in the restaurant world from your
experience who’s number one and I know
what I don’t want the politically
correct this and how I give it to make
curious to know who is the most
so one of the things you’ll hear me talk
a lot about on value taming this
restaurant you know I love food all over
the world that go I love my food and we
got a lot of comments and people said
Pat since you love these restaurants and
you’re so either critical or in love
with the menus and the way they give you
service we got to get deeper into it
because you don’t actually own
restaurants why don’t we talk to
somebody who actually knows what they’re
talking about so that’s exactly what
we’re gonna do so we found Curtis Stone
who was on Celebrity Apprentice
yep with our current president but at
that time he wasn’t a president you were
on Top Chef won all that other stuff
yeah and now you run two restaurants
here Maude as well as Gwen which we’re
gonna get into the story of that so
having said that if we’re going to talk
to anybody we got to talk to a pro and
we have a celebrity chef here Curtis
Stone brother get the same for making
the time to get together with us aka the
quiet terminator that you’re known for
right so I’m always looking at
restaurants that I go to I pay attention
to how they treat you menus how they set
it up different like seasons 52 in
Dallas they do you know every three
months they change as the season changes
the menu changes and then you have the
typical ones that you go to so I want to
go into customer service customer
Express before before doing that why
don’t you first tell us about the two
restaurants you have right now in LA
with Maude and Gwyn and the story behind
it sure so Maude was the first one I
opened it’s about nearly five years ago
now I took a little break from
restaurants actually I worked my whole
life as a young chef in great
restaurants I moved to Europe and worked
there for ten years or so and then I got
asked to do a TV show and then I write a
book and then another TV show that just
got too crazy to do restaurants and and
that as well so I sort of I took five
years off and I missed it you know
restaurants are scrappy professions you
know like there to run a restaurant is a
really difficult I bet it’s a difficult
job and it’s also very hard to stay
afloat it’s hard to make money it’s hard
to break even in the rest
but there was something I loved about it
something I craved it you know just as a
part of my life I missed it so I decided
to open my first one which was Maude
five years ago and it was a tiny little
place and I thought if I’m gonna spend
that much time in one little building I
want it to feel special to me so I sort
of started thinking about all the things
that was special in my life and my
grandma was one of those things she she
was one of the first people that ever
got me interested in food your
grandmother
my grandmother’s old were you at the
time when you were interest I was
probably 5 yea early yeah yeah one yeah
she was from Yorkshire the northern part
of England and she used to make this
delicious sugary fudge orchids like
something sweet right I was no exception
so I used to go to her house and I’d be
like grandma is there fudge in the
fridge and if there wasn’t we’d make it
together so that was sort of my very
first time in the kitchen was with her
and she was a good old duck my granny
she taught me how to play tennis she
taught me how to play cards she was she
was very funny and she was a big
influence I was that
grandma yeah so I decided to name the
restaurant after her she was also the
most religious one in our family so I
thought if anyone can help me from up
there it’s her so I end after her and
then I’m out she moved from a UK to
Australia she did okay yeah she moved
when she was young
five or six got light years old so so
she grew up as an Aussie but she always
had like a tiny bit of an English accent
which was literacy um and then we’re
sitting in Gwen right now this is the
second restaurant this is joint venture
with my brother actually so we sort of
had spoken about doing something
together for a long time and we decided
we’d eventually do something I convinced
him to move his family over here to Los
Angeles and we said well you know what’s
what’s something we love and we sort of
got talking about that and we wanted to
open a european-style butcher shop with
a fine dining restaurant off the back of
it and we were talking and talking and
we were like you know why we can’t we
can only represent one side of the
family we have to do both so Gwen was my
other man she was my man my other granny
and yes so here we are in so no one’s
upset that’s right you representing
somebody that’s right that’s interesting
okay
so now having said that your brother is
now partners with you on this one you
got mod blowing on his wall huh
so celebrity apprentice when you did
that how was that entire experience
for you was that the first time when it
was kind of coming up for you were you
making a name for yourself nationally or
have you already been established prior
to that it was a funny time for me to be
honest with you it was just after the
GFC I went I moved to America to do a TV
show I did a few of them I wrote a few
books and then I’d sort of built a
business I had half a dozen employees
well not half a dozen but three or four
here or here in the US and then the GFC
hit and all my commercial partners
disappeared and I didn’t have a TV show
at that time I just finished a show and
there are about to Commission a new one
and then that sort of got put on the
back burner so suddenly unemployed but
with the staff right it’s a worst way to
be unemployed no customers no revenue
when you go to princess right and right
you got to you got to pay everyone and I
got asked to do Celebrity Apprentice the
year prior and I turned it down cuz I
you know I’m a chef you know why would I
be on the apprentice but the next time I
got asked I was like you know what I’m
gonna do something you know business is
bad I’ve got to try and rekindle things
a little bit so I decided to do it but I
was very skeptical I wasn’t looking
forward to it I got up there in New York
and I found out who the other people
were over there all mad Brit Michael
Cyndi Lauper Sharon Osbourne
but goya vich the governor who’s now in
prison from Illinois you know and I
walked into this room and I thought to
myself I’m the only normal person and I
was thinking the what a mistake but you
know we started the show and then of
course you meet Trump and you start the
show and he literally gives you a he
gives you a game right and as adults I
don’t have kids at that time when you
have kids you get to play again but as
adults you don’t get to play games very
often interesting right yeah so we
played a game with a bunch of nutjobs
every single day and it was so fun I was
there for over a month and I really
enjoyed it you know it was it was you
know the way these people’s brains work
very creative and it was very
interesting so who was the most
interesting character I mean Britt
Michaels was just a fascinating yes and
I got along really well with him and I
didn’t really expect to you know Bill
Goldberg was another guy he was you
the ex-wrestler we’re gonna walk well I
work out with him he’d slept me around
here and there so biggest is he actually
like really is this big dude yeah he’s a
big design strong you know like we’d go
to the gym together and he’d lift four
times what I quit it was fun working out
with him and then how was Trump with
that whole experience because this is
pre presidency different politics it’s
just regular celebrity Trump Trump was
like a very interesting character coming
back so it doesn’t happen when someone’s
not saying I want to be the president of
the country then you have no you know
like you don’t mind having crazy people
in your world you no mind having someone
that’s you know loose of this big
personality like ears so I enjoyed him
while I was on the show I don’t know if
he should have put his hand up to become
the president of the country but hey he
did but you know while on the show I
didn’t have a lot to do with him to be
honest but he likes things done his way
and he’s you know he’s got opinions on
stuff but yeah it was was was a
fascinating experience
it seemed being a control guy like
everything’s got to be my control the
way he wants it okay when you start a
restaurant you’ve done to them and one
of the things I like about where you’re
at you you’ve had experience you said in
Europe you worked there for five years I
think some number you said well you so
yes so you know the customers in Europe
are different than the customers in
America many customers in Australia some
of the culture is different the
treatment I get in South America or if I
go to Columbia or if I go to you know
Middle East Qatar or Dubai I’m gonna get
different than I do in US or Europe for
whatever reason right there’s a
different approach to it but when you
look at customer service and customer
experience and you have worked as a
person behind closed doors and you have
worked as your own restaurant that’s
representing your grandmother I mean
these are people that mean a lot to you
so you want to protect those names what
is on your mind to give me the customer
whoever that’s coming in a good customer
service
and a good customer experience the thing
I say to everyone is when you open the
doors to your restaurant you’re really
opening up an extension of your home or
and inviting people in so you have to
treat them like they’re coming into your
home because in a way they are and in a
way you get to know your team members so
well you really do become a family we
sit down every day and we dinner
together we call a family meal really
yeah everyday everyday but they’re here
all day The Cook’s The Cook’s get here
in the morning and they’re here until
midnight you know the least we can do is
cook them dinner and we just before the
guests arrive so we’re at like 4 o’clock
they’ll be downstairs now probably
having they’re having their dinner
before you know because we’re then cook
until midnight right sod some but when
you open your doors you really need to
greet people the same way that you would
greet them in your home and so it
wouldn’t be stiff it wouldn’t be awkward
it wouldn’t be like good evening you
know it wouldn’t be unnatural you’d be
you’d welcome them right and then as
they come in you try and imagine that
you they’re your friends and you take
care of them in the best way that you
can where it gets tricky is guests come
in and they all want something different
some people want you to talk to them a
lot and then tighten them a little bit
and tell them the story of the dishes
and other people really want to be left
alone so they can enjoy the company of
their companions so sometimes it’s
romance happening sometimes it’s a
business meeting so you then have to be
a good reader of someone right you need
to be able to quickly tap into what
these customers want and then to be able
to try and communicate that to the rest
of your team so that we’re all on the
same page interesting and sometimes you
get it wrong most of the time hopefully
we get it right but occasionally you’ll
you’ll read someone and you’ll think ok
they want us to leave in my line they
don’t want us to interrupt them all
night long but then you know you’ll read
out a yelp review or occasionally you’ll
get an email that sort of says you know
we didn’t get the same service that we
were seeing other other tables get so
once in a while you get it wrong but I
think for the most part if you’re good
at your job you can get it pretty right
so the four o’clock dinner that you guys
do what are you talking about are you
talking about the day are you talking to
them or you talking about preparation
are you talking about mindset are you re
reminding about what this what we stand
for it’s just relationship thing what is
that about we actually we don’t do any
work during our dinner so what we do is
we we put it out everyone comes and gets
a plate doesn’t matter who you are if
you’re a dishwasher or you share for
youî all sit down together that’s just a
time to connect with one another and I
love seeing the cook sitting with the
front of house and the kitchen porters
working with you know the maitre d’s and
I like to see mix tables because then
you’re all connecting with one another
because if you care about each other
you’ll back each other up right you
you’ll become a really good teammate
then what we do is we have what we call
a pre-service or a pre shift so just
before the guests arrive we then or we
come up into this room actually and we
stand together and then we run for our
night so we talked about what guests are
coming in we keep notes on our guests so
when guests
dime with us we’ll keep a history I like
a be back if a be backs coming back
right exactly
what do you say about that like you say
tonight we have the Johnson family
coming here exactly what do you say
after that we’ll say what they drank
last time they were in you know maybe
she was a lover of white Burgundy or
talk about what water preferences they
have they preferred still or sparkling
just so we’re sort of details specific
details yes do you adjust your waiter or
waitress to the customer or it doesn’t
matter if I’m sectioned off this is
section ABCD no matter what if I sit in
a I’m getting game which is Christine or
if I am always good with Larry you give
me a Larry even if I’m sitting a section
a will have certain regular guests that
we know what they like then would they
might like to sit in a certain section
of the restaurant or they might like a
particular server that they’ve had in
the past so we will try and even say
like myself yeah interesting
and then we run through a variety of
things like you know on certain nights
you’ll have guests arrive in a big pack
so between 7:00 and 7:15 party you might
have 30 guests coming through the car
door
so we’ll sort of help prepare our team
for that when that’s coming this is how
we’re going to handle it we’ve got to
get some of those checks in as quickly
as we can so that they don’t come all at
once to the kitchen because everyone’s
waiting for their food so we try and
structure the evening in as best way as
we can you always get caught out you
know you’ve got to be ready because
sometimes you’ll you’ll plan it out your
stagger the night so everyone’s arriving
at different times and then the first 10
guests all arrive late and the 10 guests
after the 10 guests in the middle arrive
early and suddenly you’ve got 30 people
are through the door again so you know
there’s ways that you can try and
mitigate that you know because if if you
do the math it’s quite a it’s quite a
difficult task right let’s say 30 people
get ordered into the kitchen within 5
minutes which can happen mm-hmm and
that’s only four or five tables right
there’s a server up here there’s a
server down there there’s a couple
downstairs then are all seen what
everybody else is doing and they all hit
the computer
same time and put the checks in so I get
30 covers at once in the kitchen if it
takes me 30 seconds per plate and it
doesn’t takes me longer but if it took
me that means that the last person waits
for 15 minutes free starter for his
appetizer Wow too long yeah right so
we’ve got to somehow figure out how
those checks come into the kitchen how
quickly we can move how do you do that
what is it what is the you know secret
behind that secret sauce its
communication it’s no different than
playing a sport and I say this to
everyone all the time if you look at a
good soccer player he’s running down the
field and he’s got control the ball but
he’s looking at he’s looking at what’s
going on he’s not looking at the ball as
he keeps that line because you have to
be a part of a team it’s the exact same
thing in a restaurant if you’re a
captain or if you’re the one taking the
order you need to be doing your job but
also keeping your peripheral vision
totally open and seeing what he’s doing
and seeing what he’s doing and asking a
quick question run downstairs and just I
saw you know I noticed a bunch of people
came in at once up here I wonder if it’s
the same down there so you’re sort of
that those lines of communication they
need to be really wide open interesting
so what is that the embody we’re going
to come back to the soccer a point you
made analogy made so the difference
between mod and the difference between
going yeah what because that’s not the
same product base the philosophy is
different though stories different right
so what what is the biggest difference
between those two restaurants so mod is
I hate saying it’s a special occasion
restaurant because I want people to feel
like they can come regularly and we do
have a bunch of regulars down there but
it’s a type of experience we serve nine
or ten courses per menu we change the
menu four times a year it always
revolves around the wine region we use
shamsher and I heard used to do it once
a month once a half years that’s right
yes sanity it really was crazy but it
was good fun because we’re constantly
having to develop and challenge yourself
and imagine on the first of the month
you implement a new menu right it takes
a few days to get everybody knowing
exactly what they’re supposed to be
doing and then you’ve got a couple of
weeks to develop the new menu because
you’ve got a presented you know the wine
team so they can taste it and then
choose the wine they’ve got a special
order wine and buy stuff at auction and
get it all together in time for the new
menu which starts on the 1st of the next
the pressures it was crazy yeah and now
now I’m taking the whole team to the
wine region we went we learned we ate we
drank we examined the culture and then
we sort of try and bring all those
influences back and make a cohesive
tense menu so yeah it’s good fun you
know like the guys that work down there
really love it it’s detailed so the
food’s really detailed it’s elevated we
put lots of effort into each plate that
we do it sounds easy right a 24 seat
restaurant we turn those tables so we
actually do 48 covers a night and
because we serve 10 courses that means
that that 48 covers by the 10 dishes
that’s 480 plates of food they have to
leave a kitchen within a three or
four-hour window and we also pour wines
to pair so it also means that we pour
480 wines that night which means that we
wash 480 glasses we polish 480 glasses
we restock those 480 glasses back into
the shelf so that they can be marked
different shaped flutes different shaped
our stemware for every single wine that
we pour that detail is something that
you were either attracted to or you
think it’s too fussy you know like we we
try and keep it as light and and we call
it fine-dining without all the fluff
because we try not to talk down to where
I guess we try to make it a fun
experience but it is still you know
people will sit down there there for a
few hours so that’s that and in this
model here with Gwen this model here is
built solely around the butcher shop so
we have the best protein from anywhere
in the world we buy Wagyu beef from
Australia we have grass-fed lamb coming
from Northern California we buy grain
fed beef from the middle of the country
so we spend it we buy game from Scotland
when it’s in season so we really try and
focus on the this incredible protein and
they’re now attitude towards it is fire
so we we sort of we sat around and we’re
like what do we want this to be and what
we came up with was primitive elegance
and primitive is the way we cook it
right so but we want to serve it with
real elegance and to me you can think
about all the technology that you can
use in a kitchen but if you cook a steak
over a fire and the embers are just
right and you’ve cooked it over the
right kind of ward and you’ve got that
hint of smokiness I know we’ve been
doing it for centuries but it’s
incredible when you get it right and
that’s that’s what we try to do I agree
with your Mayan as the eater you know
yeah I want to make sure you get it
right so okay so now let’s talk a little
bit more about you know team team base
okay so when I look at you said soccer
right okay so a good team that wins the
championship you know they won the World
Cup
you got a coach you got offense you got
defense you got a goalie in the
restaurant world if and I know the
typical answer is well it’s a team
environment this is who’s the most
important everybody’s important and I
know that’s the political politically
right answer to get right you want to
not undermine anybody in the restaurant
but if I am an investor yep and I’m
saying look I wanna like the other day
I’m talking to a restaurant in Dallas
it’s called Texas in Brazil and it’s
Brazilian steakhouse but Texas they do
great job and I asked the owner
what is it cost to do something with
uses we just the one in Houston seven
million dollars it’s a Sounders here’s
how the investors come this is how much
it costs to show me the entire math
behind it right great but if I have the
money and you and I team up together and
it’s your money and my money and you’re
not thinking like the chef right now
you’re thinking like the businessperson
because you’ve been all over it who
plays the most important role to put my
money around in basketball you could say
you got to build around a center you got
to build around and put your shooting
guard and point guard you got to build
the team around a solid-gold or a coach
and to attract the players I want to
play for a coach in the restaurant world
from your experience who’s number one
and I know what I don’t want the
politically correct that’s how I give it
a curious to know who is the most
important thing to put your money behind
I’m just gonna check my brother’s
downstairs because he’s my older brother
and he’s the maitre d right so he runs
the front of house I run the back of
house look in my humble opinion and it’s
not because I’m a chef but it’s because
I’ve been in the industry for as long as
I’ve been in there
the chef is the most important person
because at the end of the day the
service is super important and that the
answer to the question is there’s a
variety of ways to do it but in my
opinion if the chef doesn’t really
believe in what he’s doing then the food
won’t taste great and do you go out for
dinner for service or do you go for
dinner for food the answers both right
but you will go somewhere where the food
is incredible even if the service isn’t
great but if the food’s horrible and the
service is amazing
you won’t go because you’re like well
like you know I love you guys and I like
being here in the atmosphere the
ambiance is all right but the food is
disgusting you’re not gonna keep coming
back I also come from a culture of chef
driven restaurants where the chef is
always the center of the restaurant and
if the chef suddenly isn’t that person
you know if the chef’s just an employee
I’ve only ever worked for an
owner-operator and I’m one myself you
know and I often talk about Australian
rules football because we have a you
know in the old school of Aussie Rules
AFL the coach played there was a captain
coach and he was he was a playing coach
right so it’s it’s an interesting thing
because you know you don’t see it very
often I love it because tonight I’ll be
down there and I won’t be wandering
around the dining room I’ll be on a
section which in some ways I’m sure the
guests would rather I came and touched
each table and spoke to everyone and
took some photos and signs and cookbooks
or whatever
but I would rather them see me behind
the girl sweating my ass off I’m working
really hard because I know what it does
for my team my team I always say your
jobs only as good as how you can
describe it to your mate while you’re in
the pub having a beer alright and if my
team are in the bluff having a beer with
a friend of theirs and they’re like
what’s it like working for Curtis and
they’re like you know what he’s in the
kitchen he works a section he’s faster
than anyone else he’s clean is this is
that the person opposite that was like
are you kidding me he’s in the kitchen
you know like that’s to me that is a
very interesting point you’re making
there of course it means that you can’t
have ten restaurants cuz otherwise you
screw it’s what I think it’s the two
different types of restaurant like it’s
almost like you having two different
philosophies like you have to be able to
go in and treat that one in a little bit
different way than this yet it’s the
same thing okay so so in I run an
insurance company yeah and we have five
thousand five hundred insurance agents
in 49 states and we sell life insurance
and orders and retirement products we
started off with one office in
Northridge now we’re in a nationwide in
40 United States
my processing initially when I was
growing from being a sales guy to a
sales manager to a business owner to a
CEO was who is number one is the
customer number one or is the agent
number one we agreed that for us the
agent who sells insurance policies late
at night at midnight like you’re cooking
till midnight the chef your priority so
I’m an agreement with Chef being number
one they’re number two for me it comes
to the clients then it becomes partners
and all that other stuff if number one
is the chef who’s – who’s three in your
world I think the interesting thing
about a team is it only because when I
analyze my philosophy a little deeper
right
is it really for me am I so good that
I’m so important to the restaurant and I
don’t think the answer is yes I think
the answer is if I behave like that then
my shift of cuisine will behave like
that or my executive chef down at Maude
will behave like that which means their
sous chef will also behave like that and
then you build that culture so to me the
culture is the most important thing is
it built around a person or is it
something unto herself interacts or the
environment in the culture the
environment the culture is so important
because you know we have another saying
in our business that together we’re
limitless but if we’re not together we
don’t get the wrong it’s like you need
that teamwork and you it’s like a chain
as soon as there’s a link broken you you
finished the customer in the restaurant
business is absolutely always right in
their own mind but we have to make sure
that we do what we can for it because
the system of the restaurant doesn’t
always agree with that right you come in
for dinner tonight you’re like I want my
steak well-done please I don’t want to
cook your steak well-done because I know
it’s kind of dry you’re staking out it’s
not gonna be the best eating experience
but how do I tell you I can’t do that
because then you say but that’s how I
like it and then I have to say through a
server or a captain on our way whoever
it is they have to say to you we
disagree with you or we’re just not
prepared to do it
you actually would say that we do really
yeah we did so how do you say to me like
if I say you know chefs preference our
chef’s preference is medium-rare I sound
like it well done right so what would
your waiters say to me we say look the
way we like to cook the steak because we
buy it from a certain
it’s been served as a certain thing it’s
been you know it’s this kind of breed
it’s this kind of feed it’s been aged
for a certain amount of time we dry-aged
our beef as well which means that it’s
not as juicy but it has way more flavor
which again is another choice that you
make so we sort of explain a little bit
about the steak and we say chef really
likes to cook the steak medium-rare
because that’s the best eating quality
nine times out of ten people go on that
journey but if someone’s like I don’t
want it that way we’ll then suggest
something else you know what’s you know
if you like that kind of steak what we
do really well what we can do really
well for you is this this so you make me
a recommendation on a different route
that’s right to get what so you’re still
so you’re not disagreeing you’re maybe
saying you may want to consider doing
this instead of this that’s right that’s
very tough yes that’s why I mean
obviously you can’t please everybody
you can’t and you know like that’s the
thing and like I said before everybody
wants something a little bit differently
right like some people some people have
a boisterous lab restaurant and a really
friendly waiter and other people don’t
want that they want it to be quiet and
romantic and they also want the way to
the Beast you know they want their water
filled up but they don’t want to see the
guy pour it and that’s okay like
everybody’s entitled to their own
opinion and with so many sensitivities
you’ve got to dance that dance yeah so
Mario would tell you if I go to the
restaurant I am extremely sensitive and
I pay attention to so many details so if
I go to a cheesecake and I’m going there
because my kids want to go for a
cheesecake my expectation of service is
zero yes the food boom gone $80 for four
people I’m good to go right sure but if
I’m going to a legit restaurant I have
high expectations right and that’s how I
am and I think some of the customers may
maybe that you know if I’m coming with
money I’m a successful guy I make a lot
of I’m not coming here for you nothing
so is the expectation that high always
one has with me it has to be it has to
be for us
now whether everybody wants it or even
understands it or appreciates it doesn’t
matter we just have to be we have to
have our standards super high so that
another thing we say in here is never be
ashamed of having high standards you
know there’s nothing wrong with it you
should be proud of it you see our guys
over there we have towels that come into
the kitchen they come in a big bag and
we could just empty them into a towel
bin and grab one but we don’t we follow
them we fold the towels we everybody
gets a little stack of towels you have
service yeah okay because I think if you
have a system in place for
everything huh then you get used to
there being a system in place so the
system can’t be I don’t know I’m not
sure it’s over there you know like it’s
there’s to be a system yeah so then when
somebody asks you a question like where
does the salt go there’s an answer to
that not just chuck it down there on and
I just put it in the corner
no this said there’s a place for it has
to live somewhere so we all know where
to go to get souls I’ve got a follow-up
question for you so movies have done a
very great job of presenting chefs as
very normal nice people behind closed
doors obviously and being very sarcastic
right what was that maybe the movie with
Bradley Cooper which was absent but okay
and then you have the other one with Jon
Favreau a chef why would the critic
comes and he mention they become
partners so you know you’re in front of
the camera right we turn the cameras
around and you’re behind the camera it’s
Curtis Stone in the kitchen on behind
closed doors or maybe some other ones is
there an element of craziness behind the
creativity of a chef oh there has to be
okay yeah if there’s not you’re not good
at you draw with you you know I’m
agreeing with you so I want it by the
way in a crazy way I want to believe
there is yeah you know what I’m saying I
want to believe there is I would I leave
that the guy running is shown behind the
whole thing is such a perfectionist you
know it’s high expectation that delivers
a great product for me but you’re saying
yes there is yeah then there is I mean I
work for a guy named Marco Pierre White
it’s he Gordon Ramsay spent a lot of
time as a young chef and Marko was
probably you know he’s famous for being
the most intense one of the craziest the
loudest he just drove and drive and
drive and you know people would tell
stories about Marco and they’d be like
how could he do that all you know can
were you there when that all this stuff
went on and I was like I loved it I
thrived in it because to me that passion
and that energy was exactly that’s why I
went you know you don’t go to you don’t
go to play for Manchester United and you
then it say excuse me do you mind would
you do five push-ups for me please they
get down and do that you know like they
push you hard they train your heart and
they make it good you know so there’s a
reason for everything right there’s a
reason to work in a great restaurant
there’s also a reason to go up the road
and work in a cafe and maybe that
reasons the conditions or the easy life
or the the lack you know
not too intense you can work somewhere
intense because you want intensity and I
said and that’s what that’s what we are
so now you’re married right so you
married a person that we used to watch
from 902 one is a Hindi president that’s
right because to us it’s 9:02 when I
grew up in that era I know we grew up
watching nine oh two one oh I know it’s
one of Melrose Place right Melrose Place
are after nine oh two one oh so now
you’re married and you use you said you
have kids all right so you have kids you
have them at one point you were doing
this and you weren’t married you don’t
have kids and you said you got to be
till 12 o’clock tonight right so I run a
business and I work some crazy hours
right so what did you and your wife have
to talk about for there to be
understanding to know look this is my
life like this is what I do
right was that a conversation you guys
had prior to you know wanted to do the
family together for it to know that your
life’s gonna be a little bit of
craziness absolutely and it has to be an
agreement you know has to be it has to
be a decision that you come to together
and I don’t think he can have an ego in
it you know it was because I wasn’t in
the restaurant business who I met her
before I was in the restaurant business
I mean obviously I’ve worked my whole
life in restaurants but I met her in
that break when I was doing my
television and whatever you know i sat
down with her and I was like look I want
to do it but he’s what it means you know
like it’s it’s not like I’m gonna do an
appearance somewhere and I won’t be home
till tomorrow it’s like night after
night after night it’s it’s a different
lifestyle and she was really supportive
of it and she sort of said you know look
she’s an artist and she she’s an actor
and she said I couldn’t I couldn’t live
with myself if I told you you couldn’t
do what you want to do because I want to
do what I want to do too
artistically and I want you to support
me as well so we walked into it together
and you know under the understanding
that it wouldn’t be forever I’m not
gonna be in the restaurant business when
I was 17 years old I want you know like
I’ve got a finite amount of time to do
it and I want to do it and I want to do
it rude to the best of my ability and we
we remind each other often of their
conversation when I say we remind each
other I occasionally remember
that’s cool well that’s at least you
being sincere and authentic about it you
know that you know what when she calls
me and she says hey listen there’s a
pilot I’m going for it if you say yes
but if I get the job I shoot in Austin
are you in and I’ve never said no and I
don’t know how we do it and you know and
she’s like I bet how and I’m like don’t
worry about how we’ll figure it out
figured I don’t do it you know I wanna
you want to take that job in Toronto I’m
in and me wrong like please so it’s a
two-way high with what the guys are
working with each other on that okay so
let’s talk about the money part like I’m
always curious I did a video the other
day I said why we pay $60 for $10 steak
right so you know and I make my point
behind why we pay $60 for $10 steak I
can buy it from the same place and they
get it from here and have a friend who
owns Raffi’s place and I don’t know if
you’re familiar with Raffi’s place in
Glendale the Mediterranean you know
Middle Eastern restaurants right and
they do very well and so I’m just
fascinated by everything with the
business aspect of restaurants not that
I’m trying to get into it I’m just
really curious about it so on the
business side of it how do you figure
out pricing like you know you sit menus
is is it something where it’s you we
paid $25 for this whatever it is okay so
our margins have to be forty percent so
if this is 25 I have to sell it for 75
and that 50 I have in here at it at 50
35 of it is going to cover our entire
cost 15 is going to be problem is there
is there a whole map behind there is
more knowledge this is what I’m paying
so you there is a math behind it as well
yeah for sure so you know and it’s real
simple your food cost should be
somewhere in the vicinity of 30 percent
meaning your GPS 70 right so your food
cost should be there your labor should
be somewhere around 35 to 40 you quickly
at 70 yeah you can costs are gonna be
somewhere around 15% while you’re
dealing what if it’s 15% can cost you
you know you depends where you are right
like we have one restaurant in Beverly
Hills and the other ones on Sunset
Boulevard in Hollywood you’ve got
expensive rent and and you also have to
try and figure out how much you’re going
to spend and then how you
sighs those cost back so if you you know
you spent five million mentioned seven
million bucks before about your friends
restaurant if you spend seven million
bucks on something you have to figure
out what’s the lifespan of this
restaurant
you know conservatively is it ten years
is it thirty years there’s a five years
you know like I don’t want to invest in
something I think it’s gonna be around
thirty years because there ain’t many of
them that make it so ten years isn’t
good by the way how do you think because
as an investor guy came up to me the
other day and and he says Ezekiel
Elliott the running back of Cowboys I’m
in Dallas he wants open up a restaurant
and they’re looking for this deal it’s
six million dollars do you want to come
in for two million dollars so I’m like
okay then in my mind before I even said
yes nor let me look at the numbers first
thing I said I said you know what how
many specialty restaurants are around
I’m not talking about Capital girl I’m
not talking about Ruth’s Chris I’m not
talking about you know be like even a
crustaceans that say on family and the
story they have behind it or maestro’s
I’m talking about how many restaurants
you see that’s a one-off comes and gone
and for years what happened to my six
million dollars at two million dollars I
put in so the math behind it or
investors going in knowing like do you
sell it as this is gonna be a five year
restaurant in the next five years you’re
to millions gonna probably make you
three and a half million dollars I’m
giving you a seventy five percent return
in five years if we do this
does it going to count like that it
usually does restaurants are way too
personal for me so I don’t have any
investors it’s all my money I made that
decision early on um we took a small
bite with a small restaurant 1200 square
feet although a few people do that yeah
so you very you’re not coming now you’d
be surprised virtually none for good
reason yeah it’s not easy you know to me
it was so important to get it right and
to give such a great product I never
wanted to have to sit at a table with a
bunch of people and say I promised you
something and now I’m gonna renege on it
you know so to me it was always it was
way more personal different businesses
should take on partners but for the
restaurant business now so that you so
you make me just so you know when I come
here you make me in my mind think about
the
how important is gonna be for you to
come through 100% because this is your
name on the land your money on the line
right this isn’t if a I just lost
600,000 you’re gonna lose a lot of it
okay and restaurants turnover a fair bit
of money you know we turn over a lot of
money but like I just went through it
with you and and that’s the art that’s
the optimum Gong fine dining restaurants
they can get to thirty five thirty seven
percent food cost your labor can get to
forty five fifty percent
labor and then the quickly st. you ain’t
got a lot left right so then you have
your camp cost today are always gonna be
around fifteen percent as long as you
did your deals properly and you keep
your revenue strong so like you know
there’s there’s there’s nothing left you
know so you’ve got to be you’ve got to
be crafty you got to be scrappy in this
business or you don’t make it are you
counting that as well are you counting
the bar party as well so that’s part of
the whole thirty thirty-five and yeah
fifteen interesting okay so last but not
least couple fun questions here for you
yourself with restaurants you I’m
assuming you don’t just eat here right
you’re gonna go to other places you’re
okay yeah show a couple things one what
do you look for two who do you like
today so let’s start off with what do
you look for you go into a restaurant
you’ve got to be very critical the other
day I’m in Breckenridge last week we’re
saying I wanna ski snowboard I’m trying
to snowboard my wife is skin and this
lady sitting next to us with her husband
I start talking to them and I said what
do you do she says I’m a dentist
oh that’s that’s cost do you look at
everybody and when you look at the
automatically go like this she says I
hate to say it I do I said what do you
look what do you look what being obvious
no I just look forward to seeing the
color of it is that right yeah that’s
what she said I’m like that’s
interesting so you look at the color of
the teeth as a dentist yourself you go
to a restaurant you’ve been on the front
and back in finance and what are you
looking for look it depends where I am
we went skiing in Mammoth with that kids
and I don’t know anyone up there don’t
know any of the chef’s I don’t know any
of the restaurants so you sort of you do
you wander around in some ways I sort of
think okay I’m gonna ski resort
what kind of chefs like it’s hard for me
to get great shifts here in LA but want
to come work for me I have no idea how
hard it is to be up in a ski field where
you do very little business for nine
months of the year or six months of the
year and then you get slammed points you
know like that that to me is going to be
really difficult to run that operation
so I sort of look for
something that is a little foolproof you
know like a steakhouse is a good example
it’s not that hard to fry some potatoes
and cook a nice steak but if you go
somewhere that’s doing slowly cooked
rabbit with a blob of you know kids
asses chefs we get a little above
ourselves sometimes and we try and do
more than we should so I always try and
pull it back and you know I even in a
place you can go to a restaurant they
can have all this stuff some of it
exotic if I look around and I’m like
yeah this is a pretty simple joint I’m
gonna have a steak and a couple of sides
do you find yourself being more
understanding like let’s just say your
wife says I cannot believe they took
such a long time and this doesn’t take
viewfinders have being more
understanding babe
listen you don’t know what happened
maybe it bar you more critical so where
do you find yourself yeah now I’m pretty
easy gone okay yeah like I understand
the business job like you know someone
asked me the tables not quite ready it’s
gonna be ten minutes unlocks wait we’ll
get a drink in the bar so you’re more
understanding being on the opposite side
for sure that’s amazing because our mode
for Raffi’s place is the same way yeah
and he over tips always he never tips
20% you know he says you don’t know what
these guys go through I’m always a 30%
to 50% tip guy Wow then it gives I can’t
even believe in me says yeah are what if
you’re watching this you got a gonna
need over here at Majdanek quits so last
but not least your restaurants what do
you look for you know you go to
restaurants like what’s your favorite
restaurants right now that maybe you’ve
been today say these guys deliver you
know I was just in San Francisco I went
to dominate Kern’s restaurant Atelier
Crenn I’ve got to say I think it’s the
best restaurant the country she’s such a
talented chef
beautiful food very feminine the way she
plates is amazing it that everything
tasted fantastic I was really blown away
there’s experimental chefs like Grant
Achatz in Chicago that just blown my
mind with their creativity
Daniel whom from Eleven Madison Park you
know that again they’re all chef driven
restaurants they’re chefs that have
toiled away in the kitchen for most of
their life and they love it they that
their craft is to turn ingredients into
something that just tastes fantastic so
do you trust the michelin’s like you go
on you I do you do trust Michelin I
think it’s a very very well put together
guide
it has real credibility in the way that
they inspect the restaurants so if the
Michelin guys looking at something
that’s in contention for two or three
stars they’ll visit it five times over a
12-month period by different inspectors
they’ll all write a paper on it and then
at the end of the year they sit around
the the inspectors sit around they read
the papers and they talk about how it
should be rated to me that’s very fair
you know if you if you totally
determined your fates totally determined
by one critic that critic might have a
little thinking about this or that that
he likes or dislikes or she likes or
dislikes oh and through my experience of
traveling the world remaining in
different restaurants usually if it has
a Michelin star it’s good that’s two
Michelin stars it’s really trusted
that’s good to know that you even in
your world you’re banking on that as
well and what project are you working on
right now if people want to see what
project you’re on you know what shows
you’re working on what makes things that
are coming up what are some things
you’re working on right now I’ve got a
show called Top Chef Junior which is the
Top Chef of course that we all know and
love from Bravo we’ve done a new one for
universal kids so that’s that’s there on
universal kids I’ve got a line of
kitchenware that we developed you know
great pots and pans and you know
interesting stuff that make your life a
bit easier in the kitchen what’s a call
it’s called dura pan is the name of the
cookware and then the Curtis Stone line
is the the rest of it and we sell that
at HSN so you can go and check out the
whole sort of they’re nice very cool
brother appreciate you letting us come
now yeah I’m having an experience on the
stick around now and have dinner
I would love them I came earlier I said
I want to try the food before I talk to
Curtis and I talked your hostess I said
listen can i order from the dinner menu
he says no sir we can’t do that we give
me that bone-in ribeye I was in love
with it right he says I said I’ll come
back and do it another time I’ll respect
the restaurant I’m sorry you know it
takes us a couple of asked a lot to find
out why I said I’m not even gonna push
it I said I said I’m coming back because
I want to go to Maude because she was
telling about how modest setup I’m
really curious about that in it so I’m
giving you commit mom and LA all the
time I’m gonna come back and I’ll let
you know I’m also hopefully place to get
a chance to come by and say hello again brother appreciate you they are yes
experience who’s number one and I know
what I don’t want the politically
correct this and how I give it to make
curious to know who is the most
so one of the things you’ll hear me talk
a lot about on value taming this
restaurant you know I love food all over
the world that go I love my food and we
got a lot of comments and people said
Pat since you love these restaurants and
you’re so either critical or in love
with the menus and the way they give you
service we got to get deeper into it
because you don’t actually own
restaurants why don’t we talk to
somebody who actually knows what they’re
talking about so that’s exactly what
we’re gonna do so we found Curtis Stone
who was on Celebrity Apprentice
yep with our current president but at
that time he wasn’t a president you were
on Top Chef won all that other stuff
yeah and now you run two restaurants
here Maude as well as Gwen which we’re
gonna get into the story of that so
having said that if we’re going to talk
to anybody we got to talk to a pro and
we have a celebrity chef here Curtis
Stone brother get the same for making
the time to get together with us aka the
quiet terminator that you’re known for
right so I’m always looking at
restaurants that I go to I pay attention
to how they treat you menus how they set
it up different like seasons 52 in
Dallas they do you know every three
months they change as the season changes
the menu changes and then you have the
typical ones that you go to so I want to
go into customer service customer
Express before before doing that why
don’t you first tell us about the two
restaurants you have right now in LA
with Maude and Gwyn and the story behind
it sure so Maude was the first one I
opened it’s about nearly five years ago
now I took a little break from
restaurants actually I worked my whole
life as a young chef in great
restaurants I moved to Europe and worked
there for ten years or so and then I got
asked to do a TV show and then I write a
book and then another TV show that just
got too crazy to do restaurants and and
that as well so I sort of I took five
years off and I missed it you know
restaurants are scrappy professions you
know like there to run a restaurant is a
really difficult I bet it’s a difficult
job and it’s also very hard to stay
afloat it’s hard to make money it’s hard
to break even in the rest
but there was something I loved about it
something I craved it you know just as a
part of my life I missed it so I decided
to open my first one which was Maude
five years ago and it was a tiny little
place and I thought if I’m gonna spend
that much time in one little building I
want it to feel special to me so I sort
of started thinking about all the things
that was special in my life and my
grandma was one of those things she she
was one of the first people that ever
got me interested in food your
grandmother
my grandmother’s old were you at the
time when you were interest I was
probably 5 yea early yeah yeah one yeah
she was from Yorkshire the northern part
of England and she used to make this
delicious sugary fudge orchids like
something sweet right I was no exception
so I used to go to her house and I’d be
like grandma is there fudge in the
fridge and if there wasn’t we’d make it
together so that was sort of my very
first time in the kitchen was with her
and she was a good old duck my granny
she taught me how to play tennis she
taught me how to play cards she was she
was very funny and she was a big
influence I was that
grandma yeah so I decided to name the
restaurant after her she was also the
most religious one in our family so I
thought if anyone can help me from up
there it’s her so I end after her and
then I’m out she moved from a UK to
Australia she did okay yeah she moved
when she was young
five or six got light years old so so
she grew up as an Aussie but she always
had like a tiny bit of an English accent
which was literacy um and then we’re
sitting in Gwen right now this is the
second restaurant this is joint venture
with my brother actually so we sort of
had spoken about doing something
together for a long time and we decided
we’d eventually do something I convinced
him to move his family over here to Los
Angeles and we said well you know what’s
what’s something we love and we sort of
got talking about that and we wanted to
open a european-style butcher shop with
a fine dining restaurant off the back of
it and we were talking and talking and
we were like you know why we can’t we
can only represent one side of the
family we have to do both so Gwen was my
other man she was my man my other granny
and yes so here we are in so no one’s
upset that’s right you representing
somebody that’s right that’s interesting
okay
so now having said that your brother is
now partners with you on this one you
got mod blowing on his wall huh
so celebrity apprentice when you did
that how was that entire experience
for you was that the first time when it
was kind of coming up for you were you
making a name for yourself nationally or
have you already been established prior
to that it was a funny time for me to be
honest with you it was just after the
GFC I went I moved to America to do a TV
show I did a few of them I wrote a few
books and then I’d sort of built a
business I had half a dozen employees
well not half a dozen but three or four
here or here in the US and then the GFC
hit and all my commercial partners
disappeared and I didn’t have a TV show
at that time I just finished a show and
there are about to Commission a new one
and then that sort of got put on the
back burner so suddenly unemployed but
with the staff right it’s a worst way to
be unemployed no customers no revenue
when you go to princess right and right
you got to you got to pay everyone and I
got asked to do Celebrity Apprentice the
year prior and I turned it down cuz I
you know I’m a chef you know why would I
be on the apprentice but the next time I
got asked I was like you know what I’m
gonna do something you know business is
bad I’ve got to try and rekindle things
a little bit so I decided to do it but I
was very skeptical I wasn’t looking
forward to it I got up there in New York
and I found out who the other people
were over there all mad Brit Michael
Cyndi Lauper Sharon Osbourne
but goya vich the governor who’s now in
prison from Illinois you know and I
walked into this room and I thought to
myself I’m the only normal person and I
was thinking the what a mistake but you
know we started the show and then of
course you meet Trump and you start the
show and he literally gives you a he
gives you a game right and as adults I
don’t have kids at that time when you
have kids you get to play again but as
adults you don’t get to play games very
often interesting right yeah so we
played a game with a bunch of nutjobs
every single day and it was so fun I was
there for over a month and I really
enjoyed it you know it was it was you
know the way these people’s brains work
very creative and it was very
interesting so who was the most
interesting character I mean Britt
Michaels was just a fascinating yes and
I got along really well with him and I
didn’t really expect to you know Bill
Goldberg was another guy he was you
the ex-wrestler we’re gonna walk well I
work out with him he’d slept me around
here and there so biggest is he actually
like really is this big dude yeah he’s a
big design strong you know like we’d go
to the gym together and he’d lift four
times what I quit it was fun working out
with him and then how was Trump with
that whole experience because this is
pre presidency different politics it’s
just regular celebrity Trump Trump was
like a very interesting character coming
back so it doesn’t happen when someone’s
not saying I want to be the president of
the country then you have no you know
like you don’t mind having crazy people
in your world you no mind having someone
that’s you know loose of this big
personality like ears so I enjoyed him
while I was on the show I don’t know if
he should have put his hand up to become
the president of the country but hey he
did but you know while on the show I
didn’t have a lot to do with him to be
honest but he likes things done his way
and he’s you know he’s got opinions on
stuff but yeah it was was was a
fascinating experience
it seemed being a control guy like
everything’s got to be my control the
way he wants it okay when you start a
restaurant you’ve done to them and one
of the things I like about where you’re
at you you’ve had experience you said in
Europe you worked there for five years I
think some number you said well you so
yes so you know the customers in Europe
are different than the customers in
America many customers in Australia some
of the culture is different the
treatment I get in South America or if I
go to Columbia or if I go to you know
Middle East Qatar or Dubai I’m gonna get
different than I do in US or Europe for
whatever reason right there’s a
different approach to it but when you
look at customer service and customer
experience and you have worked as a
person behind closed doors and you have
worked as your own restaurant that’s
representing your grandmother I mean
these are people that mean a lot to you
so you want to protect those names what
is on your mind to give me the customer
whoever that’s coming in a good customer
service
and a good customer experience the thing
I say to everyone is when you open the
doors to your restaurant you’re really
opening up an extension of your home or
and inviting people in so you have to
treat them like they’re coming into your
home because in a way they are and in a
way you get to know your team members so
well you really do become a family we
sit down every day and we dinner
together we call a family meal really
yeah everyday everyday but they’re here
all day The Cook’s The Cook’s get here
in the morning and they’re here until
midnight you know the least we can do is
cook them dinner and we just before the
guests arrive so we’re at like 4 o’clock
they’ll be downstairs now probably
having they’re having their dinner
before you know because we’re then cook
until midnight right sod some but when
you open your doors you really need to
greet people the same way that you would
greet them in your home and so it
wouldn’t be stiff it wouldn’t be awkward
it wouldn’t be like good evening you
know it wouldn’t be unnatural you’d be
you’d welcome them right and then as
they come in you try and imagine that
you they’re your friends and you take
care of them in the best way that you
can where it gets tricky is guests come
in and they all want something different
some people want you to talk to them a
lot and then tighten them a little bit
and tell them the story of the dishes
and other people really want to be left
alone so they can enjoy the company of
their companions so sometimes it’s
romance happening sometimes it’s a
business meeting so you then have to be
a good reader of someone right you need
to be able to quickly tap into what
these customers want and then to be able
to try and communicate that to the rest
of your team so that we’re all on the
same page interesting and sometimes you
get it wrong most of the time hopefully
we get it right but occasionally you’ll
you’ll read someone and you’ll think ok
they want us to leave in my line they
don’t want us to interrupt them all
night long but then you know you’ll read
out a yelp review or occasionally you’ll
get an email that sort of says you know
we didn’t get the same service that we
were seeing other other tables get so
once in a while you get it wrong but I
think for the most part if you’re good
at your job you can get it pretty right
so the four o’clock dinner that you guys
do what are you talking about are you
talking about the day are you talking to
them or you talking about preparation
are you talking about mindset are you re
reminding about what this what we stand
for it’s just relationship thing what is
that about we actually we don’t do any
work during our dinner so what we do is
we we put it out everyone comes and gets
a plate doesn’t matter who you are if
you’re a dishwasher or you share for
youî all sit down together that’s just a
time to connect with one another and I
love seeing the cook sitting with the
front of house and the kitchen porters
working with you know the maitre d’s and
I like to see mix tables because then
you’re all connecting with one another
because if you care about each other
you’ll back each other up right you
you’ll become a really good teammate
then what we do is we have what we call
a pre-service or a pre shift so just
before the guests arrive we then or we
come up into this room actually and we
stand together and then we run for our
night so we talked about what guests are
coming in we keep notes on our guests so
when guests
dime with us we’ll keep a history I like
a be back if a be backs coming back
right exactly
what do you say about that like you say
tonight we have the Johnson family
coming here exactly what do you say
after that we’ll say what they drank
last time they were in you know maybe
she was a lover of white Burgundy or
talk about what water preferences they
have they preferred still or sparkling
just so we’re sort of details specific
details yes do you adjust your waiter or
waitress to the customer or it doesn’t
matter if I’m sectioned off this is
section ABCD no matter what if I sit in
a I’m getting game which is Christine or
if I am always good with Larry you give
me a Larry even if I’m sitting a section
a will have certain regular guests that
we know what they like then would they
might like to sit in a certain section
of the restaurant or they might like a
particular server that they’ve had in
the past so we will try and even say
like myself yeah interesting
and then we run through a variety of
things like you know on certain nights
you’ll have guests arrive in a big pack
so between 7:00 and 7:15 party you might
have 30 guests coming through the car
door
so we’ll sort of help prepare our team
for that when that’s coming this is how
we’re going to handle it we’ve got to
get some of those checks in as quickly
as we can so that they don’t come all at
once to the kitchen because everyone’s
waiting for their food so we try and
structure the evening in as best way as
we can you always get caught out you
know you’ve got to be ready because
sometimes you’ll you’ll plan it out your
stagger the night so everyone’s arriving
at different times and then the first 10
guests all arrive late and the 10 guests
after the 10 guests in the middle arrive
early and suddenly you’ve got 30 people
are through the door again so you know
there’s ways that you can try and
mitigate that you know because if if you
do the math it’s quite a it’s quite a
difficult task right let’s say 30 people
get ordered into the kitchen within 5
minutes which can happen mm-hmm and
that’s only four or five tables right
there’s a server up here there’s a
server down there there’s a couple
downstairs then are all seen what
everybody else is doing and they all hit
the computer
same time and put the checks in so I get
30 covers at once in the kitchen if it
takes me 30 seconds per plate and it
doesn’t takes me longer but if it took
me that means that the last person waits
for 15 minutes free starter for his
appetizer Wow too long yeah right so
we’ve got to somehow figure out how
those checks come into the kitchen how
quickly we can move how do you do that
what is it what is the you know secret
behind that secret sauce its
communication it’s no different than
playing a sport and I say this to
everyone all the time if you look at a
good soccer player he’s running down the
field and he’s got control the ball but
he’s looking at he’s looking at what’s
going on he’s not looking at the ball as
he keeps that line because you have to
be a part of a team it’s the exact same
thing in a restaurant if you’re a
captain or if you’re the one taking the
order you need to be doing your job but
also keeping your peripheral vision
totally open and seeing what he’s doing
and seeing what he’s doing and asking a
quick question run downstairs and just I
saw you know I noticed a bunch of people
came in at once up here I wonder if it’s
the same down there so you’re sort of
that those lines of communication they
need to be really wide open interesting
so what is that the embody we’re going
to come back to the soccer a point you
made analogy made so the difference
between mod and the difference between
going yeah what because that’s not the
same product base the philosophy is
different though stories different right
so what what is the biggest difference
between those two restaurants so mod is
I hate saying it’s a special occasion
restaurant because I want people to feel
like they can come regularly and we do
have a bunch of regulars down there but
it’s a type of experience we serve nine
or ten courses per menu we change the
menu four times a year it always
revolves around the wine region we use
shamsher and I heard used to do it once
a month once a half years that’s right
yes sanity it really was crazy but it
was good fun because we’re constantly
having to develop and challenge yourself
and imagine on the first of the month
you implement a new menu right it takes
a few days to get everybody knowing
exactly what they’re supposed to be
doing and then you’ve got a couple of
weeks to develop the new menu because
you’ve got a presented you know the wine
team so they can taste it and then
choose the wine they’ve got a special
order wine and buy stuff at auction and
get it all together in time for the new
menu which starts on the 1st of the next
the pressures it was crazy yeah and now
now I’m taking the whole team to the
wine region we went we learned we ate we
drank we examined the culture and then
we sort of try and bring all those
influences back and make a cohesive
tense menu so yeah it’s good fun you
know like the guys that work down there
really love it it’s detailed so the
food’s really detailed it’s elevated we
put lots of effort into each plate that
we do it sounds easy right a 24 seat
restaurant we turn those tables so we
actually do 48 covers a night and
because we serve 10 courses that means
that that 48 covers by the 10 dishes
that’s 480 plates of food they have to
leave a kitchen within a three or
four-hour window and we also pour wines
to pair so it also means that we pour
480 wines that night which means that we
wash 480 glasses we polish 480 glasses
we restock those 480 glasses back into
the shelf so that they can be marked
different shaped flutes different shaped
our stemware for every single wine that
we pour that detail is something that
you were either attracted to or you
think it’s too fussy you know like we we
try and keep it as light and and we call
it fine-dining without all the fluff
because we try not to talk down to where
I guess we try to make it a fun
experience but it is still you know
people will sit down there there for a
few hours so that’s that and in this
model here with Gwen this model here is
built solely around the butcher shop so
we have the best protein from anywhere
in the world we buy Wagyu beef from
Australia we have grass-fed lamb coming
from Northern California we buy grain
fed beef from the middle of the country
so we spend it we buy game from Scotland
when it’s in season so we really try and
focus on the this incredible protein and
they’re now attitude towards it is fire
so we we sort of we sat around and we’re
like what do we want this to be and what
we came up with was primitive elegance
and primitive is the way we cook it
right so but we want to serve it with
real elegance and to me you can think
about all the technology that you can
use in a kitchen but if you cook a steak
over a fire and the embers are just
right and you’ve cooked it over the
right kind of ward and you’ve got that
hint of smokiness I know we’ve been
doing it for centuries but it’s
incredible when you get it right and
that’s that’s what we try to do I agree
with your Mayan as the eater you know
yeah I want to make sure you get it
right so okay so now let’s talk a little
bit more about you know team team base
okay so when I look at you said soccer
right okay so a good team that wins the
championship you know they won the World
Cup
you got a coach you got offense you got
defense you got a goalie in the
restaurant world if and I know the
typical answer is well it’s a team
environment this is who’s the most
important everybody’s important and I
know that’s the political politically
right answer to get right you want to
not undermine anybody in the restaurant
but if I am an investor yep and I’m
saying look I wanna like the other day
I’m talking to a restaurant in Dallas
it’s called Texas in Brazil and it’s
Brazilian steakhouse but Texas they do
great job and I asked the owner
what is it cost to do something with
uses we just the one in Houston seven
million dollars it’s a Sounders here’s
how the investors come this is how much
it costs to show me the entire math
behind it right great but if I have the
money and you and I team up together and
it’s your money and my money and you’re
not thinking like the chef right now
you’re thinking like the businessperson
because you’ve been all over it who
plays the most important role to put my
money around in basketball you could say
you got to build around a center you got
to build around and put your shooting
guard and point guard you got to build
the team around a solid-gold or a coach
and to attract the players I want to
play for a coach in the restaurant world
from your experience who’s number one
and I know what I don’t want the
politically correct that’s how I give it
a curious to know who is the most
important thing to put your money behind
I’m just gonna check my brother’s
downstairs because he’s my older brother
and he’s the maitre d right so he runs
the front of house I run the back of
house look in my humble opinion and it’s
not because I’m a chef but it’s because
I’ve been in the industry for as long as
I’ve been in there
the chef is the most important person
because at the end of the day the
service is super important and that the
answer to the question is there’s a
variety of ways to do it but in my
opinion if the chef doesn’t really
believe in what he’s doing then the food
won’t taste great and do you go out for
dinner for service or do you go for
dinner for food the answers both right
but you will go somewhere where the food
is incredible even if the service isn’t
great but if the food’s horrible and the
service is amazing
you won’t go because you’re like well
like you know I love you guys and I like
being here in the atmosphere the
ambiance is all right but the food is
disgusting you’re not gonna keep coming
back I also come from a culture of chef
driven restaurants where the chef is
always the center of the restaurant and
if the chef suddenly isn’t that person
you know if the chef’s just an employee
I’ve only ever worked for an
owner-operator and I’m one myself you
know and I often talk about Australian
rules football because we have a you
know in the old school of Aussie Rules
AFL the coach played there was a captain
coach and he was he was a playing coach
right so it’s it’s an interesting thing
because you know you don’t see it very
often I love it because tonight I’ll be
down there and I won’t be wandering
around the dining room I’ll be on a
section which in some ways I’m sure the
guests would rather I came and touched
each table and spoke to everyone and
took some photos and signs and cookbooks
or whatever
but I would rather them see me behind
the girl sweating my ass off I’m working
really hard because I know what it does
for my team my team I always say your
jobs only as good as how you can
describe it to your mate while you’re in
the pub having a beer alright and if my
team are in the bluff having a beer with
a friend of theirs and they’re like
what’s it like working for Curtis and
they’re like you know what he’s in the
kitchen he works a section he’s faster
than anyone else he’s clean is this is
that the person opposite that was like
are you kidding me he’s in the kitchen
you know like that’s to me that is a
very interesting point you’re making
there of course it means that you can’t
have ten restaurants cuz otherwise you
screw it’s what I think it’s the two
different types of restaurant like it’s
almost like you having two different
philosophies like you have to be able to
go in and treat that one in a little bit
different way than this yet it’s the
same thing okay so so in I run an
insurance company yeah and we have five
thousand five hundred insurance agents
in 49 states and we sell life insurance
and orders and retirement products we
started off with one office in
Northridge now we’re in a nationwide in
40 United States
my processing initially when I was
growing from being a sales guy to a
sales manager to a business owner to a
CEO was who is number one is the
customer number one or is the agent
number one we agreed that for us the
agent who sells insurance policies late
at night at midnight like you’re cooking
till midnight the chef your priority so
I’m an agreement with Chef being number
one they’re number two for me it comes
to the clients then it becomes partners
and all that other stuff if number one
is the chef who’s – who’s three in your
world I think the interesting thing
about a team is it only because when I
analyze my philosophy a little deeper
right
is it really for me am I so good that
I’m so important to the restaurant and I
don’t think the answer is yes I think
the answer is if I behave like that then
my shift of cuisine will behave like
that or my executive chef down at Maude
will behave like that which means their
sous chef will also behave like that and
then you build that culture so to me the
culture is the most important thing is
it built around a person or is it
something unto herself interacts or the
environment in the culture the
environment the culture is so important
because you know we have another saying
in our business that together we’re
limitless but if we’re not together we
don’t get the wrong it’s like you need
that teamwork and you it’s like a chain
as soon as there’s a link broken you you
finished the customer in the restaurant
business is absolutely always right in
their own mind but we have to make sure
that we do what we can for it because
the system of the restaurant doesn’t
always agree with that right you come in
for dinner tonight you’re like I want my
steak well-done please I don’t want to
cook your steak well-done because I know
it’s kind of dry you’re staking out it’s
not gonna be the best eating experience
but how do I tell you I can’t do that
because then you say but that’s how I
like it and then I have to say through a
server or a captain on our way whoever
it is they have to say to you we
disagree with you or we’re just not
prepared to do it
you actually would say that we do really
yeah we did so how do you say to me like
if I say you know chefs preference our
chef’s preference is medium-rare I sound
like it well done right so what would
your waiters say to me we say look the
way we like to cook the steak because we
buy it from a certain
it’s been served as a certain thing it’s
been you know it’s this kind of breed
it’s this kind of feed it’s been aged
for a certain amount of time we dry-aged
our beef as well which means that it’s
not as juicy but it has way more flavor
which again is another choice that you
make so we sort of explain a little bit
about the steak and we say chef really
likes to cook the steak medium-rare
because that’s the best eating quality
nine times out of ten people go on that
journey but if someone’s like I don’t
want it that way we’ll then suggest
something else you know what’s you know
if you like that kind of steak what we
do really well what we can do really
well for you is this this so you make me
a recommendation on a different route
that’s right to get what so you’re still
so you’re not disagreeing you’re maybe
saying you may want to consider doing
this instead of this that’s right that’s
very tough yes that’s why I mean
obviously you can’t please everybody
you can’t and you know like that’s the
thing and like I said before everybody
wants something a little bit differently
right like some people some people have
a boisterous lab restaurant and a really
friendly waiter and other people don’t
want that they want it to be quiet and
romantic and they also want the way to
the Beast you know they want their water
filled up but they don’t want to see the
guy pour it and that’s okay like
everybody’s entitled to their own
opinion and with so many sensitivities
you’ve got to dance that dance yeah so
Mario would tell you if I go to the
restaurant I am extremely sensitive and
I pay attention to so many details so if
I go to a cheesecake and I’m going there
because my kids want to go for a
cheesecake my expectation of service is
zero yes the food boom gone $80 for four
people I’m good to go right sure but if
I’m going to a legit restaurant I have
high expectations right and that’s how I
am and I think some of the customers may
maybe that you know if I’m coming with
money I’m a successful guy I make a lot
of I’m not coming here for you nothing
so is the expectation that high always
one has with me it has to be it has to
be for us
now whether everybody wants it or even
understands it or appreciates it doesn’t
matter we just have to be we have to
have our standards super high so that
another thing we say in here is never be
ashamed of having high standards you
know there’s nothing wrong with it you
should be proud of it you see our guys
over there we have towels that come into
the kitchen they come in a big bag and
we could just empty them into a towel
bin and grab one but we don’t we follow
them we fold the towels we everybody
gets a little stack of towels you have
service yeah okay because I think if you
have a system in place for
everything huh then you get used to
there being a system in place so the
system can’t be I don’t know I’m not
sure it’s over there you know like it’s
there’s to be a system yeah so then when
somebody asks you a question like where
does the salt go there’s an answer to
that not just chuck it down there on and
I just put it in the corner
no this said there’s a place for it has
to live somewhere so we all know where
to go to get souls I’ve got a follow-up
question for you so movies have done a
very great job of presenting chefs as
very normal nice people behind closed
doors obviously and being very sarcastic
right what was that maybe the movie with
Bradley Cooper which was absent but okay
and then you have the other one with Jon
Favreau a chef why would the critic
comes and he mention they become
partners so you know you’re in front of
the camera right we turn the cameras
around and you’re behind the camera it’s
Curtis Stone in the kitchen on behind
closed doors or maybe some other ones is
there an element of craziness behind the
creativity of a chef oh there has to be
okay yeah if there’s not you’re not good
at you draw with you you know I’m
agreeing with you so I want it by the
way in a crazy way I want to believe
there is yeah you know what I’m saying I
want to believe there is I would I leave
that the guy running is shown behind the
whole thing is such a perfectionist you
know it’s high expectation that delivers
a great product for me but you’re saying
yes there is yeah then there is I mean I
work for a guy named Marco Pierre White
it’s he Gordon Ramsay spent a lot of
time as a young chef and Marko was
probably you know he’s famous for being
the most intense one of the craziest the
loudest he just drove and drive and
drive and you know people would tell
stories about Marco and they’d be like
how could he do that all you know can
were you there when that all this stuff
went on and I was like I loved it I
thrived in it because to me that passion
and that energy was exactly that’s why I
went you know you don’t go to you don’t
go to play for Manchester United and you
then it say excuse me do you mind would
you do five push-ups for me please they
get down and do that you know like they
push you hard they train your heart and
they make it good you know so there’s a
reason for everything right there’s a
reason to work in a great restaurant
there’s also a reason to go up the road
and work in a cafe and maybe that
reasons the conditions or the easy life
or the the lack you know
not too intense you can work somewhere
intense because you want intensity and I
said and that’s what that’s what we are
so now you’re married right so you
married a person that we used to watch
from 902 one is a Hindi president that’s
right because to us it’s 9:02 when I
grew up in that era I know we grew up
watching nine oh two one oh I know it’s
one of Melrose Place right Melrose Place
are after nine oh two one oh so now
you’re married and you use you said you
have kids all right so you have kids you
have them at one point you were doing
this and you weren’t married you don’t
have kids and you said you got to be
till 12 o’clock tonight right so I run a
business and I work some crazy hours
right so what did you and your wife have
to talk about for there to be
understanding to know look this is my
life like this is what I do
right was that a conversation you guys
had prior to you know wanted to do the
family together for it to know that your
life’s gonna be a little bit of
craziness absolutely and it has to be an
agreement you know has to be it has to
be a decision that you come to together
and I don’t think he can have an ego in
it you know it was because I wasn’t in
the restaurant business who I met her
before I was in the restaurant business
I mean obviously I’ve worked my whole
life in restaurants but I met her in
that break when I was doing my
television and whatever you know i sat
down with her and I was like look I want
to do it but he’s what it means you know
like it’s it’s not like I’m gonna do an
appearance somewhere and I won’t be home
till tomorrow it’s like night after
night after night it’s it’s a different
lifestyle and she was really supportive
of it and she sort of said you know look
she’s an artist and she she’s an actor
and she said I couldn’t I couldn’t live
with myself if I told you you couldn’t
do what you want to do because I want to
do what I want to do too
artistically and I want you to support
me as well so we walked into it together
and you know under the understanding
that it wouldn’t be forever I’m not
gonna be in the restaurant business when
I was 17 years old I want you know like
I’ve got a finite amount of time to do
it and I want to do it and I want to do
it rude to the best of my ability and we
we remind each other often of their
conversation when I say we remind each
other I occasionally remember
that’s cool well that’s at least you
being sincere and authentic about it you
know that you know what when she calls
me and she says hey listen there’s a
pilot I’m going for it if you say yes
but if I get the job I shoot in Austin
are you in and I’ve never said no and I
don’t know how we do it and you know and
she’s like I bet how and I’m like don’t
worry about how we’ll figure it out
figured I don’t do it you know I wanna
you want to take that job in Toronto I’m
in and me wrong like please so it’s a
two-way high with what the guys are
working with each other on that okay so
let’s talk about the money part like I’m
always curious I did a video the other
day I said why we pay $60 for $10 steak
right so you know and I make my point
behind why we pay $60 for $10 steak I
can buy it from the same place and they
get it from here and have a friend who
owns Raffi’s place and I don’t know if
you’re familiar with Raffi’s place in
Glendale the Mediterranean you know
Middle Eastern restaurants right and
they do very well and so I’m just
fascinated by everything with the
business aspect of restaurants not that
I’m trying to get into it I’m just
really curious about it so on the
business side of it how do you figure
out pricing like you know you sit menus
is is it something where it’s you we
paid $25 for this whatever it is okay so
our margins have to be forty percent so
if this is 25 I have to sell it for 75
and that 50 I have in here at it at 50
35 of it is going to cover our entire
cost 15 is going to be problem is there
is there a whole map behind there is
more knowledge this is what I’m paying
so you there is a math behind it as well
yeah for sure so you know and it’s real
simple your food cost should be
somewhere in the vicinity of 30 percent
meaning your GPS 70 right so your food
cost should be there your labor should
be somewhere around 35 to 40 you quickly
at 70 yeah you can costs are gonna be
somewhere around 15% while you’re
dealing what if it’s 15% can cost you
you know you depends where you are right
like we have one restaurant in Beverly
Hills and the other ones on Sunset
Boulevard in Hollywood you’ve got
expensive rent and and you also have to
try and figure out how much you’re going
to spend and then how you
sighs those cost back so if you you know
you spent five million mentioned seven
million bucks before about your friends
restaurant if you spend seven million
bucks on something you have to figure
out what’s the lifespan of this
restaurant
you know conservatively is it ten years
is it thirty years there’s a five years
you know like I don’t want to invest in
something I think it’s gonna be around
thirty years because there ain’t many of
them that make it so ten years isn’t
good by the way how do you think because
as an investor guy came up to me the
other day and and he says Ezekiel
Elliott the running back of Cowboys I’m
in Dallas he wants open up a restaurant
and they’re looking for this deal it’s
six million dollars do you want to come
in for two million dollars so I’m like
okay then in my mind before I even said
yes nor let me look at the numbers first
thing I said I said you know what how
many specialty restaurants are around
I’m not talking about Capital girl I’m
not talking about Ruth’s Chris I’m not
talking about you know be like even a
crustaceans that say on family and the
story they have behind it or maestro’s
I’m talking about how many restaurants
you see that’s a one-off comes and gone
and for years what happened to my six
million dollars at two million dollars I
put in so the math behind it or
investors going in knowing like do you
sell it as this is gonna be a five year
restaurant in the next five years you’re
to millions gonna probably make you
three and a half million dollars I’m
giving you a seventy five percent return
in five years if we do this
does it going to count like that it
usually does restaurants are way too
personal for me so I don’t have any
investors it’s all my money I made that
decision early on um we took a small
bite with a small restaurant 1200 square
feet although a few people do that yeah
so you very you’re not coming now you’d
be surprised virtually none for good
reason yeah it’s not easy you know to me
it was so important to get it right and
to give such a great product I never
wanted to have to sit at a table with a
bunch of people and say I promised you
something and now I’m gonna renege on it
you know so to me it was always it was
way more personal different businesses
should take on partners but for the
restaurant business now so that you so
you make me just so you know when I come
here you make me in my mind think about
the
how important is gonna be for you to
come through 100% because this is your
name on the land your money on the line
right this isn’t if a I just lost
600,000 you’re gonna lose a lot of it
okay and restaurants turnover a fair bit
of money you know we turn over a lot of
money but like I just went through it
with you and and that’s the art that’s
the optimum Gong fine dining restaurants
they can get to thirty five thirty seven
percent food cost your labor can get to
forty five fifty percent
labor and then the quickly st. you ain’t
got a lot left right so then you have
your camp cost today are always gonna be
around fifteen percent as long as you
did your deals properly and you keep
your revenue strong so like you know
there’s there’s there’s nothing left you
know so you’ve got to be you’ve got to
be crafty you got to be scrappy in this
business or you don’t make it are you
counting that as well are you counting
the bar party as well so that’s part of
the whole thirty thirty-five and yeah
fifteen interesting okay so last but not
least couple fun questions here for you
yourself with restaurants you I’m
assuming you don’t just eat here right
you’re gonna go to other places you’re
okay yeah show a couple things one what
do you look for two who do you like
today so let’s start off with what do
you look for you go into a restaurant
you’ve got to be very critical the other
day I’m in Breckenridge last week we’re
saying I wanna ski snowboard I’m trying
to snowboard my wife is skin and this
lady sitting next to us with her husband
I start talking to them and I said what
do you do she says I’m a dentist
oh that’s that’s cost do you look at
everybody and when you look at the
automatically go like this she says I
hate to say it I do I said what do you
look what do you look what being obvious
no I just look forward to seeing the
color of it is that right yeah that’s
what she said I’m like that’s
interesting so you look at the color of
the teeth as a dentist yourself you go
to a restaurant you’ve been on the front
and back in finance and what are you
looking for look it depends where I am
we went skiing in Mammoth with that kids
and I don’t know anyone up there don’t
know any of the chef’s I don’t know any
of the restaurants so you sort of you do
you wander around in some ways I sort of
think okay I’m gonna ski resort
what kind of chefs like it’s hard for me
to get great shifts here in LA but want
to come work for me I have no idea how
hard it is to be up in a ski field where
you do very little business for nine
months of the year or six months of the
year and then you get slammed points you
know like that that to me is going to be
really difficult to run that operation
so I sort of look for
something that is a little foolproof you
know like a steakhouse is a good example
it’s not that hard to fry some potatoes
and cook a nice steak but if you go
somewhere that’s doing slowly cooked
rabbit with a blob of you know kids
asses chefs we get a little above
ourselves sometimes and we try and do
more than we should so I always try and
pull it back and you know I even in a
place you can go to a restaurant they
can have all this stuff some of it
exotic if I look around and I’m like
yeah this is a pretty simple joint I’m
gonna have a steak and a couple of sides
do you find yourself being more
understanding like let’s just say your
wife says I cannot believe they took
such a long time and this doesn’t take
viewfinders have being more
understanding babe
listen you don’t know what happened
maybe it bar you more critical so where
do you find yourself yeah now I’m pretty
easy gone okay yeah like I understand
the business job like you know someone
asked me the tables not quite ready it’s
gonna be ten minutes unlocks wait we’ll
get a drink in the bar so you’re more
understanding being on the opposite side
for sure that’s amazing because our mode
for Raffi’s place is the same way yeah
and he over tips always he never tips
20% you know he says you don’t know what
these guys go through I’m always a 30%
to 50% tip guy Wow then it gives I can’t
even believe in me says yeah are what if
you’re watching this you got a gonna
need over here at Majdanek quits so last
but not least your restaurants what do
you look for you know you go to
restaurants like what’s your favorite
restaurants right now that maybe you’ve
been today say these guys deliver you
know I was just in San Francisco I went
to dominate Kern’s restaurant Atelier
Crenn I’ve got to say I think it’s the
best restaurant the country she’s such a
talented chef
beautiful food very feminine the way she
plates is amazing it that everything
tasted fantastic I was really blown away
there’s experimental chefs like Grant
Achatz in Chicago that just blown my
mind with their creativity
Daniel whom from Eleven Madison Park you
know that again they’re all chef driven
restaurants they’re chefs that have
toiled away in the kitchen for most of
their life and they love it they that
their craft is to turn ingredients into
something that just tastes fantastic so
do you trust the michelin’s like you go
on you I do you do trust Michelin I
think it’s a very very well put together
guide
it has real credibility in the way that
they inspect the restaurants so if the
Michelin guys looking at something
that’s in contention for two or three
stars they’ll visit it five times over a
12-month period by different inspectors
they’ll all write a paper on it and then
at the end of the year they sit around
the the inspectors sit around they read
the papers and they talk about how it
should be rated to me that’s very fair
you know if you if you totally
determined your fates totally determined
by one critic that critic might have a
little thinking about this or that that
he likes or dislikes or she likes or
dislikes oh and through my experience of
traveling the world remaining in
different restaurants usually if it has
a Michelin star it’s good that’s two
Michelin stars it’s really trusted
that’s good to know that you even in
your world you’re banking on that as
well and what project are you working on
right now if people want to see what
project you’re on you know what shows
you’re working on what makes things that
are coming up what are some things
you’re working on right now I’ve got a
show called Top Chef Junior which is the
Top Chef of course that we all know and
love from Bravo we’ve done a new one for
universal kids so that’s that’s there on
universal kids I’ve got a line of
kitchenware that we developed you know
great pots and pans and you know
interesting stuff that make your life a
bit easier in the kitchen what’s a call
it’s called dura pan is the name of the
cookware and then the Curtis Stone line
is the the rest of it and we sell that
at HSN so you can go and check out the
whole sort of they’re nice very cool
brother appreciate you letting us come
now yeah I’m having an experience on the
stick around now and have dinner
I would love them I came earlier I said
I want to try the food before I talk to
Curtis and I talked your hostess I said
listen can i order from the dinner menu
he says no sir we can’t do that we give
me that bone-in ribeye I was in love
with it right he says I said I’ll come
back and do it another time I’ll respect
the restaurant I’m sorry you know it
takes us a couple of asked a lot to find
out why I said I’m not even gonna push
it I said I said I’m coming back because
I want to go to Maude because she was
telling about how modest setup I’m
really curious about that in it so I’m
giving you commit mom and LA all the
time I’m gonna come back and I’ll let
you know I’m also hopefully place to get
a chance to come by and say hello again brother appreciate you they are yes
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