Behind the big picture

Restaurateur Nicholas Lander knows there's more to dining than just food.

Profile

In an age when chefs are lauded with the fervour that used to be reserved for rock stars, the restaurateur is often ignored.

''The fixation that everybody has on chefs overlooks the fact that people use restaurants for lots and lots of reasons,'' says Nicholas Lander, a former restaurateur, now restaurant columnist for the Financial Times, who was recently in Sydney for the Crave Sydney International Food Festival. ''Food and drink is only one of many reasons. A restaurant is a place to do business and a place for social intercourse,'' he says. ''You have to look after that side of things as much as anything else. If you just focus on food and wine then you are ignoring what a restaurant is largely about.''

Lander began his career in textiles, then moved into wine, establishing a small wholesale business. At age 28 he became what he describes as an ''accidental restaurateur''.

Other side … Nicholas Lander shines a light on those behind the scenes.

He was inspired to write his recently published book, The Art of the Restaurateur (Phaidon), because the role of the restaurateur is rarely acknowledged in the success of a restaurant. ''Restaurateurs have been very slow to promote themselves,'' Lander says.

In the book, he profiles 20 of the world's most successful restaurateurs, among them Trevor Gulliver of London's St John Restaurant; Juli Soler, formerly of elBulli; Rockpool's Neil Perry; and Melbourne-born Michelle Garnaut of Shanghai's M on the Bund and Capital M in Beijing. Unlike so-called celebrity chefs, who front television series, have self-titled cookbooks and are invited to endorse products, most of Lander's restaurateurs are relatively faceless.

As a restaurateur, Lander spent his time on the restaurant floor, polishing glasses, motivating staff and attending to customers. From his office he did the necessary book and paperwork and called the plumber when needed. His days were made up of a series of necessary and often thankless tasks.

In 1980 Lander secured a 25-year lease on one of London's oldest restaurants, L'Escargot at 48 Greek Street, Soho. His plan was to open a wine bar to move some of his stock. The local liquor licensing authorities had other ideas and wouldn't grant him the necessary licence. He'd have to serve food. Having committed to the lease, he needed to open. Lander's vision of a quiet wine bar had suddenly morphed into a behemoth, a five-storey restaurant.

At the time, Lander took it in his stride. ''I come from a long line of Jewish independent businessmen who had always worked for themselves,'' he says. ''That work ethic was ingrained, so I wasn't as scared as I should have been about making the leap.''

During this time, Lander met British wine writer Jancis Robinson, whom he soon married. ''I had the good fortune of meeting Jancis around that time, which subsequently meant the restaurant opened with a sensational wine list.''

L'Escargot was well revered, busy and much loved by its eclectic clientele. West End theatregoers rubbed shoulders with a formidable cast of politicians, journalists and artists. Ella Fitzgerald would come in for a glass of wine after a concert. Mick Jagger and Michael Palin dined there and Scotland Yard inspected the premises before Princess Diana arrived for a quiet meal.

Good wine and great food is not enough to guarantee a restaurant's success, says Lander, who believes the style and service is paramount to a great dining experience. ''You get the most out of a restaurant when the staff treat you the way you want to be treated,'' he says.

He says every guest should be treated equally. ''My maitre d', Elena, was a wonderful asset to the restaurant, she made everyone feel important,'' he says. ''The kitchen would joke that we only served VIPs because every order that came across the pass, she'd have scribbled 'VIP' on the top of it.''

The giving and receiving of good service is a two-way street, Lander says. ''Customers become very focused on new restaurant openings, but in all the excitement there is a danger that we lose focus of what makes a great dining experience,'' he says. ''A sense of loyalty is essential, the importance of the relationship between a restaurateur and a customer shouldn't be underestimated. You can't reserve a table for 8pm on a Saturday night and not turn up, and next time expect the best table in the place.''

In his book, Lander examines the qualities and attributes of restaurateurs who have long managed to orchestrate such experiences.

Each of the 20 profiled restaurateurs have characteristics in common, including dogged determination and limitless energy. ''The worst person you can possibly eat dinner with is a restaurateur,'' Lander says. ''They are terrible company. A restaurateur's eyes are always darting around the room. They are either glaring at how dreadfully something is being done, or taking mental notes of how well something is being done so that they can replicate it in their own place.''

Great restaurateurs also possess a love of the business and of people, Lander says, and, most importantly, sensibility, an innate understanding of what an individual diner requires. ''A generosity of spirit is what separates the great restaurateurs from the good.''

Nicholas Lander's 10 essentials for opening a restaurant

1 A sense of humour is essential.

2 A love of food, wine and one's fellow man.

2a And fellow women. The bathrooms are important, and the diversity of the menu; women order differently to men, who read a menu as 'beef, chicken, lamb'.

3 A sensitivity to the customer's needs and a thick skin for when things don't go so well.

4 A good nose for location.

5 Sound financial knowledge.

6 Lead from the front, inspire confidence from your team.

7 The two most important pieces of paper in your business are not the menu and wine list, but the lease and the alcohol licence.

8 A clear vision and strong sense of determination is required.

9 Be stubborn and stick to your vision, but pay attention, be aware of current trends and customer demand.

10 Consider the environmental implications of running your restaurant, as well as your social responsibility and contributions that you can make to charity (for example, OzHarvest).

Crave festival highlights this week

The Noodle Lounge at the Night Noodle Markets Enjoy live jazz, modern Malaysian food and a cool, retro colonial cafe feel at this pop-up private Noodle Markets eatery. Hyde Park, weeknights to October 19.

Wines from the Cellar Learn why certain wines improve with age at a tasting of rare and hard-to-obtain aged wines from across NSW. Includes a four-course dinner. Fix StJames, city, Wednesday, $130.

Taking Flight: Sake and Izakaya at Sokyo A flight of premium sake is matched to a plate of Japanese bar snacks, including spicy tuna crispy rice, a vegetable roll and snapper tempura. The Star, Pyrmont, nightly, $49.

Cheese Making at Zigi’s Make your own mozzarella, ricotta and labna with chef Zigi Ozeri, as well as handmade lavosh to go with them. Chippendale, Thursday and Sunday, $175.

Sweet As Festival Sweet treats from Turkey, Malaysia, India, China and more, as well as workshops and tea and coffee stalls. Casula Powerhouse, Sunday, free.

REGIONAL
Taste Riverina A month of food festivities celebrates 80 years of Italian culture in the Riverina: food treks, cooking classes, progressive dinners, 100-mile meals, produce markets and olive oil tastings. To October 31.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 October 2012