Neil Perry’s restaurants read like an Australian dining hall of fame. From his early days at Barrenjoey House to his current culinary takeover of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs with Margaret, Neil has been committed to pushing boundaries and creating new flavours for Australian diners.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing though – during his more than 40 year career, Neil has faced economic downturns, underperforming ventures and, like all business owners, the Pandemic.
“What I’ve learnt is to never give up and never take a backward step…unless you have to,” Neil says. “Then make sure you’re doing it with a focus on how to get to your next forward position. Focus on the details.”
Here are Neil’s other top tips for succeeding in the restaurant business.
Know when to pivot
Any restaurant owner will tell you that challenges come with the territory, and Neil knows that better than most. He opened Rockpool during the 1989 recession and opened Rockpool Bar & Grill and Spice Temple Sydney during the 2009 Global Financial Crisis. Just as he was about to launch Margaret in 2020, he ran into his biggest hurdle yet.
Margaret had 10,000 forward bookings over the first five weeks. We were filleting fish and cutting beef when Gladys Berijiklian came on the news on the Friday closing the Eastern Suburbs. On the Saturday, she closed the state. I spent a week thinking, ‘Oh, woe, me. How did this happen?’ but then I realised, it was either wallow in self-pity or jump in and find out how the hell we get through this. That’s when we pivoted.
We noticed there were a lot of people walking through Double Bay – because the one thing you could do was exercise – so we opened for sandwich and burger lunches. We only made about $1000 for four months worth of work but it helped keep the entire team together.
You have to live to fight another day and realise that if you focus hard and put in a lot of energy and effort you can get out the other side. It seemed incredibly dark but I came out of that faster than I thought possible.
Be innovative
Neil has made a career out of cooking to the beat of his own drum, always being ahead of trends and knowing what customers want to eat even before they do.
I went to France in 1984 and ate at some amazing three-star restaurants. Then I came back to Barrenjoey House, where I was cooking French provincial food. I thought a lot about that trip – they were cooking amazing French food in France, which made perfect sense but what was I doing in Palm Beach, Sydney, sticking to that French provincial framework?
Right then and there, I decided I was going to incorporate all the things I loved eating. That meant embracing the multicultural nature of Australia and the food that I’d been exposed to as a kid, such as Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Indian.
I started that full-blown Asian integration at Barrenjoey House in and at the Blue Water Grill in ’86 so by the time I opened Rockpool, that was the food I’d become famous for. People loved the light, fresh approach.
Make bold decisions
Worried something isn’t working with your business? Neil says doing nothing is the worst course of action. He advocates for bold decision making – something he’s currently doing with his Double Bay Chinese restaurant, Songbird.
You’ve got to identify issues quickly, and if you think you’ve made a mistake, you’ve got to act on it. Never be afraid to try and turn it around because it’s better to plug a hole than to go down with the ship.
When we opened Songbird in February 2022 we decided it was going to be Chinese, but it was a different world back then. It hasn’t gone as well as what I’d hoped so I made a very quick decision to pivot and reopen the site as an Italian restaurant and bar. I’ve refinanced and chatted to the landlords and we think we’ve made the right decision to not continue to struggle, but to restart and go forward. Looking at it in the cold, hard light of day, I would’ve been better to position it as Italian to start with but we’re going to put it in the right space now.
Good planning builds longevity
Good relationships are the cornerstone of any business but Neil says they’re made possible with a great financial plan.
The key to success at all of my venues has been working with people who are fabulously talented and incredibly loyal, but most importantly, they share the same vision. You can’t create one restaurant, or two or three, unless you’ve got a team of people that stick with you and support you. You have to build longevity.
The other thing though, is you need a very strong financial plan. Profitability is important to drive the business forward, to maintain the business through repairs and maintenance, and to reward staff to make sure that people get a great sense of satisfaction from working in the environment.
Do what you love
Neil has had restaurants across the coutnry but he’s come to realise that connecting with customers – and being hyper local – is what he enjoys most.
I really love being at the bakery and cooking at Margaret and Songbird. It means every day I can be with my staff and customers. I’ve learnt that customers are generally the same the world over – if you give a high level of service and you use beautiful ingredients that you cook with great craft, you end up with a world-class experience for customers to enjoy.
I’ve been offered so many things overseas and in other parts of the country but as I’ve gotten older – I just turned 68 – I’ve realised that’s the thing that brings me the most joy.
