As the world celebrates the passing of the old and the potential of the new, I am a prisoner of my own surroundings. After testing positive for Covid 19, and following government guidelines and have been in isolation from after just Christmas to the first few days of 2022. After announcing it to my customers via social media I was taken back by the love shown, heck, it even made an online newspaper that I was closed for a period of time. People were very quick to offer well wishes and should we need anything, we had an army we could call upon. For this I thank each and everybody. The symptoms throughout the house have been extremely mild, (cough and slightly run down) and we are lucky to have had two vaccines. Slightly unlucky to contract it the day before the booster was booked but oh well, I’m sure there was somebody who really needed it. The other element to be grateful for is the lateral flow tests that could quickly alert the situation. And although I have missed a visit from my father, a silver lining is it is keeping people safe and I have even been forced into switching off.
With the achievements of my to do list very limited, you find when you are confined to your house it’s difficult to be productive towards the business. If you have kids this is a glorious time to do all those things that you usually can’t fully commit to for the duration like playing computer games for a session, drawing for hours, playing board games. Those are the moments in which time flies, the days have gone in the blink of an eye but in the evenings there is time for reflection and chance to look back on the business. The reason reflection is so important is to make the past more valuable. Plus the weather has been awful so if you have to stay in, it could be a worse scenario. So without further a do, this blog shall reflect on the year.
A year past, As we cautiously entered 2021, we were getting by, week by week, the country was on a firebreak so with people stuck in their houses, the business of ready to warm Sunday roast kits didn’t slow, while hospitality businesses were being shafted we were selling out, even delivering in the deep snow one week, that was after I gritted my incline road at 4.30am one Sunday morning . With the bonuses of private dining for couples housebound for celebrations it became a bit of fun and with some very low prices it was about connections with customers and proving to myself I still had it. We were entering the year with a little momentum but nothing of any significant growth.
In February the universe threw this dog a bone. After an unwavering trust in the world a chance of a summer residency on the van came up. Was the van ready? Fuck no, did I get it ready in time, hell yeah and what a summer it would turn out to be, it was the pivotal moment of the business to date. A proactive campsite owner, taking a chance to hear someone passionate with ideas. Then taking a chance on that somebody with no experience. A lesson of action over perfection was scorched into my brain that day. Nothing is going to be perfect, looking for perfection is just a form of procrastination. The rest of the year the mindset changed from “what makes this not work” To “how can I?”. As Henry ford said “if you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right” . What happens is when you say you can’t, a part of your brain shuts off to not waste time and energy on the problem but if you ask “how can I?” Your brain keeps the creative and logical networks active. This means the answer and solution is still possible.
As the focus went to the van we put everything into it, all the time possible and nearly every penny. This was an opportunity that made perfect sense and one with a great upside, low downside risk. At one point whilst waiting for customers Sunday roast payments to come in, I knew I couldn’t afford to pay the butchers bill but this was a lesson in humility. By ringing the butcher and explaining the situation he was nothing but supportive and gracious. And although many businesses run credits with him, I had always paid straight up. He was more than happy to wait a few days and the connection between the businesses grew. After a couple of tight weeks we got through, and the balance has never been so stretched since. Speaking of connections, the debt of time and experience I owe to another business owner is huge. A pizza purveyor who is so handy and spent so many hours working for free getting the van up to standard. That generosity will never be forgot and goes to show how important giving back is.
As the warmer weather started to ease back in and the kids went back to school after Easter, the van was in full force development including some sweet designs and it was all coming together. We celebrated a year of dinner kits, which happen to be close to Easter Sunday, so it became a good chance to reflect on how much we had expanded that product. Then came a decision of difficulty, to re focus on the dream and stop the consistent income of the ready to warm roast dinner kits. Although the residency was only for a few months we would still need an income for the quieter months and with so much heart, soul, blood and sweat (metaphorically of course) already in the dinner kits we couldn’t step away from them completely. With what was originally a “get by” hustle, we have grown the concept to have a connection with a large group of customers. Customers seems the wrong descriptive word, as the link is more than that, they know me and I know them. I love the fact that we deliver to every area and no one is discriminated. We make good food accessible to all, that is what has always been at the core of this adventure. The dinner kits have come to personify that concept.
When May rolled around we had the van ready which was a brilliant turnaround, we even did a cook off on the street which was so much fun, getting around family, friends and neighbours to try some dishes before we headed to the campsite, it felt great to give something back to the very local community of our lives, so much so we did the same after the season ended. Then we went live with van season, from the first night in awful weather to the last in the dark it was amazing. For the first time since being self employed it felt right. The flow was there, the dishes were well received, the people were buzzing. The energy was electric and the confidence of doing what I was meant to do in life was bursting. After that season, we had made some money to re invest to expand to an extra van. A massive mindset positive was being around new people, with new ideas and outlooks, that was such a valuable experience and helped drive the mindset for seeing this path as a bigger adventure than was first conceived. When I look back now the small minded goals I was prepared to settle for, it makes me see the growth that is possible by introducing energetic people in your life. The juxtapose of that was a summer working with close friends. Working with lads you know, love and respect, that makes life easy. A team that was constantly laughing and being silly but all the time respecting the craft, food and customer. This didn’t feel like work, it felt like fun with the added bonus of a payday. The mental support to have people you trust and can talk ideas and concepts through was invaluable, knowing they wanted the best for you and the business makes that trust level into a real bond. An exercise in listening to those around you, seeing what works and doesn’t. As the summer ended, so did the dream, to be honest it hit hard having to finish the residency, but it was always just for the season. Once my mind went back to the romantic side of what the dinners mean to us personally and the customers, the routine was not far behind and it was time to get back into Sunday dinner Season. To a pleasant surprise a massive wave of customers were ever loyal in remembering us and the first couple of weeks sold out. That was such a beautiful moment of support to experience and one that I will always think of fondly.
With dinners back in full flow it was time to think about the Christmas menu, our Christmas dinner kit was popular the year previous and we had had a lot of early interest, the first message of enquiry came July 1st. With the usual countdown and all the pizazz of getting people excited for Christmas in early October we launched. It sold out in 13 minutes!!. That memory of my phone exploding with messages and notifications will live with me for a long long time. At moments like that all you can do is enjoy the surreal aspect of it, then afterwards pour yourself a drink of quality and enjoy the moment. Feeling punch drunk from the amount of orders in the small period of time, I collapsed with a single malt on the settee with a large smile on my face. After about 4 minutes of rest, my mind asked the question “what if we could do more?”. Turns out we could. After securing a professional kitchen at a stadium, I was set to increase the number. With a new larger number to work at, Christmas was set. I even managed to have a couple of days out in Bournemouth buying the newest van Lilibet (that’s documented in another blog).
During November the dinners started to slow, as people started to think about Christmas, I think disposable money becomes tighter or spending becomes somewhat more conscious, we were still selling enough though and with friends asking for support in their kitchens the month flew by. It was nice to be able to do some shifts for those who have been so good to me over the years, and they got somebody they could rely on in return. We also missed out on the food van working a prime venue on a prime night but that was all explained in a previous blog.
Then came December, a month that is now scared in my psyche, one that taught some important lessons in doing too much and knowing when to spend money wisely. As the pizza purveyor offered me a spot in their drive in cinema,( this was on top of the Christmas dinner prep). To make it even more challenge Annika, the drive in was scheduled for the evenings running up to Christmas, (when else would a Christmas drive in be?!). The daytimes of which I would be prepping the Christmas dinner kits (remember the large number I had confidently booked in October). The minefield of shopping smart was essential, for more fun we took on a buffet of a regular customer. The logistics of moving the van, getting it ready, on top of a rather tight prep schedule was balls to the wall to say the least, but I have no regrets, the drive in was an amazing event. The days became very long days and 5 x 16/17 hour days past at breakneck speed, as the last kit was delivered I went home and slumped into a hot bath, I do not mind admitting I was done in. It had pushed me to the limit But I did it, everyone was happy, everyone was served but I fear it took a little bit of me with it. As the feet throbbed and the back stiffened, it knew I had done too much. For the sake of paying a chef to help me for one or two days my life it could have been a lot less stressful. A stress that was about saving a couple of hundred pound and being stubborn, lesson learnt. Feeling beaten up for the days over Christmas wasn’t ideal, but when you are in the company of friends and family the time is always magical.
There is definitely a level of pride for what we accomplished in 2021, but in many aspects it doesn’t feel we scratched the surface of potential. The mindset at the end of 2021 was infinitely stronger than how the year began so the potential for where it could be at the end of 2022 is highly exciting.
Be proud of all you’ve accomplished but realise its only the beginning of your potential.
happy eating
FOOD ANARCHY 