Why I Wouldn’t Open a Restaurant Today: Tom Kerridge

Sign Tom's Petition to help lower VAT: https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk/

In this episode, we sit down with Tom Kerridge, Michelin starred chef and hospitality entrepreneur, for one of the most brutally honest and strategically revealing conversations about why opening a restaurant today would be financial suicide, why even packed restaurants operating at full capacity are barely breaking even, and why the margins in hospitality have been completely obliterated by a perfect storm of food inflation, energy costs, national insurance hikes, and minimum wage increases that have made profitability almost impossible.

We break down the numbers behind the crisis: cooking oil and beef have gone up over 100% in the last five years, utility bills have skyrocketed, national insurance contributions have been driven incredibly high, and minimum wage increases mean a 22 year old working 45 hours a week now costs over £30,000 a year instead of £21,000. You'll hear why a hospitality business employing just 10 people at minimum wage has seen wage costs increase by 80 to 100 grand a year, wiping out any profit margin that existed before food inflation and energy costs even come into play.

Tom reveals why he wouldn't open a restaurant today without the right conditions, why taking your business to the gym and tightening everything up without losing your DNA is the only way to survive right now, and why the moment you start de-skilling and buying pre-bought product it becomes a race to the bottom that destroys the entire UK food scene we've built over 25 years. You'll hear why 21 businesses are shutting every week, why the country is being run by the accountant instead of the operators, and why nobody's successful business is run by the accountant because operators make decisions about growth while accountants just monitor spreadsheets.


More from Tom:
Website: https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheftomkerridge/?hl=en

Hear more from the Hosts:
Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk
Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/

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