How To Start and Run Your Own Restaurant: An Insider Guide to Setting Up Your Own Successful Business

2016·12.16 MB·English

by  Carol Godsmark

HOW TO START AND RUN YOUR OWN
RESTAURANT
If you want to know how ...
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HOW TO START AND RUN
YOUR OWN
RESTAURANT.
CAROL GODSMARK
howtobooks
Published by How To Content,
A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road,
Begbroke, Oxford 0X5 1RX. United Kingdom.
Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone].
email: [email protected]
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All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an
information retrieval system (other than for purposes of review) without the express
permission of the publisher in writing.

The right of Carol Godsmark to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

© 2005 Carol Godsmark

First published in paperback 2005
First published in electronic form 2007

ISBN: 978 1 84803 053 4

Cover design by Baseline Arts Ltd, Oxford, UK
Illustrations by Nicki Averill
Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock, Devon, UK
Typeset by Pantek Arts Ltd, Maidstone, Kent, UK

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general
guidance and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of
relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the book. The laws and
regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current
position with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements.
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Foreword xi
Preface xv
1 Running Your Own Restaurant 1
Why run your own restaurant? 1
How suitable are you? 2
Seeing yourself as a restaurateur 4
2 Choosing Your Restaurant 5
Deciding what kind of restaurant 5
New trends in restaurants 7
3 Location, Design and Legal Requirements 9
Location, Location, Location 10
Spotting current trends 12
First steps to take on the property ladder 13
Franchising a business 16
Local government and your business 17
Scrutinising the exterior and interior of a property 18
Kitchen layout 18
First impressions 24
Licences 24
Music 26
Smoking 27
Complying with Acts 28
Your checklist 31
4 Financing Your Business 33
Creating income 33
A business plan 35
Forming a company 36
Calculating menu costings and prices 37
v
vi HOW TO START AND RUN YOUR OWN RESTAURANT
Tips for attracting finance 43
Raising capital and business partners/investors 43
Working in a partnership 44
Capital expenditure 45
Next steps in finding funding. .47
VAT 49
Payroll 51
Insurance 52
Credit cards 55
Legal tips 55
Business advice organisations 56
5 Running a Safe Business 59
Food safety regulations 60
Food storage 61
Food poisoning and avoiding contamination 62
Staff hygiene 65
Environmental health 66
6 Design and Equipment for the Kitchen and Restaurant 70
Design 71
Is your restaurant functional? 72
The hall and bar 73
The restaurant 74
The kitchen 83
China and tableware 90
Service 93
7 Marketing Your Business 95
Finding your target market 97
Choosing your restaurant's name 97
Signage 98
Promotional Material 100
Advertising 103
The media profile 108
Critics 112
The guides 114
Business expansion 123
CONTENTS vii
8 Staffing for the Well-Run Restaurant 131
The importance of service 132
Finding staff 134
Motivation 137
The stafff interview 139
Other employment tips 143
Employing people 145
Kitchen hierachy terminology explained 151
The kitchen career 153
Kitchen and front of house staff working together 155
Dress code, smoking, behaviour and communicating 155
with customers
Management skills 160
Staff rotas 161
9 Designing Menus 164
The importance of the menu 165
The menu: food consistency 165
Creating a menu 166
Using first-rate produce 168
What to cook and why to cook it 169
Menu and drink pricing 172
Create contented customers 172
Menu writing and compiling 175
Special diets 180
Instructing kitchen staff on following your recipes 182
10 Choosing Suppliers 185
How to look for key suppliers 186
Kitchen supplies and suppliers 188
What some chefs and restaurateurs want and achieve 189
Sourcing alternatives 191
Food for thought 192
Quality and provenance of produce 193
Useful contacts for sourcing produce 195
viii HOW TO START AND RUN YOUR OWN RESTAURANT
1 1 Wine and Other Drinks 198
Getting wines right 199
The diverse wine list 200
Wine and food 204
Pricing wine 206
Wine vocabulary 207
Water, coffee and tea 209
Trading Standards guidelines for selling alcohol 211
12 The Day to Day Running of Your Restaurant 214
The daily pattern 215
Front of house 217
The kitchen 222
Why do it? 226
13 Customer Relations and Being a Customer 227
Customer satisfaction 228
Handling complaints 229
Promoting customer satisfaction 230
Being a customer 233
Top tips 234
Postscript 238
Glossary 239
Useful Contacts 242
Bibliography 244
Index 245
Acknowledgements
Researching this book has unearthed many enthusiastic, dedicated profes-
sional people who have generously contributed their time and expertise
and whom I thank most sincerely:
Peter Gordon of Providores, London; Kit Chapman, the Castle Hotel,
Taunton, Somerset, and Brazz Restaurants; Jonathan Cooper, Amano
Cafe, London; Jake Watkins, JSW, Petersfield, Hampshire; Raymond Blanc
and Tracey Clinton, Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons; Laurence Murphy, Fat
Olives; Ray Farthing, 36 On The Quay; Chris Allwood, Allwood's Wine
Bar; Alistair Gibson, Brookfield Hotel; all of Emsworth, Hampshire; Larry
Stone, wine director, Rubicon, San Francisco, California; John Hayler,
Planning Department, Chichester District Council; Lawrence Foord and
Sarah Parker, Trading Standards, CDC; John White, Environmental
Protection, CDC; David Knowles-Ley, Environmental Health, CDC;
Julian Mitchell, Christie & Co, London; Brian Duckett and Paul
Monaghan, Howarth Franchising, London; Lorna and Peter Walters, solic-
itors, Streathers, London; Andrew Turvil, Editor of The Good Food Guide
and the Which? Pub Guide; Emma Rickett, The AA; Frances Gill, Harden's
Guides; Paul Cordle, The Michelin Guide of Great Britain and Ireland; Alex
Chambers, Les Routiers Guide; Soraya Conway, Zagat Survey; Sarah Guy,
Time Out Guides; Georgina Campbell's Jameson Guide - Ireland; Julian
Shaw, Small Business Service statistics; Joanna Wood, Caterer and
Hotelkeeper; Simon Henrick, Brake catering; Elizabeth Crompton-Batt,
Charles Secrett, Mark Haynes and staunch friends and allies Anna
Fleming, Chrissie Bates, Jocelyn and Peter Sampson, Noel Ross-Russell,
Caroline Godsmark, Ruth Carver and others who have shown much
patience, goodwill encouragement and understanding including
Louise, Jackie, Rennie and Gary Reynolds and Guild of Food Writers
co-members.
IX