Opening your own restaurant is an exciting moment, but one that you need to prep for properly in order for it to turn out just right. In such a saturated market, you need to ensure you stand out. The five books listed in this post will help you create the perfect recipe for opening a successful restaurant or taking your culinary business to the next level.
1. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly
Written by one of the most respected names in culinary history, Kitchen Confidential is the colourful account of Anthony Bourdain’s 25-year journey through the restaurant business, beginning in 1970s New York and spanning countries and kitchens around the globe. The year before publishing this book, Bourdain wrote a New Yorker article titled “Don’t Eat Before Reading This” (1999), a glaring expose of what really goes on behind the kitchen doors of restaurants across America. The article was an instant sensation that spawned the Kitchen Confidential memoir every aspiring restaurateur should read. Without holding anything back, Bourdain divulges the protected secrets of the culinary world for an inside look at the industry and his almost unbelievable experiences cooking, travelling, and running a restaurant.
2. Setting The Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
As a restaurant owner or hopeful entrepreneur, the thought has likely crossed your mind that you’re up against tough odds: 75-90% of restaurants fail. Daniel Meyer has been there, and succeeded, and he shares his secrets in Setting The Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business. In 1985 Meyer opened his first restaurant in New York City, Union Square Cafe. It’s still running and Meyer has since expanded his restaurant empire as co-owner and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group. With powerful insights, Meyer details how he was able to persevere in one of the toughest industries by outlining his personal philosophy, Enlightened Hospitality, emphasizing strong staff bonds, good business sense, and customer satisfaction. Setting The Table will help you run a more efficient and productive restaurant that will stand the test of time—and critics.
Set yourself up for success. Download The Ultimate Guide To Buying A Restaurant here.
3. Restaurant Success by the Numbers, Second Edition: A Money-Guy’s Guide to Opening the Next New Hot Spot
If crunching numbers speaks to you, then you need to read this book by CPA-turned-restaurateur Roger Fields. As a former accountant and current restaurant owner, Fields breaks down the key factors that affect business success using real examples as case studies. Restaurant Success by the Numbers explains everything from how to determine your audience and formulating a concept, to mastering logistics and managing profit. In this second edition, Fields tackles modern restaurant trends including food trucks and online stores. Anyone looking to enter the food industry should reference this book as a blueprint for achieving success in such a cut-throat industry.
4. Restaurant Owners Uncorked: Twenty Owners Share Their Recipes for Success
Not all restaurant ventures follow the same path. In this book, Wil Brawley interviews 20 diverse restaurant owners to give you a first-hand look at some of the most successful businesses in the industry. This anecdotal guide shares real-world advice and helpful tips from a range of industry experts who’ve beaten the culinary odds. Restaurant Owners Uncorked highlights the philosophies that built a number of world-class restaurants, showcases practical roadmaps for navigating the industry, and explains why accurate bookkeeping is as important as good food.
5. Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
Another first-person account on the list, Blood, Bones & Butter is a great read by chef Gabrielle Hamilton for anyone who wants to know what the personal experience of pursuing a culinary dream is really like. A memoir detailing her food-inspired journey to becoming a renowned restaurateur, Anthony Bourdain called Hamilton’s book “…The best memoir by a chef ever.” From the kitchen in her rural childhood home to the international kitchens in places like France and Turkey, to the kitchen of her own New York City restaurant, Prune, Hamilton tells the tale of pursuing your purpose with passion, honesty, and humour.
Despite the odds, restaurant success is not only possible, but probable with these five books as your guide. Delve into the minds of the best in the business to understand what it takes to make it as a modern restaurateur.
