Full name: Barry Stewart Hilton
Role: Founder / MD
DOB: “Too old to remember”
Birthplace: Merseyside
Twitter Handle: @cerulondon
Website: www.cerurestaurants.com
Fun Fact: Barry’s an ex Punk Drummer who had a record deal at 18
J: Hey Barry! OK, please give us a little backstory about your life/adventure/journey up to now! Did you always know that a career in food was for you? I’ll assume you’ve been a foodie of sorts for quite some time…
B: I’ve always enjoyed good food. My mum used to cook a lot when we were kids and I would often try my hand at making a mandarin mousse or something equally inedible. Once I had left home and was pretty penniless, i learnt to cook the basics and then over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to eat my around North America, Asia and Europe.
I don’t really cook that much but I still make great sandwiches from leftovers in the fridge. Over the years I have also developed a passion for incredibly strong wash rind French cheeses such as Soumaintrain or Crayeux de Roncq.
How, when and why did Ceru come about? You mentioned that you were inspired by your travels abroad….?
Yes I was inspired by my travels = particularly to Istanbul. Having worked with Yalla Yalla previously, I didn’t want to do just another version of Lebanese food – I wanted to have a much wider palette of styles and ingredients to choose from.
Above all, I wanted to create a “holiday type feel” – we are not from the Levant region – we are Brits who’ve done a bit of travelling and we wanted to replicate the feelgood factor from the highlights of our food trips.
What’s it like being, predominantly, a popup in the current ‘culinary climate’ of London. There must be so much competition! How do you differentiate yourselves?
Pop ups generally are loss making ventures unless you get the opportunity to stay in one place for a decent length of time – what they do allow you to do is to test market an area or a concept before committing many tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds in opening a permanent site.
The London scene has attracted a wealth of talented operators from all parts of the world (as well as the UK) so there’s never been greater pressure to succeed.
And you’re a husband and wife team too! What’s it like working so closely with someone so close to you? How do you do it, and how do you avoid taking it home with you?
Working in the restaurant business is an anti social business at the best of times – its nice to know sometimes that you are in it together and that you can both be off together at the same time!
Where did you meet your lady and did you always know that you two would end up working together in the food business…?
We met when I owned a previous restaurant and it took a while before we got together. I suppose we always knew we would end up working together although Patricia’s focus is now more marketing and social media whilst I am still immersed in the food and business development side of things.
Tell us a little about your head chef, Tom Kine? How, when and why did you end up working with him?
Tom and I met about twelve years ago when I owned a gastropub chain outside of London. As well as being an accomplished chef, Tom is a creative powerhouse and just a nice human being to deal with. When I originally came up with the idea for Ceru, I initially thought of Tom to help me, but then realised he had moved to the other side of the world! Thankfully we have managed to make our relationship through the power of Skype!
You’ve got a Ceru opening at the Larmont Hotel, Sydney in October right? Could you tell us a little more about that? It’s a bit of a leap from running a popup on More Riverside!
This is definitely a project that we wouldnt have entertained had it not been for the fact that Tom is based in Sydney. It sometimes gets a bit frustrating that Tom is on the other side of the world and not necessarily involved in the day to day action.
Having a Ceru in Sydney means that Tom can carry on developing our menus but also feel that he is actively involved in Ceru. Who knows where opening in Sydney may lead to?
You’ve catered at festivals and the likes of Brighton Pride – what’s the most memorable/most fun one you’ve done so far?
The answer will always be Glastonbury – they should give out medals to caterers who survive trading for a week in Glastonbury mud.
And where’s the best place you’ve eaten lately? (you’re not allowed to say Ceru!)
We really like Ichi Riki sushi near where we live in Victoria although we always take away as they don’t really sell wine there and I believe that you cant have one without the other!
We ate a porterhouse steak at Goodmans a few weeks ago and the USDA meat was sensational although I did have arrange a second mortgage to pay the bill…
What’s a ‘day in your life’ like? Could you give us an insight into the life of Mr. Barry Hilton…?
Like most people I suppose it starts with looking through emails at around 7-30am . About 8am is usually time to Skype. Breakfast is usually a quick bowl of natural yoghurt with fruit and a cup of coffee then I am usually on the tube by 9am. Any viewing of properties I try to do in the mornings and at lunchtime I will head down to London Riviera to see what is happening.
After lunch I will l generally have one or two meetings before heading to our production kitchen to review paperwork and speak to the chefs. Then its back to the London Riviera for an early evening visit before heading off into the night to eat at someone else’s restaurant with my wife.
What’s your greatest/most memorable professional moment been, so far?
I am not sure there is just one in particular – whenever you finally throw open the doors of your new restaurant there is usually a feeling of relief and elation – I have opened 15 or so now, and I think they all have provided a huge variety of memories.
Where do you see the British food scene going in the next few years?
Sadly because of the change in recent tax rules, I think that we may continue to lose more pubs which is a great shame because they do have a place in our dining scene. However perhaps the growing popularity of craft beers will intervene – who knows?
From a restaurant perspective, casual dining still leads the way but I wouldn’t say fine dining is over, but I think they now realise that they have to deliver an amazing experience if they are to justify the price tag. I do hope that not too many celebrity chefs end up dominating the London scene and I would like to see landlords continuing to give opportunities for new brands.
Trends… hard to say – but I hope that Ceru is up there at the top
Who would cook your Death Row meal, and what would you ask for (3 courses, please)?
I have to say Tom or he’ll kill me! I would probably have sashimi to start, followed by a steak or lamb cutlets – dessert would be smelly French cheese and a glass of Madiran red wine…
Did you ever have a point where you knew it was working, or that you’d ‘made it’? Do you remember that point?
I suppose we were lucky when we started out doing festivals because the customers were eating right in front of us and we got to see their reactions. By the time we had finished Gay Pride in Brighton, we knew we had something with potential in our hands.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had, how did you overcome it, and what did you learn from it?
The biggest challenge is often people who are not straightforward or do not do what they say they are going to do. I suppose over the years, more and more discussions get put on email to establish a fallback position – sad but true.
Where do you get your ideas?
If only I knew – red wine?
What’s your philosophy, summed up in a sentence?
“Never give up – its just a matter of time before its your turn.”
Who’s the person who’s most inspired you in your work – food industry or otherwise? Is there anyone that you draw inspiration or strength from? Do you have any specific culinary influences?
My first ever boss gave me a very inspirational pep talk the day I handed my notice in after working for him for 3 years – I think it ended with “who dares wins”.
I don’t have any specific culinary influences (sorry Tom…) although I greatly admire Chris Corbin and Jeremy King for what they achieved within the London restaurant scene.
What advice would you give to aspiring food entrepreneurs who’d want the kind of results that you’ve had?
Do what you believe in and get some good people around you as soon as you can afford them.
If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you be doing instead?
I was in the Music Business before restaurants, so probably that.
What’s your ultimate aim and goal for Ceru? If you could achieve anything with it, what would you pick? Money and reality are no obstacle, so shoot for the moon…
I would like to see Ceru have a presence in all the major International cities. I would like to think that we can deliver the quality of food and passion for our business all over the world.
Where next for you and the business?
Stephen (my business partner and I) are eyeing up one or two properties as a permanent home for Ceru. We may do a pop up in the City for the Winter and we are obviously very focused on helping Tom get open in Sydney this October.
And we always ask three customary ridiculous questions…
If you had to have any character from Egyptian mythology come and work with you at Ceru, who would you employ?
Ra – the Sun God would have a big part in creating the holiday atmosphere at Ceru..
If you had to be transformed into any kind of household appliance, but retained your memories, ability to speak and personality, what would you pick?
Nespresso Machine.
If you had to get into a no holds barred, 20 round fist fight with any fictional character, who would you square off against?
Where’s Wally – to punish him for all those wasted hours looking for him with my kids.