Bread in Common is #85 on the AFR Top 100 Restaurants list. Here, co-owner Scott Brannigan shares the lessons he learnt when opening Bread in Common in Fremantle, Western Australia, and the wise words he received from mentors who helped him to not make a meal of it.
Opened: August 2013 Previous experience: Balthazar, Soho House
Do you have a mentor whom you rely on for advice?
Nic Trimboli. He was my boss at Balthazar and he mentored me a bit there. He would say: 'This is what you need to aim for: building a good client base, and returning customers. Without customers, no one has a job, so it's about cooking for them, not yourself.' We catch up pretty much five days a week – over the phone, at his other restaurants [Gordon Street Garage, for instance], at Bread in Common. Once a month, I catch up over a few beers with Patrick Ryan, who used to be my manager at Balthazar. We talk wins and goals, ups and downs. We both have skin in the game so we can talk about the same thing.
Best piece of business advice you've been given?
Probably from a friend who is outside of hospitality. Aaron Francis [who sells kitchen equipment] said: 'You're good at what you do, and don't doubt it.' The reassurance was very valuable. I also remember my wife [Susan] saying to me: 'You're not saving babies, just carry on!'
Worst piece of business advice you've been given?
Everything will work itself out. It never does. If you are waiting for it to sort itself out, you are already behind.
Biggest mistake?
Not going with my gut sooner; it's one big thing I learned from the last four years of doing this. I probably wasn't assertive enough. Most of it has been staff – the wrong people for the job. A restaurant is mainly people and food. If you have the food right and not the people, you are only 50 per cent there.
The AFR Magazine Culinary issue is out on Friday, June 30 inside The Australian Financial Review.
