I Scaled Rosa's Thai into to 45 Sites Empire (using a Buddhist business method)

44:40Yes. So the team, actually, I'll tell you what. This one is, I am so surprised, you know, we got this little bag with the crispy squid. Yes. A calamari, Thai calamari. Yes. So we even think about how are we going to keep it and still crispy when it's delivered to our customer. So in that moment when I'm tasting it, we try it ourselves first and it still keeps it warm and crispy. So, you know, our new packaging is, I think, is winner. Yeah, so you've invested a lot into that. Yeah, we invest money on... No, we invest quite a lot with our delivery. Right. Yeah. How much, how big a part of the percentage of your business is it?

45:44Total business? Oh, it's, you know, quite a big thing to us, delivery. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Really big things to us. So for us, you know, deliver food, people looking at the... You know when you receive your food, you know, one thing's still hot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How can you keep that, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then see this bag here, what I'm talking about? You see these things? It's, you know, I remember that I ordered the deep-fried aborigines. Yes, that's a crispy dish. Yeah, crispy one. and then we put it in and we keep it for about at least 30, 40 minutes and we eat them, you know, we open them and they're still crispy.

46:36Yeah. That's interesting. It's something, you know, the technology or I don't know, but now things are so different from before. It's like you were saying at the beginning of not taking shortcuts in anything because of the shortcut. And I think we were, I was speaking beforehand to one of your colleagues about how the reason curry does so well on delivery since the beginning of time is because it is naturally quite wet. Other than onion bhaji, it's not that crispy. But in Thai, you've got the calamaris, you've got the chicken wings. When I get, actually, I'm not going to say, because I want them on my podcast, but there's some chicken places I get delivered, and it comes, and it's just like, mate, this ain't crispy enough.

47:20No, but this is... And actually, the brand, And you may get sales, you may get incremental sales, but you actually get incremental brand damage because it's the brand, this ain't the same. And that's what, you know, Stu does a really good job at Black Bear because getting his, he probably needs one of them bags, but they're pretty expensive. But getting his crisps, he talks about this on the podcast we did, getting his crisps, not crisps, chips, crispy. Obviously, there's only so much you can do to control it. So they've used the bag as a storytelling machine and to say, listen, like, no, this bag, the outer, to say, you know, put them back in the oven at this degree and you'll get them as close to the...

48:01But I think it's just setting expectations and using the context and being like, look, this isn't going to be as good as the restaurant. And by just that admission, it makes it better, you know? Yeah, but the Thai cuisine, one thing, can deliver it really well. Yes. Yeah, Thai cuisine, you know, specially delivered. to the customer it's just delivered so well one thing I can tell you it's not a greasy you know actually a Thai cuisine travel well other than the specific you know how the food arrives hot making sure it arrives crispy through packaging what other ways are you because I feel like when we first spoke you've really seen um delivery and obviously now specifically with uber eats not as just a nice to have but you've actually integrated it like as a big part of your business what other things how else do you think about delivery versus other restaurants i think you're doing like we we are working it now yeah we um yeah we are in the packaging and also the dishes that is travel well so you're literally you're basically creating bespoke menu for delivery yes so that's wild that is coming next year.

49:21When will it be under... Something is still secret. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. But will that be like a... You won't be able to get that on the... Through the... You won't be able to get those dishes in the restaurant. Exclusive for Uber. Right. And we just... We just are launching the new menu on the Uber as well. So... What's this new... Is that the menu's going out earlier on Uber? Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. and also t-shirts. Tell me through the t-shirts. How do they represent the brand? So the t-shirt with hot tie. Classic. I think that's the same, I mean, it looks stunning. It's the same. So this one is for our, if you order tom yum and khao soi, Mm-hmm.

50:18Yeah, you... Get one of those banging T-shirts. You can get one of these T-shirts. It's a fantastic T-shirt. Do you think? Do you want some? Yeah, I'm going to get one of those. Yeah, 100%. I think it's the... You have to order Dom Yam first. Yeah, yeah, I'll order them. I think it's the same design as my... I actually did one of the panels last week. My friend runs Bativo. I don't know if you've seen the... But they're similar designs. They look stunning. Yeah. It's like an illustrator from... I don't know where she's from, but they're just yeah it's like those little touch points and it's just I think one thing I've learned from you today is is like how you do one thing is how you do everything you know so whether whether it's you know taking the long route when you when you're in the you know come off the airplane like right I'm gonna learn English whether it's the everything's going to Pete Tong at the restaurant and you're working you're not taking any shortcuts whether it's the delivery going the extra mile like investing heavily in the packaging investing heavily in this bespoke menu to make it a unique experience um and it's just it is that's like how you do one thing is how you do absolutely everything and just doing you know that one thing right you know what's absolutely mental mate london is literally the greatest foodie city in the world with so many absolutely banging delish restaurants opening on the reg.

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52:44so how often do you evolve the menu we're going to get some actually perfect timing so how often do you evolve the food but we're actually getting a load of food a couple of dishes to explore now I'll put that there So how I get involved a lot in my cuisine? Yeah, yeah. I still work with roses, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Still in the food team? You're still in the food team. Yes, yes, yes. And I still get involved with a lot of things. They're bringing that, yeah. Okay. Okay, go for it. Okay, cool. Yeah, that's sweet. So yeah, so we were talking about the menu design and obviously we've now got a nice array of wonderful dishes in front of us.

53:38I think I'd love to just talk about, maybe we can go through each of them because I think this, as I said to you, this is one of my favourite things in the world. Kakaplow. How do you say it? Kakaplow. Kakaplow. Yeah, yeah, I mean it's just, it's marvellous. I try and make it at home myself. Oh. But it doesn't quite hit the, hit your levels. But talk to me about these dishes and how you're evolving them, how you're making them better and we can start with that. Maybe we can dig in and try some. Okay. So pad kha pah is really a comfy food for everyone in Thailand. Yeah. We call it a lazy dish. A lazy dish?

54:12Yes. Because... It is so lazy. Right. Because, you know, it's not so much preparation. It's not so much preparation, but how to make the perfect pad kha pah is so difficult. Why? The ingredient is so little. Would you like some? Yeah, I will have some. So the pakapau, you know, so easy to make. Only chilli garlic. Is that all it is? Chilli garlic and then fish sauce. Yeah. Sugar. Yeah. And the, you know, oyster. Oyster sauce. Oh, is that what that is? Yeah. And then for me, I top up with the dark soy sauce. to get a better colour. And so... That's like comfort food, then? Oh, yes, yes. Okay, yeah, yeah.

55:05Everyone in Thailand will love that because, you know, like, I just came back from Thailand last night. Yeah. And even then, you know, I only order pakapau. Really? For lunch, yes. It's quite healthy as well, isn't it? It's not... Yeah. Yeah, you crack it. It's just really easy to make. And, you know, Rose is made pakapau from day one. If you look at, you know, if you go back to probably about 16, 17 years ago. Yeah. Our pakapau is better and better and better. From what it was 16 years ago? Yes. So what's the... The reason what, why is that because, you know, in that time, 17 years ago, when they set up roses, Padgapau people here, because they have, they have China.

56:05It's not a new thing. They know Thai cuisine. Yeah. But in that time, there's a lot of Thai chefs and Thai restaurants presenting a different way of Padgapau. means they they they put that in mind of the customer pakapau have to be soggy you know a lot of juices it's a turnout it's just like a curry some of the restaurant yeah send that and then the customer in the uk in that time they think pakapau is you've got to have a lot of sauce but actually in pakapau is quite a dry it's a dry dish yeah yeah right So I've been working, you know, we've been working on this for so many years. And we said, look, we can't serve like this.

56:57It's not a soup. Right? That is not the way Pakapau is. I got the picture every year. Yeah, so finally, and then, you know, people here, oh, you got to add the audience in. I just said, no, please, please, can we remove onions? And again, it takes a long time to change people's minds, and even the chef. What do the onions do to it? I'm going to have to dig into it. The proper pakapau, we don't put onions. This is just loads of chillies. Yeah, so this one is on the top. It's always traditional. Pakapau, you've got to have chilli and fish sauce. Is that what that is? Yeah. Interesting, yeah. Yeah.

57:48Pick them back. Blowing my head off. Anyway, so now our pakkabau, traditional pakkabau, which is, you know. So is that served on street, street? Yeah. It's a street food thing or is it what's? It's a street food. It's a street food at home. Right, okay. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, so we are developing our dishes, you know. We never stop. Never stop improving? Never. That's insane. Yeah, we just need to improve everything. It's not improved. Our food is already good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But how can we make it up to standard that, you know, people will just don't forget this is actually you know we are still really good how do you do how do you do that as you get bigger how yeah because i think there's someone i interviewed um they've sold what restaurants they sold um uh be it one they've got this thing called 7 17 70 so when you go from when zero to seven sites comes with its own challenges seven to 17 yeah and then 17 uh to 70s it's just any number works but you see those things so when you're small you're in the kitchen you know you can be all over the quality of the food yeah okay how do you do that as you get bigger okay you you know if you go back to um i have this um the ultra about the business how it's run sorry well I can so we got this yes so one of them I still put I still have my own things but one to three side perfect you know opening first side is easy.

59:46Second side, not too easy to control. Number three, still, you know when you set up the restaurant, number one, number two, it's very difficult to start a business. Number three, number four, number five, six. It's easy. Okay, so you're basically saying so one to three is hard? One, two, three is so hard. Why is it so hard? Because to set the system. Mm. Yeah. So is the food. You know, how are you going to make sure that first side, second side, and the third side, food is the same? Yeah. Set the system of the cuisine, you know, of the dishes. Set up, you know, the business plan, you know, or all this, you know, look after.

1:00:40How are you going to pay for your bill? And, I mean, it's everything to set the system, start from number one, number two. Everything starts from that first restaurant. Yes. What's the hardest system to implement? In that time, for me, how can we, you know, have a system in place means you know when for me the ingredients okay yeah to set up the business I mean I mean you know you you can always set up the business as you know employ people you know And then in that time, one person doing 10 things. You know, first of all, myself, how can I get the best ingredients? How can I get the food right?

1:01:41You know, because when you employ people, they don't listen to you in that time. Because everyone thinks they're the best. you know how are you going to change people the chef to things that cook on my you know just cook the way i cook this is also system you know when when you're doing this yeah i'm just replicating how you think about yes interesting let's talk about this dish what's this looks wild it looks like a okay and then what's the what what is it called yep mama mama tom yum soup Wow. Yeah. So, as you can see, the seafood, but it's mama. It's a very, very, very, you know, like, in Thailand, it's just...

1:02:28You need to be careful with this with the microphones. Look at this. Yeah, with the egg noodles, mama noodles. Right. And the taste should be sour, salty, and spicy. Give some of the prawns a go. Yeah. And when's this traditionally had? This one, we are just launching, yeah, so it's our autumn and winter menu. So this is specially for winter. And in Thailand, what sort of, is that a... In Thailand. What's the equivalent? Is it like a... In Thailand, it's every, every, every, what do you call it? Summer, winter. All year round. All year round. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In Thailand, you don't care. You know, we don't have summer or anything.

1:03:20These are comas. What are these things here? But here, it's definitely, you've got to have a winter menu because it's so cold. Yes. Yeah. In Thailand, you know, you eat everything when you're sweating. Yes. It's just the same. You just get used to it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What are these little bad boys, these? That is the prawn. Looks so good. It's a prawn cake. Oh, nice. What's in that? Yeah. Obviously prawn. It's prawn. Just literally prawn rolled. Oh, wow. It's just like a, you know, fish ball. Yes. But this is a prawn ball. Yeah. Mm. Yeah, prawn cake. Mm. And what about this? That is a kawman kai.

1:04:01So that is kawman kai. Kamagai is, we call another one, it's the Hainan chicken. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So the steamed chicken. So with a dish like that? Yeah, with the garlic rice. Right. And serving with ginger, spicy sauce. You know, that is a very, very good one. Ginger, garlic, and fermented soybeans. Yeah. that and with the vinegar wow and that one is a soup clear soup so you yeah so you what you do is put this one on the top the sauce on the top and then you eat it and follow by the soup wow what does um did you ever watch anthony bourdain did you ever watch anthony bourdain the guy who went all around the world and he'd i loved him like he would take he was a big inspiration for starting in this podcast but he would take a plate of food and there's a famous video of him sat with barack obama and they're eating um pho in vietnam and he would always actually love him yes yeah he's an absolute shame yeah very very sad yeah one thing he did was he'd use food as the vehicle to understand culture and people yeah what does what does this sort of food how can you understand thailand and you know you know food i mean we don't have to use any of these specific dishes but how do you understand?

1:05:32Thailand is, you've got to understand. I don't know how that will go well on this. Yeah, you know Thailand cuisine is, Thai cuisine is really strong, you know that? When we're talking about Thai food, if it's brand, something very brand, we don't call Thai food. Yeah. Because every dish is punching. Either sweet, sour. You know, you got to have, example for tum yam got full taste, spicy, salty, sour and sweet. So you got to have full taste in it. You got to make it balanced, you know, to get that taste. And then like pak kapal, pak kapal also, how are you going to make it like that? spicy salty and sweet but what does that teach what those so that so you're saying Thailand or Thai people are punishing as personalities oh no we are not but interesting but when you come into the food yeah but what I'm saying is how we use the food we are just like food is everything to us yes we eat four times a day okay Okay, so what would the day look like?

1:06:59Everything's the same. Breakfast, you eat the chilli for breakfast. What, like just a what? Like just a red chilli? You know, wake up out can be your breakfast. Wow. Yeah? Pad Thai can be your breakfast, but you add chilli, it's fakes in it. And that means you add chilli and it's at breakfast? Actually, you know, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. And all the same, you know, all the same, but different dishes. Yeah. Different dishes. For me, I woke up this morning and make my noodles. Yeah, noodle soup. Is that what you have for breakfast? Yes, noodle soup for breakfast. What do you put in the soup?

1:07:43Well, it's a beef noodle soup. Mmm. Yeah, so I will add chilli, garlic, and then vinegar. And, you know, it just wakes me up. Oh, lovely, yeah. Yeah. And then lunchtime, like lunchtime today, I will have pat kapow. Yeah, that's lovely. Right. And then the snack, I probably have a papaya salad for my snack. Yep. In the day. And then in the evening, I will just have at least three dishes. You'll have three dishes? Yes. What's a good thing to make at home that's kind of easy? Because I might do that tonight. I need some inspiration. Ah, pack-a-pow. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean. Yeah, it's so easy, easy.

1:08:29Yeah, it is so easy. And that's what that's... You can make it with the chickens, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. We'll come on to the summer rolls in a sec, but let's talk about... So I just want to go back to the 17, 17, 70 sites, you know, about how you move up as you scale. Like, what are the other challenges, surprising challenges that have blossomed and flowered as you've gone on the road from, you know, street food market? And how many sites are we at now? It's over 50 sites, isn't it? No, we've got about 40... 40 what? 40... 47. 45, 47. Yeah, something like that. And then we've got a ventri in Dubai as well.

1:09:19So, you know, from one to six, And then six to 11. And then after that, 14 sites. After that, we need some, because the company is bigger scale. And to look after so many things is complicated. Yeah. So we need someone who are more experienced. Is this when the tri-spam? Yeah. So let's talk about, is this tri-spam? Yeah, time span. So you met them, just for listeners, just give some context on who they are and then how they've helped you grow the business. How they are, how do we know them? Because, you know, when we set up the business, we always wanted to have seven sites. Yeah, no, we have three sites.

1:10:14And then my ex-husband wanted to sell, but I said no. Then we bring it into seven sites. But then, again, he wants to sell it again. That's why he's been a monk in. Then I said, no. Then we... I love how he brought a monk in to try and fold the business. Yeah, how he is to sell the business. The monk tried to convince me. And I said, look here. I said, please, monk, please, you know, leave me alone. Yeah, fuck off. And then I said, I will do it when I'm ready. Yeah. That's it. And so, but when we got about 14 sites and then we got four in the pipeline, and I said, okay, I'm ready to grow, you know, to expand more.

1:11:06Then so we start talking to a different investor. Yeah. That time I'm already open my mind to talk to a different company. then time span come up because we know lobin lobin lobin is our chairman right and then so he came to us and in his yeah so they invest start from there they invested in the business yes they gave you capital to expand yeah they they own uh more than 80 percent of the business and i still um a shareholder of the company keep 20 % roughly no we less than that now so did you get a big payout when the tri-span thing came in yes okay with you but then you're still here to help I'm still I'm still a shareholder of the company yes okay because a lot of people like you know I went for well actually investor no no I still I went for lunch with Stu you know from Black Bear yeah we did the talk and we were just talking about, you know, a lot of people who listen to this are like, they want it, they have dreams of going to 47th.

1:12:17Yes, yes, yes. But they don't know, you know, who's your cool? Like, how do you actually make it happen? So you go, so they basically come to you, I'm going to be like a two-year-old, I don't really know how much stuff. So they come to you, you're at seven. You know, when you set up something's worst and you're good at it, Yeah. You are a very well-run company. People watch you, you know. So how did you make yourself a well-good company? Because we organise, we're actually a really well-run company. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. We got our own system, everything, you know, and we look after our customer, we look at our employee and we make sure that our sales are doing well.

1:13:08yeah maintaining your restaurant and yeah I think we are we are very strong from the day one of the restaurant business so what are the what are the unique systems you have or processes you have in your in your business yeah that other restaurants don't have that made you very lucrative we you know one thing yeah I'm just gonna have one of these summer rolls yeah yeah stunning yeah yeah for I think why we're doing so well, because we don't understand our audience, what they want. What do you mean by that? Because, you know, we know that what our customers want, you know, when they come to Roses.

1:13:52First of all, they come to Roses food, atmosphere, you know, it's really like when you come into this site, it's like really busy. Yes. Yeah. So when you go into the busy restaurant, you know, busings, when you come in, oh my goodness, you know that what you want in here. You know, what's, why the people come here because of, you know, they understand. I live near Northcote Road, so you know, they're on Northcote Road. I told you that before. Yeah. So I go there a lot, often when I've had a few beers, but it's just that, it's that, it's that energy. But this is what I try to say. When we start at the Spitalfills, queue outside just to get into a restaurant, just only to have pad thai and pad kapow.

1:14:48Wow. Yeah? Because in that time, everyone don't share the food. I don't understand. But it's very new that we present them, look, you know, Thai food is about sharing. It's about sharing. Yes. You know, you put everything in here and then you, everyone order and then you can share, right? Is being generous, I think, is a massive unfair advantage, both in the food and in the way you treat your team. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When you did the audience survey, how did you understand your audience? Because did you do questionnaires? Oh, yes, yes, we do. So what sort of stuff do you ask the audience? Yeah, we actually, I remember we got a team that talked to our customer and we also gave them...

1:15:34Is this when they're at the restaurant? What do you call? The app. In that time, we give the customer the feedback form. What sort of questions were on that? You know, you're satisfied with the food, you're satisfied with the customer, serve it, you know, things like that. Well, this is what, you know, Stuart, because I love how different restaurants have to slightly change per demographic, psychographic and location. so stew black bear his site in exmouth market hip-hop full volume you've got all the office workers in shepherd's bush in westfield they've had to change the playlist because everyone's coming in with kids and they're hearing all this hip-hop with all this you know nefarious language they're like well it's you know is there anything you've done like that how you've had to change We did.

1:16:25We also, you know, it's a lot of different sites that have the, you know, example. Spittyfields, not so much of a young kid to going in there because it's all people work in the city. And also the people who are going, you know, shopping in the area the weekend. and I can see a very trendy young, you know, young audience going to that site. And then, but when you're looking another one, I give you an example that I went to, which one? The one outside London. There, there is, they have a lot of young kids, you know. So in a different site, I have a different customer. Like West, no, not Westfield, Brew Water.

1:17:30Brew Water is a lot of mum. Yes, of course. With the kid. Yeah. And so that site, you can see it's so many of mum and the children. And then, you know, because roses, it's not just only a spicy food, you know. We've got some children's kids can eat with their mum, you know. Yeah, they really enjoy it. Yes, smart. What other things of just learning about understanding your audience? How has that informed your bigger marketing decisions? Because as we were saying, like, so crowded and busy now. not even in London, just food is becoming a much bigger part of the zeitgeist. But how else has knowing your audience impacted your marketing decisions?

1:18:22I think our brand is really welcoming, you know, brand. When you look at it, you know, when you're coming in, it's just like it's not a very, like, high-end restaurant. but as you you know when you're coming in you already know you know what you expect at roses you know put it that way well i also felt like the one you feel yeah this is just from my from my perspective as a customer is all the pictures on the wall yeah i think what you guys do so wonderfully well is the story you use the space is almost like a a blank piece of paper to do storytelling through pictures and stuff yeah you know and it makes it adds that warmthness and that kind of yeah that it's a very egalitarian restaurant you know yeah yeah yeah i i i think um you know thai cuisine is so similar italian wait hang on hang on yeah so wait italian i mean not the cuisine oh okay yeah yeah yeah atmosphere you know when you're going to it's a Italian restaurant.

1:19:31Yes. A family run. Yes. It's just like, every, I, why I say that? Because not far from my house is an Italian restaurant. And actually, atmosphere is just so similar. Italian like feeding people. Yes. Yeah? Generosity. Yes. Yes, yes. Very generous. You look at the pad thai, you know, like, if, you know, for me, I, I, I can share with my friends you know because it's it's a big portion it's not a small portion you know yeah yeah yeah so I think Thai cuisine is just like Italian on the East you know because Thai people like feeding people so the same is what's the difference between because you've got a Lao restaurant as well right yeah yeah what's the difference in mindset between Is it like British and Irish?

1:20:31Is it like British and French? How similar and different are they? Very similar, but spicier. No, but as in the people. Oh. The people? Yeah. People going in there, you mean. What's the difference between Lao and Thailand? We are very similar. Lao cuisine and the Thai cuisine are similar, but it's just a different way to cook. So Lao cuisine is more cleaner. Yeah. Yeah, very clean. And the people are the same? No, the people are different. How are they different? Because most people who go to Lao cuisine, they are advantage. They are advantage. people. Laos more advanced than Thailand. The food.

1:21:33Yes. So people who go to to Laos food is someone who can take fermented fish. Yes. It's really strong. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So the audience who go in there, they're really understanding the cuisine. Yes. Some people don't understand cuisine is, they will a bit, you know, Not so much of... So it's not the same as Thai Rose's cuisine. No, it's not the same as the customer who are, you know, having the food at Rose's. Going to Laos restaurant, you know, Laos Cafe, or almost the people who have been to Thailand, they've been to Laos. It's the next level up. Yes. Okay. Yeah, put it that way, yes. Back to Tri-Span, what did they, you know you said there was this gap between a knowledge gap or experience or what the one to three lessons they taught you about scaling uh they have taught me really you know um my friend is helping me i want to get onto the delivery expanding so well uh expanding means, you know, it's more like a corporate.

1:22:53Right. Expanding. Yeah. Yeah. Before, you know, when you're trying to expand by yourself, it's a lot of work. You know, because like I said, one guy, you know, one person looks up to so many things. But as soon as you're running the restaurant with a bigger version person, company, they have their own system that, you know, they've got the HR team, PR team, and the food team, all of this, yeah. While when I do it myself with my ex-husband, we do everything ourselves. Yeah. So one guy was doing three things. But this one, you know, each department doing the job. I think that is what, you know, I am respected doing that, you know.

1:23:51Well, I think you're sticking to one thing. Yeah, yeah. The marketing team is a marketing team. Before, marketing team had to do the food team as well, you know what I mean? Yes. Yes, so. what are some other than your restaurant what are some other really not like Thai restaurants that you love in London like as maybe smaller more authentic ones what else do you like oh for me yes oh my god it's so difficult for me if you want to try something advanced yes than Thai food yep I recommend you to go to Lao Cafe well it's I know we briefly talked about it what's how is it how is it different It's like clean food.

1:24:35Clean, yeah. Clean, but spicy. Mmm. It's up the scale of the cuisine. So what sort of dish is like, are they more close to that if it's clean? No, I'm talking clean means curry. Yep. Yeah, curry, we don't use coconut milk. With you, okay. Yeah, but you still call curry, make a thickness from the rice. Yeah. So, example like grilled fish. Yeah. Serving with spicy sauce and a lot of herbs. So you wrap it with the salad. Yeah. Yeah. So that is one cuisine, not one dish. And then another one is the grilled chicken, which is you know marinate with um our special secret ingredients for my hometown wow yeah yeah yeah so i think i like a clean it like a clean very very clean a few more things because your restaurant's about to open very shortly yeah um what is some of the like advice you wish you knew when you'd started out, like you now know?

1:25:53Like what one or two things you'd say to, say from when you came off the plane, you landed in London, what's some stuff you wish you knew? I knew that I, I have to presenting, you know, my original food and authentic Thai. Mm-hmm. Because I think that is what I'm good at. Mm-hmm. But what are things you wish you knew? What are any like? What? What I wish, yeah, now you, because we've been doing this since 2005 what like 20 years now what are some of those big lessons what is a big lesson for me what I wish at that time I just wish that no actually I knew that I'm not listening to other people so much why because I just have to believe on myself because I need that That's what I need.

1:26:50Like, I have, especially with this, there's a thousand people telling me, you know, do this, do this, try that, try that. And I feel like now it's time. I'm trying, you know, if I can go back, I'm not going to listen to people too much to give me advice. What advice did you take that you wish you'd ignored? The advice that people told me to changing the way I am cooking. Yes. Okay? Mm-hmm.

1:27:27And I wish that I don't listen to that conversation. I have the same with this, people telling me how to do my podcast. I'm like, no, see you later. So for myself, I wish that I don't listen to people giving advice about the food. Yeah. Too much. I should be belief on what I am thinking. Amazing. I'm sorry, but, you know, for me, everything's about the food. It all starts with the food. Yeah. Your restaurant's filling up, but that has been an absolute joy. I really, absolutely loved seeing you. And it was, you know, your food's amazing. I absolutely loved it. And, yeah, huge thanks to Uber Eats for making it happen.

1:28:14Yeah.

1:28:19thank you so so much for listening to the podcast i really really do appreciate it if you liked that episode only if you liked it please do give it five stars subscribe tell all your friends families foes next door but one cat dog whatever please tell everyone about this podcast it means the world to me and i really want to understand what your pain points are as the new wave of of challenger food and drink brands please do hit me up on linkedin search Dan Pope and hopefully we can together create a more meaningful and powerful podcast for the next wave of challenger food and drink brands thank you so much