For those of you who don’t know the name Russell Norman, let me explain who he is. Mr Norman is the brains behind the incredibly successful collection of restaurants such as: Polpo; da Polpo; Spuntino & others. They have long been the talk of London food bloggers & hipsters alike, for their breath of fresh air to the London dining scene, & somewhat controversial ‘no reservations policy’ .
Russell Norman’s background
Prior to the launch of Polpo back in September 2009, Mr Norman worked for various landmark London restaurants; Blue Print Café, Circus, Joe Allen and Zuma; before finally becoming Operations Director at Caprice Holdings. Mr Norman left the safety of a corporate environment in 2008, to join forces with friend & partner, Richard Beatty, and as they say, ‘the rest is history’.
The programme
The premise of ‘The Restaurant Man’, is that Mr Norman brings his wealth of experience to help 6 complete novices make their first forays into the hospitality industry.
So many people, including the 6 participants it seems, perceive catering as a relative easy route to earning a living. After all, if you eat out lots, then you must be an authority on how restaurants work, right? Wrong, Mr Norman goes some way to illustrating the point with the Duck swimming on a pond analogy. Effectively, on the surface all is serene, whilst out of sight the Duck works frantically to head in the right direction. It is this, behind the scenes effort which is so often taken for granted by restaurant goers.
So far there have been the 7Bone guys; who experienced a service at the flagship Byron gourmet burger outlet in central London, before setting up their own restaurant in Southampton. Then there was a couple who originally half heartedly committed to running their local pub, after spending over £130,000 renovating it, only to realise that Mr Norman was right all along. And more recently there was the lady that sold her online business, to plough the proceeds into a Scandinavian themed restaurant. Each little adventure has been a reality check for the potential restaurateurs, whether market research or practical hands on experience, Mr Norman has been there for them along the way.
What has come as no surprise, especially to those with industry experience at start ups, is the real lack of preparation of the programme’s participants. But what has been a real eye opener, is that it appears that banks are willing to lend money to individuals with no experience or business plans for their restaurants. Time & time again Mr Norman uses his non confrontational & nurturing style to inform & educate. Sadly, it takes others longer to appreciate what they have in their new mentor, with Il Padrino in Gravesend, still not open 2 months after filming had finished.
For 2 years, when I was training to become a chef, I worked under one of the youngest chefs to get 2Michelin stars in the UK. Everywhere I looked; in the kitchen, the changing rooms, even on the back of the toilet doors, was a sign with 4 words:
Caution Guests Attention Detail
To this day this has been ingrained in me, and watching Mr Norman, he has a similar ethos. Whether it is the height of the bars (109cm) in his eateries, or his ratio of staff to customers (1:15), it is the attention to detail & planning that has made Russell Norman one of the hottest restaurateurs currently around.
If any Commissioning Editors are reading this post, then please, I implore you, commission another series. The shock value of Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares & its ilk has worn off and run its course, with each programme trying to escalating the shock value. Where it has arrived at the point, that the production team have to generate problems for Ramsey to fix, often peppering the scene with profanities as he goes. Russell Norman encourages, whilst trying to educate & cajole with common sense and eloquent tones. This is the image that the Hospitality industry should be striving for, not the bullying archaic Neanderthal model of the past.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Restaurant Man ~ Russell Norman’, it wasn’t over worked with gimmicks or ridiculous production values; just Mr Norman sharing his valuable expertise to help people realise their dreams.
Congratulations to Russell & all concerned.
Follow Russell Norman on Twitter: @Ape451