Teds thoughts with Tony page

Speaker A: Hi, I'm Ted Sharma, founder of One Voice Hospitality. I've been in the game for over three decades. I love public speaking. In fact, I love the people and characters in my industry. It's in the nature of hospitality to talk and engage and likewise for property people to network. So loving the chat and the SEC to meant only one thing, a podcast to bring them all together. There are plenty of successes and at the same time plenty of struggles. I think it's important to share our world of view. And over the series, I'm going to talk to some of the industry's leading figures, hear their stories, and really make this the conversation starter for our industry. Please subscribe for the ongoing series and I hope you enjoy it. Well, as the photo might suggest, I've just uh, I've just had a most incredible chicken soup and I've had a few, being a good Jewish boy and a wonderful steak with Rockette salad, etc at Tony Page's new restaurant in central London. So I welcome, ladies and gentlemen, gentleman Tony Page.

Speaker B: Thank you, Ted. That's, um, a very nice introduction to Marylebone, which is where our restaurant, ah, is in Paddington Street. And as Ted very kindly said, it's uh, it's a very special location. And Ted, being the magician he is, he's the guy who procured it for us.

Speaker A: We'll, we'll come on to that. We'll come because I'm, I'm blushing already. So, uh, and I'll pay you later. Um, but for those of you that don't know our world that we currently sit in, Tony is the gold standard. Uh, the royal warrant. I mean, literally, if you have Tony's stamp on your occasion, you know you've got the very best in the business. Not just in London, but way, way further afield. So Tony, how did it all start? Uh, what is your, how did you get into food?

Speaker B: Thank you, Ted, but I've always been passionate about food from a very young early age. And, uh, I wasn't a big school lover. And when the opportunity came to me at 15 to go to Westminster Hotel School and do a course in restaurant operation, it consists of a two year course with all practical and theoretical studies revolving around restaurants. And last year was working in a hotel in Germany or France or Switzerland that was organized by conjunction with British Hotel, a restaurant association at the time. Uh, but from my perspective, I jumped the opportunity of taking the offer to work as a stanger at the Plaza Hotel in Avenue Montaigne. And I started in the relay and they put me in the kitchen they put me in the wine cellar. But anyway, the last job was working on room service where you really get to learn what life's all about. And at the end of the year they offered me a full time job. They didn't normally do that for French English, but that's one of the things. But the job was working night. So it was the time when the famous uh, Richard Burton was married to Elizabeth Taylor and they were making a film in Paris with Les Escalier and Rex Harrison was married to Rachel Roberts. They were living in the hotel at that time and a huge royalty. Anyway, it was a great opportunity to learn about room service. And because I was able to take plenty of time off when I had that job, I worked at Maxine's, uh, in Avenue Montaigne, in Avenue and plus Madeleine Avenue. I was working on room in the restaurants upstairs and banqueting and in the kitchens there. I mean it's so old, so long ago they used to have sawdust on the floor in the kitchen. That's how they used to operate. But it was a fantastic opportunity and I learned French properly there, not just culinary French, they don't teach you in school. But it was a life apart and I loved it and my passion was always food. That said, I wanted to become the manager of a hotel. So when I came back I moved my career forward. System manager, their front office manager here. Eventually I was the food and beverage manager for the holiday in Swiss Cottage owned by Commonwealth Holiday Inns of Canada. And whilst attending an event at the King David Suite, I was approached by the late Harold Sobell who was the father in law of my cousin Wallace Goodkind, who offered me a job as the manager. You know what, at that time I was living in a small maisonnais in Stanmore, two bedroom maisonet, married for a little and the pay was rubbish. They offered me double what I said I was earning, which as you can imagine was even more than the real thing. So I thought, you know what, have a go. At that time, kosher food and events was so how it was for the last 20, 30 years. So it was like putting water on a dry sponge. It was marvelous. And I started to get a huge amount of pleasure out of it, seeing the rewards of introducing things. Different dishes, different lamb dishes, souffles, crepe suzettes, lots of traditional Escoffier type things out of my repertoire. And with that the business grew and we took over the kosher catering of the Grosvenor House. Firstly took over the Carlton Towers, the Grosvenor House, Claridges pretty well everywhere. Eventually we had the deal at the Dorchester which was an amazing opportunity. So that's where it went. And in 91 when the Iraq war came and the Scuds were flying into Tel Aviv, ah, the business shrunk and at that point I went and started to Tony Page Ltd. And um, it became a passion and then we developed the business and it's gone from strength to strength over the years. When Covid hit us together with Brexit, which was the biggest mistake of this country that they'll never get over, Covid was a complete mess up. As a result we decided we'd do the pop up restauran at the Royal Lancaster Hotel which is next door to my home. And we had four years of great fun there. But then I could see the desire I really wanted to have another restaurant and a long term arrangement. Royal Lancaster wasn't really on the cards. Plus the place was a bit like a waiting room at a British Rail station, needed sorting out and the hotel were not going to give us a long term contract. So I was looking and then a good friend of mine, David Lowey from DD Restaurants, when I asked him who was the agent I should speak to to find, find me somewhere, he said, well, the man who really has got your touch is Ted Sharma. If he exists, he'll find it. And don't forget that David's got 70 restaurants or had. So lo and behold, I got a long chapter Ted. And over the next three months ideas are flowing around and eventually a deal was struck with Chotto Mate and they closed and we reopened and we're there. But this is really the sideline. The main business is catering and we love it. I work very closely with my daughter and the team we've got been with me for a long time and they're pushing forward with innovative dishes, exciting new presentations. It was uh, very special. Just go back a second. When I worked at the Plaza today and room service, I didn't mention the big deal. There was the gratuities because at uh, that time when you worked in the hotel you divided it being hundreds of people, but on room service at night there was only three of us and we got so much tips. It was the best job in the world and we divided it between the three of us. So that was one of my motives for staying in Paris for all those years. Apart from the life which I loved. It's changed there now, but I'm back in London and have had a wonderful career in the hospitality business and I don't tire of it for one second. I thoroughly enjoy it, and the thing I enjoy most is delivering something special and creating memories for other people.

Speaker A: I love it. I've not had to ask you too many questions because you've got so much to share. I mean, certainly when it comes to room service, I think people are in their best state of mind because they're on holiday or just out of their home and they're getting food delivered to their bed or bedroom. It's fun. You've got to be in a great state of mind. So those are positive moments, particularly when you're talking about the kind of caliber people that you're talking about. I mean, it must have been extraordinary. But tell us a bit more about the discipline of restaurants relative to catering, because they're very different. And you, you seem to have mastered both.

Speaker B: Ted, you're very generous with your comments. I wouldn't say I've mastered anything. We're constantly striving to improve both in the catering and the restaurants. But you're correct, they're completely, absolutely different things. The chefs who do the catering don't do the restaurants. The people do the restaurants don't do the catering. They're different science and different mentality. Uh, and when I thought originally that I'd be able to use the team from the catering on our quiet time to slot in with the restaurant, it does not work. There has to be a huge consistency in the restaurant. And the guys that work here, once they've got the knowledge of how to do it, it's a team, you know, you can only be as. You're only as strong as the weakest link. And the important thing is to make sure that link stays together. So we have a team of about 25 people, 27 actually, who work full time in the restaurant, not all at the same time, because there's different shifts and different things going on with security and with the kitchens and the porter ridges and the cleaning and the barmen. But it is a team and they do immensely well. But there is a huge difference between restaurant business and catering. The catering is another game completely. But that said, the catering has much more, has much more discipline. It's much more, has to be more exact. There are no areas for the slightest fault, because in restaurant, if the steak is cold, we give another one or take it off the bill. But with catering, there is no second chance. You've got 300 people waiting for a, uh, dish, and it comes up. If it's cold, that's it. You've succeeded in Giving them a real horrible time. I wouldn't call succeed. You let the side down. So there are no areas. That's why we rehearse. We rehearse. And we've got a phenomenal team and the events team who are well versed in doing it. I mean, we've got 1200 for the CST in two weeks time. You know, the planning and the detail that goes into that, it's like an iceberg. 90% of it is below the surface. You don't see it. It's only 10% you actually see on the night.

Speaker A: I bet. Can you imagine having gone the other way of opened a kosher restaurant, then gone into catering?

Speaker B: No, I'd never have done that, not in a million years at restaurants. The last thing in the world I wanted, plus having the four. Four years at the Royal Lancaster was an opportunity to understand and to learn about the restaurant business. And we're still learning every day. But that was a good learning curve without exposing ourselves to any financial difficulties. And this one here would have exposed us to financial difficulties without the experience and knowledge that we gained in those four years whilst we were working at the Island Grove.

Speaker A: And you mentioned hotels. I. I'm just. Because we're talking now, sorry, because we're in the middle of service. Uh, Tony is keeping a very beady eye on everything around. But I'm most curious to hear. And literally, as I'm speaking, and I will not edit this, Tony has gone to see some clients, or guests, I might add, at a restaurant. So I'm currently sitting, literally having just enjoyed a lunch. And he is literally such a perfectionist. He's come to see people, he's come back to see me. This won't be edited. And Tony, what I was going to ask you is, having been involved in hotels, it begs the question, what's the next stage for Tony Page? Because is it perhaps a restaurant in New York, in Miami? Is it possibly a hotel? You know, what's going on in your mind, if anything, I know you've only just bedded in here. Is there a plan or, um, not.

Speaker B: There is a plan to improve the quality here. Ah. In the restaurant, and to continually strive to improve our quality and come up with new ideas and different ways of service in the catering business. Those are the ideas. I've been asked to open a restaurant in Miami. Frankly, I don't want to do that. I just, you know, it's too much of a headache. I love doing what we're doing at the moment. I love having the restaurant and I adore the catering. I can't imagine doing anything else. You know, maybe 20 years ago I might have given consideration to those things. But truthfully, I'm, um. You know, it's a huge step for me to open a restaurant because I really avoided it for forever. But I mean, I only did it because opportunity arose and I'm not the one person to put things on the line to make an advance. It's going to be a guaranteed thing and nothing in life is guaranteed. But this restaurant is going to work very well with the help of our wonderful clientele coming in. Um, it's. It's not a hotel or another restaurant are not on the book.

Speaker A: So tell me, you mentioned your next generation, your daughter. Might they have plans afoot or I suppose that's for another day.

Speaker B: No, Laura's very much involved in my business. I'm almost her conciliary on the events business. I hold the reins on everything. But she released some of the reins to her because she's exquisite in what she does. She's, she's fabulous with her clients. She's fabulous with the, um, with the staff. They like a much more than like me. Um, I'm very difficult with everybody, but, you know, not so much the clients.

Speaker A: I have heard that you were never difficult with me.

Speaker B: No, no, no. Because, you know, if you deliver the goods immediately, you're always going to get the pat in the back.

Speaker A: Okay, few, few. Um, so you have redefined, um, the kosher, uh, catering world. You've redefined the kosher restaurant scene. This is like no other in the uk, that's for sure. I'm super, super conscious of your time. This will probably be the shortest podcast I've ever done, but, but I am going to close on a question that I do ask everybody and I would be fascinated to hear your answer, which is, Tony Page, what does hospitality mean to you?

Speaker B: Hospitality means making people happy in one sentence and creating memories and delivering the dream. That's what hospitality is. It's providing a service and delivering comfort at a level that they won't enjoy at home.

Speaker A: Thank you, Tony M. I'm just going to say again, for the record, it has been a great journey. I never knew you that well prior. Uh, only almost from a distance, in a way through my family and other, other friends. And it has been a total pleasure and a deal and a moment in time that I promise you, I, I

Speaker B: cherish and as do I, because we've had a little. We've had a good fortune for both of us. Thank you for introducing me this Lovely space at 26 Paddington Street.

Speaker A: Absolutely. Uh, total pleasure and thank you for your time.