THE REALITY OF OPENING A RESTAURANT

Everyone wants to talk about the menu and the branding. Nobody wants to talk about the bit where the fridge breaks in week one, your best chef gets a better offer in week two, and a one-star review from someone who never actually ate with you sits at the top of Google for six months.

Opening a restaurant is 10% food and 90% operations — and you learn the 90% the hard way. Here's the short version of what I wish someone had told me: over-budget your build by a third, hire two weeks later than you think you need to, and remember that a soft launch isn't a marketing strategy, it's a dress rehearsal.

Would I do it again? Yes. Would I do it the same way? Absolutely not.