It’s no easy job being the boss of a large restaurant group, especially when you’re as hands on as Managing Director, Piero Quaradeghini. So the question is, what does he do all day?

Once a week I’ll go out with the drivers, to buy the fish, meat or vegetables. That means being up at 4 or 5am. And at least twice a week, I’ll get a call around 3am from a fish supplier we use in Portsmouth. He’ll let me know what he’s just caught and have it delivered to me by 8am. This means we’re guaranteed the freshest fish at good prices that we can pass on to the customer, and of course then I rely on the chefs to sell it through their special daily menus. I also work closely with them on dishes we feature on the a la carte menus, so the line of communication between us is a strong one based on trust.

When I get back to the office the best part of my day is spent on costings, managing cash flow and constantly checking we are getting value for money and consistency in the quality of the products we buy. I occasionally get called out to one of the restaurants if something blows up or they’re short of staff!

Late afternoon and early evening the chefs send their orders through to the office for the next day and I take care of the meat and fish orders. I head home around 8 or 9pm, on a good day!"