After working for 18 years or so in some of the UK’s most talked about restaurants, with legendary restaurateurs King and Corbin - to get places like Le caprice, The Ivy and Scott’s back on the London restaurant map - I decided it was time to venture off on my own. Of course, I had to leave a fantastic team behind me, as it’s not considered etiquette to rape previous restaurants of all their staff, although this does happen occasionally.
Ratnesh Bagdai, previously finance director at caprice Holdings, had been badgering me for a while to do something together. Finally, when the old Rudland & Stubbs site became available, I knew it could be the opportunity we had been waiting for. Having an accountant as a business partner is a big advantage with a restaurant. It allows me to concentrate on the creative side, while Ratnesh and his wife Niketa’s team look after the rest business. Neglecting to keep up with all that stuff is often why a restaurant fails and closes.