The party for the press is over, the two parties held for the residents of Bray is over and now we must deliver the goods at our new restaurant everyday. Everyone of our neighbours has been very welcoming and I don’t feel so much like the new kid on the block anymore. I have many acquaintances and now dare I say a couple of friends in Bray too. People have been so kind in this quintessentially English village.
This restaurant has had many owners in the past, I feel I know them all as the residents tell me how they long each business lasted and why they think they failed. We can only learn from them and hope that we stay here longer. Giancarlo and I, and our children, love being here. It is an absolute joy to wake up to the birds, the trees and fields and friendly faces, we have to make it work. Giancarlo would say “forget the trees and grass, what about the amount of money we have invested, of course it has got to work!”.
Time to wake up the sleeping boys, drive them to school, get the train to London and spend the day at our cookery school, then home again to the log fire, Gregorio’s cooking and a big glass of Tuscan wine, not a bad life. Let it last.
We have now officially opened our restaurant and have had our launch to the press. The sun shone last Saturday and despite my nerves they all seemed very happy, so we will await the reviews.
The garden at the back of the restaurant is now finished, complete with fountain, a huge array of terracotta pots that we brought back from Italy and herbs everywhere. The wood burning oven despite annoying our neighbour has worked perfectly and was much needed on the day of the launch as our gas oven inside broke down so everything was cooked outside.
The jazz band were great, it was Sam’s band. Sam and Jackie were knocked out of the show The Restaurant in week two. We met them and decided his jazz was better than his restaurant running and we invited them to play.
Off to London now to the businesses there, Marylebone is still a great place to be but I am more than content to come back to peaceful Bray in the evenings.
I cannot believe the moment has arrived when almost everything seems to be in place. The till arrives today and I can make that final tick on my list of missing items. That glorious moment that obsesses us list-makers, that goal to which we all aspire.
To celebrate the end of the list we have invited 14 tables of press. What will they be like, will they like our restaurant, our food, the candles in the loo and me - what if they hate my hair! I hate my hair. Not that I am paranoid but its a strange feeling to have created something you love and then invite a load of strangers in to criticize it (I really wish this blog did spellcheck - could it be critisize!).
Right, children to school, ice pack on Giancarlo’s foot (strange swelling occurring at such a vital moment - was not on my list), flowers to buy and then we are ready.
Fingers crossed for tomorrow!
We finally received our signs yesterday so we are open now to those intrepid customers who feel like being some of the first. As yet no till has arrived, sadly that doesn’t mean your food is free but that you get a beautiful hand written bill by the lovely Jess or Salvatore.
Apart from the till and the pictures that are still waiting to be hung I think we are almost there and actually it looks jolly nice even if I say so myself. Gregorio’s food is lovely as my rapidly dissapearing waistline will tell you.
Kirsty from Schemes Interior Design company and I had a great time choosing all the lovely fabrics, papers and chairs and the whole look is modern rustic. At least that is what we keep telling ourselves. Modern rustic. You will have to tell me what you think. I could go on tweaking with objects etc forever but I have to stop. And I never need an excuse to go shopping for more ornaments, glassware etc to decorate the restaurant.
Now all we need is you, we have the space, the log fires, the music and the food and wine. But for atmosphere you need people, so give us a few days (Giancarlo and I and the children are off to Abergavenny food festival this weekend) and come and try us out.
So we have no till, no internet connection and no telephone. Who needs these modern inventions - we have a beautiful place tucked away in Old Mill Lane in Bray. A road buzzing with activity - yesterday two horses went by and oh at least twenty cars and about five joggers. Mmm, I suppose that is why we need our methods of communication.
The locals are a curious and friendly bunch. Not like our Marylebone crowd, not that they are not friendly, just more transient, less familiar with us and with each other. But in Bray it is a real village not a pretend one like Marylebone. So far so good, everyone has been really helpful, informing us of local areas that are good for our business, getting us local log supplies and hopefully finding us some staff. Oh yes that is the other thing missing, staff.
Still we plough on, (note the use of “country expressions”), the kids went back to school yesterday in Gerrards Cross, we went to work in Bray and then back to to bed in Baker Street. Soon we will move to Bray, commute to London to work and do a long school run. Logistical madness but we will cope. Must go and force children into school uniform. The idea of a new school is not going down too well.
We are back on target again at our new Restaurant Caldesi in Campagna. The bar has arrived although a temporary top will have to do until the marble arrives from Italy. Our new coffee machine makes great cappucino and the kitchen now has running water and gas. A good start for cooking!
It is very exciting seeing it coming together and all those finishes we chose months ago are looking great. We have gone for a modern rustic look with loads of linen, natural beige colours and cream. We have even tried out the log fires to see how they work. One flooded the newly decorated room with smoke and the other worked perfectly so I think a new cowl is needed!
I will post a date for an official opening but in the meantime we are welcoming customers who won’t mind missing marble and a wonky loo roll holder in the ladie’s loo!.
See you there,
Katie
As I am still fairly useless at managing my blog and publishing comments etc I will reply as a post.
To Pat, yes you can buy dvd’s of our series “Return to Tuscany” by telephoning our office on 0044 (0) 207 487 0756 or emailing lacucina@caldesi.com. Glad you enjoyed the series.
To Silverbrow
Managing three restaurants and a school in London and the school in Tuscany is not so easy but a really good team behind us makes it possible. We seem to have built a core group of staff who have been with us for around seven years who we regard as family, they are Vito, John, Stefano, Gregorio and more recently Daniela, Jo, Francesco and Marco. Without this gang we would not be able to run one business let alone four.
Luckily the Tuscan school is only for a few weeks every Summer and as much as we worry about leaving our restaurants and school in London, we come back refreshed and re-inspired by the local cooking. This year we came back with yet more Tuscan recipes and some really unusual ones from our stay in Liguria. Four of our core group of staff came with us and are also now armed with further recipes and inspiration.
We also enjoy the differences between the restaurants, two urban - one country. Two formal - one informal. One modern Italian - one Tuscan and one using antique as well as new Italian recipes. This allows me to indulge my passion in discovering further recipes and of course eating them!
We have had to succumb to the British bank holiday weekend and realise that sometimes nothing can be done. So we have half a bar, half the plumbing finished and almost finished logo and certainly no signage until the middle of September. We will be forced to relax - aaahh! RELAX, something Giancarlo and I just don’t do well.
Luckily we have an Indian wedding to go to this weekend so that will be fascinating for us plus loads of recipes to test for Giancarlo’s forthcoming appearance on Market Kitchen. Should keep us busy, - oh and a whole lamb to butcher for a catering event on Monday.
Busy opening Bray
Why does our memory fail us when we have good ideas for new projects – why don’t we remember the pains and stresses of putting ideas into practice. Like giving birth, we forget the process and remember only the joy of the result the BABY. Co-incidentally similar to the word BRAY and just as scary.
We are currently opening a restaurant (feels like we are having a baby) in Bray in Berkshire. As any business unfolds and deadlines are not met we feel the hopelessness of not being in control. Why does the world go away in August, could they not stagger their holidays over the summer months so that they don’t all abandon me in my moments of need. Don’t they care that I have left it far too late to order crockery, cutlery, glassware and signage (God, we have no ladies and gent’s signs) because I too took annual leave. Of course not, they are sunning themselves on a beach while I am dusting off attic finds to provide glasses for our opening, getting our seven year old to draw a man and woman to stick onto the loo doors, borrowing tablecloths to make do before the Italian beautiful cloths arrive after the long holiday!
Our Head Chef, Gregorio, between dusting his new kitchen is preparing dishes to put on the new menu. Today was the day of three main courses, steak, veal and an unusual lasagna. The steak and the veal are on – so tasty and moreish. He likes spotted sauce on a plate and I want it by the ladleful (like my mum’s gravy) so we have to reach a compromise. If something drives me mad about modern restaurant food it’s the stupid amount of sauce you are given to go with meat or fish. I don’t want to look at it I want to bloody eat it.
Anyway the lasagna needs work, it is something we ate in Tuscany and God it was lovely, the best lasagna I have ever had, we want to do our version of it, so four lasagna’s later we are still trying and my new black trousers are straining at the fly – but so what, its all in the name of research.
Its 6.30am and we are about to start our journey to Tuscany to teach at Le Rotelle for the third time over July. I am leaving the grey drizzling skies of London for the Tuscan sun. It will take us four days to get there as we are driving down and making a few stops to make travelling with two small active boys as painless as possible! Can’t wait to get there, to unpack and go to the market for the fruit, vegetables and cheeses. Even our children know that there will be juicy greengages, watermelons and figs to enjoy that we don’t have here. Will write more from Tuscany.
