All language subtitles for The.Hidden.World.of.Hospitality.with.Tom.Kerridge.S01E07.1080p.HDTV.H264-DARKFLiX

Check on two covers. Two sets soup,
follow two cod. Oui!

I'm Tom Kerridge,
and I've been working in hospitality

for over 30 years...

Watch your behind, behind,
behind, behind.

..standing shoulder to shoulder...

Happy?
I love it, mate.

Right, four beef now.

..with some of the country's
most skilled

and inspiring professionals.

You've got this, mate.

I'm Tom, nice to see you.

I wouldn't want to be doing
anything else.

But how much do our customers
really know about what it takes

to deliver a warm welcome,

amazing food and great service?

In this series, I'm letting
the cameras into my world.

We have got 1,500 people
to serve lunch.

And I'm going behind the scenes in
dramatically different businesses

across the UK...

You're amazing.
Oh, thanks!

..from a plush city centre hotel

to a hideaway rural retreat.

From a fancy
Michelin-starred restaurant

to a century-old
fish and chip shop.

And from a huge wedding venue

to a buzzing street food festival.

I'm lifting the lid on our
industry like never before...

We've actually got vinegar
for blood, by the way.

..to reveal the side of hospitality
our customers rarely see...

Six hours until we're opening.

And as you can see,
nothing's here.

..how we operate...

Lady boss!

..our trade secrets...

300 portions of gravy.

When you ask for more gravy,
just think about that.

..the gambles we're taking...

So what's your timescale?

Four weeks.

Need it up and over!

..in the face of huge challenges...

The fallout of the last
few years of Brexit and Covid,

it's real in this industry.
It's massive.

..this is UK hospitality

and this is our inside story.

Service!

Turning a successful concept
into a chain of restaurants

is one of the most high-risk and
high-reward ventures in hospitality.

But where do scalable concepts
actually come from?

This time, I'm in Royal Windsor
to meet a couple hoping to make

a splash on the high street

with their African and
Caribbean fusion restaurant.

We're not just for one continent,
it's two continents.

Can they turn a promising idea
into a profitable business?

I'm not paying myself. No.
Because there's nothing to pay.

A Cambridge entrepreneur
is bringing vegan fine dining

to the City of London.

You kind of get everyone
to almost breaking point

in the first few days.

It's just like a massive hill
that you have to climb.

And I've got big plans to roll out
my own concept restaurant.

Biting the bullet.

We're raising more money
and setting up a second

Butcher's Tap and Grill.

But can any of us find
a winning formula?

It's an amazing space.

But I do feel a massive risk.

I'm in Windsor, just ten
miles down the river

from my pubs in Marlow.

Now, Windsor's one of those
beautiful towns

with incredible-looking
facades on the front

of the shops and restaurants,

of which there are many.

Lots of big-name chains
selling very familiar food.

But I'm here to meet the owners
of an independent fusion restaurant,

specialising in West African
and Caribbean cuisine.

But, actually, what gives it
that extra level of spice

is the fact that they've never
owned a restaurant before.

Harvest is the brainchild
of Rachel Olatoke and Osa Erhahon.

The orders have started to come in.
Yeah.

So I want to try and get as much

of it out before
it even gets busier.

Open seven days a week,

they do table service, takeaways
and deliveries from a menu

of authentic West African
and Caribbean dishes.

So, I'm making a chickpea curry
at the moment.

And then I've got oxtail going,
and I'm going to get to some

jerk chicken in a few minutes.

Being of Nigerian descent,
it was important for us

that we needed to showcase that.

But at the same time, we made sure
that we incorporated the Caribbean

culture that we didn't see
on the high street.

Their first two years of restaurant
ownership has been all-consuming.

If you don't know how to multitask,
it's very difficult!

So my day is quite busy.

Wake up in the morning, shouting,
making sure that the kids can get

into the car very quickly!

Straight from there,
come down to the restaurant.

And while I'm cooking, I'm doing
all the phone calls, I'm doing

all the paperwork, all the
administration.

It's madness.

It's not even crazy,
it's madness!

While Rachel is in the business
24/7,

Osa joins her after completing
his 9-5 job in HR.

I am grateful to have Osa,
because sometimes it helps me see

the other side of things.

He's more realistic!

Realistic,
borderline pessimistic!

It's true.
And it's good to have that.

Oh, yeah, we need it.

Exactly.

Taking the leap into restaurant
ownership is a risky business,

with a reported 60% of new ventures
failing in their first year.

I'm keen to find out how Rachel
and Osa are doing with Harvest.

Hello there.
How are you?

You're Osa, are you Rachel?
Sorry, my hands are so wet!

It's all right.
Lovely to see you.

This is Harvest. This is Harvest.

This is Harvest, your baby.
Talk me through it.

How long have you been here?

We opened a couple of years ago
during lockdown. During lockdown?

We started right from the kitchen.

Yeah, our home.
You started it from home?

Yes. From home.

And then it grew from home
to a premises? Yes.

How come an Afro-Caribbean
restaurant?

How does that... Good question! How
does that then transcend into going,

"Yeah, you know what?"
Why not? "Windsor!"

"That's what it needs,
an Afro-Caribbean restaurant."

So, Rachel has always said
something that I agree with.

This is her form of activism.

Everyone talks about diversity
and inclusion.

But, then, how are you going to
include me if you don't know me?

Yeah.

I'm not there, I'm not represented
on the high street.

When you look on the high street
in Windsor,

you see all kinds of diversity.

But there isn't that much
representation when it comes

to African food or Caribbean food.

Caribbean cuisine is more popular
now than ever before in the UK.

It's described as a top ten
emerging trend by leading food

wholesalers and supermarkets.

But for the moment, West African
food is yet to hit the mainstream,

which presents Rachel and Osa
with both an opportunity

and a challenge.

Whilst from the business side,
it helps that you are the only one

in the area that serves
the food that you serve,

you also have to recognise
that African food is only

just starting to gain ground.

But then we identify as a fusion.

We're not just for one continent.

It's two continents.

The joy of getting people
to taste your kind of food

and the joy that comes
from their faces,

that's really what keeps us going.

It's just the joy, really.

And also being part
of the community, we engage

with the kind of homeless shelter
here and they look forward

to every time where we do
the cooking for them.

They're always like, "Why are we not
doing cooking every week?"

Rachel and Osa are clearly
passionate about sharing the food

they love with the people
of Windsor, and they have ambitions

to expand the Harvest brand
in the future.

But behind the scenes,
they have an awful lot riding

on the restaurant's success.

So, where's the finance come
from? Who's the backer?

The backer is us.

Is us. Is us.

Literally our life savings. Our life
savings.

And a lot of people are like,
"You crazy?"

Can I ask, is that a lot?

It is a lot.
It's double six figures.

So you're about £200,000 in?
Yeah.

And it's all here.
It is all in here.

Everything.

We kind of almost struggle,

I do, some days, thinking,

"How are we going
to turn things around

"so it becomes profitable?"

I'm not paying myself
since I started.

No. Because there's nothing to pay.

So everything is in here
and it's giving you nothing back

at the minute.
Yeah.

Funding, when it comes
to that and you're looking

at reinvestment in the restaurant,

are you asking around,
are you applying for grants?

Yeah.

So recently, I applied for the
black-owned business grant

and the fund is £10,000.

Wow! Yeah. OK.

So that would really be helpful.

In terms of all of your money
that's gone in,

no investors,

you're in control of your own
destiny, and that's great,

but it's also terrifying.

And we did exactly the same
17, 18 years ago.

You know, we begged, we borrowed.

We kind of told a couple of white
lies to the bank that we were doing

one thing, and we bought the pub.

And you're no different here.

You know, the rewards, if you get
it right, far outweighs the risk.

In truth, it often takes
at least two or three years

for a new restaurant
to turn a profit, no matter

how good the concept is.

I'm intrigued by Rachel and Osa's
fusion of West African and Caribbean

food, but I'm no expert
on either cuisine.

Can I got 12 plantains in total?

So I'm heading to the kitchen
to find out more.

So whilst we have the
sweet potato in here,

you also have the normal potatoes.

Sweet potatoes and normal potatoes?

And normal potatoes, well, more
sweet potatoes.

So a bit starchy to hold it,
sweetness to that flavour.

The menu includes dishes such
as Nigerian moi moi,

a steamed bean pudding served
in a banana or moi moi leaf.

This is the shape you normally see
it in when you use the leaf for it.

And their popular Caribbean-inspired
lobster tail.

And what are they marinated in?

Garlic butter.

Yes. Garlic butter lobster.

With a lot
of the Caribbean dishes,

a lot of people were quite
familiar with those.

But when it comes to African dishes,
it's an education piece.

So you have to really spend time
making sure people truly understand.

So this is a fusion.

This is Nigerian jollof rice
and your typical sort of red grain.

African food is very flavourful.

You go down to the west and you see
that people tend to eat more spicy

food, you go down to the south,
they eat less spicy food,

especially the sort of authentic
African cuisine.

There's time, there's love,

there is all of that
that goes into it.

Thank you, boss man.

It's not something that is quick
and it's not cheap.

So I have chosen here a crossover

between jerk chicken and jollof
rice.

Caribbean cookery,
West African cookery.

That jerk seasoning is great.

On the skin, lovely marinade.

Super-tasty.

There's a difference between
Ghanaian and Nigerian jollof rice.

This is Nigerian.

And it's very, very good.

Spicy sauce, jerk chicken,

tasty rice, a bit of plantain,
what more could you want?

I reckon they're on to something
with their fusion cuisine.

But if they have hopes of expansion,
they'll first need this place

to turn a profit and make
the concept easy to replicate.

I do worry that the menu, as it
stands, might be a stumbling block.

There's a lot of dishes here.

110 different menu items.

I don't think I've seen
a menu so big, ever.

And considering Rachel cooks
everything to order,

the prices seem on the low side.

What food gross profit margin
are you looking at?

So at the moment it's about
30. Gross profit?

Gross profit. Not cost?
Not cost.

I have to say that you telling me
that percentage margin,

that makes me very nervous.

That makes me very nervous.

It makes me go,
"OK, OK.

"These guys, we've got to..." OK,
we've got to, we've got to

"do something here because it
can't go on like that.

It won't go on like that. No.

It can't, you've got to go,

"OK, how do we put something in
place that we can turn that around

"and not sit at that sort of level?"

I think there is a little bit
of new restaurant naivety.

It's great that so many people
want to follow their passion

and go into the hospitality industry
and open their own business.

But the first year or two
is very, very difficult.

It doesn't mean that
it's not doable.

But it cannot be led on just
the passion for food alone.

There are very few avenues for help
in this industry for first-time

restaurateurs, and it's been
reported that within the black

community, fears over taking on debt
mean that just three in ten business

owners approach banks for finance.

The Uber Eats Black Business Fund
that Rachel has applied for

hopes to go some way
to redress the balance.

So we are down to our last grant,
so we're going to take the time

to come to a decision today

about who's going to be our last,
our last finalist

and the people who will be
receiving this grant.

We are trying to do an
outside catering business...

Lorraine Copes from
Be Inclusive Hospitality

is one of the industry
experts sorting through

hundreds of applications.

17% of the industry do identify
as black, Asian or ethnic minority,

yet there is a lack
of representation

in positions of influence.

This funding, it's creating a space

to bring diversity to the sector

which can only enrich hospitality.

Hi there, we are
Harvest Afro-Caribbean

and we're based here in Windsor.

Today, the panel must agree
on the 25 businesses to be awarded

a vital cash boost of £10,000.

My family and I, for such
a long time, have been talking

about starting up a restaurant.

About a couple of months into
trading from my kitchen,

we were blessed
with finding a property

here on the high street in Windsor.

It has allowed us to bring diversity
and inclusion, but at the same time,

we provide meals, hot meals,
regularly to the homeless

here in Windsor.

This grant would be so useful,
and with this...

To be successful,

applicants need to show the positive
impact they have in their community

while demonstrating
their potential for growth.

I think, like, it's nice
that she's bringing that taste

of Africa and the Caribbean
to people in Windsor.

Those people that can afford to come
and sit down in the restaurant

and those that can't, the charitable
efforts she's doing as well.

So everyone gets a taste of Africa
and Caribbean in Windsor.

The judges come from across
the industry and include

Jackson Mclarty
from Black Eats LDN,

the first and only black
restaurant directory in the UK...

Hi, I'm Omar Edwards,

owner and operator of O&M Foods Ltd,
trading as Sunvalley Jerk.

Love that one.

Think we're only seeing
the beginning of this guy's journey.

..and Enterprise Nation's
Diane Mensah.

Hi, guys.
We are two sisters

bringing Nigerian food
to the forefront

of the British food market.

We don't want to stop there.

We want world domination and
jollof in every household.

So much is at stake at the moment
for the businesses who have applied.

We all have kind of thoughts
and opinions

on who should be winning, what types
of business should be winning.

We're wanting to hear
the business stories.

We want to hear from entrepreneurs
about how are you going

to grow your business?

Hi, my name is Victoria Abba,
the CEO, founder, head chef

of Taste Of Home restaurant.

We all broadly understand that money

is really helpful and beneficial

for any founder of a business.

And with costs escalating,

this £10,000 is going
to hugely help.

Rachel will find out
whether she's been successful

in a few days' time.

OK, we're going to go,
five pig's head, table 12, please.

When I set up my first business,
The Hand and Flowers, me and my wife

were in a similar financial
position to Rachel and Osa.

18 years on, and we've achieved
a lot as 50/50 partners

in half a dozen
hospitality businesses...

All right, Benny, how are you?

..but I'm always on the lookout
for the next opportunity.

I do love opening spaces
or new businesses.

And I know,
I'm sorry, Beth,

I know it drives you nuts.

It drives my wife nuts.

Now I think I've spotted another
opportunity based on my Marlow

restaurant, The
Butcher's Tap and Grill.

This place does exactly
what it says on the tin.

It's a butcher's shop,

a pub and a restaurant.

In terms of the current economic
climate that we find ourselves in,

actually, of all the businesses,
this feels like it is the one

that's the most robust, the one
that's got a lot of strength in it,

the one that I like spending time
in,

it's the one that I come into
with the family.

When we set this up five years ago,
it was quite simply a butcher's

with a couple of beer taps
on the side.

But when the pandemic hit,
the pub doors had to close,

leaving just the butcher's part
operational.

To keep the business
going during lockdown,

we started doing takeaway burgers.

Coming out the other side,

we needed to kind of get into
a space where, most importantly,

I think, I feel most comfortable
and revert to, like, the default

position for me is always cooking.

So we kind of squeezed the bar back
a little bit, kept the butcher's

side and the element of it, and put
in this little grill kitchen.

So it became The Butcher's
Tap and Grill.

You can buy your steaks, you can buy
your pork chops, your sausages,

your bacon, your burgers.

If you want it cooked here,

it comes into this kitchen,
into this zone here,

and we'll cook it for you.

There's a grill charge
that goes with it.

But actually you sit down, your food
gets served on a metal tray,

a little cone of chips in a pot.

Like, it's very, very simple.

18 months on, and it's working
better than ever.

This stripped-back menu
and simplified approach

to the business works.

So I've been talking to Beth
about rolling it out as a concept.

All of the other businesses
that we have, they're stand-alone.

This one, the food, the menu,
it's all structured.

It's all designed to be repeated.

So...

We're biting the bullet.

We're raising more money.

We're risking, like,
everything yet again.

Rolling the dice and setting
up a second Butcher's Tap and Grill.

Back in Windsor, and an important
email has just landed

in Rachel's inbox.

Dear Rachel, thank you for applying
for the Black Business Fund

and taking the time to record
your video application.

We are delighted to tell you
that you have been selected

as a winner for the Black Business
Fund Programme and the judges

have awarded the £10,000 grant.

That is amazing.

So this is really going to be
so helpful for the business.

It's great news.

But for the ever-busy Rachel,
there's no time to celebrate.

This morning, she needs to restock
supplies for the restaurant.

However, sourcing ingredients
for her menu is complicated.

Have you got any moi moi leaves?
It will be coming tomorrow.

It's coming tomorrow, right, OK.

Many are only available
in specialist stores.

What about ugu, ugu leaves?

Fresh ugu? Fresh ugu leaves.

How many do you want? Can I get
about four packs, please?

When we say Africa, we're kind of
specific about West Africa

and we're sort of referring
to Nigeria, to Ghana.

And when we say the Caribbeans,

we're really kind of
talking about Jamaica.

So, a lot of these
are actually imported.

And this is why it's important that,
and I know I keep coming back

to this, but it's really important
for us to make sure that we stay

authentic to the food that we cook.

We could have ordinarily used

any other kale leaves or anything
else that we can see from, you know,

we can get from the shelf.

But we do come down here to make
sure that we are using ugu leaves,

cos this is part of
what makes it authentic.

Ah, let me show you this as well.

This is snail.

You can make peppered snail
from there.

It's just peppers and snail!

We don't have it on our menu,
cos they're quite pricey as well

and they would have to be imported
as well.

But they are, they are very tasty.

Finding suppliers
isn't the only difficulty.

We're constantly seeing the prices
of things going up every day.

You know, you buy something today,

the next day you go to your
suppliers

and the price is increased.

But then we haven't been able to
increase our prices on our end.

A restaurant's income can only
come from those listed menu prices,

but setting them at the right level
is far from easy.

Thank you.

Oh, brilliant, thank you.

There are so many different aspects
to fine-tuning and making sure

that a restaurant operates
at a profit,

even just a small profit.

I mean, it's a very fine line.

We haven't raised the prices
since we opened up.

I mean, we talked about it, but also
we knew that we didn't just want

to raise the prices without having,
like, a mechanism behind that.

Now that the new grant is in place,
Rachel can act quickly.

She's researched and found
a hospitality consultant

to help drill down on the costs
and pricing of each dish.

Laura Harvey has over 15 years'
experience in the industry

and she supports businesses
as they navigate the complex world

of restaurant ownership.

So that's really the purpose
of my visit, is to educate her

into what she needs to know
and how she can get the information

that she needs to get.

So we're going to be looking at
things like average spend,

cover turnover, labour costs,
sales and obviously cost of goods

and gross profit margin.

Hi, Rachel.
Hello. How are you?

I'm all right,
thank you.

Ready to get started?
Yes.

Ready to rumble!

Gross profit margin, known as GP
in the trade, is the foundation

stone for properly pricing
your menu.

70% is sort of the baseline
of what you need to be making

as your gross profit before your
overhead, so your labour costs,

your rent, utility, and bills.

And Rachel's expressed interest
in potentially franchising

her brand at a later date.

And anything sort of below a 70%
margin would kind of be queried,

you know, as not a viable
business, really.

But the level of detail needed to do
the calculation can come as a shock

to new restaurateurs.

What we need to do now is,

we need to take the recipes
and the ingredients

and we need to build them into
the dishes as if they're plated

to the customer to get the gross
profit of each one.

The first step is to tally
what Rachel's paying

for each of her raw ingredients.

For this one, I was able to get
£1.54 for the batch.

And have you added the curry powder
to the unit? No.

It's really hard to make suggestions
and recommendations.

I guess the key thing
that I have to do is show

the financial implication.

It is their heart and soul,
it's their passion.

So it's really hard to try and do
what's right for the client as well

as what's right for the bank.

So that's just the size of a
chicken.

So that's about 350, isn't it?
Yeah.

Now, Rachel's preparing some
of her best-selling dishes

to calculate exactly
how much of each ingredient...

How much paprika
do you put inside?

..ends up on the plate.

And this is what each customers get.

Every tiny little element
of that dish has a value,

OK, whether it's the flour,
whether it's the butter,

whether it's whatever else.

That is an ingredient.

Nothing comes in for free.

And you're not adding anything else

once you've, when you're
plating it up?

No, like, toppings or anything?

No, it's just the rice.
So we need to put the...

Oh, yeah, the rice. Sorry!

And the plantains.

OK. Good job I'm checking!
The rice and the plantain, yeah?

But for accurate figures, each
recipe needs to be standardised

and followed precisely by all chefs.

So is that the finished product?
Yeah.

OK, so a good example there
with the coconut milk.

He's told me one tablespoon.

You've told me two tablespoons.

That's a price difference of 3p.

So if everyone's working with
different portions every meal,

you know, 365 days a year,
all this money adds up.

So this is why we need to be
weighing stuff and making sure

everyone's serving it in exactly the
same way. Absolutely. OK?

Number one rule in hospitality -
measure, measure...

OK, three rules.

Measure, measure and measure!

They won't get through the whole
menu today.

The jerk chicken's
coming in at 66.88.

But, already, there's
a worrying trend.

So your tilapia's coming
in at 63.52%.

So, again, try and get that up to
70, if you can.

Looking at the portions
that you're serving today,

I know you want that hearty whole
foods, but you could maybe take

a little bit off here and there
and then that will help your margin

to increase, especially
with your rice portions

and your mashed potato portions
are quite big as well.

Portion control and price increases
can help tweak gross profit.

So the jerk chicken gross profit
margin is 68.82.

So, you know, just increasing that
by a pound on the menu,

that's going to change that to
70.56.

But that won't be enough
for all the dishes.

So we're just pricing the lobster
dish at the minute and we've still

got another three ingredients to go.

And we're on a 2.31 gross profit
margin, which is...it's about to go

into a minus.

The Caribbean lobster dish
has been on the menu at £22.95

for two years and is one
of Harvest's most popular dishes.

But in that time, the price
of the raw lobster

has gone up by 60%.

You've got a gross profit margin
of -0.22%.

So you're losing money on it
and you want to increase the price.

But I think with the rest
of your menu...

I mean, if we were going to put on
a higher price, like,

what are we talking about?

Well, even if you put it up
to, like, £39,

you've still only got, like, a 45%
profit margin. Oh, God, that's...

So, yeah, you're not the only
ones, so one of my clients

in my other restaurants, they've
just taken lobster and salmon

off the menu, because the supplier
prices, the salmon's gone up

by like £6 per kilo.

They've just it taken off the menu.

Cutting dishes is a drastic move.

And the tilapia,
that needs some work as well.

But with so many falling
below the 70% threshold,

there's little choice.

You've got enough menu items
that if something is below 70,

just take it off.

Don't spend time stressing around
trying to sort it.

Rachel will have to make
some difficult decisions.

When you see the figures
there in black and white,

you can't argue with it.
You can't argue.

It's not your heart, it's your head
making the decision. Absolutely.

If we want to keep going, we know
that we need to sort of step back

now and make decisions
as to "what do we do?"

Getting to grips with these numbers
is crucial for Harvest's future.

But the fact is, every operator
needs to be doing this all the time.

There's never a moment
of sitting static

and exactly still, cos food
prices fluctuate, your GPs

will fluctuate, your customer
base will fluctuate.

So it's constantly monitoring.

The business is already suffering.

So if I don't make any changes now,
we might not be able

to have our doors open.

With my own business, plans
to find a location for our second

Butcher's Tap and Grill have taken
a huge step forward.

We have a site in Chelsea

and we're really looking
forward to it.

But I'm also terrified.

This is one of the most
sought-after residential locations

in London, and we've found what I
think will make a great locals pub.

It's an opportunity that seems
too good to turn down.

But there's a hell of a lot
that needs doing.

The exterior of the pub

is this gorgeous 300-year-old
building, and it looks fantastic.

But inside it is a new build.

It's a complete renovation job
from the inside out.

So the outside looks fantastic.

The inside, it's empty.

There's nothing there.

With so much to do,

Beth and I are going to divide
and conquer the planning stage.

So, remind me...

Beth's working on guest layout
with her sister and regular interior

design partner Eve.

That's right there, that side.

Are we doing, are we doing
glass cabinets behind?

I think as much twinkly stuff
as possible to reflect the light.

We walk through the door
and they see the theatre of the bar.

Down the stairs into the basement.

And I'm with
kitchen designer Richard

to work out the
cooking configuration.

So the ceiling
obviously will drop down.

And then we want fridges
that are that height.

So you've got... They'll be from
about two metres, the same as your
canopy behind you.

Yeah, great, so this is the cook
line.

Guests can sit there, a bit, same
as Butcher's Tap in Marlow

where it's open, it's everything.

And the fridge is, meat
refrigeration is across the top,

glass-sided, both sides.

There are plenty of restaurant
chains in the UK making good profits

because they found a formula
that works.

But it also is fraught with stories

of collapse and failure.

Usually the plant would go in the
other side of the ventilation.

It's going to have to go on this
side.

It's a huge risk.

Financially, it's massive.

We're remortgaging...

our house to do it.

And then this part moves across
there.

So the risk element
is huge, financially.

But we have got a proven
track record, that if you get

it right, it works.

So we've just got to get it
right again.

In an ideal world, we want to
move the staircase to there.

So you come down.

I don't want to regret
not doing something.

It's a cool space.

I don't want to not have had a go
at doing something in a cool space.

I just hope we can afford
all of today's plans.

I would love it done, dusted,

doors open in...

Where are we now?

..five months.

I'd like it done in five months.

The reality...

So let's do seven or eight.

That's probably more
like the reality.

But if I keep pushing for five,

at least it means it keeps
the builders on their toes.

Often, launching a new hospitality
business comes with huge

personal financial risks.

Whether that's a remortgage of the
family home, using life savings,

or, quite often, both.

In Cambridge,
Louise Palmer-Masterton...

Haven't seen you in a long time.

..has managed to fund the growth
of Stem & Glory

in a very different way.

Well, it's lovely to see you.

Stem & Glory is a 100%
crowdfunded business.

Our very first site was crowdfunded.

We then did a very, very big
crowdfund for our second site,

which was, at the time, the fastest
restaurant crowdfund in history.

It's pretty much been perpetual
fundraising since its inception,

to be honest.

In seven years they've raised nearly
£5 million from investors pledging

anything from a tenner
to 150 grand

to back a restaurant
with an entirely vegan menu.

I need some more sauce, please,
when you got a chance.

Oh, there, OK, I see it. No worry.

In return, investors hold shares
in the business,

as well as receiving
a range of rewards -

from the restaurant's cookbook
to a workshop with the head chef.

OK, I'm ready with the ravioli
whenever you are.

Everybody puts in what they can,
and that person who put in that £10

just wanted to do it, probably,
just to support what we do,

because they believe in what we do.

Is the katsu in?

I became vegan on the spot
when I was a teenager,

when I was introduced to the idea
of compassionate eating

for the very first time,
and over the last 35-plus years,

I've experienced every single
disastrous vegan meal

in a restaurant.

I've been offered salads, mostly,

made up of lettuce, cucumber
and tomato only.

I actually quite like salad,
but obviously that's not

a particularly interesting salad.

So I think that was actually
a real key driver

in starting Stem & Glory.

I just couldn't find the food
that I wanted to eat, and I knew

it was possible, cos I was
making this food at home.

Helping put taste at the forefront
of vegan cuisine

is executive chef Eddie AL Subaei.

We are trying to achieve a normal
dining, an executive dining,

a healthy option, from veg only.

But then it needs
to satisfy everyone.

No, I'm not a chef.
I have ideas.

And Ed can help to bring those ideas
to reality very, very quickly.

She dreams. I make it true. Yeah.

We try to use the veg to get
the best out of it, to make it look

like meat, and to make it taste
like meat, like celeriac ham,

which is a celeriac, flavoured
in a sort of aromatic sauce,

as if you were doing ham gammon.

But we've done it with a celeriac.

We've got oyster scallops,
which is oyster mushroom

actually made into a scallop,

looking like scallop, taste like
scallops.

Our Parmesan cheese,

this is just nuts mixed in
with nutritional yeast.

And it comes in with
a hint of garlic.

It comes in just like aged
Parmesan.

It's a very, very big area
where I don't understand why other

restaurants or other chefs
are not exploring that area.

Service, please.

There's about 600,000
vegans in the UK.

And as that number's grown,
so has Stem & Glory.

The first incarnation of
Stem & Glory, it was actually on

a first floor above a bicycle shop
on a traffic island.

It was, I suppose, kind of
humble beginnings in a way.

But as soon as we opened the doors,

people just came piling in,
basically.

Now, crowdfunding is helping Louise
roll out another branch.

This time in a much more
risky location.

Our latest restaurant is at
London's Broadgate Circle.

It's a very iconic location at the
foot of a brand-new building,

which is 100 Liverpool Street.

It's a fantastic destination,
and it's our biggest site to date.

London's financial district
has over 1,000 restaurants and some

of the highest rents on earth.

Hi, good morning.

Good morning. How are you?
Not too bad, thanks.

The pressure's on to get
customers through the door.

You may notice our bar
is not very well-lit,

which is, this is the kind of one
major thing that didn't get finished

before we opened the doors.

So the builders will be coming
back to fix that.

And as you can see, we haven't
had our outside furniture

delivered yet.

That was supposed to be here
last week.

So that's a work in progress
as well.

This is our wonderful,
beautiful feature staircase.

We wrestled and wrangled a lot
with this, cos there's

lots of rules around how
you construct staircases

in retail premises.

But I think it's worked out
quite nicely.

It looks very lovely.

And this is our upstairs
dining area.

We had a lot of configurations

to try and get as many covers
as possible upstairs.

When there's nothing here,
turn off, cos obviously

it just eats electricity.

Thank you.

So I'm going to come round.
Yeah.

Success in rolling out a concept
restaurant lies in ensuring

all venues stick
to the same ideology...

What's this bin?

Is that...
What is that?

That's for cardboard and...

For blue roll. Blue rolls. Yeah.

..so Louise is checking
the new team

follow the award-winning
sustainability practices.

So what's going on with the bottles?

Any chance we can get this stuff
delivered in non-plastic

any time soon?

We're starting to be recognised

for our carbon neutral status.

We were one of the Government's,
UK Government's heroes of net zero

at the COP 26.

Hello, welcome back.
How are you?

Pretty much everyone I know
is trying to eat less meat now.

And I do think that when people
come through the door,

they taste the food,
it's delicious,

they see that it is a gateway
to a more sustainable

and conscious way of living.

Sometimes it does get a little bit
hard to try to build dishes,

trying to put both at once,

that taste and sustainable
at the same time.

But our mission is taste
and sustainability.

Micro coriander on the top.

So, therefore, I have to deal
with this.

And voila.

Just over here, please. Thank you.

The first signs at the new venue
are encouraging.

Main.

We're looking for a minimum of 100
covers a day as an average

over the week.

Any restaurant, you've got to
give it a bit of time.

Two raviolis.

You kind of get everyone
to almost breaking point

in the first few days.

Yeah, it's coming.
It's coming.

And then things settle down a little
bit and then you fall into a much

more reasonable rhythm.

It's just like a massive hill
that you have to climb.

I think so much, in any kind
of growth of business,

it's your disposition
that is absolutely vital

to success, really.

I think if you carry everything
as a heavy burden on your back,

you'll never do anything.

OK? All right.

Rachel and Osa are also thinking
about opening another venue...

SAT NAV: Please proceed
to the... OK.

..but I fear they're trying
to grow too quickly.

And I worry that their large menu
is holding them back.

A huge menu is not
a selling point to me.

A precise menu and controllable menu

is a selling point to me.

So I've invited them to
pop into The Butcher's Tap

to talk menu structure.

We're catering to two continents,
as I say to people.

So it'll be really good to see his
menu.

I mean, I don't know what
sort of food they serve,

so I'm curious
to see that as well.

So it'll be good to get some
insights from him directly

and see how he operates.

How are we doing, guys? Good.
Nice to see you.

I know. You all right?
I'm fine, thank you.

Are we OK, are we all good?
Yeah, good.

All right, jump on in here.

Have a look at the menus.

See what you'd like to order,
see what you eat.

There's some drinks there
as well if you want it.

I write and lay out my menus to fit
the style of cooking and guests'

expectations at each
of my restaurants.

But for all of them,
simplicity and focus are key.

It's very easy. While You Wait...
Yeah.

..that's obvious, isn't it?

Bits and Bobs, the sides,
The Condiments,

Burgers and Hot Dogs,
The Meat Locker,

which is basically
the things that you can

buy for takeaway.
And that's it.

So, question - is this how the menu
in Hand and Flower is, and Coach?

No. Oh, OK. Each one is different.

This is the menu from
Hand and Flowers.

Oh, wow.

How many dishes are on there?

You've got four starters,
four mains and five desserts.

One of which is cheese.

Yeah. That's right.

And then the next one is The Coach.

And The Coach is slightly different,
OK?

So this now has a few more dishes.

But how clean and how easy is that
to navigate and read?

Very easy, actually.

Guests want options, but too many
can be off-putting.

I worry that faced with so many
choices, diners at Harvest

might default to something familiar

rather than try something new.

There is too much here.

There is too much to read.

You're absolutely right.
I hear you.

But what we're trying to do is
to blend what you have in those two

places, and at the same time,

you keep the menu
as short as possible.

Don't stop what you're doing.

Yes. But morph it. OK.
Simplify it.

The moment you make it
more complicated,

what happens then is, it disperses.

You have more room for error.

You have more room for fault.

You can't focus on every
single dish being amazing.

And there are other factors
to consider too.

Customers might find it hard
to believe that so many dishes

can be cooked fresh to order,
and a new chef would struggle

to learn all of the menu
if they were to open another branch.

It's all well and good
you knowing it,

but you can't go and run
two sites, three sites.

You can't be everywhere
at 8pm on a Saturday.

Do you know what I mean?
There's only one of you.

That's it.

Can I ask a question about
that menu? Which one?

The Hand and Flowers?
Hand and Flowers. Yeah.

I'm really intrigued by it.

It's amazing.

Was that how it looked like
18 years ago?

No, not that small.

I started off by six or seven
starters, six or seven main courses,

six or seven desserts.

So it's a process that I've been
through over the 18 years.

So when we first opened,
we would have things like,

we'd have some offal on the menu.

We'd have things like snails
on the menu.

We would have all sorts of things
that were a little bit more pushing

the boundaries of creative cooking.

It was French-style gastronomy.

And you go put these
dishes together.

They didn't always, they didn't
sell very well. Yeah.

But I was of that ego point of
going, "I'm going to have those on

"cos I want to cook them,
and I'm a chef and I'm trying to..."

Yeah.
Now, you go, "Hold on a minute.

"If you look at the main course
now at The Hand and Flowers,

"four dishes, it's chicken,
pork, steak and a fish."

This is some of the challenges
we're having, right?

I think if we sort of delve back
to some of the reasons behind

why Harvest, and why
Harvest is there is...

we live in a town

that has been in existence since,
what, 1070 or something?

And to date, there isn't
any representation of either

the Caribbean side or the African
side on the high street.

I have a problem with that.

Particularly when there's
a community there.

When there's a community there.

So that's one of the biggest
challenges I have.

But can you not represent
with a smaller menu?

Be strong, be bold and be confident
about the food that you cook

and the amazing restaurant
that you have, instead of trying

to please everybody.
Yeah.

That's never going to work.

I do get it.

Of course their menu is going
to be bigger than mine.

Rachel and Osa are representing
two cultures and cuisines, not one.

But I'm still convinced
that reducing the choice

will pay off for them
in the long run.

You have a point, which is
we need to simplify,

but also, before we can get there,
we need to make sure

that we understand what's the gross
profit on each of the items.

The opportunities are there.
It's endless...

So the opportunity to strip out
this menu is quite a good one,

because you can go at it.

There's 100 dishes there,
but actually 20 of them don't make

the gross profit margin.
so you get rid of those. Exactly.

All of that kind of
combined together,

I think, that for us,
I think is the way out.

And, yeah, we can certainly
say, look, come back in a month's

time and see where we are.

Great! That's the challenge.
I'm going to hold you to that.

We're on that! Is that a deal?

THEY LAUGH

Sometimes you just need to see
something quite practical, see it,

and then I think that's what
this visit has enabled us to do.

I think his insight has definitely
helped us know how we start

to navigate those changes
that we've been thinking.

I'm walking away with feeling
a bit more comfortable

with what we need to do next.

While Rachel and Osa head back
to tackle their menu...

..Beth and I are going over the
designs of our new Chelsea-based

Butcher's Tap.

Do you like it?

I do. You know, yeah, I think it's
going to be amazing.

It's an amazing space.

This is where you and Eve
absolutely shine,

at getting this bit right.

But I do feel... I'm feeling
a massive risk, isn't it?

Beth is the foundation that all
of the businesses are built on.

She spends time in them.

She goes into them.

She's in it.

She senses, she feels, she vibes.

You know, and that
is so, so important.

But there's a problem
with our plans.

We've moved on a little bit
from these,

because it's coming in
quite expensive.

The quote is much higher
than we expected.

So we've got to save half a million
quid without diluting the vision.

In our heads, we've budgeted
1 to 1.2.

Yeah.

And it's coming in at... 1.75.

..1.75 million.

Yes.

So, we have simplified the floor.

We've taken the...

So all this kind of, like,
beautiful parquet flooring?

Yes. And the tiles that are...

The tiles are similar
but simpler.

We've also taken out
the oak ceiling.

OK, that's a shame.

So, it is a shame,
but it's a lot of money. Yeah.

I've taken the chandeliers out,
because I quite like

this more contemporary
vintage feel anyway.

How much is a chandelier?

It depends. It can be a grand to,
like, 20 grand,

depending on how many twinklers
you get and all that kind of stuff.

OK. We definitely don't
need three chandeliers.

We don't need any chandeliers.

So all of these changes,

has that saved us any money
and how much has it saved us?

OK, all the tweaks have saved us
a quarter of a million pounds.

So we're still 200, 250 grand short.

We are.

Even though we've remortgaged,

we, at the minute, haven't got
enough money to do the work.

So I'm going to worry about
that halfway down the line.

So what we're going to do
is just start

and then work out afterwards
where we can find the shortfall.

I think the long-term vision
with this is, it's... If it works,

why don't we do
site three or site four?

The way that I see it is
it's a 20-year lease.

I've got it for 20 years,

so even if it doesn't work in
year one or two,

we can change concept and
make it work in year three or four.

Like, I've got 20 years.

I'll only be 70.

Just not think about it.
Just laugh it off.

HE LAUGHS

Who knows how this new site
will pan out for us?

The truth is that right now
is the toughest time I've ever known

in our industry.

It's been reported that
12 hospitality businesses

are forced to close their doors
every single day.

It's a shocking statistic,

and I've learned that even
Stem & Glory

have fallen victim
in recent months.

Escalating costs have forced them
to close their Broadgate restaurant.

And for now, they're focusing
their efforts back in Cambridge.

We're very persistent, I think,
as a business.

You know, we don't just try
one road.

We explore multiple avenues
constantly.

I think that's what
you have to do in response

to things which are really
beyond your control.

There's just macro events
that affect us.

But, you know, there's always
ways that you can develop

and I guess we're relatively
small and agile still,

so we can respond in different ways.

And I think you have to try
and be as creative as possible.

It's a stark warning for all of us.

Expanding a brand has never
been riskier.

I'm making a final visit to Windsor

to see what new measures
Rachel and Osa are taking

to strengthen
the foundations of Harvest.

When we first met Tom,

we did say to Tom that
we weren't making a profit.

And that hasn't changed.

We're still not making a profit...

..but we're trying to sustain
the business

and still continue to do everything
we can to keep it going.

Hey, Osa. Hey, Tom.
How're you doing?

Very well. How are you?
You good? I'm good, thank you.

Hi, Tom! Hello, mate!

How are you? I'm all right.

Oh, good. How are we?
I'm all right, thank you.

Are we all good? How're you doing?
All under control? Yes. Yeah.

All good. Trying to.

How's the kitchen?
How's the restaurant?

Everything's going OK.
Everything's going OK.

Thankful. Thank you.
But we've got some changes.

You have got some changes?

Yes. We've got some surprises
for you.

We've got some surprises for you.

This, my friend... Is new.
..is our new menu.

Look at that. Amazing.

So how many menu items
have been removed

from the original menu
to get to this one?

26. 26? We have taken 26 off.
I mean, that's a lot. Yes. Mm-hm.

So that's pretty much a quarter
of the dishes... Exactly.

..that you've decided
don't work for economic reasons...

Exactly. Yes. ..for because they
were doubling up...

Yeah, yeah. because from a prep
point of view?

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. OK.

All right. Absolutely.
26 items. Yes. Yeah.

There's still a lot on there,
though.

They're two continents!
No, no, no, no, no.

But there...there's still a lot
on there. Yeah.

But by that I mean there's still
a great choice.

Thank you. Yeah. It doesn't feel...

This doesn't feel like a measly
small menu. No, no.

This feels great.
RACHEL LAUGHS

When does it start?

Well, just fresh off the press,
so... Yeah.

At the printer today.
Picked it up.

So, yeah, picked it up
and with lunch today.

We've got a tech team in
the background

working on updating the till
with all the new prices... Yeah.

..and everything.

That's going to be done
in the next few minutes. Yeah.

And once we open for dinner,
here we go.

This launches. This launches.

All right. Yes.

This is a really positive step.

The menu is so much clearer
and more succinct.

And, crucially, the prices
are realistic,

giving Harvest a fighting chance
of turning a profit.

I'm really excited.

I think we have, I guess,
a three-pronged approach

that we're looking for,
which was, you know,

educating, making customers
enjoy why they're here,

and then finally
was the profitability.

But then I think we had the order
mixed up in a way

that was maybe perhaps not
sustainable for the business.

With the new menu, I think
it's helped us rejuggle

what the priorities are,
which is it's a business first.

It's important that we try
and maintain

the element of educating people
about the culture of the foods

and find a place where people
can have an amazing experience.

But, most importantly,
having to make a profit

so we can keep the business open,

keep the lights on so we can
grow and engage with more customers.

So your idea of opening
a second site of Harvest,

have you put that a little bit
on the back burner for now?

Yeah, no, we had to, I think.

Following your conversation,

it was important that we needed
to have the infrastructure

and we didn't have
the infrastructure.

So for us now I think
we're on the right track

and it enables us
now to start to think about, OK,

once we've put in the foundation,

now we can now start talking
about what does that look like

in terms of, you know,
expanding the business.

There's no point in having two
places losing loads of money, is
there?

Yeah, exactly.
Let's get one making cash first,

then we can look at
a second site. Exactly.

Listen, I'm super-excited.

I think the menu looks fantastic.

You've got a new kind of, like,
heart and soul

and kind of, like, a real kind
of enthusiasm behind the eyes

of going, "Yeah, this is exciting."
Yeah. Yeah.

It feels like this might even
be day one ever. Yeah, exactly.

Let's just start now.
Let's start now. Absolutely.

Absolutely.
So, look, guys, good luck.

Thank you so much.
Thank you, Tom.

Appreciate it. See you very soon.
Thank you, Tom.

No worries.
Stay strong, people. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Take care.
Look after yourself.

Thank you.

Amazing.

There's a lot of support that,
you know, new businesses need.

Sometimes it's not just even
just the money,

you need the mentorship.

You know, having Laura come in,
talking to Tom,

it's really, really been a
tremendous help.

This is our new menu.

It's exciting.

It's an adventure.

I'm proud of what
we've accomplished.

A lot of people have a dream
to open a restaurant,

but without the experience
and the knowledge,

that dream can become a nightmare.

Rachel and Osa are on this
kind of journey

that it can still go either way,

but I really hope they make
a success of it,

because what they're doing
is hugely admirable.

I'm thankful every day
for having the opportunity

to bring something niche
to my community.

I would not imagine, you know,
doing something else,

but I would want
to sleep more, though,

have more sleep.

That'd be nice. And have a holiday.

That would be really nice.

Next time...

Your world of celebration
is about our industry.

But how can we deliver high quality
food and service on a massive scale?

We have got 1,500 people to serve.

I want every single plate to come
and look like that.

On the last leg of my journey,
we'll go behind the scenes

of some of the biggest
events of the year.

CHEERING
It's showtime.