Coming soon
Episode 01
Before you spend a euro
The five questions I ask about any restaurant site.
Chef & Restaurant Developer · Malta & Gozo
Get the restaurant right before you spend the money.
I design, open and run restaurants that pay back the investment, for developers, hotel owners and investors with hospitality space to fill.
22+ years in hospitalityLe Cordon Bleu LondonGordon Ramsay's MazeThe DorchesterMasterChef: The Professionals
The problem
Restaurant space is the hardest part of a project to get right.
Most restaurant failures are decided long before opening day, in the choice of concept, kitchen and operator. Those decisions are cheap to change on paper and expensive to change after the fit-out.
01
The wrong concept
A restaurant designed for a street, a guest or a price point that isn't there. Beautiful on opening night, empty by the second winter.
02
The wrong kitchen
A kitchen that can't cook the menu at speed means slower service, more staff and costly rework once the doors are open.
03
The wrong operator
Even the right space fails without someone accountable for the numbers every week: margins, labour, rent and guests.
Who I work with
For people with money at stake in a restaurant.
I work with a small number of clients at a time, all of whom carry the commercial risk of a restaurant, whether they plan to run it or not.
01
For developers →
Developers & landlords
You have ground-floor or mixed-use space, and the value of the building depends on what goes in it.
- What should go here?
- Who should run it?
- Will the rent hold?
02
For hotels →
Hotels
Your restaurant and bar should earn their space and draw guests from outside, not just serve breakfast.
- Why is the restaurant losing money?
- What concept fits the hotel?
- Who will be accountable for it?
03
For investors →
Investors
You want an honest, numbers-first answer on a concept or site before the capital moves.
- Will it make money?
- How long is the payback?
- What could go wrong?
Already open, and the margins aren't where they should be? See the Profit Sprint.
Before anyone spends a euro
The five questions I answer on every site.
Who walks past this door, and when?
Why it mattersFootfall decides the concept, not the other way round. A lunch street and an evening street need different restaurants.
How much must the space take each week just to pay the rent?
Why it mattersRent is the one cost you can't cook your way out of. Many operators work to keep it under about ten percent of sales.
How many covers a day to break even, and is that realistic here?
Why it mattersEvery concept has a number of guests it needs each day. If that number doesn't fit the location, nothing else matters.
How big must the kitchen be for the menu?
Why it mattersMenu first, then kitchen, then layout, then design. Get the order wrong and you pay for it on every service.
How many years until the fit-out pays itself back?
Why it mattersA fit-out is an investment. It should have a payback period you'd accept from any other investment.
If the answers don't work on paper, they won't work with tables and chairs in the room.
Expertise
From the first question to a restaurant that trades.
Each stage stands on its own, with a written scope and a fixed fee. Most clients start with a feasibility study and move forward once they've seen the work.
Feasibility Study
For developers, hotel owners and investors before they commit capital.
A clear, independent answer on whether a restaurant will work in your space, what it should be, and what it will take to make money, before a euro goes into the fit-out.
- Site, footfall and competition review
- Two or three concept options
- Three-year profit forecast with break-even
- Fit-out cost range and payback period
- A clear go or no-go recommendation
Duration
3–4 weeks
Fee
On request
Concept
For new openings and relaunches.
The complete restaurant designed on paper, ready for your architect, designer and team to build and run.
- Positioning and brand direction
- Menu and drinks programme
- Recipe costing and pricing
- Service model and staffing plan
- Kitchen brief for your designer
- Operating procedures
Timeline
Set per project
Fee
On request
Full Delivery
For owners who want the project carried through to opening day.
Everything in the Concept, plus the project run until the doors open and the first weeks of trading are stable.
- Everything in Concept
- Supplier and equipment selection
- Kitchen sign-off with your contractors
- Recruitment and training
- Pre-opening programme and launch
Timeline
Set per project
Fee
On request
Executive Partner
For owners who don't want to run the restaurant themselves.
Ongoing oversight or management after opening, with part of the fee linked to results, so my interests stay aligned with yours.
- Monthly performance and P&L reviews
- Cost and margin control
- Menu engineering
- Team leadership and standards
- Fee partly linked to results
Term
Multi-year
Structure
Management fee + share of results
Profit Sprint
For restaurants already open and trading below their potential.
Thirty focused days on where the money goes, with the most important fixes made, not just reported.
- P&L and menu diagnostic
- Recipe costing and pricing
- Labour and rota review
- The five procedures that matter most
- A 90-day action plan
Duration
30 days
Fee
On request
Fees are quoted per project, on request. Every engagement has a written scope, a fixed fee, a fixed term and a clear list of what's excluded.
About
A chef who has had to make payroll.
I started at the bottom. At eighteen I was making sandwiches; soon after I was in the kitchens of the Hilton Malta while studying at the Institute of Tourism Studies, where I graduated. I worked my way up through every section of the kitchen, from butchery and fish to à la carte.
Then London: a diploma at Le Cordon Bleu, and kitchens including Gordon Ramsay's Maze, The Dorchester, CUT by Wolfgang Puck and Clos Maggiore. I went on to reach the quarter-finals of MasterChef: The Professionals.
Back in Malta I built Crust from a sandwich-shop idea into a bakery, bar and bistro, and ran it for over a decade, until its sale in 2026. Today I'm General Manager at IT Malta.
More than twenty-two years in hospitality, on both sides of the pass, taught me that a great restaurant is a kitchen, a team and a set of numbers that all have to work at once. That is what I bring to every project.
Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS)Malta · Graduate
Le Cordon BleuLondon
Maze · The Dorchester · CUT · Clos MaggioreLondon
MasterChef: The ProfessionalsQuarter-finalist
Crust, St Julian'sFounder & operator
IT MaltaGeneral Manager
The journey
Twenty-two years, from the bottom up.
From sandwich shops and hotel kitchens to London, television, my own restaurant and a flagship venue. Read the full story →
How it works
Clear scope. Honest answers.
No open-ended retainers and no surprises. You know what you're getting, what it costs and when it ends.
01
A private conversation
You tell me about the site, the budget and the timeline. If I'm not the right fit, I'll say so.
02
A written scope
A proposal with fixed deliverables, a fixed fee and a clear list of what's excluded.
03
The work
Delivered against that scope, with regular reviews and the numbers in front of you.
04
A decision point
A clear recommendation on the next step, or a clean finish with no obligation.
Insights
The Restaurant Developer.
A short video series on the commercial side of restaurants, for the people who build, own and invest in them. All insights →
Coming soon
Episode 02
Why many hotel restaurants lose money
Four reasons I see again and again, and the fix.
Coming soon
Episode 03
Kitchen first, design second
The order of work that decides how a restaurant performs.
Private consultation
Tell me about your project.
Three short steps. Everything you share is confidential and used only to assess the opportunity. I reply personally, usually within two working days.