17.519 -->
00:44:20.400The antithesis of isolation is hospitality.
00:44:21.039 -->
00:44:23.599It's where you go to talk to it.
00:44:24.159 -->
00:44:24.639It can be anything.
00:44:24.880 -->
00:44:27.119People often get sort of like confused about hotels and restaurants.
00:44:27.199 -->
00:44:31.519It's not, it's everything from a little cafe to a little pub, it's everything.
00:44:31.840 -->
00:44:33.679It's where people go and meet.
00:44:34.559 -->
00:44:35.679It's where you celebrate things.
00:44:35.840 -->
00:44:44.320Hospitality, you know, I don't do very many good quotes, I did one by accident many years ago, which is hospitality for me is the canvas on which you paint your memories.
00:44:45.519 -->
00:44:48.639You've pretty much answered my last question, but we're gonna come back to that.
00:44:49.039 -->
00:44:50.079We're gonna come back to that.
00:44:50.320 -->
00:44:53.119But it's it's where you have to think of another one, but that was a good one.
00:44:53.280 -->
00:44:55.920It's where I'm not sure I can think of two in one day.
00:44:57.199 -->
00:45:06.159But it's where it's it is it is where you celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, baptisms, funerals.
00:45:08.000 -->
00:45:11.280It's hard to think, it's where you meet friends that you haven't seen for a little while.
00:45:11.360 -->
00:45:18.480You know, it's where you do everything that's important to you as a human being where it involves other people.
00:45:19.360 -->
00:45:20.320That's what hospitality is.
00:45:20.480 -->
00:45:22.719Yeah, you can have a barbecue at home, you can have people around for you and sure.
00:45:22.800 -->
00:45:25.920I'm not that that is it's not a substitute for that, it's an addition to that.
00:45:27.440 -->
00:45:32.719And it's a neutral place, and it's about taking the pain out of actually, you know, some people honestly don't like cooking.
00:45:33.280 -->
00:45:37.519You know, and it's a it's a stress having to cook for six people at your home.
00:45:38.320 -->
00:45:39.280We solved that.
00:45:40.159 -->
00:45:44.719Oh, it's um these are all wonderful pearls and lots of passion.
00:45:45.599 -->
00:45:51.679Um let's quickly just touch upon um you're opening a pub shortly.
00:45:51.840 -->
00:45:52.000Yeah.
00:45:52.320 -->
00:45:53.360We're here on the great drive.
00:45:53.679 -->
00:45:54.960The hero's return.
00:45:55.280 -->
00:45:56.400A triumphant, what's it?
00:45:56.559 -->
00:45:58.880Triumphant Riverside Terrace Pub and Dining Room.
00:45:59.199 -->
00:45:59.599Excellent.
00:45:59.760 -->
00:46:01.440In Bastia Power Station.
00:46:01.519 -->
00:46:01.760Yeah.
00:46:02.079 -->
00:46:04.880Uh probably late October, early November, that'll open its doors.
00:46:05.280 -->
00:46:06.000Very exciting.
00:46:06.159 -->
00:46:07.679Uh very excited about it.
00:46:07.840 -->
00:46:11.599So uh Bastia Power Station.
00:46:12.079 -->
00:46:17.519Again, we're back to my sort of I grew up near my mum used to work on Queenstown Road even.
00:46:17.599 -->
00:46:22.320Uh Basti Power Station for me is like this monolith on the south bank of the river.
00:46:22.400 -->
00:46:25.760And you drive up and down the embankment and you kind of just see this looming.
00:46:25.920 -->
00:46:27.840It's a crazy fucking building.
00:46:28.079 -->
00:46:32.000I it it shouldn't exist, and it certainly shouldn't exist where it is.
00:46:33.119 -->
00:46:34.800Uh and I love that it does.
00:46:34.960 -->
00:46:40.320I think this is everything we should be championing and celebrating, you know.
00:46:40.559 -->
00:46:46.880So I remember being a kid, you know, being driven up and down the embankment in my mum and dad's car and saying, What is that?
00:46:47.039 -->
00:46:48.880And they're like going, That's Bassy Power Station.
00:46:48.960 -->
00:46:50.159I go, What's Bassy Power Station?
00:46:50.239 -->
00:46:51.119I go, Well, it's nothing, really.
00:46:51.360 -->
00:46:52.239So, what do you mean it's nothing?
00:46:52.320 -->
00:46:53.360Well, you know, what do they do there?
00:46:53.440 -->
00:46:54.000They don't do anything.
00:46:55.039 -->
00:46:59.679And I'm looking at like these four, you know, huge chimneys, and it's like they said it used to be a power station.
00:46:59.760 -->
00:47:02.960I'm like, you know, I don't really know what a power station is because I'm six years old.
00:47:03.119 -->
00:47:14.559Uh, but it's always been this sort of like for anyone who's sort of born and grown up in London, Bassy Power Station's been like this impressive enigma of I don't really know what it is, I don't really know what it does.
00:47:14.719 -->
00:47:16.239Everyone says it doesn't really do anything.
00:47:16.480 -->
00:47:21.199And then you live through sort of like you know decades of people talking about putting Chelsea FC in there and all this in this, what is it?
00:47:21.280 -->
00:47:23.599It's like it's like trying to find a solution for this.
00:47:23.760 -->
00:47:25.519But it is this incredible building.
00:47:25.679 -->
00:47:35.440Uh, I'm a massive music fan, and of course, the cover of animals, which I have on my wall at home somewhere, with Flying Pig and Bassy Power Station, that that again is an iconic image for me.
00:47:35.840 -->
00:47:41.119Probably because Bassy Power Station is an iconic architectural feature on the south bank of the river.
00:47:42.559 -->
00:47:55.199Um and so when the opportunity came for us to do something, uh you know, we've we'd sort of just you know predated, but we knew that we knew that we sort of like we're winding down the um the country pubs and and inns and hotels.
00:47:55.679 -->
00:47:59.280I was like, Basti Power Station doesn't really have a pub.
00:47:59.440 -->
00:48:01.760It's missing a pub, a really good pub.
00:48:02.320 -->
00:48:14.639Uh there's now, I think I can't think 6,000 people that live there, 8,000 people that work there, I think it has something like 13, 14, 15 million visitors a year, rising 5, 10, 15 percent.
00:48:15.360 -->
00:48:19.119You know, put that in context, 15 million compared to I think Westfield's 23 million.
00:48:19.360 -->
00:48:20.400I know that's an impressive number.
00:48:20.480 -->
00:48:21.199I didn't realise it was that.
00:48:21.440 -->
00:48:22.719So it's big, and it's interesting.
00:48:22.800 -->
00:48:23.920So I've been sort of visiting it.
00:48:24.000 -->
00:48:27.360Well, these these conversations sort of you know take months and years, even.
00:48:27.679 -->
00:48:35.039And even in the time I've been sort of like literally having meetings there and visiting it and just spending a bit of time, it's got visibly so much busier.
00:48:35.280 -->
00:48:39.119You know, Apple's European HQ is in the power station itself.
00:48:39.360 -->
00:48:42.639I don't know how many people that is, but I don't even know what people do at Apple, to be honest.
00:48:42.719 -->
00:48:44.960I mean, there can't be that much, do there's thousands of them.
00:48:45.119 -->
00:48:46.480Uh I'm sure they're all very busy.
00:48:46.559 -->
00:48:47.920Sorry, people who work at Apple.
00:48:48.000 -->
00:48:54.159But um, yeah, I just you know, sort of my mind boggles with sort of like businesses of that scale and you know what they're all doing, and I have no idea.
00:48:54.239 -->
00:48:58.719And then people start talking about AI and you know, okay, sounds great.
00:48:58.960 -->
00:49:01.440Well, I think do they like a pint and some food?
00:49:01.679 -->
00:49:02.559Well, who doesn't?
00:49:02.719 -->
00:49:05.599Well, you don't have to have a point, you can you know whatever.
00:49:05.920 -->
00:49:11.440Yeah, uh so the hero's return is you know we've created uh a brand.
00:49:11.599 -->
00:49:14.320So the hero's return is actually a lesser-known Pink Floyd track.
00:49:14.639 -->
00:49:19.199So there's a nod to there's a nod towards Pink Floyd, it's on an album called The Final Cut.
00:49:19.360 -->
00:49:25.039I actually think the Hero's Return is a much better name for a pub than it is for a song.
00:49:25.599 -->
00:49:30.960Uh and so we have shamelessly stolen it, uh and that is what it is.
00:49:31.039 -->
00:49:35.920It's you know, we try to see something that's you know, we we talk about triumphant riverside terrace.
00:49:36.000 -->
00:49:38.480So it's overlooking the river, Batic Power Station.
00:49:38.559 -->
00:49:44.800It's a big, it's a big site, it's two floors, it's probably about what it is exactly, 9,000 feet per square feet.
00:49:45.119 -->
00:49:47.199So it's a big, it's a big lump of real estate.
00:49:47.360 -->
00:49:53.440And we're doing on the ground floor, which is the pub itself, the hero's return, which has got the river views and great light.
00:49:54.400 -->
00:50:00.960We're basically working with Jonathan Woolway, who um was 16 years, I think, exec at St.
00:50:01.039 -->
00:50:01.519John's.
00:50:01.679 -->
00:50:04.159He's now doing his own thing at the shed in Swansea.
00:50:04.320 -->
00:50:06.400Jonathan's a very, very talented chef.
00:50:06.559 -->
00:50:11.760He does probably the in my humble opinion, some of the best British food I've ever had.
00:50:12.159 -->
00:50:14.559It's food that's very accessible.
00:50:14.800 -->
00:50:16.159Uh everyone thinks of St.
00:50:16.239 -->
00:50:17.440John's nose to tail.
00:50:17.519 -->
00:50:27.920There is going to be a bit of nose and a bit of tail and a bit of trotter in between, but fundamentally it'll be mostly more accessible dishes, so pies and steaks and what have you.
00:50:28.159 -->
00:50:35.280Um and he does this food, you know, that is he's very, very talented, he's very unassuming, his food's very unassuming.
00:50:35.440 -->
00:50:38.159You look to him and you go, that looks great, it looks really delicious.
00:50:38.320 -->
00:50:41.519It's deceptively deceptively not as simple as it looks.
00:50:41.679 -->
00:50:49.039So the sort of way I describe it is it's incredible British food, and I'm talking about great British food these days because I think we need to celebrate our country more.
00:50:49.199 -->
00:50:50.719We have great British food.
00:50:50.960 -->
00:50:54.239And I think he does it in a way that you sort of like, oh, I could do that at home.
00:50:54.400 -->
00:50:55.679You give it a go.
00:50:55.920 -->
00:51:00.559And you're gonna look at this sort of like wet slop of food on your plate and like go, yeah, it's not as good as this.
00:51:00.960 -->
00:51:03.360And slow cooked for 20 hours previously.
00:51:03.920 -->
00:51:11.119Honestly, the amount of the attention to detail and the quality of what he churns out is just it's incredible.
00:51:11.440 -->
00:51:12.320And there's a reason why St.
00:51:12.480 -->
00:51:15.599John's is which I don't know how old it is now, 25 years or something now?
00:51:15.840 -->
00:51:16.239Gotta be.
00:51:16.480 -->
00:51:17.280There's a reason why St.
00:51:17.440 -->
00:51:26.320John's continues to be, you know, it's like it's like um Chateaubriand in Paris, you know, it's one of those restaurants which is quite minimalist.
00:51:26.400 -->
00:51:33.280Um, and I know the Henderson's have a very distinct aesthetic and slightly utilitarian approach to which I really like.
00:51:34.079 -->
00:51:39.039Um but it's existed as a sort of what I it's what I call a chef's restaurant.
00:51:39.280 -->
00:51:47.920It's where you'll go and you'll see, you know, I don't know who'll be, but it's like I wouldn't be surprised to see Jackson Boxer in the corner there having lunch with his wife or friend or whatever.
00:51:48.079 -->
00:51:50.559And it's got that vibe of it's where the chefs go to eat.
00:51:51.199 -->
00:51:52.960And Jonathan is all about that.
00:51:54.000 -->
00:52:02.800Um and we are doing great British food, we're doing his menu, and we will be serving some really, really high quality beer and wine.
00:52:03.039 -->
00:52:05.119You know, I think it's I actually think it's quite hard in London.
00:52:05.199 -->
00:52:09.599You know, this feels like a bit of an open goal to me, a bit like there was no pasta in 2018.
00:52:10.079 -->
00:52:13.280It's actually quite hard to go for a good pint of beer somewhere.
00:52:13.519 -->
00:52:19.760Well, I think this whole wave of you know the heart, the chastenarms, that you know, it's it's it's very much.
00:52:20.079 -->
00:52:32.400We're not we're not gonna be unique, but my my point is I think as a general rule of thumb, you can probably go to your local bottle shop, get, I don't know, six bottles of beer and have better beer at home than if you go to your local pub.
00:52:32.559 -->
00:52:35.920Yeah, so it's got to be much more than that, which you're obviously going to be on.
00:52:36.239 -->
00:52:44.239Yeah, so we we're sort of we're sort of signing up, so you know, I I kind of talk about it signing up a bit like you know with Chelsea and we're signing up the next you know guy from Real Madrid or wherever it is.
00:52:44.400 -->
00:52:45.679Yeah, that's what I feel about beer.
00:52:45.760 -->
00:52:52.880It's like we need to be signing up some really incredible brands that give people a reason to go and have a pint, not just uh I'm having a quick pint.
00:52:53.039 -->
00:52:54.880Like, I want to go there because I actually want that beer.
00:52:55.039 -->
00:52:56.800It's one of the few places you can get it on tap.
00:52:57.119 -->
00:53:02.639Of course, we won't be unique, but my point is I think I think the bar needs to be raised.
00:53:02.719 -->
00:53:07.039I think there's actually a real gap in will have a very high bar.
00:53:07.440 -->
00:53:13.039Um I think there's a there's a really, you know, it's just not that difficult.
00:53:13.199 -->
00:53:19.599I'm sure people will catch up, but we will be one of the first places, and certainly the only place in Basssea where you'll get a really high quality pineapple beer.
00:53:19.760 -->
00:53:21.440We're gonna be selling stuff like pineapple pints.
00:53:21.519 -->
00:53:25.679So Jonathan's food lends itself to pies and pints and squatch eggs and sausage rolls.
00:53:26.480 -->
00:53:31.840And you know, honestly, his sausage roll, I I haven't tried it yet, I don't think it's even been made yet.
00:53:31.920 -->
00:53:37.679But his sausage roll I can 100% guarantee will be, if not the best, one of the very best sausage rolls you ever eat.
00:53:37.920 -->
00:53:39.840Well, it's it keep it simple, stupid, isn't it?
00:53:40.079 -->
00:53:45.840It's always, you know, it's the best sellers are uh the simple, the ones that people know and connect with.
00:53:45.920 -->
00:53:58.800But but I'm I'm very conscious of time, and it is ridiculous amounts of things that you've not told me, or rather I know, but you've not shared in terms of all your other things and pies, but it might take forever.
00:53:59.039 -->
00:54:03.039Um, and I'm just ever so grateful as we approach the hour mark.
00:54:03.840 -->
00:54:11.119So central London pubs, hotels, really, really high quality food, really high quality bars.
00:54:11.519 -->
00:54:14.800You know, I think I think there are a few people out there doing it really, really well.
00:54:15.039 -->
00:54:26.400Uh, I think there's a lot of mediocrity, which is mostly the big brewers, and you know when I see the Green Kings and the Fullers, and they're all okay.
00:54:26.800 -->
00:54:28.159They're not amazing.
00:54:28.480 -->
00:54:29.840I want to do amazing.
00:54:30.000 -->
00:54:30.320Yeah.
00:54:30.480 -->
00:54:33.440Well, watch this space and get down there.
00:54:33.599 -->
00:54:38.480I I'm gonna ask you anyway, even though you've answered it in a million different ways.
00:54:38.719 -->
00:54:47.760Um, so you might say I've already answered that, Ted, but I I like to finish by asking David Ramsey, what does hospitality mean to you?
00:54:48.079 -->
00:54:49.039I've already answered that, Ted.
00:54:49.199 -->
00:54:50.480Yeah, um, okay.
00:54:51.199 -->
00:55:14.000Look, I think I think you know, my my sort of like I remember I was driving in the cotswell, I was looking at a pub or a hotel to buy, and I got lost, and I was doing the interview in the car, and I they asked me what does hospitality mean to you, and I I'd actually just missed my turn and I was looking at my sat nav and I was distracted, and I don't know quite where it came from, but I think this is the right answer, which is yeah, I came up with uh, you know, I can I can be I like my words, shall we say.
00:55:14.079 -->
00:55:17.599Um I said hospitality is the canvas on which you paint your memories.
00:55:17.679 -->
00:55:18.320Yeah, I love that.
00:55:18.400 -->
00:55:18.719I love that.
00:55:18.880 -->
00:55:20.239But that was a quote, was it not?
00:55:20.559 -->
00:55:20.880From me?
00:55:21.039 -->
00:55:21.519No, that was me.
00:55:21.599 -->
00:55:23.840Oh, I thought you said it was uh some famous philosopher.
00:55:24.239 -->
00:55:24.719No, that was me.
00:55:25.280 -->
00:55:26.880Well you are the famous philosopher.
00:55:27.199 -->
00:55:27.679Yeah, you know.
00:55:27.920 -->
00:55:28.239Come on.
00:55:28.400 -->
00:55:30.639My sadly, my philosophy uh making history.
00:55:30.800 -->
00:55:35.440My philosophy supervisor uh died a few years ago, so she she doesn't get the benefit of hearing me.
00:55:36.320 -->
00:55:40.639She always used to say, not my words, not hers, you say, David, you talk a lot of shit, but you're quite entertaining.
00:55:40.960 -->
00:55:43.920Well, you could have quoted somebody and I would have easily believed it.
00:55:44.000 -->
00:55:46.880But uh so this was this was this was honestly I love that.
00:55:46.960 -->
00:55:47.280I love that.
00:55:47.840 -->
00:55:49.599I do talk a lot of shit, and I say a lot of rubber.
00:55:49.920 -->
00:55:50.639Agreed, agreed.
00:55:50.800 -->
00:55:51.360Thanks, Ted.
00:55:53.440 -->
00:55:56.159But um, you know, this was one that kind of popped.
00:55:56.320 -->
00:55:57.119I don't know where it came from.
00:55:57.280 -->
00:56:01.039No, so it's a it's a it's it's certainly in my mind from the stars.
00:56:01.360 -->
00:56:06.400It's the sort of thing that I spend hours, you know, in the small hours of the night, the dark of the night, thinking I need to think of a good quote.
00:56:06.480 -->
00:56:06.639Yeah.
00:56:06.800 -->
00:56:07.360To say it at some point.
00:56:08.639 -->
00:56:08.960You've got it.
00:56:09.119 -->
00:56:10.719And this one came literally from Keep it.
00:56:11.519 -->
00:56:12.079Keep it in your lock.
00:56:12.320 -->
00:56:14.000But as I said, I think it's true.
00:56:14.239 -->
00:56:18.400Think of many, many, everyone, everyone shares this.
00:56:18.880 -->
00:56:25.360Most of your important memories with the people you love and the people you enjoy spending time with, most of them happily hospitality venues.
00:56:25.599 -->
00:56:33.280No, these are pearls of wisdom, and as the music rises, uh Vanconias warming up, it's midday, lunchtime.
00:56:33.360 -->
00:56:36.320People, you may hear the seller exactly what you're talking about.
00:56:36.480 -->
00:56:40.159People walking through the door about to have those experiences.
00:56:40.639 -->
00:56:41.599Yeah, bring it on.
00:56:41.679 -->
00:56:43.039This is what we love.
00:56:43.360 -->
00:56:47.119Food is food is the product, what we really sell is human experience.
00:56:47.360 -->
00:56:47.840Indeed.
00:56:48.000 -->
00:56:49.679David, you've been a star.
00:56:49.760 -->
00:56:50.719I've thank you, Ted.
00:56:51.360 -->
00:56:52.159Thank you, it's been fun.
00:56:52.320 -->
00:56:54.559No, it's been brilliant, and thanks again.
