'We did everything we could': Paul Foster reflects on Salt’s struggles and closure

Paul Foster opened up emotionally in the latest episode of The Nightcap, reflecting candidly on the closure of his beloved restaurant, Salt.

Salt is a modern British restaurant located in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

Opened in 2017 by acclaimed chef-owner Paul Foster, it quickly gained recognition for its ingredient-led, seasonal cooking and earned a Michelin star just one year after opening in 2018 and retained it until 2023.

Salt was born out of a successful Kickstarter campaign, which raised over £100,000 from supporters who believed in Paul’s vision of opening a truly independent, chef-led restaurant.

The Nightcap Podcast is a hospitality-focused podcast hosted by chef Paul Foster and often featuring other notable industry guests.

Launched as an informal, honest space for chefs and hospitality professionals to discuss the realities of the industry, it offers listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the pressures, triumphs, and everyday challenges of running restaurants and working in hospitality.

This week's episode featured Paul and Simon Alexander speaking on the recent closure. 

The emotional toll

Paul said: “I’m much more sentimental. I’m very sentimental about my things, especially clearing out Salt. I’ve been very fortunate to be supported by all sorts of different companies and get so many freebies along the years. But I’d just put it there thinking, ‘We’ll use it, do something with it.’ And then suddenly you’re looking at everything you’ve built, everything you’ve held onto, and it hits you, it really hits you.

"Now, this is the first time I’ve actually felt emotional about it. I think I just blocked it off, but I think putting it out there felt real. And I was just worried. I don’t know why. I was just going to get loads of shit for it, which sounds silly, but that’s just how I felt. So just getting all those messages from people was just... It just felt good. It felt like we’ve done the right thing and just re-confirmed how amazing this industry is and the people out there, how brilliant they are.

“When there’s so much uncertainty around the business and the economy, and the lease is up, you have to make that decision. But we’d been struggling as a business on and off through last year. I downscaled it, streamlined it, made as many cost savings as I could. It was just me and Laura in the kitchen in the end, and I thought, ‘Right, let’s really have a go at this.’ I believe we did everything we could to try and save the business.

"We are very emotionally attached to our businesses. Whereas you look at other businesses, business people tend to be a little bit detached. But for us, we care so much. We want it to work desperately. There’s pride and ego attached to it. And there’s people who’ve put so much in, you want to do it for them, for your customers, for the people who believe in it. And sometimes, you put so much pressure on yourself, you forget to ask, ‘Is this still serving me?"

Loyalty and Leadership in the Kitchen

"Laura Kimber was there eight years and she was still there, still passionate, still hardworking. And considering she had only, she said it the other day, because she came up, popped in with her parents, and she was saying, ‘I was only going to do a year to 18 months,’ which she was. And that was the plan when we spoke about it first, and she stuck in. But she started a shifter party, rose to head chef, and she ran it like her own within what Salt ethos is. And not only was she by my side, she ran it."

Staying True to Identity

"Yeah, we changed the sort of concept of it for a bit last year, but the quality never went down, and it never has because that’s what we’re about. And what’s the point if we do that? We’d just be another restaurant in Stratford, rather than something that stands out like we always have. So yeah, that was hard to take personally, but I’m past that. I understand what it is, and I’ll take my own accountability over things with the restaurant, but I’m not beating myself up. Like saying it’s my fault, if that makes sense."

On Personal Reflection

"We’re all so close to our own shit and our own fires, that sometimes we actually forget what we’re even good at. Because it’s just what we do every day. We’re just like, you take yourself for granted. You’re like, what am I even good at? What do I even do? It’s not until stuff like this, where you actually, and people say, it’s like, oh fuck, yeah, you take a step back for a second and realise what you’ve contributed or what you’ve done and how significant that is.

“There’s a bit of relief now, like okay, I couldn’t, you know, I don’t want to work like that again. I’ve always said by the time I’m 40, I don’t want to be there Friday and Saturday nights. And I’ve got to that point. So now, there’s an opportunity to drop my shoulders for a bit, spend more time with my kids, and think about what’s next. And that’s okay too.”

Written by ABi Kinsella