Rising Star award winner Richard Ferrier tells Ruth Williams about his how his career at Brasserie Blanc has taken off thanks to the belief shown by bosses at the restaurant chain.
Richard Ferrier’s career with Brasserie Blanc began before he even joined the company. While working at Zolfo Cooper he met chief executive Mark Derry and assisted in raising money through Core Capital to grow the company.
“Having worked with Mark a lot he asked me – having raised all this money through Core Capital – if I fancied coming to help to spend it, which was quite a lot of fun! Immediately we bought Chez Gerard and doubled the size of the company so it was a baptism of fire.”
When Ferrier joined Brasserie Blanc as strategy manager, the company quickly grew from nine to 24 sites, including the acquisition of the afore mentioned eight-strong Chez Gerard restaurants.
To begin with, his role involved raising debt to refurbish the newly added sites into the estate as well as implementing new systems to manage the quick changes.
During this role, Ferrier said he often felt he was missing out on the core of what the business was all about.
“I don’t just want to talk the talk I want to walk the walk. I didn’t want to be somebody talking about businesses but not adding value to it. It felt like just living off other people’s success. I wanted to go into a business and make a difference every day. When you see the bigger picture but don’t get involved with serving guests, you want to get more involved and be a part of it. That’s the low of finance – you’re talking about it but not actually doing it.”
Although he had not previously considered a career in hospitality, seeing the growth trajectory of Brasserie Blanc and the career opportunities it presented made him reconsider.
With ambitions to move up the company relatively quickly, Ferrier was aware he would hit a glass ceiling with no experience on the operational side of the company so when Mark Derry offered him the chance to get some coal-face experience and run the London businesses, he took it.
Ferrier spent a very intensive period on the floor, in kitchens and in a management role to learn as much as possible in as short amount of time then, after three months, he took over the role.
“One of the main benefits of not having come through the ranks is I could just question everything: why do you do that, why does the team start then if we don’t open until then?”
This benefit worked both ways for Ferrier. His holistic view of the business from sitting in board meetings and being involved in company-wide decisions gave insight that became invaluable when working at the sites.
“I understand why we are doing things; why we have taken a decision we have taken; I understand the return on investment side a bit more and see the bigger picture. I think for people coming through the ranks they might not understand why people at the top are making certain decisions but I’ve seen that side and I’ve helped make those decisions. Sometimes that can make it easier for me explaining the way we operate to the people reporting to me now.”
Having made the move into an operations role, Ferrier said the biggest challenge has been becoming the go-to guy for problems from the six restaurants he oversees.
“During the year, I’ve become better at dealing with problems other people bring to me and finding out what are real problems and what are just everyday restaurant problems. That was easily the biggest challenge – everyday ‘people issues’ is not something I’ve really encountered before at work.”
He said that although dealing with problems was difficult to cope with at first, he also said that getting to know the people who run the restaurants has been the best part of the job and he made sure he wasn’t just seen as “someone from head office” by getting to know the staff in each site.
“I always go in through the back door so I can go through the kitchen and speak to everyone and ask how they are. A lot of people seem to forget the kitchen is even there, but there are some of the most in-credible characters you could ever meet: hilarious, fun, smart and dedicated – and people miss out on that side.”
He said the support from general managers and head chefs has made his job transition smooth with reciprocal support being given and received by the teams he works with.
“I’ve learnt the importance of autonomy and ownership. The business is people who run these buildings; it’s their business – not mine,” he said.
Professional support has come from head office as well, with Ferrier admitting his own professional ambition is supported by Derry and the team.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go forward relatively quickly.
“I’m lucky because I’ve got senior people in our business who are very supportive of developing me as a person working in the leisure industry. It’s not lost on me that they give a lot more to me in terms of their time and energy, and opportunities that I wouldn’t get anywhere else.”
With Brasserie Blanc’s pub and bar division, White Brasseries, set to grow from five to 25 sites during the next three years, Ferrier sees his own career progression moving in that direction to continue to play a role as the company expands.
On nominating Ferrier for a Rising Star award, Derry said he has the talent to become a chief executive in the future.
This attitude to future-proofing is clearly a trait both men share, Ferrier said he is constantly looking for, and developing, people to take over from him.
“As soon as you’ve found somebody to do your job, you’ve got the opportunity to move on. I’m always trying to get general managers to do that so they can move forward,” he said. “If you’re not developing people like that you are restricting your opportunities.”
