Group Executive Chef, Lincoln Hospitality (La Serre, Taikun, Distillery and The Loft) and Restaurant Secrets describes his daily routine on a typical day.
6.45am: I wake up, get straight into the shower and then start getting ready for work.
7.15am: I have a cup of coffee and breakfast with my wife Sophie and daughter Harper, while watching the news.
8.00am: I check my e-mails and schedule for the day to see where I will be going or what I will be doing. Working for both Lincoln Hospitality and Restaurant Secrets, which are sister companies, keeps things interesting. My days are always quite different depending on what we have going on in the outlets, and new clients we have on board at Restaurant Secrets.
8.15am: I leave home and head to work. I usually make calls on the way to work to other colleagues or friends in the hospitality industry to check in on how everything is going.
8.45am: I usually start my day in La Serre, unless I have meetings elsewhere, and go straight in for a cappuccino while I spend an hour or so replying to e-mails and reading the restaurant reports from the previous evening.
9.45am: As each day is different, I always try to set aside a couple hours to get some focused computer work done, which may include menu development in the kitchen or creating new recipes and costings.
12.30pm: I try and have lunch around this time, usually with someone from the team to discuss upcoming projects and activations, or things we can improve at the restaurants.
2.00pm: Most of my client meetings for concept and menu development at Restaurant Secrets usually take place around this time, or operations meetings for our restaurants at Lincoln Hospitality.
4.00pm: I try and visit each of the head chefs in our outlets, La Serre, Distillery and Taikun, most days to discuss menu changes or any challenges we may be facing.
5.00pm: I usually need to get caught back up on emails and get a couple hours of work done. This includes budgeting and forecasting upcoming expenses and expected revenue, writing menus for events, meeting with suppliers, creating promotions for the brands and many other things. It varies day to day.
6.45pm: By this time, the restaurants are starting to welcome guests, so depending on the day I may go to one or two for the start or end of service.
8.45pm: If business permits, I get home before 9pm have a quick bite then spend some time with my wife before bed.
10.30pm: I check my e-mails once again before bed and mentally plan my day ahead.
11.00pm: Sleep
