Tandoori Magazine | Home of Indian Food and Drinks

Charan Gill, Scotland's Renowned Restaurateur, Entrepreneur and Channel 4's Secret Millionaire Star Talks to Tandoori.

What made you become a restaurateur all those years ago?
Becoming a restaurateur was not a conscious choice. My friend had a restaurant and he asked me to help him out behind the bar at weekends. That restaurant was called the Ashoka West End and I didn't know at the time that one day I would buy out my friend and own a large chain of restaurants.

You sold the Harlequin Leisure Group in 2005. So why have you returned to the industry with the opening of Slumdog Bar & Kitchen in Glasgow?
As always, opportunity is the main driver. During a recession can be the best time to start a business. Two years back, the prices of properties in the area Slumdog is were very high. With property prices and interest rates being so low now, the figures stacked up so I decided to go back in.

You are offering Stand-up nights at Slumdog and have also done a Stand-up night yourself - what made you do that and does comedy come naturally to you?
One has to have a sense of humour when running any business. The stress levels can be very high and if you cannot stand back and see the funny side of most tragic situations, frankly, you would go mad. I always thought I had a good sense of humour and I have always enjoyed being on stage as a singer. Once I got to old to jump about on the stage I decided to stand still and tell funny stories.

Did the experience of the Secret Millionaire programme teach you anything long-lasting particularly as you were dealing with people less fortunate than you?
I enjoyed filming the Secret Millionaire because it provided me with the challenge to see if I could find employment and make ends meet on very little income. It wasn't difficult for me to live in that environment because it wasn't that long ago when my personal financial circumstances were similar to those. It did help me to reflect on how far I had come.

What is a typical working day for you?
I am a morning person so I am up around 6.30am. I like to take my time in the morning getting ready, but I get to my office for 9am. After that its just meetings and work on whatever needs doing - I don't take lunch - and four out of the seven nights I will finish and be home for 6pm. There are evenings when I have to be in the restaurant, but this is usually to socialise with the many friends who come in. Some nights are also taken up with my public speaking. Most nights I get to bed before midnight.

Who would be your ideal dinner guests and why?
Twice a month I host a "Captains Table" at my restaurant. We have 12 invited guests, these are usually friends and or business associates of professionals. We have good food, fine wine and lots of debate and try to solve the problems of the world. I would love to have the great and good from the world of media, sport, politics and entertainment to come along and join us.

What are your hobbies and how do you relax?
I relax by singing. I also try to take time off and take holidays, and spend time at home.

How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who worked hard, played hard and gave something back.

What made you become a restaurateur?
It was my childhood interest in food and the time I spent in my grandmother's village in Bangladesh. I used to love the delicious smells that would emanate at breakfast, the pounding of spices, the home-made yoghurt and the fresh fish we would get from the nearby river. The flavours and textures were very appealing and I got a very refined palate at a young age.

Your restaurants all offer different types of cuisines. Does it ever become a headache?
If you have a fantastic operational team which is enthusiastic and driven, then everything becomes like a well-oiled machine. It only becomes a headache if you don't have an appetite for it or are having a bad day which happens in business. It's best then to pull back and re-energise yourself.

Your wife works with you at YumYum. Do you talk about work at home too?
I make it a discipline not to take my work at home, but it can be difficult because you are so determined and single-minded about getting everything right.

What do you like to eat yourself?
I'm very much a seasonal person so it all depends on the time of the day and what the weather is like. Today it's been cold, so for lunch I had a lovely soup with salmon, shredded ginger, spring onion and soy sauce with some white pepper. On the whole, I have no boundaries about the kinds of food I like.

Who would be your perfect dinner party guest and why?
It would be Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal football team manager. I'm an avid Arsenal supporter and want to sit him down, serve him a superb meal and ask him which player he would buy to help us win the Premier League.

What's a typical day like for you?
My day starts at around 8.30am. I watch the TV news, make some calls, have breakfast and then take a shower. After that I'll visit one of my restaurants which is usually YumYum's and meet up with my operations people and catch up with them. Usually, I make notes the day before so I know exactly what needs to get done the next day. I'll then check the bookings, catch up with the chefs and the front of house team. If there are any issues that need to be resolved then I'll tackle them early on in the day rather than dealing with them during service team. I'm always onsite in one of my restaurants and it isn't unusual for me to spend up to 18 hours at work. The one time I do make a point of spending time away is when my son is around at weekends.

What advice would you give to a budding restaurateur?
Be self-motivated, have plenty of communication skills and broaden your knowledge by taking business courses. You'll also need to know everything from cleaning the toilets to cooking and knowing how to run the front of house, and everything in between.

How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who made Thai food accessible to the public.