Speaker Q&A (2020): Brian Trollip, Dishoom

Dishoom’s Brian Trollip will be taking part in our ‘Casual dining ops director panel’ (on 26 March), with Stephen Hill from ramen chain Bone Daddies.

Which restaurant & pub operators most impressed you in 2019 and why?

Honestly, I have huge admiration for pretty much everyone who’s made it through what has been a pretty tough few years for the industry. There are so many brilliant restaurant and pub operators who have worked incredibly hard to ensure that their teams and their guests continue to be taken in and looked after in a wonderful way, no matter what the external pressures. Equally, I really feel for anyone who hasn’t made it through the gauntlet or who is struggling at the moment.

Making restaurants work is unbelievably challenging. So, I’m impressed by everyone who goes to work every day and does their absolute best to look after their people and their guests, whilst hopefully running a successful business at the same time.

Focusing specifically on food and drink trends, what products/ingredients do you think will be big (or even bigger) in 2020?

The beer world in the UK is so exciting. We’re producing some of the most exceptional beers in the world and that’s amazing to see. Low and no alcohol drinks, which are still serious and delicious, are available pretty much everywhere now. Tonic as a mixer for so much more than Gin is something that we’ll probably see a lot more of in 2020. On top of that, there are some brilliant alternatives to meat, which are as delicious. These are likely to become more widely available as we realise that we all need to do more to look after the environment. Check out Simplicity Burger on Brick Lane as a good example.

What do you see as the key casual dining industry trends for 2020?

We’re all pretty exhausted by the constant squabbling, politics and polarisation that seems to be happening globally. All the anger is tiresome, and I think that 2020 will be great for anyone who helps people to escape for a while and to have fun and let go. Things are getting expensive and we’re fast realising that we need to look after the world we live in, so I think that restaurants offering a delicious, fun, inclusive experience with little or no meat will do very well (and it’s probably important that they do).

What does the next 12 months have in store for your business?

We’re super excited to be opening in Birmingham in the Spring. We’re also closing our Covent Garden site for a few months early this year so that we can bring the restaurant, which opened nearly ten years ago, into 2020 with all the love and vibrancy it deserves.

The rise of food delivery: What do you think are the pros and cons for 1) your business and 2) the casual dining sector as a whole?

Let’s be honest, this just isn’t good for the restaurant industry. Dress it up any way you like, when you kill the experience and hand a fragile product over to someone else so that they can own the relationship between the guest and your product/brand, you’re taking a pretty big chance. These companies are gathering an immense amount of useful data too. The whole thing concerns me a little.

We prefer to focus all our time and energy on looking after the guests within our restaurants so that we know they’re getting the right experience. I’m sure there’s a bit of money left on the table by not doing delivery, but I worry that we would dilute what it is we do if we took it.

Can you give us an example of what your business is doing to be even more sustainable?

We’re taking a wholistic approach here. We’ve got a team working with, among others, the SRA in order to fully understand how we could go further with regards to sustainability.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?

Do your homework – chat to as many industry veterans as possible and get an understanding of costs and challenges.
Do it for the right reasons – it has to be about more than money if you’re going to enjoy it and be able to engage others.
Really look after everyone – your people, your suppliers, your guests – everyone. Do this sincerely and you’ll do well.