No one goes to great overnight.
Even those who appear to have risen to success quickly has had a long, possibly hidden journey.
I live in Bray, Berkshire – about 100 metres from the home of Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant.
I just stumbled across this description of how he got started and wanted to share it.
In 1995, after more than two years of searching, Heston bought a 450-year-old pub in Bray. Small, with an impossibly cramped kitchen, only one door, no view, an outside toilet and a reputation as the hotspot for every drinker banned from other pubs in the area, it was hardly the ideal choice for a restaurant, but it was all he could afford.
At this stage, there was no thought of Michelin stars. With its beams sandblasted and a U-shaped copper bar installed, The Fat Duck opened as a simple bistro serving French classics such as petit salé of duck, steak and chips, sauce à la moelle and tarte tatin. On the second day the oven exploded and Heston spent the rest of service with a bag of frozen peas strapped to his head. Inexperience and limited funds meant he was spending twenty hours a day in the kitchen, occasionally snatching fifteen minutes’ sleep curled up on a pile of dirty tea towels.
In 2004 it became only the third restaurant in the UK to hold 3 Michelin stars and in 2005 was voted the Best Restaurant in the World.
An amazing journey in a relatively short period of time.
If you’re beginning your journey as a consultant, freelancer or coach and are currently wondering how to put food on your family’s table. Have faith. Have a vision. Be good at what you do. Spend over 50% of your time finding ways to promote your business and you won’t go too far wrong.
Heston set out with a vision. You can too.
Hey, nice article about Heston and the Fat Duck. Yes it just goes to show that it can be done. I’m interested in his vision and how that affected what he did. Thanks for the story Mark, I’m off to read the “promote your business” link.