Recipe for success  The greatest chefs are exceptional entrepreneurs

Restaurant entrepreneurs orchestrate an incredibly complex architecture daily. They face perishable inventories, labour intensity and regulatory complexity. They are on the economic frontline. They are exposed to policy shifts – even seemingly minor changes to taxation, for example, can have profound impacts on their budgets.

The sector remains of crucial importance to UK plc. A nation once derided worldwide for its food is now a culinary innovator and pioneer. The British learned to cook, and to eat out. There are more than 210,000 restaurants and food outlets in the UK, which directly employ some 468,000 people. A further 300,000 indirect jobs are dependent on the sector. The restaurant and takeaway industry is worth around £54 billion a year – accounting for almost 2% of the economy.

Director consulted a brains trust of five of the world’s finest restaurateurs to identify the key principles of culinary success. The gastronomic quintet comprises:

Dominique Crenn, the first female chef in the United States to compile three Michelin stars

Alain Ducasse, global chef and restaurateur, who has accumulated 21 Michelin stars

Julian Metcalfe, founder of Pret a Manger and Itsu

Michel Roux Jr, one of the UK’s most celebrated chef-restaurateurs, with two Michelin stars

Ron Shaich, the billionaire founder of Panera Bread, one of the largest restaurant chains in the United States

Interviews revealed five key ingredients that, when combined, create the rare combination of commercial and creative achievement.

The origin ingredient

World gastronomes share a connection with nature. They are fascinated by the provenance of food. Many were raised in agricultural areas, surrounded by the things they would later learn to cook. “I grew up on a farm, in the southwest of France,” recalls Ducasse. “My grandmother was cooking for the whole family. I still remember the smell and flavour of the chicken she prepared for Sunday lunches. She is the one who gave me the passion for cooking. To prepare the meals, my grandmother would send me to the kitchen garden to pick up the ripe vegetables. It means that, from an early age, I understood something then that I have never forgotten: before cooking, there is nature.”

Restaurateurs are businesspeople, but their upbringing often leads them to combine commerciality with culinary creativity. “I grew up in a beautiful part of France where gastronomy and the culinary world were part of our DNA,” says Crenn. “I studied business, and when I came to San Francisco I realised that I needed to find a way to express myself and my understanding. Food was a kind of language for me.”

For Roux Jr, the connection between his home life and his eventual career came literally from birth. “From day one of my life, I was in a kitchen,” he says. “My mother went into labour as she was helping my father cook professionally… I was very nearly born in a kitchen! So, from babyhood I was in a professional kitchen; imbued with the sounds of cooking and the smells of food. Being brought up as a French child in rural Kent, it was perhaps perfect that I would become a chef. Food was our life. Not always expensive, extravagant food, but food we would forage and cook.” It was a farm-to-fork existence. “My dad raised chickens, pigeons and rabbits for the table,” says Roux Jr. “Food has always been my life.”

The excellence ingredient

Successful chefs pursue quality relentlessly. As with any business, there can be a temptation to accept lower-quality supplies to improve profit-margins and bolster stocks. Yet elite restaurateurs prioritise quality in every aspect of their business. “Not everything is perfect in any business you build, even years later,” says Metcalfe. He recalls a recent visit to Pret a Manger in Victoria, London. “The feeling I got from the customer experience in that place was magnificent. The display, the confidence, the quality of the food – everything about the way it expressed itself felt like a dream for a customer. It was just spot on. And like any business, it’s unique – it’s got its own character, its own vision. That vision was expressed very well.

“A pursuit of excellence becoming real and the way it touches people, touches consumers – it’s a magnificent and wonderful thing,” he adds. It is that pursuit of excellence – rather than immediate superiority – that is common to all great restaurateurs. Most restaurant entrepreneurs accept that instant perfection is rarely possible. Yet all continue to strive for it. “You can make a vision for a product; or for an experience,” says Metcalfe. “Pret is a place where, on the whole, you can get good food, quickly, made by people who really care. The vision isn’t perfect, but it became real. And it’s the pursuit of that vision. So, anyone thinking about starting a business and wondering what the secret sauce is – well, there isn’t one. But it is vital that you never stop pursuing excellence. And that is elusive. It calls for a lot of honesty.”

The realism ingredient

Too few would be able to enjoy the creativity and craftwork of great chefs unless restaurants are run in a businesslike manner. Careful budgeting is crucial. “A lot of restaurants go bust because they can’t make ends meet,” says Roux Jr. “They’re mismanaged, and chefs are notoriously bad businessmen… they need help! I needed help at the beginning, so did my father when he started his business.” Commercial acumen can be brought in – or learned. “You need to get the right people around you and never be afraid to ask questions – you can’t do everything,” says Roux Jr. “My father sent me on a course in accounting. Initially I was very dismissive, I didn’t want to learn accounting, I thought it was a ridiculous waste of time, I wanted to be a chef! It was actually a really good move. I now know the language of accounting, I can understand accounting statements, make budgets and run a business.”

This workmanlike approach to the craft is echoed by Crenn. Great chefs work hard in the limelight. They know that industry is as crucial as inspiration. “We don’t wake up in the morning to get awards,” the Frenchwoman says. “We wake up in the morning to treat our craft with respect, to be better than we were yesterday, and to give the customer the best experience. We are blessed and grateful to have received the awards we have, but they do not define us.”

The culture ingredient

Chefs are the spearheads of restaurant empires. But, as their businesses grow, they become increasingly less likely to deliver the food to their customers. Common to all elite restaurateurs is an ability to imbue a collective culture in their teams.

“If I could personally serve every guest, I’d be happy to, but I can’t,” says Shaich. “When you’re handling 10-12 million transactions a week, serving one out of every 30 Americans, it’s impossible to do it all yourself. So, how do I get over 100,000 team members to embody the essence of the brand? I begin with the understanding that I can’t make people do anything. What I can do is find the right people – those who fit the culture – and let their humanity shine. Then, I need to create the support and mechanisms for that to happen.

“As a leader, I’m always trying to connect with people in a way that excites them about our mission. I view my team members as a constituency that I need to align with. Sometimes, this means having direct and honest conversations. It’s about creating an environment where people feel pride, excitement and a strong sense of affiliation with what we’re doing.”

Restaurateurs are expert at cultivating environments where people buy into the vision, developing a powerful culture. “Being an entrepreneur, or even running a large organisation, is like being a society builder,” says Shaich. “The system is bigger than any individual. You can take the same person, place them in different environments and get completely different outcomes. It’s about the system.

“I’m not a politician, but I see the incentive system as akin to tax policy. What you reward and expect shapes behaviour. If food companies only reward cost-cutting, they’ll end up with good margins but poor operations. If you focus on the harder work – like running great restaurants – the margins will take care of themselves.”

The artistic ingredient

Gastronomy is a global business. Yet at its heart, it remains an art. Somehow, amid the commercial pressure, the relentless exertion, great culinary entrepreneurs remain artists to their core. “When you are creating something, through food… through a painting… through anything… that is a meaningful process,” says Crenn. “The creative memories you have come out through your food, and what you cook really contains that expression of who you are. You don’t even have to say anything. If people eat it and they’re just blown away by it, you know that it succeeded.” This aspiration to high art is philosophical, not transactional, she adds. “If you want to come to a restaurant, get fed and leave… that’s fine!” Crenn says. “I’m not here to push my philosophy on anyone… If people want to come and try it? That’s amazing.”

Ducasse compares restaurateurs with novelists, playwrights or cinemaphotographers. “A restaurant must tell a story to the patrons,” he says. “To have a soul, a reason of being. Every tiny detail is important to express it: cooking, of course, yet also tableware, uniforms, lighting and sound design.” In any successful recipe, the details matter.