Changing times in restaurant trade

Jan 11 2008 by Bill Oldfield, The Journal

SO you think you can open and run a restaurant. Well many people do. Survey after survey shows that having one’s own restaurant is a dream for many.

However, surveys also show that restaurant companies come and go at an alarming rate with over 19 out of 20 independent concerns disappearing in less than three years of opening.

We’ve been in the business for 11 years now, learning much along the way, and it’s interesting to see how much Oldfields has changed, despite sticking to its core values. And we’re moving through a further significant progression right now.

Running a business of any sort, rather like taste in food, is an ever-changing discretion. What seems delicious and mouth-watering at one time may be overtaken by more compelling servings later.

And so, just as children who love sweets but hate vegetables in the early years of their lives tend to see their tastes move on as they mature, similar changes take place in business as markets and, indeed, the tastes of customers develop.

It was just such a metamorphosis that this week saw Oldfields Restaurants take what is to us the big, but carefully-considered, decision to serve the last meals in its restaurant in Jesmond, Newcastle. This was driven by two incentives: a very good offer on the lease of the premises we converted some years ago with the purchasers wishing to retain the building as a restaurant, albeit probably quite different in character to Oldfields; and the recognition that the tastes of the public are changing and that an emerging style of dining out is not yet catered for within the Newcastle area.

The offer received on the Jesmond restaurant served only to accelerate ideas we have been developing for some time to open a new Chop House restaurant in the city centre.

The Chop House style of catering offers unpretentious, traditional British food in relaxed surroundings and the new restaurant will be the sort of place that anybody, from business people to families shopping with granny, will feel comfortable entering.

As has been our company policy for some time now, and has won us many awards, all of the food offered by the new restaurant will be sourced locally and the menu, which will include many traditional favourites – specifically from around the British Isles – will offer high quality at reasonable prices.

It’s an exciting time but not without its risks and difficulties. We’re negotiating to acquire a fabulous premises in the city centre and, of course, the ideal would have been for us to move seamlessly from one place to another. But business life’s never ideal and it’s going to be a few months before we get the new place open – with an appropriate name that may well have been prompted by the flood of suggestions by readers of this column last week.

However, with this development, the biggest issue for us is our staff.

We’ve built up such a good team over the last few years that the last thing we wanted to do was lose it. So there’s going to be some clever rota construction in the coming weeks as we accommodate many more staff than we need in our Durham restaurant.

Who could have known that changing tastes could create such challenges when I started out in this business 11 years ago? Looking back over the years, it’s obvious that my own tastes have changed; the wines are drier, my tooth is less sweet and more and more I resent style over substance.

But it seems it’s not just me that wants to identify with the food we eat and, after pushing as hard as any organisation to encourage everyone to use local produce, it’s necessary that we’re following as well as leading.

I hope that you wish us well over the next few months and that we’ve judged the mood well.

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Salmon and spinach lasagne (Serves two or possibly four as a starter)

THIS dish is not a traditional baked lasagne but a light, quickly assembled dish.

If you’ve never done it, it’s worth having a go at making your own pasta. It’s not necessarily better than shop-bought, but gives you great satisfaction. Hand-cranked pasta machines can be picked up for as little as £20.

Two 200g salmon fillets – with the skin left on

A couple of handfuls of fresh spinach

One vanilla pod

¼ pint of good light fish stock (see the recipe in the glossary) and ¼ pint of white wine mixed (or just ½ pint of white wine)

½ a red onion – peeled and chopped

One plump clove of garlic – peeled and crushed

One knob of cold butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

Mixed leaves to garnish

12 3in x 2in pasta sheets, cooked and refreshed in cold water (you can use standard-sized lasagne sheets and cut them to size once cooked and refreshed)

Cut each salmon fillet into six chunks.

In a small saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until soft, but not coloured. Add the stock and white wine. Split the vanilla pod down one side and add to the mixture. Bring to a boil and reduce by half.

As this is reducing, heat a frying pan, add a little olive oil and fry the salmon pieces until cooked. It will only take two or three minutes and, if you turn them, the skin will crispen and be lovely to eat.

Reheat the pasta by dropping it into boiling water for a few seconds (don’t allow it to over-cook) and drain.

If necessary, reheat the sauce and wilt the spinach into it. Chop the knob of butter into pieces and add to the simmering sauce, shaking the pan as you do so. As the butter melts, the sauce will slightly thicken and gain a shine to it. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Assemble the dish by placing a piece of salmon on the centre of a warm plate with a sheet of pasta draped over it, then another piece of salmon on top and another sheet of pasta. Repeat one more time until you’ve used three sheets of pasta and three pieces of salmon. Spoon the sauce and spinach over and around, moistening the pasta. Add the mixed leaves and serve.

Recipes are taken from Oldfields Restaurants cookbook, Passion for Real Food, out now and available in good bookshops. For discounted copies contact us on (0191) 370-9595