Cooking up a storm
Lim Pow Hong discovers why Haresh Sambnani decided to set up his own food business and the challenges he has faced. -ST
Wed, Nov 12, 2008
The Straits Times
Haresh Sambnani, 31, did not even know how to cook when he first stepped into the kitchen at the age of 17.
His first task was to scrub the oven. Today, together with his brother, he is the proud co-owner of three restaurants - Spize The Makan Place, Spize The Supper Club and Spize The Mediterranean Grill - which serve up a mix of Western and Asian food such as fish and chips and beef hor fun.
IN asks Haresh about his love affair with food.
IN: How did you know that this was what you wanted as a career?
Haresh: When I first started cooking, it was something I did to earn spare cash. After that, the desire to be involved with food grew. I feel responsible for the dishes that are served up. I feel that every dish is a representation of myself and there is a strong desire to get it right.
IN: What is the best part of your job?
Haresh: I have full control over every decision made and I can shape the business in a way that I feel is right. Sometimes, when you're an employee, you may feel underappreciated for the effort you put in, but with my own business, I get an immense sense of satisfaction when I see the efforts I put in paying off
IN: What is the biggest challenge?
Haresh: Anyone who makes a conscious decision to work in the hospitality industry will have to realise that they may never enjoy a weekend and public holiday. The impact on family life is very substantial and this requires the support of family members.
IN: Any interesting experiences on the job?
Haresh: In the past five years, I have seen an average of one fight every month. We serve the late night crowd and sometimes our patrons come to the restaurants after the pubs close. They can get very rowdy when inebriated. For example, there was this group of drunk American kids who peed on the tyres of the cars belonging to our restaurant patrons and a fight broke out.
IN: How do you deal with situations like these?
Haresh: We break up the fight by telling them we have cameras installed at the restaurants and they usually stop or they move the fight somewhere else.
IN: Any advice for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Haresh: Be prepared to lose everything. Also, while it is not essential to have prior knowledge of cooking to start a food business, it does help. I was able to save on money spent conceptualising the kitchen layout as I could do it myself.
| Haresh's journey to be his own boss |
| Though he had no prior experience in cooking, Haresh jumped into the job with relish and discovered he had the knack for it. IN tracks his journey from a part-time cook to a proud restaurant owner today. 1994 to 1997: Worked as part-time cook in Country Manna. 1995 to 1998: Studied in Temasek Polytechnic and graduated with a diploma in accounting and finance in 1998. 2001: Completed national service in 2001 and started work at KPMG as an audit assistant. Realised after six months that it was not what he wanted as a career. 2001 to 2003: Worked for MPH Limited - The Book Cafe as a kitchen consultant and introduced a new menu that increased revenue while reducing food cost. August 2003: Partnered his brother in starting up Spize The Makan Place. June 2005: Started Spize The Mediterranean Grill. December 2005: Added Spize The Supper Club to the list of restaurants they owned. July 2007 to June 2008: Studied for Bachelor of Arts with Honours in European Culinary Management at Singapore Institute of Management- International Hotel Management Institute (SIM-IMI). June 2008 to now: Working on plans to expand his restaurant business. |
This article was first published in IN, a publication of The Straits Times, on Nov 10, 2008.