The Bell Inn The Restaurant Man

The only thing that stands between success and failure at the moment is chance.

Many of us fantasise about opening our own restaurant.

And every year, thousands try.

But with restaurants up to three times more likely to fail

than any other business, it's not for the faint hearted.

Opening up a restaurant just to make money is wrong

but it's very important it does make money.

The restaurant trade can be brutal and I should know.

I'm Russell Norman.

After years of dreaming, I set up a series of acclaimed

restaurants that now serve half a million customers a year

in the cut-throat London market, all during the recent recession.

I definitely say there are rules to opening

and running a successful restaurant.

The difference between success and failure

is an obsession with detail.

You must know your numbers,

you must do your research, you must be prepared to work very long hours.

Now, I'm helping six first timers gambling their life savings

to start their own restaurants.

I've got no food and I'm opening in less than 48 hours.

It is work in progress,

but it needs to be work that isn't in progress, quite soon.

'I'll try to help them with everything from floor plans

'to finance, and menus to marketing.'

And then the third plate like that. Now you're a waiter.

'As newcomers to the business, I'll have to shatter a few illusions.'

I mean, this is cute but very impractical.

-What's the solution, Russell? Tell me. You get another plumber?

-That's exactly what you do.

'Each of these plucky entrepreneurs is hoping their new venture

'will give them a better life.'

This is all mine and isn't it gorgeous.

Thank you.

'But unless they get every detail spot on,

'it could mean bankruptcy and personal disaster.'

I'm scared now. Yeah.

I'm very sacred.

-BELL RINGS

-This time:

I think you need to look at your customers first and your profit margins second.

We'll see later, shall we? Let the battle commence.

It's not...it's not a battle. These are your friends.

'I'm in the Cotswolds where local farmer, Dave,

'and his girlfriend, Debbie, want to open a gastropub.'

From the farm to the plate, you know. Picked, on plate tonight.

They've got grand plans for their home-grown, posh pub grub.

£25 for a main is steep.

I would not be very inclined to pay that sort of price for a fillet steak.

'But with full-time jobs...'

-That sounds insane, are you serious?

-Yeah, serious. I do the lot.

So you are taking on the pub on top of full-time responsibility?

Absolutely. We are, yeah.

'And a hands-on build...'

BLEEP!

'Will their dream of delicious local food be a flash in the pan?'

Selling the fresh stuff from the farm, I think we've got something

-nobody else has got around here at present.

-Chef, are you OK?

Look at them, they are not able to clean. They don't realise.

I'm going to have to show it to him. It's almost inedible.

Good luck.

They open in an hour and a half and they've just left.

I'm in rural Gloucestershire to meet two people who like a challenge -

Dave and girlfriend Debbie.

-I got my watering cans, so we're all right.

-Cool.

Oh, this one looks a bit dodgy.

Dave's been producing food on his smallholding for the past three years.

Food is something that I adore.

From growing our own stuff at home, doing our own produce,

our own beef, our own lamb.

We sort of discussed about it and it's quite nice to share it with other people.

This door's going to be open through.

A year ago he met Debbie

and they dreamed of running their own pub, serving their own produce.

This room here opened up into a restaurant.

Now they've bought The Bell Inn,

a tired old watering hole in the village of Selsley.

We came and looked at it and sort of fell in love with it, really, straight away.

This used to be my local and I've bought it. It's crazy!

What we want to try and do is make it a community pub

because this is probably the only thing left in the village.

Pooling all their savings, including the money from selling

Debbie's house, they've spent £220,000 on the premises.

With just £100,000 left for the renovation, they'll need to do

a lot of the work themselves.

The new drain for the extension...

'Looking forward to meeting Russell today.

Little bit nervous, probably him saying

we've gone into the wrong business at the wrong time

but he's got the experience and that so, hopefully,

we can ask him some questions, he can come up with some ideas and it sort of moves forward really.

And you never know, he might want to be a shareholder in it!

-Hi.

-Hi, Russell.

-I'm Russell. You are Dave?

-Dave. Pleased to meet you.

-Lovely to meet you.

-And lovely to meet you too, Debbie.

Welcome to The Bell.

-Wow. So, it's a building site.

-A building site, yeah.

-This is going to be half of the restaurant.

-Right.

We're going to integrate this room and the room next door

to make it a larger restaurant area.

OK, tell me a bit more about it. What sort of food will you be serving, for example, Debbie?

We're going to concentrate on game predominantly.

So the concept here is we want to have fine dining

-in this restaurant area next door.

-Right, OK.

Is this a business that's driven from the heart or from the head,

-would you say, Debbie?

-I would say a bit of both.

-Right.

-The heart for me because this used to be my local pub for about ten years.

-Did it?

So that's the heart side of it.

The head side is literally the business concept.

It couldn't be a worse time for amateurs to go into the pub industry.

26 close each week

and it's especially tough for small independents.

Most of the pubs in this country are run by multinationals that have a

huge corporate structure behind them in order to make them successful.

So if you're an independent publican you really need to up your ante

and provide something special.

Their quiet country location doesn't help.

Without the passing footfall of a town,

they'll need to attract locals and destination diners alike.

-So basically, we're coming into the main bar area now.

-All right.

So the structural work to be done, who's going to do all that?

I'll be project managing the whole lot.

I find the best way to do it, is to do it yourself, get on with it.

If you've got to work long hours, long hours is what it's going to take.

True, but I'm also aware you've got a day job, haven't you, Dave? Which is running...?

We do contracting, so we're fencing forestry contractors at the moment.

-We're quite busy on that.

-But you have a farm as well.

-Yeah.

-That sounds insane. Are you serious?

-Yeah, serious, I do the lot.

-It'll be fine, no problem at all.

-What do you do, Debbie?

I've got a full-time job and I manage a contact centre.

-Do you enjoy that?

-Yes, I do. I'm very lucky.

I'm one of the few people in this world that absolutely love

-and enjoy my job.

-So you're going to continue to do that?

-Yeah.

Buying The Bell was not a get-out-of-jail card to leave my job.

So you, like Dave,

are taking on the pub on top of full-time responsibility?

-Absolutely, we are.

-You're both doing exactly the same?

-Yeah, we sound like we're absolutely mad...

-I'm glad you said it.

'I can't believe what I'm hearing.

'It's a classic mistake to think running a pub is easy. It's not.

'It's a relentless, time-consuming business.'

Dave and Debbie are really fired up about this project.

And that, of course, is a huge bonus.

But I worry they are going to get to a point where they're going to burn themselves out.

They don't have a clue how much work they've given themselves.

The astonishing thing is, they've given it to themselves voluntarily.

But I do think they're on to something special

with their field-to-plate dining.

We've got cabbages in here, cauliflowers, then we go into some leeks.

If you can come out and pick something like that today and eat it tonight, it's absolutely fantastic.

Since the recent horse meat scandal,

food provenance is more important than ever.

Serving home-grown ingredients will help Dave and Debbie

compete against the big chains.

More and more people want to know traceability. They want it local.

With the farm less than five miles away, we can do things fresh, daily.

These were just eating the veggie garden really

so they had to be sacrificed.

'And they hope that one of the highlights of their menu

'will be game, shot by Dave.'

And if you were to put this on the menu on the restaurant,

in what form would this be offered?

We'd probably do a rabbit casserole or something.

What we'll probably do is freeze this down now to the winter, really,

because it would be more of a winter product than a summer product, really.

How would you describe the food offer in the pub and the restaurant?

I would describe it as good fine dining in the restaurant

with also good pub grub in the bar area.

OK, so quite formal in the restaurant or..?

Yeah, formal, your higher end of the scale, really.

That's what we're hoping to plan for because we're hanging our beef

in the cold room here so good steaks, nice, thick, juicy steaks.

It's not going to be cheap then?

It's going to be reasonably expensive, would you say?

I would say in the area, we would be higher on our top end. £20 a mark.

-£20 a head.

-£20 a head for the main course.

-Just for the main course?

Really? So £20 for a good main course. Starters at around what?

Starters probably about, sort of somewhere around £7.95 to £9.95,

somewhere around that.

So you're talking about an average spend of £40-£45 a head with wine.

-That's what we're hoping to achieve, yes.

-Which is pretty top end.

-It is top end...

-That's London prices.

It is London prices but we're going to give a fresh product,

you know, that nobody else is doing. We need to niche that market.

With average annual incomes in the Cotswolds

just a third of the capital's, charging London prices is punchy.

Rural diners will usually only pay higher prices once a place

has built its reputation.

Let's get some of this cleared and get some food.

A bit of flare!

There's no question the food is delicious.

The fillet just melts in your mouth and I love the burger

and love the sausages. Really spectacularly good.

But what I wanted to talk about was the business side of things.

Do you think your offer is at the right point in the market?

You've talked about your venison fillet being around the £20 mark.

I think that's too high.

It depends what sort of market you're going into.

If you're going to get people who want to come out for one nice meal once a month,

they don't mind spending for good quality.

You've got to offer something they can't cook at home.

Let me put it another way, I think it would be too high for me

and I eat out a lot.

But I think standing outside The Bell Inn after you've opened

and looking at your menu and looking at the prices you're suggesting,

I might not go in.

No, it's a good point.

66% of your pub/restaurant area

is given over to what you described as fine dining

and I just don't want you to start this with an operation

and a restaurant, and a pricing structure

that puts people like me off at the front door.

I think, what I'm trying to say is,

you just need to make your offer a little simpler to start with...

-And build it.

-..and build it.

-Yeah, that's a good point.

It's been an interesting first day and I'm excited by this project

but there are three big issues that I want to tackle.

First, Dave and Debbie's pricing is just too high.

Second, they need to be realistic about their time.

They can't run this pub properly with full-time jobs.

And finally, with Dave managing the building works,

I worry he'll be distracted from the fundamentals of the business -

the service and the food.

A month later and Dave is certainly putting in the hours to keep

the build on schedule.

Quite exciting really.

We've levelled out the front, now we're knocking the toilet block down.

This is going to be our new glazed dining conservatory area.

He's making good progress

but at this stage he should also be costing his menu and setting prices.

'You know, it can be really detrimental to your business

'if you price your menu too high in the early days.'

First impressions are really important, as is word of mouth.

And if your menu is too expensive, people will talk about it

'and very quickly word will get out that it's an expensive place'

and you don't want to go there.

But after researching some local menus...

Rump steak, £17.50 which I think is expensive.

..Dave and Debbie are convinced I'm wrong.

I think we'd like to challenge him on it based on the facts we've got presented in front of us.

You know, Gloucestershire, the Stroud area, is an expensive place.

I'm confident, and Debbie's confident, that we've got our pricing right.

'There's only one way to gauge what people will pay for their food

'and that's to ask their potential customers.

'I've come back to Selsley to test out some of Dave and Debbie's dishes in the village hall.'

Hello.

'Getting direct feedback from your customer base before you open

'is an opportunity for which most new restaurateurs would

'give their eye teeth.

'But Dave thinks it's a waste of his time.'

I'm running round like a blue-arsed fly. I'm now off site now.

To be honest with you, I'm probably less confident

that it's going to give us any result, really.

'Despite Dave's reluctance, we've ploughed on.

'To reflect the fact we're in a village hall, Dave has agreed

'to discount his prices but I still think they're too high.'

-£15. Really?

-Yeah.

-It's expensive.

Not for a haunch steak.

You're confident that £15 is a good price for a village hall?

If we sold it... What we've got to try and do is reflect on

-what we're going to sell it in the pub for.

-Let me ask a slightly different question.

-Are you willing to accept feedback from these people?

-I will take feedback.

I will explain to them we are selling something that's unique.

There's not many places do it and it is an expensive meat.

There's only so much that the customer will be interested

in the story of the venison and which part of the animal it's from.

I think if you're going to travel somewhere to have a meal,

I've done it myself, you're not going to travel somewhere

and have a £10 meal, are you?

This area is quite expensive when you go out to dine.

Right. Do you think that because people have a bit more money here,

-do you think those are the people that will come to The Bell Inn?

-We want to be a pub that's quality,

-not necessarily quantity.

-Really?

-Yeah.

But would it not be better to be absolutely packed to the rafters,

-people queueing up outside to get in?

-We've got a lot of pubs in the area doing cheaper versions of food

and they're all dead, so let's do something nobody else is doing.

Listening to you, Dave, I get the impression there's a little bit of snobbery.

-No, I'm no snob, mate.

-But you always get...

Are you saying that you don't want people in your pub that are

-just having a pint of lager?

-No. They're more than welcome.

-But we will not put up with people with bad behaviour.

-But that's different.

I just wonder whether you have an impression of The Bell Inn

as being the sort of place

where the car park is full of brand-new Range Rovers.

-That'd be nice, wouldn't it?

-Would it, though?

-They'll have the fillets, won't they?

No, not necessarily. I think...

in the early days, it will dictate to us where we're going.

We've got to look at our profit margin, so everything will be done,

-when our chef comes...

-I think you need to look at your customers first

-and your profit margins second.

-We'll see later, shall we?

-We will.

-Let the battle commence.

-It's not a battle.

-These are your friends.

-They're not. I don't know any of them.

These are your potential customers. This is your livelihood.

I've never actually tried venison.

It's quite rich but I think you'd probably like it.

Hopefully, we haven't scared too many people off.

-That's Debbie over there, by the way, anyway.

-OK. Thank you.

You must put in. Please. Honestly, do pop in.

-Hi, folks. You all went for the sausages?

-Yes.

-How are they?

-Very nice.

Just monitoring it, making sure they're all right. Good burgers, guys. Good burgers.

This is a really good indication of what your food does to people.

-They're enjoying it, they're tucking in. Lots of empty plates.

-The lady down there, she said,

"I would never normally eat venison. I'll have it again."

We had the fillet venison.

-You both have the fillet venison?

-Yeah, both of us.

-How was it?

-Amazing.

-Really nice.

-It's good, isn't it?

-Yeah.

If you were to pay £25 for that steak, cos I think that's what

-they'll be charging in the pub, do you still think that's good value?

-I think as a start-up,

you don't want to scare people off straightaway with things that are

really expensive on the menu.

£25 for a main in Selsley...

-It is a bit steep.

-It is steep, yeah, basically.

-I'm not sure I'd pay that for a main...

-No.

-..even for venison steak.

For the average family or for a couple going out for a night out

or if I was going out with a group of friends,

I would not be very inclined

to pay that sort of price for a fillet steak.

We know of pubs in the area that neglected their local community

-and went upmarket and failed as a result.

-Really?

-Yes.

-That's interesting.

-So you ignore your local residents at your peril.

Interesting.

-If you look at the sales from tonight...

-Yeah, go on.

-If you bunch them in terms of...

-That's unfair though, isn't it?

..low-cost items and steak items, yeah, it's exactly twice

the number of low-cost items sold to the number of steaks sold.

I think the big lesson that we need to learn from this evening is

that people like places that are busy,

people like places that offer great value

and that's the area that your pub needs to occupy.

You need to look at the people that live in the village

and live in neighbouring villages and you need to make that pub

appeal to all of those people, initially. And then phase two,

further down the line, when you've got the place absolutely packed

to the rafters, that's when you can start experimenting

and putting higher-priced items on.

I have done a lot of research on this and I think our pricing format...

And as it showed tonight, people weren't really bothered about price.

-It's about quality.

-No, I think people are bothered about price.

I find Dave just so frustrating.

He talks round and round in circles and continually misses the point.

And the big problem with Dave is that he allows his passion

to cloud his judgment.

He's so focused on quality that he seems to be forgetting

about quantity and quantity is essential in a new business.

It's all about bums on seats.

High prices mean fewer customers which means no atmosphere

which in turn puts off potential customers.

It's a vicious circle and one of the main reasons restaurants fail.

As they progress with the build,

I hope they'll think hard about pricing.

But I also need them to realise just how tough life is going to get

once their pub opens.

It's 6pm and Debbie has worked an eight-hour day at the office.

It's been a very busy day as always.

Dave was up at 5am on the farm, also working a full day.

Yeah, we've got to go water the garden now.

OK, great.

They still have farm chores to do,

and after all this both of them think they're going to be able

to manage a full night running their pub.

So many people think that running a pub is easy.

They think it's just a case of standing behind the bar pulling

some pints, taking some money and hanging out with your mates.

But it isn't. It's very hard work. It's hugely long hours.

So tonight I'm sending Dave and Debbie down the road

to the Old Badger Inn.

It's a busy local serving food all night and I'm putting them

in charge until closing time.

-Are you ready for that challenge?

-We are.

You look as if you're ready for this.

Can I ring my mates and get them down here for free beer all night?

We can talk about that later.

OK, that's what you're aiming for.

Debbie has never even pulled a pint before.

It's coming up really nicely.

And Dave has no experience whatsoever in catering.

-How you doing, mate, you all right?

-How you doing?

-I'm good, yeah.

Dave's gone in feet first as expected.

In for a penny in for a pound, this.

Here's some menus, guys. There we go.

I think Debbie's taking it a bit more seriously.

She seems very thoughtful a lot of the time

and I can tell that that concentration's probably because

of nerves but also because she wants to get it right.

-Oh! It's not as easy as it looks, is it?

-No.

I think Dave just wants to have a laugh.

I'm going to do new rules. When do I have a break?

So I can have a pint then.

It's just a night out playing pub.

But the reality is this is going to be the world,

this is going to be life.

Right, I just noticed you carrying plates out

and what you're trying to do

is you're trying to sort of balance that plate

there on your arm and you're using your body to support it like this.

-Belly.

-Or your belly even. It's really straightforward.

So give those plates to Dave, please.

OK, can you put that first plate in your hand with, look,

you've got three fingers there. Put it in your left hand.

-You're right-handed, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Three fingers underneath. That's it.

You're holding on to it with your thumb and your little finger, yeah?

Now place the second plate on that little platform there. There you go.

And then the third plate like that. Now you're a waiter.

Shall I show you another trick? Balance that one on your head.

Being a pub landlord involves managing a team of people

and showing both staff and customers that you're in charge.

Evening, ladies. Would any of you like any drinks?

-Have you got a pen on you, mate?

-Yeah.

Dave is really enjoying himself and Debbie is really getting stuck in,

but that's sort of the problem, they just look like members of staff.

If I didn't know what was going on and I was to walk through

those doors now, I wouldn't know who was in charge.

I would be hard placed to say, "That person is the manager,"

and that's a problem.

I just think you need to be more proprietorial.

I'm not going to tell you what to do.

I'm not going to tell you how you should achieve that,

but I think you should think about maybe taking a step back,

maybe, you know, just broadening your shoulders a little bit

and looking at the whole room.

Try to see this as publicans, as business owners.

-So when they're washed, put them under the hot plate, yeah?

-Yeah.

I've just noticed Dave in the kitchen drying dishes.

Just after I asked him to be more proprietorial

I find him in the kitchen being as low status as he possibly can.

-Where do they go? Over there?

-On the top over there.

-OK.

Yet again Dave's completely ignoring my advice.

I think he wants to be seen to be helping the staff

and he wants to be seen to be their friend,

but there are times when you've got to be a bit more than a friend

to the staff.

I said, "What do I do with the tips? I've already had a fiver."

-It's up to you, you're the boss. You decide what you do.

-I'll share.

-You had a pint yet?

-No.

-I do believe...

-I've had two pints all day.

..you're not meant to drink behind the bar.

How was that for you guys?

-I'm shattered in fairness.

-No problem.

-It was great.

-No problem at all?

-No, I don't think so.

-Honestly, Dave?

-Initially...

-The reason I ask you that is cos I'm tired. You must be.

I get tired when I stop. If I'd kept going I'd have been all right.

-Debbie?

-I am tired.

I am ready for bed and I do have to get up tomorrow

and I do have to go back to work.

I'm just curious to know, you know,

whether you think that this is going to be sustainable.

We've got to do it initially to get things running.

As time goes on we have to take time, the body will not do that.

But I am used to working long hours anyhow.

If this evening has shown them anything, I hope it's the fact that

dipping in when they get back from their day jobs is not an option.

Running a pub is a profession, not a lifestyle.

I think Debbie in particular has realised after tonight

that it's a very tiring profession being a publican.

She's going to be holding down a full-time job,

Dave's going to have his businesses, they've both got the farm

and then they're going to be working 16 hours a day running a pub.

I think Dave was exhausted too, but was too proud to let on.

It's no good, John, is it? What's the point in coming in for two hours?

Yeah, you should've had the day off.

You can have more than that off now cos I'm not impressed about it.

The relentless long days are getting to both Dave and Debbie.

Moving along very rapidly, but I'm just finding it very hard.

I've got to be here all the time now just to keep monitoring things

and keeping them wheels turning.

And there's no respite when they get home at night.

It's been a massive emotional rollercoaster, hasn't it,

in fairness? And it really does put any relationship to its test.

It truly does.

I mean, it hasn't been easy because I've been working full-time, like,

and you've been up the pub all the time.

-Seven days now for the last...

-God knows how many weeks.

..eight weeks.

And I'm not physically there to help him and that is a real frustration.

With their relationship under strain I need to remind them of

their original vision and why they got so excited about their dream.

To inspire them I'm bringing Dave and Debbie to one of the most

exciting food businesses I know.

Dave's deer hunting.

He never lets go, does he?

The 2,000 acre Mhor Estate near Scotland's Loch Lomond

grows and produces a huge variety of food for its shops and restaurant.

There's a fish shop, there's a farm, there's a hotel, a motel, a pub.

It's a place that is confident and a place that is multi-textured.

Morning. How you doing?

The owner and champion of this field-to-plate ethos is Tom Lewis.

Right, tonight... Venison and then obviously mushrooms, yeah.

Tom is clearly a massive presence here at Mhor

and what I really want Debbie to realise and understand

is that she needs to be a presence in a similar way at The Bell Inn.

Debbie, I'd like you to go round Tom's businesses,

to the fishmonger, to the fish shop, to the bakery,

and I want you to keep an eye out for things that you

think are important to the business or speak of it in some way.

Things that are intrinsic or things that, you know,

-that say something...

-OK.

-..about it.

Wow. They're obviously getting something right here.

I love the fact they've got their own branding. I like this.

It's very traditional.

Cos I'm a nerd I just like to make a few notes

that I can take back with me.

While Debbie investigates what's made the brand so successful,

Dave is enjoying the Highland field-to-plate experience.

-Mushrooms up on the left here.

-So pick all these yellow ones?

-Yeah.

-Is that what you pick?

-These'll be going on the menu this evening.

Every single picture represents them which is brilliant.

I think this would be good. I think a collage of Dave. That'd be scary.

I wouldn't do that to our customers. I just wouldn't!

Tom's influence is everywhere in this business.

Just kind of soften it ever so slightly.

Now in with our chanterelles.

You can't get any more in season than that.

Birds, grouse, pigeons, beans, chanterelles.

I mean, and they've literally come from 15 minutes of each other.

Is that something that you're going to take inspiration from, Dave?

Yeah, beautiful.

So Tom, how many hours do you put in a week?

You kind of live and breathe it.

If you're not on site you're on the phone,

you're making sure everything's OK. "Everything OK?" Quick call.

"Yeah, fine." You know?

It can be, you know, it's demanding

but at the end of the day at least you're not, you know,

you're paying yourself you're not paying someone else.

Yeah, that's a good point.

The management bit is part of actually doing it.

In your business you can't justify just,

"Oh, I'm just going to come in.

"I'll be the manager and I'll tell the staff what to do."

You're actually going to have to be in and lead by example.

-Yeah, I'm getting that from you, yeah.

-Yeah, you know?

The biggest lesson I've learned today is that

if we want to be as successful as Mohr I think Dave and myself have

to sit back and make sure that we are representing our business 110%.

I think I might be getting somewhere with Debbie.

She and Dave really need to be the heart and soul of The Bell Inn,

and that's a full-time commitment.

Up until today we've had our minds set just to keep our jobs as

normal and ensure that The Bell is managed by a strong team behind us.

But I think after speaking to Tom, you know,

that's just not the way that it works.

You really need to be there 110% of the time.

The Bell isn't a concept of a business,

-it's actually becoming a reality.

-It's real.

It's real and all the love and attention

that we've been spending on it, I'm getting more attached to it.

And I think the time has come where I have to really consider

leaving my job and applying all my energies into this business.

I think it's the right decision. I think it makes absolute sense.

This is me on a building site in stilettos.

With the pub due to open in a fortnight,

Debbie has just finished her last day's work at the call centre.

-Done and dusted then?

-Yeah.

It's like a massive mixed bag of emotions today.

Yeah, this is my new office.

This is my new place of work as from...as from now.

I need to get the windows painted cos it's dry. Tomorrow's raining.

So we can't paint the windows tomorrow.

Go on, get on with it. Quick as you can.

Without Debbie's income the pressure is greater than ever

to open on time and get the money coming in.

They've spent all their renovation budget

and are having to finish much of the work themselves.

On nights like this when you've been up at goodness knows what time,

it's nearly eight o'clock

and we've probably still got a few hours ahead of us yet.

You're not downing tools yet

and this has been going on for quite a few days now.

I do them tomorrow urgently, all right, mate?

I'm shattered.

In three days The Bell Inn will open its doors to paying customers

for the very first time, and I've come back to check on progress.

At this stage I would expect to see all the furniture in,

the painting and decorating done, the chef in place, menu tastings,

staff training, all the beer sorted, all the suppliers sorted.

There's a lot to be done

and there's a lot that you need to get right before opening.

-Hello!

-Russell.

-Dave and Debbie.

-Welcome to The Bell.

-How are things?

-How are you?

-Hello, welcome back.

I've been so excited to see this and we're finally here.

-What do you think?

-Can I have a quick look around?

-It's looking great.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely.

Dave and Debbie have managed to get the build finished.

£100,000 and a lot of hard graft have transformed a tired

country pub into a stylish light and modern space.

Oh, wow. Oh, that's amazing.

-Good, isn't it?

-There's so much light in this room, isn't there?

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

So the build's complete,

but at what cost to the rest of their preparation and planning?

One thing is definitely missing - I've yet to see an actual menu,

and that's a worry.

-Tell me about the food.

-On Saturday we will open in the afternoon.

-We're just going to do a very minimal menu to start with.

-Right.

-A reduced menu on Saturday.

-Yeah, a reduced menu and just go through.

How reduced is reduced? What does a reduced menu mean?

-Probably four or five starters.

-Right.

-Three or four mains, probably, and three or four puddings.

-Right.

The thing that sort of strikes me is that all the way through this

project your ideas about your menu have been very strong.

You've been championing the venison

that you want to showcase in this place,

-and we've had lots of discussions, haven't we...?

-Yeah, definitely.

Really sort of in-depth detailed discussions about the menu.

We've had our disagreements about the menu,

but it's always been there at the centre of this project.

-And now it's not. Now there's...

-Venison's there.

No, no, but venison is but the menu doesn't appear

to be a menu any more. It appears just to be, you know, a few dishes.

We don't want to go and cripple ourselves from day one.

We're going to be under enough pressure...

-But it was such a strong part...

-Yeah, and it will be there.

There will be a lot of game on there, there will be that on there,

-but we're not going to kill ourselves on day one.

-Yeah.

A reduced menu on opening night can be a sign that panic has set in.

If they're going to impress their customers,

then the few dishes they've put on the menu had better be good.

Right, so we're going to do our key products which

we want to be known for so our venison burger.

We're doing our venison sausage and mash as well. Pie of the day.

The pasta, we're going to do a pasta dish...

-You are?

-..but Chef needs to decide what he wants to do,

he's going to do one of his specialities.

The venison steak as well and we are thinking of doing the gammon AND

the sirloin steak but just dropping the special for the time being.

-It's quite heavy.

-Yeah, it is quite heavy.

-There's no vegetarian dish.

-No.

-No fish dish.

My worry, Debbie, is that the customers are going to come in

-and see the menu and think, "Is that it?"

-Mm-hm.

I think Dave has been so engrossed and consumed by the build

and Debbie's been likewise.

Somewhere in the middle is the menu

and it's been missed by both of them, I think.

Opening a restaurant with a reduced menu is pretty much saying that we

haven't got it right and that we haven't really got our act together.

It's such a shame.

They've had such a strong opinion

and passion about the food that they're going to be offering

and now we've got a sort of half-hearted excuse of a menu.

COCK CROWS

Right, let's go, let's do it.

Today, Dave and Debbie will realise a year-long dream

when they open their pub.

Dave is up early to pick the veg for tonight's menu.

Savoy cabbage with rain on it, picked, on the plate tonight

and that's what we're all about, really, from the farm to the plate.

Chef's going to be really pleased with these.

I am excited about tonight but also I'm a bit worried.

We've got to explain because it's only a sample of what we're doing.

We're not...scared, we're confident,

but also a bit anxious as well at the end of the day.

An exhausted Debbie is making some final changes to their reduced menu.

I'm trying, trying my best to learn from the maestro

and put some of his ideas into practice.

Our food is really important to us, we want to get it right.

There's a lot of pressure on Georgel at the moment, a lot of pressure.

They've hired Romanian chef Georgel.

It's his job to bring Dave and Debbie's menu to life.

We need just a bit more time, that's all.

It's a bit of running behind schedule but we'll do it.

We have to.

-How are you?

-Really well, thank you. How are you?

-I'm very well, I've just arrived.

-Yes.

-I've just been looking round, it looks great.

-Do you like it?

-Yeah.

-It's fabulous.

-When does the menu start?

-7:00 this evening.

-And this is it?

-This is it.

-Can I have a look?

-Yeah.

-Oh, wow.

It looks like a proper menu, doesn't it?

It does, it's all real now. This is it.

It's good to see that Debbie's listened to me

and added a fish and vegetarian option.

And finally, it seems I've managed to convince Dave

when it comes to pricing.

These prices here are a lot more reasonable than the prices

that you were originally talking about.

The venison steak, for example, I mean that's significantly

lower than the steak you thought you were going to have to sell.

Yeah, well, we talked about it and we talked to Georgel about it

and he reckons he can give us our margins on these prices.

It's a lot more pub-friendly.

And it's the sort of price range, I think, that will

-not discourage people.

-No.

-We've talked about this in the past.

Having a menu that

when it sits outside in your menu box doesn't say to people,

"We are fancy pants, we're too expensive, shop elsewhere."

This is a menu that says, "We're very reasonable,

"we're probably more reasonable than you would expect in a pub

"that looks like this from the outside in this part of

-"the world," so I think it's the sort of menu that will draw people in.

-Good.

I'm delighted the prices are now right but I want to check

that chef Georgel is confident about the dishes he's preparing.

-Have you seen it?

-The menu?

-Here it is.

-This is my first time I see it.

This is the first time you've seen it? OK. Happy with those starters?

-Yeah.

-Have you made them before?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Where did you make them?

-At the farm?

-No, no, before, where I used to work.

-Where you used to work?

-Yeah.

So, you haven't made these dishes for Debbie and Dave yet?

I've made the pepper soup and some pigeon breast but different.

But different?

So, this, today, will be

the first time you've made some of these dishes for Dave and Debbie.

Yeah, yeah, for Dave and Debbie, it will be the first time.

It's Dave and Debbie's restaurant, I would have thought

they'd like to try the dishes before they go out to customers.

But they're just putting their trust in you, are they?

Yeah, at the moment, yeah, you're right.

This is an unusual approach.

At my restaurants, I do at least four formal tastings of any

new dishes with the whole restaurant team before they go on the menu.

They're really kind of behind of this business with

the opening ideas.

When you say behind,

do you mean that they're sort of catching up all the time?

Yeah, yeah, because, to be honest,

I need at least two days to prep, it's not just 12 or 14 hours.

Yeah.

I really feel for Georgel, he's only just got the menu.

I could see it as he held it in his hands,

he was looking through it half with terror at what he might find

but it's really unusual that this menu, which is such an important

part of their business, hasn't been tried or tested by Dave and Debbie.

To add to this pressure,

Georgel only has two complete kitchen novices to support him.

It's a new experience for me. I'm not used to a kitchen.

Hopefully, everything will be all good for launch.

In a 72-cover restaurant, I'd expect to see a team of five -

two senior chefs, a chef de partie, a commis chef

and a dishwasher, all with tried-and-tested kitchen experience.

This doesn't feel like a professional set-up.

-DEBBIE:

-Is everybody OK?

Are we all happy? Are we ready to welcome our beautiful customers?

Yes? Yes, we are.

-We'll be gone a good hour.

-Yeah.

-All right?

Just run it how you would run it.

You know what I'm expecting. All right? Crack the whip.

Unbelievably, with only an hour and a half till opening,

Dave and Debbie head off to tend their farm animals...

Good luck.

We've got Paul to do tomorrow's start so we're all right.

..leaving restaurant manager Donna in charge.

-You're serving food from 7:00, aren't you?

-Yeah.

-You think you'll be back for then?

-We'll definitely be back for then.

-Oh, absolutely, yes.

-I'll get to it with Donna then.

Thank you very much, Russell, we won't be long.

This is going to be an interesting night.

So, open in an hour and a half and they've just left.

They've got a farm, they've got to get the animals away before it

gets dark but at the same time, do they both need to go?

I wouldn't leave my ship rudderless

and captainless on its opening night.

Em, Donna's in charge

but I'm pretty sure she's not up to speed on what needs to be done.

I think we're in a situation where nobody here is up to

speed on what needs to be done.

As well as a kitchen in disarray,

other vital preparation simply hasn't happened.

In the rush to open, no-one's briefed the serving staff.

Has anyone had a chance to see the food yet?

No, but I will give you all menus

and I'll run through what the extra bits are on it.

And also, I've written down the plan of the pub

-so you'll know which table is which.

-Can I make a suggestion?

-Yeah.

In addition to putting the table plan up in the kitchen

and the bar, draw the table plan on the back of your pads as well.

Yeah, for us two, it's fine but...

Exactly so you can turn over and see where the tables are.

-Do you know what time food's being served from?

-Apparently 7:00.

Is it 7:00? Is that what everyone thinks?

I've got no idea, I only found out that I'm working half an hour ago.

OK. 7:00, OK.

It's very late in the day to be training staff,

going through the sequence of service, going through what's

expected, I mean these guys haven't even seen the dishes.

One of them didn't know she was working until half an hour ago.

The menus have got no descriptions of what the food actually

comes with.

I'd hoped that it would have had a description on it.

There's no clear order of service, they're unsure of their dishes

and they don't even know the table layout for the restaurant.

This is a recipe for chaos.

If tonight is a success,

it's going to be a success despite of preparation not because of it.

There really hasn't been enough.

Right, OK. Going to the kitchen, check them out.

Where do the tea towels go? How have you been doing this?

-It's 7:00pm and Dave and Debbie are back on site.

-Hey, darling.

Just in time for their first evening service.

All right, how's everything going? All right?

But with a reduced menu, food that hasn't been tested

and untrained staff, this restaurant doesn't feel ready for customers.

-Could I have the roasted salmon, please?

-Yeah, of course.

I need one chicken pate and a pigeon.

The first food orders hit the kitchen.

Yeah, this is table 12.

-Chef, are you OK?

-Yeah.

-Are you sure?

-But as more customers flow in...

-We've asked for a large portion.

THEY CHUCKLE

Dessert, chef.

..there's a danger of them going hungry.

Where's the dessert, chef, for table 5?

Yeah, ask the pastry chef.

-Ask him.

-Where are those desserts? I need those desserts.

Yeah, there's one there.

Yeah, there should be another four to go with it as well.

If they don't know how to do it...

Without the trained staff he needs,

Georgel is struggling to get dishes out on time.

Look at them, they're not keeping everything clean. They don't realise.

They've never worked in a kitchen, that's what I'm trying to say.

You don't need to shout, Georgel.

I've left you for five minutes, what's going on?

If he started to talk, maybe we might get out some food tonight, OK?

-Maybe something a bit decent, as well.

-Yeah, yeah, sure.

-Are you OK?

-Yeah.

-Do you need me?

-No.

-Good.

Deal with it, sort it out, guys, we're a team, yeah?

OK, Donna? Are you sorted? You being a drama queen?

Dave doesn't seem to appreciate how much the kitchen is struggling.

I need to get to the bottom of all this tension.

-What happened?

-Look at me.

-I can see.

I'm doing desserts, starters and main courses alone for 40 to

50 people and she expects me to have a really smooth service.

That's not possible.

This guy, it's his first day here, I don't have anything against him

-or against her, they're brilliant, they help me.

-Yeah.

But they're not chefs. They can't even clean, look at that.

They can't even realise they need...

-Georgel?

-..a clean table, a clean surface to work.

-Georgel, I'm very happy to help out, if you need some extra hands.

-No.

There is only one thing that can save this evening from being

a total disaster and that's the quality of the food.

Opening a restaurant without trying the dishes first is a huge risk.

It's like buying a house on the basis of a photograph,

it's just too risky, you do not do it.

Fishcakes, thank you very much.

I really need to taste some of the dishes.

So, this is the smoked haddock fishcake.

It's very potato-y. It's quite dry.

I didn't find it very appetising at all, it would be very

difficult to eat both of them.

This is the beef and ale pie.

Very tasty.

Pastry's a little tough.

And now for Dave's signature dish - the venison.

The steak is very dry.

I'm going to have to show it to him, it's almost inedible.

-How was this then? Any good?

-Have a go and see what you think.

The steak should come with a sauce and I did ask him, he did make one.

Yeah.

You would be horrified if people had venison haunch

like this every time they came to The Bell Inn, wouldn't you?

-If this was served to me, I'd send it back.

-You would.

I would because it's too dry. Now, we haven't had a chance to try it...

-OK, say that again.

-We haven't had a chance to try this food.

This is exactly my point.

There's a lot that's been going out tonight and there's a lot that's

on the menu that you haven't had an opportunity to try yourselves.

No, we haven't.

That's been my fault. We've been focused to get the build done.

We'll always admit if we're in the wrong

and perhaps we should have sat back a bit more and tried a bit more.

-You've always known what is good food and what isn't, haven't you?

-Oh, yeah, definitely.

So, in that sense, you have a very valid and a very strong opinion...

-No, thank you.

-..and that opinion is what should be driving this business

and you can only have an opinion about your business

if you're trying the food.

-You mustn't forget where this all started.

-No.

This started here as a passion and a desire to open something really

special and what I don't want you to do is to lose sight of that passion.

Dave and Debbie, for the first time, listened to me.

We had an honest conversation about the menu, they admitted that there

were shortcomings and that they had taken their eye off the ball.

They hadn't tasted any of the dishes so no wonder there were some duds.

What I really need them

to do before my next visit is go back to the menu, go back to

Georgel, look at the dishes that are duds, taste everything

and make sure they get the menu right this time and not just

hope that it's right by not tasting it and leaving it to chance.

-That's good.

-Sirloin, roast pork, Yorkies and roasties.

-Yeah. And if people want extra veg we can give them it in a bowl yes?

-Yeah.

The very next day Dave and Debbie follow my advice

and start tasting the food on their menu.

Perfect. That's what we want. Good, wholesome, fresh, but nice. And value for money.

-That's a nice plateful of food.

-I'm over the moon with this.

-Thank you.

Good. Get back in the kitchen, get on it, yeah?

That's a positive step, but just a week after opening Dave

and Debbie get knocked back again.

Chef Georgel leaves The Bell.

He decided it wasn't for him. We tried. He tried. He was very good.

It was a bit of a disappointment and a bit of a shock.

He just didn't have what we wanted.

It was, even from our first opening night,

and the point that Russell made, it wasn't what we were about,

it was what he wanted, and he wouldn't listen to us.

So, he was a very good chef and we wish him all the best,

but it wasn't what we wanted to produce.

Dave has always known what a good plate of food tastes like

and I liked his cooking so it makes sense to see him

taking charge of the kitchen.

These pheasants I skinned off earlier today.

They have come locally. I'm just doing a pheasant, cream, white wine and apricot sauce.

It sounds delicious,

but can Dave really know what a professional kitchen needs?

I want to find out how things are running when I'm not there.

To get an objective view of how The Bell is operating I've taken

the unusual step of asking restaurant reviewer

and writer Tom Harrow to go undercover for lunch.

-Are you still serving lunch?

-Yes. Do you want to have a look at...?

I'd love to. Great. Thanks.

He's used to reviewing restaurants anonymously.

-Great. Thank you.

-Here's the sausages.

The food was disastrous on opening night. Please tell me it's improved.

-Russell, hi, it's Tom.

-Hi, Tom. Tell me, how was it?

I ordered the venison sausages. And they were good.

Good gamey texture and nicely spiced as well. Nicely seasoned.

Good herbs. The mash was good.

-It was the right side of creamy without being creamed. It's classic pub grub.

-Mm hm.

And if I lived locally I'd be very happy to come back.

Five weeks after their very disappointing opening

I'm back to find out if this business has a future.

Have Dave and Debbie managed to maintain the high

standards of service and food?

Are they there leading from the front?

-Dave.

-Tom.

-How are you?

-All right, mate.

-Look at this. This is...

-This is a turn up.

-The way forward.

-Absolutely.

-And here's the rest of the team.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Dave, I've got a confession to make. I sent a spy to come in and dine.

-I sent a mystery diner.

-Right.

So this is someone you won't have known about who came in

-and had some lunch and reported back to me.

-Right. Good.

He told me that you were in the kitchen and that Georgel wasn't around.

Right. And good feedback?

-What do you think?

-I would hope so. It was very good?

-It was very good.

-Thank you.

-It was very good indeed actually.

-Perfect pub food.

-Brilliant. That's really good.

It looks like Dave and Debbie might have actually pulled it off.

Despite the rocky road, business is picking up and their dream

of a successful field-to-plate restaurant is becoming a reality.

I'm looking at the menu now where one course is 12

and two courses are 16.

It has been a very long and very frustrating journey,

but I really feel now finally they have listened to me.

Crucial to success,

the locals are happy.

I'm seeing four completely empty plates.

-You've obviously enjoyed your lunch today.

-Very good indeed.

-Yes.

-Excellent.

-It is very tasty and very good. It is good value for money.

Locally sourced. We know where it's come from.

-Can you taste the difference?

-Oh yes.

-Yes.

You go into a lot of pubs and it just tastes the same. This, you've definitely got the flavours.

We've really enjoyed it.

Save some room for pudding.

Do you want any ice or anything? No, just as it comes.

Dave and Debbie have come such a long way.

There is no question at all standing in this pub that Dave is

the landlord and Debbie is the landlady.

And that's such an essential part of running a successful pub.

But at its heart this is a business.

Since opening I've yet to hear from Dave and Debbie

whether they are actually turning a profit.

What have been the tough financial realities that you have

discovered in opening a business?

We overspent on the build which was going to be inevitable.

-When you say you overspent - by a large margin?

-30 to 40,000.

-Wow.

We were met with extras on electrics, extras on plumbing, but...

-As a percentage of the total build, that's huge.

-It is, yes.

So, Dave, if for example you didn't have your other

-business interests, if this were it...?

-We would be...

-I think we would be shut.

-You would, wouldn't you?

-It would be that close.

-We would be.

The single biggest reason that restaurant businesses fail is

because people run out of money before they get to opening day.

-Absolutely.

-Today it's been packed to the rafters.

You'll probably take something like 1,500 to 2,000 today,

-something like that?

-Yes.

-Yes.

When we started off we estimated we would hopefully like to turn

-over £3,500 per week.

-Right.

-We've exceeded that.

I was going to say you must be doing more than that.

Yes, we've exceeded that.

But it's come back to the fact as well, that we both need to be here.

We have noticed over the last four weeks the takings are up when we are always here.

Right.

Again, being naive, when the build was done and we opened the doors...

-You thought that was it.

-I thought, "We can relax."

-You thought that was the end of the journey?

-That's only when it starts.

-It's the beginning.

-The build was easy.

-Yes, in hindsight.

12 weeks to build the pub was absolutely a doddle.

But now it becomes a business not just a building project.

Yes, it does.

When Dave and Debbie first started this project they'd only been

together a year.

The final thing I want to find out is how the pressure has

affected their relationship.

What would you say to other couples that were thinking about opening a

-pub together?

-Do something else.

-Really?

It's always a dream of everybody to say, "I've got my own pub, my own restaurant."

The romanticism of having a local village pub

isn't as romantic as you probably think it's going to be.

You're sitting here now in your own pub and you've got

people in those dining rooms and in those bars down here

who are all enjoying the pub that you have created.

So be proud and take the credit that you deserve for creating this

because it is a big achievement.

And don't forget that original passion

because that's what started the whole process,

that's what's got you to this point,

and that's what will continue to carry you forward into the future.

-We couldn't have done it without you.

-Well done, you two.

-Thank you for your support. We really do appreciate it.

-Not at all.

It's been a long and frustrating journey, but finally

The Bell Inn is where it should have been five weeks ago on opening day.

Dave and Debbie have rediscovered their passion for food

and they now have a pub that is friendly and welcoming.

And they are concentrating on value rather than fine dining

and it's inspiring the locals and getting bums on seats.

If they carry on like this there is no reason at all that

it can't be as busy as it is today every day.

As time went by I actually realised that Russell does know what

he's on about. Sometimes you think, "I don't want to be told this.

"Let's do it our way."

But as time went on we realised that, fair play to Russell, he does

know what he's on about. Much as I hate to say it, fair play, Russell.

Take my hat off to you, you know.

Next time Scandinavian food comes to Macclesfield.

One meatballs, one poached...

But with no eye for detail...

I've got no food and I'm opening in less than 48 hours.

..and a fear of doing the figures...

Yes, that scares me.

..will it all prove too much for this wannabe restaurateur?

-It will be all right.

-I'm so scared. I really am.

# Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name

# And they're always glad you came

# You want to be where you can see

# Our troubles are all the same

# You want to be where everybody knows your name. #