Out of the frying pan: we quit the rat race to start a food business

Madeleine Howell asks the entrepreneurs how they turned their culinary dreams into reality

Ever dreamed of turning your back on the nine-to-five to turn your food obsession – be it brewing beer, barbecuing, smoking, pickling, preserving or tending to your sourdough starters – into a business?

The statistic that nine out of 10 startups fail within five years is often bandied about, and opening your own restaurant is not without risk: in 2018, restaurant insolvency reached a record high, with more than 1,100 going bust. But while it’s not all elderflower champagne, rave reviews and Great Taste awards, crowdfunding platforms and social media offer new ways to attract investment and customers, and to promote passion projects. Entrepreneurial spirit is thriving among innovative foodies. Just ask architect-turned-restaurateur Anna Hedworth, whose first book is titled Cook House: How to Leave Your Job and Open a Restaurant Even If You’re Not Sure How.

According to a report by Fidelity International, 16.2 million people in the UK dream of turning their side hustle into a career. Jason Gibb, the creator of Bread & Jam – the UK’s first food founders’ festival – says the time is ripe. “Small food brands are capturing two to three times their share of growth,” he writes in industry magazine The Grocer, attributing this to the millennial preference for authentic, less corporate brands.

With that in mind, I sought out the wisdom of seven entrepreneurs. Here are the secrets of their success...