Tom Shepherd on GBM success and building his dream restaurant

Despite already building a restaurant from scratch and earning a Michelin star, Tom Shepherd admits it was his appearance on Great British Menu which saw life go “absolutely mad” for him.

With core viewing figures of around two million, the hit BBC show can elevate chefs to a whole new audience – especially when they are one of the stars of the series.

Tom opened Upstairs by Tom Shepherd in Lichfield in late 2021, earning a Michelin star just four months later.

Soon after, the call came from Great British Menu, Tom going on to get his main course ‘Desperate Dan’s Cow Pie’ to the banquet, and also shine with his dessert ‘No Ordinary Schoolboy’, inspired by Bananaman, which scored perfect scores across the series.

Since then, there has been no signs of slowing down for the 37-year-old.

“In that year of 2022, we got a Michelin star in the February, the first Michelin star ever in the county of Lichfield,” Tom began.

“And on top of that, I then got a phone call about three months later off Great British Menu to say: ‘Hi Tom, first of all, I'm sorry we've overlooked you for so many years. Now you showed us. Do you want to be on Great British Menu this year?’

“I couldn't believe what was happening. I was like, this is the year, isn't it?

“I remember as a 17-year-old kid watching an idol of mine, Glynn Purnell, on Great British Menu and then all of a sudden there as a 34-year-old, I was actually living that dream.

“So every time they're interviewing me on GBM I was just this young 17-year-old kid that couldn't believe they were there. All of a sudden I won the regionals. Then I won the main course and I got to cook at the banquet in my first year.”

He added: “The banquet was released Easter of time of 2023 and it just went mad, absolutely mad.

“Not just the restaurant bookings, the profile went mad. In October ’23, Royal Ascot called asking if I wanted to take over their restaurant The Sandringham from Ollie Dabbous.

“Then Aston Villa, then Wembley wanted the cow pie for the FA Cup final.

“All these things started to spiral. But it was me they were invested in. Before GBM, no-one knew who I was. They only knew Upstairs. But all of a sudden, people are investing in me and investing in Upstairs.

“Also, what GBM does is they put a product to your menu. People see a banana dish on Great British Menu and go ‘I need to try that’.

“But the great thing about the banana is it's the end of your experience, so they see the whole of Upstairs first.

“GBM does that. My banana was in front of two million people. The cow pie was in front of two million people. Where do we go to get that? Well, you go to Upstairs.

“We still have the exact same effect now in 2025.”

INSPIRATION BEHIND UPSTAIRS

The clue is in the name with Upstairs, which is literally situated above Tom’s dad’s jewellers.

There were no real plans for what to do with the space, which was originally used as workshops many years ago.

But as soon as Tom walked into the space, he had a vision.

“What inspired me to open Upstairs is quite a long story,” he explained.

“This was never meant to happen at all. This wasn't even on the radar.

“My dad is a third-generation jeweller. We moved to Lichfield when I was 11, just before the Millennium.

“The original shop was this little three-storey tobacconist on the road that's literally opposite here.

“My dad was given this opportunity. This was owned by a family of jewellers for 140 years. They offered it to my dad and said if you can get the funding for it, I'd love it to go to another family jewellers.”

Tom continued: “I kept asking my dad what was upstairs. The front door was weathered shut so you couldn't even open it, it was all bowed and horrible.

“I just came upstairs and had this crazy connection and also vision. I just thought, I can just envision this banquette seating, above my dad’s shop, one single entrance up the stairs.

“It was intrigue. I was fascinated by how I would imagine the customers to feel. I felt that in the first visit.”

MICHELIN-STARRED BACKGROUND

The idea came as Tom was seeking his next chapter in the hospitality industry.

He worked at esteemed Michelin-starred venues including the likes of The Latymer under Michael Wignall, Restaurant Sat Bains and Adam’s Restaurant in Birmingham, the latter as head chef.

“My time at Adam's was coming to an end,” Tom said.

“I was getting a bit restless and I just thought, you know what, I'm going to just ask dad and see what we can do.

“I said, could I potentially look at doing a restaurant?

“I got five restaurant designers to come from all over the place. All five of them said it can be done, there can be a restaurant here. It's a huge restructure, but it can.

“The most expensive quote was £1.25million and the cheapest quote was £225,000. Because of COVID it turned into me project managing it, so the whole entire build cost me £220,000. That's including a kitchen and all the opening stock, because I did it all by myself.”

always pushing for more

Tom, who with his wife Charlotte has also launched a spirits brand called Twofold, looked to push things on, moving the kitchen in his restaurant and expanding the amount of covers it could cater for.

Times are tough for many in the industry, but business is booming at Upstairs.

“Every single place I’ve worked culminates in what we produce here,” said Tom.

“I think the reason why we're so busy is we connect with our customers and we like to take them on a personal journey, so they feel a part of Upstairs.

“The restaurant's busy. I'm busy. That was always the plan.

“How I manage my time with all that is I've got the most incredible team. That came first.

“The business is a one-man band. It's completely me. I still do invoices, still do staff payroll, but I need it to run on its own.

“We invested in individuals. Michael (Blades) became head chef. We invested in the restaurant management team. My wife Charlotte became a customer relations manager.

“The team we have now, both front and back of house, is the best team I've ever had here.”
Tom added: “I listened to Paul Ainsworth saying when you are a profitable business, it's imperative that you reinvest in your business all the time.

“We've been open nearly four years and we always do something in our closures.

“Every single bit of this carcass that opened has been changed. We've just continually evolved and redone.”