David Moore
David Moore, founder and owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia, the longest held Michelin starred restaurant in London (31 years).
David is also a Trustee of Cockpit Arts an award-winning social enterprise that supports over 160 independent craft makers and businesses.
Tell us a little bit about your business…
Pied à Terre is London’s longest standing Michelin starred restaurant, holding a star consistently for 31 years. We are a high end fine dining experience offering contemporary stylised French cuisine with a Greek touch, our chef Asimakis Chaniotis is Greek.
I like to think that Pied à Terre is one of the more approachable and friendly classic style restaurants with charming and intelligent service set alongside exciting food.
We are more than just a restaurant as we have three small private dining rooms which makes us the perfect venue for special occasions and business events. We also have a cookery school on our first floor and regularly welcome customers to a full kitchen experience, spending time in the kitchen with Asimakis our Michelin star chef.
How did you get into the industry?
This is a long story…. Whilst studying at Blackpool and Fylde Coast catering college I had to find a work placement for 26 weeks on my HND course. Due to a series of sliding-door moments, I worked my placement as a commie waiter at The Boxtree restaurant in Ilkley from April to October in 1985. I loved this experience. When departing The Boxtree I was given a steer by the then Head Chef, Michael Truelove, who told me to get a job with Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir. At college some months later I saw an advert for Le Manoir in the Caterer magazine; letters were written, interviews were had and I started working for Raymond Blanc in July 1986 where I stayed for six years before jumping overboard to open Pied à Terre with Raymond’s support.
What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry?
The industry has offered and continues to offer me an amazing life, I really do have to pinch myself sometimes when I think of the places it has taken me, the people I have met and the friends that I have made; it really couldn’t have happened in any other industry other than hospitality.
However, there are many, many challenges set against the world of hospitality and one of the most pressing, has disappointingly been self-inflicted with Brexit. Hospitality relies heavily on people, even the smallest of hospitality outlets needs more than several hands, and a sizable venture needs a dozen or more, so the shrinking labour market due to Brexit was tough but coupled with Covid, it created a disaster that we are still working though. The largest and most worrying challenge is that the industry, one of the largest employers in the UK – an industry that generates tens of billions of business rates, VAT, income tax, duty and national insurance – has no voice and therefore I would urge the Government to appoint a hospitality minister.
How would you describe your leadership style?
Calm, quiet and considered, always sleeves rolled up, leading from the front.
How do you get the most out of the people who work for you?
I employ really good people (don’t be afraid to employ people who are better than you). Sometimes they are the unlikely choice, they might not always have the greatest or most extensive experience – experience is a double edged sword, it comes with bad habits as well an understanding of situations. What really matters is that team members have an ability to acquire knowledge, to learn from mistakes and be able to move on from any mistakes.
What are the most crucial elements to your business running smoothly and being successful?
It is crucial that the kitchen and the front of house work as one team and not as separate identities. It is essential that the front of house and kitchen teams have a mutual respect, loyalty and trust for each other and understand that they are all working towards the same goal.
How has the past 12 months been for you?
The past 12 months have been very mixed.
We seem to have bounced from having one of the worst months ever in November to the best month ever, that being pre-Christmas – our December was amazing. The year has been continually peppered with staff shortages and has seen us enter into the Visa route to recruit, this sadly will probably now be unavailable to us due to the minimum salary hikes; another case of a huge industry with no voice and a government that doesn’t want to listen.
In the last 12 months I employed a wine consultant to help with the wine offering – we had a large wine list that needed reorganising. One intervention was to increase the number of wines and price points of wines by the glass. This was a no cost initiative as we already had the wines and using Coravin it was a total no-brainer. We increased the number of wines by the glass from 7 to 25 and the top price point went from £35 to £125; glasses at £125 sell nearly every day. Alongside the wines by the glass, we also introduced more high-end wine flights, adding to the existing £110 Tasting flight, we offer a Discovery flight at £240 and a Premium flight at £450; both of which are surprisingly popular.
Customers are still looking for something special and if you’re able to package it properly and deliver it, it will sell.
Is there anything you’ve learnt during the pandemic that you’ll take forward in your business?
I was so blown away by the popularity of our vegan home delivery that we created and ran through the pandemic. The home delivery was something that I wanted to continue after lockdown. I had thought it possible to create a separate business, I had the funding to do it, the only spanner in the works was the staff to work on it – ultimately I had to discontinue the home deliveries due to those skill shortages.
What will the next 12 months look like for your business?
Hard…but we always try to have a positive outlook.
What are the highlights of your career so far?
Truly, I’m not sure where to start. I mean I left college and landed a job straight away working for Raymond Blanc. I was 23 when I was Assistant Restaurant Manager at Le Manoir and 26 when I opened Pied à Terre. The first Michelin star in 1993 was truly amazing and three years later to have the second Michelin star – a pinch yourself moment. Sometimes I feel that surviving has been the highlight, that I’m still here 32 years on. But surviving seems to be a thread woven through the 32 year tapestry of Pied à Terre. Surviving the early days and lean times, surviving the fire, surviving the relationships with numerous head chefs, surviving recessions. I’m a survivor; the man they couldn’t hang as a famous chef once said.
What’s the biggest business mistake that you’ve learnt from?
Discounting – there was a fashion some years ago to work with third party sites offering discounts to the general public. This might be a short term fix but quickly becomes expected, and full paying customers
become increasingly rare animals! Loyalty discounting to your database of existing customers is totally different and can drive increased repeat customers and brand loyalty.
What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
Watch the cashflow. It is cashflow that cripples more businesses than anything. It is why we never go for grandiose makeovers or splash the cash expansions. Keep the cash in the bank for a rainy day – knowing the British weather there is always a rainy day just around the corner.
