Hi, I’m Ren,
I have been in the catering industry for most of my career.
I trained as a chef in London in fine dining, and like most chefs, was in awe of the fast paced hustle and bustle and camaraderie of professional kitchens. At the time, the food scene was really exploding and I realised that the simple training in ‘old school French classics’, that you get in college just wasn’t going to cut it any more, so I spent ten years purposely working in as many different styles of restaurants as I could, annoying all my head chefs by making them stay late to teach me everything I could get them too- I owe so much to all of my cooking mentors!
I met my (now) wife almost 20 years ago whilst she was studying to become a dentist. After she finished her degree, she had to find a apprenticeship placement, which meant moving out of London, and so we decided on Brighton, and we knew it pretty well, and had friends there- plus it’s a stone’s throw from London if we ever got homesick! But the truth is, we loved it and never looked back!
After a few years working the Brighton circuit, I decided it was time to either retrain or go it on my own (our working schedules just didn’t fit around each other, and something had to give!) I had dreamed of opening the next big restaurant in the centre of Brighton, but the enourmous rents and business rates just scared the hell out of me! Also, I had just turned 30, my bank manager called me ‘son’, and was not about to cut me a large cheque with no business experience!!
I ended up taking on a huge disused commercial kitchen in Worthing, around 15 miles along the coast, where the rent was a steal, and it seemed like a low risk venture. I was able to set up the business with a bit of savings and a credit card. I figured that if it all went wrong, I could just walk away.
So now what?!…
I had recently done the catering for my sister’s and also my best friend’s weddings, and had absolutely loved it. I was amazing at how with food, I was able to create an experience and memory that would last a lifetime, not just an evening. Also, by adding a bit of love, I was able to elevate that experience to a whole new level, that I had never seen in the weddings I had been to previously as a guest. I had called in my mates to help we, most of whom knew the guests, and so we were laughing and joking around with everyone, and I found that this only made the day even more special! I decided that this was how I wanted to run my business.
I think we have still stayed true to that vision- Over the years, we have worked to create friendships with all of our wedding couples over the whole planning process in order to recreate that special feeling. We only take bookings for 100 weddings per year (2020 notwithstanding!) so that our couples don’t become just customers.
I also decided to open a café on site too. My wife and I had been to Italy a few times, and if you’ve been, you’ll know that it’s impossible to get bad food, even if you’re broke! A simple workers café will serve home made gnocchi with ‘olio e aglio’ (olive oil, parsley and garlic), for 3euros instead of a greasy fry up. I took that concept into my café, located in an industrial estate surrounded by factories and garages. We bake fresh focaccia every morning for our sandwiches, and our chefs make daily specials.
I get really proud when I see our regulars, mostly tradesmen and mechanics, coming to us instead of the burger vans that usually line our kind of business districts!
Twelve years later, we are fully booked every year, and are able to feel like a real part of the local community- that is maybe the most satisfying part of my whole business career.
I have an amazing team, who all believe in the same philosophy as me, and I couldn’t do what I do without them. Building such a great team was easily the hardest thing. The leap from cheffing to event catering is huge, and it’s not for everyone.
Over the last year, we have branched out into lots of smaller side projects within the local community such as pop up restaurants, a vegan street food truck, farmers markets. Who knows where we’ll be in the next five years. We’ll have to wait and see!
Ren Esack, Ren’s Kitchen, Worthing
https://www.renskitchen.co.uk/