Having worked your way up under the guidance of high-profile chefs, going it alone could seem like a daunting prospect.
But not for Nick Beardshaw.
This year saw Nick, a winner of BBC’s Great British Menu in 2023, leave the Tom Kerridge Group after 14 years.
Before that, he worked under Daniel Clifford at Midsummer House.
Most recently he was head chef at Kerridge’s Bar and Grill, which he helped open in 2018 and played a key role both in and out of the kitchen.
But now, as of August this year, Nick has taken the plunge and now runs Starling Bistro, on Esher high street.
Discussing his decision to leave the Tom Kerridge Group, chef patron Nick told The Staff Canteen: “I went for dinner with Tom and said I had two routes realistically I was going to go down. It’s either the executive chef route, or I do my own thing. For who I am and what I enjoy, really there was only one option for me. When I talked it through with Tom, Tom said I should go for it.
“It took six to eight months of looking to find the site and then another six months to get it over the line and open.”
He added: “I started working with Tom in 2010. It was off the back of him winning Great British Menu. I was working at Midsummer House for Daniel, I went and trialled and the rest is history.
“From there, it was a rollercoaster. There was always a trajectory of progress. I actually opened three restaurants for Tom – The Coach, Butcher’s Tap and then Kerridge’s Bar & Grill, which I ran for six years, until I left in April of this year.
“Now I’ve opened Starling Bistro, so this is my fourth restaurant opening I’ve done, so I’m fully aware of all the little problems that occur.”
Asked how much those previous openings helped with this one, Nick said: “It’s allowed me to remain quite level-headed throughout this whole process.
“As you start taking bookings, you have a hard deadline where you have to open. But inevitably the last few days become incredibly hard, builders working around the clock. But having done this before three times, I know these things happen. Also I know that you don’t open a restaurant that is perfect. You open a restaurant with a list of 25 things that still need doing that aren’t quite finished.”
It is all well and good to want to set up on your own and open up a restaurant. But exactly how did Nick go about making it a reality?
He explained: “The first thing I have been doing over the last 10 or 12 years is growing my profile. That gives you a platform to raise money. Having done Great British Menu, worked with Tom for so long and won a Michelin star, all of those things are going to give investors or banks confidence.
“I spoke to the bank first, to make sure they would lend some money. That’s not easy. Whatever you want to borrow, basically you need that amount and they’ll effectively match it. We’ve used our house to guarantor it. There’s no other way of doing it, unless you’ve got someone who is going to give you a load of money, you have to use what you’ve got in order to raise it. It is a massive risk.
“We’ve looked for an investor. From working at Corinthia, I had a great network of people. I was going to meetings with a network of investors a couple of times a month, meeting as many people as possible. It’s a numbers game trying to raise money. The more people you meet, the more chance you’ve got of finding someone.
“As it turned out, it was through chance someone at Corinthia knew a lady down the road who wanted to invest in a restaurant, who runs a business called NoteWorthy.
“There’s a 28 per cent investor and the rest is our money and the bank’s money. Having an investor who can valuably input to the business as well is very useful.”
Nick describes Starling as a “modern bistro”, accessible for everyone.
“It’s luxury casual,” he said.
“If you were celebrating an anniversary, you could get in your best clobber, get dressed up and have an amazing celebration. Or you could rock up in shorts and a t-shirt, or flip-flops and you’d feel comfortable and eat some really amazing food.
“That’s what we’re going for. An atmosphere where everyone is welcome. We want young people, old people, wealthy people, not so wealthy people.”
Starling is open Wednesday to Sunday and aim for 350 covers per week, with a cost of around £58 per guest.
Nick has enlisted the services of some people who knows well from his history in the industry, notably chef Jack Vassallo, who previously worked for Tom Kerridge, Nathan Outlaw and Gordon Ramsay.
Another friend in James Shaw is restaurant manager, formerly of the Hand and Flowers, The Coach and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.
James said of Nick: “I said to him I’d always follow him wherever he went.
“We grew together. Opening The Coach was a really big thing for us.
“We share a lot of similar values when it comes to eating, drinking and outside of that socially as well. I feel we’re on the same page and the same wavelength with so many parts of the experience and what the business wants to deliver.”
Asked what success looks like for him at Starling, Nick said: “Success to us is making people happy and making the business work.
“You want to pay back the money you owe, make people happy. You want them to come here and have a great time.”
James concurred: “A restaurant full of happy people – guests as well as the team. I think it’s as simple as that.
“If it’s a lovely space to be in, to work and come and eat and drink, that’s all we can ask for.”
