menu a few times already. We opened with asparagus, but that season was over so a new dish went in its place. Using local products means I know the farmer who has grown or reared it, and I think that gives us something different and really shows who we are.”
It might seem like everything is running unusually smoothly for a start-up restaurant, which has been 80% fully booked since the opening date, but Richard says that’s not reflecting what’s going on behind the scenes.
“Me, my wife and my baby are living on an airbed upstairs. When you have a shower, the water drips through to the restaurant, which then trips out the lights and continues to trip out for the rest of a Saturday night service which isn’t great!”
“Then there’s working to a budget. We are working with suppliers who don’t trust us yet so they want payment after every delivery. At Morsten Hall I lived in a bubble where I didn’t have a budget, I could be as passionate and creative as I wanted to, and now I’m at the other end of the scale where every penny counts.”
Richard will be featuring on this year’s Great British Menu, which he hopes will gain more exposure for Benedicts. Eventually, he would like the business to grow, but not before investing in his staff.
“If I could stand in my restaurant knowing that Ashley was in another restaurant I helped him set up, and we were doing it together, that would be the most amazing thing and gift I could give.”
