Tandoori Sep/Oct 2014 | Page 23

NO. OF RESTAURANTS: 120 AVERAGE SPEND PER HEAD: £15 at lunch, £30 at dinner MOST EXPENSIVE DISH: The Chilli Pickle Kebab Platter at £18.50 CHEAPEST DISH: The Tamil Masala Dosa at £9.50 CRITICAL REVIEWS: “The menu gives sub-continental clichés and curry house standards a swerve, dealing in smartly reworked thalis, dosai and Indian street-food- inspired dishes at lunchtime.” The AA Restaurant Guide. “This “inventive” spot has won a vast following with the “unmatched flavours and sheer inventiveness” of its cuisine.” Hardens restaurant pro le Naturally Indian Chef-patron Alun Sperring and his wife Dawn, who is the co-owner and general manager, have made The Chilli Pickle, a huge success in Brighton. Sperring talks to Tandoori What made you want to open your own restaurant? As a chef, I’d been classically trained in European cooking and worked in a number of different countries for over 20 years, but I always held a particular fascination with Indian cuisine. Subsequently, when I worked briefly at he innamon lub under chef Vivek Singh, I learnt a lot from him, but also felt confident enough that could do what he was doing. I then travelled to India and by the time I had returned, it felt like a natural decision to open a restaurant. What made you want to open a restaurant in Brighton? his is where was brought u and lived. Brighton has a very eclectic crowd, who are also well-informed and well-travelled. So it seemed like the right thing to do to launch here. What has been the upside and downside of being a chef and a restaurateur? he u side is that you see your business grow and all the faith and hard work that has gone into it, not just by myself but also my wife Dawn and all the people that have helped us and those that are working with us. he downside is that on a www.tandoorimagazine.com 023_TM_Jun_Sep_Oct_Restaurant profile.indd 23 personal level, you have very little time for anything. My son is six years old now and were it not for the support we’ve had from the grandparents, it would have been very difficult. he business almost takes on a 24/7 aspect. Dawn is very much the face of the restaurant and is very good at multi-tasking, and when we get home she’ll pick up on various things, as I will her. So the work goes home with us. at as youngsters themselves and how they deal with spices and ingredients. It’s just so fascinating for me. What is your secret to running a good business operation? he ɔ