If Manhattan has self-made chef and Food Network personality Chris Santos to its credit then a culinary hotspot like Dubai isn’t very far behind with Tom Arnel. The equally self-made Australian chef and restaurateur is famously known as one-half of the founding duo behind Tom & Serg;
If you have been in Dubai for a while, you will agree that is it the city’s first truly trend-setting restocafe that brought us a slice of Melbournian cafe culture and firmly put the industrial area of Al Quoz on the map as the destination for homegrown cafes.
The founder of hospitality group Bull & Roo with no less than six brands under his belt, Tom admits it’s a dramatic career trajectory for a small-town boy from Geelong who started out as a teenage kitchen hand in some of Australia’s most humble coastal kitchens: “I washed dishes, swept floors, waited tables. It was a great way to use up my energy and make some money while I’m at it.”
Tom tells us his ‘Sarwa’ story, in his own words.
Go with Your Gut
When high school ended, I left for Schoolies Week (an Australian tradition of high-school graduates having week-long holidays following the end of their final exams) with my pillow, blanket, and backpack and literally never went back home. I’d already worked for kitchens growing up so I quickly got an apprenticeship and loved every minute of it. Yes, I was bone-tired but the entire kitchen environment is so intoxicating. There’s so much pressure and through it all, you have to be precise and turn out one amazing dish after another.
My parents were not happy that I wasn’t going to be getting a degree but it was the best thing I did, spending those years pursuing what I was good at. You’re in the deep end and you have to figure out your own way to survive. Entrepreneurship is about just that!
Persistence… Pays!
You can’t stop someone with self-conviction, someone who never gives up. I knew if I wanted to become competitive as a chef I couldn’t stay in that coastal town anymore. I’d need to work in kitchens led by some of the finest chefs in the world and to even get my foot in the door, I’d need to prove that I’m as good as traditionally trained apprentice chefs.
I decided I wanted to get a job at Vue de Monde, at the time one of Australia’s most famous restaurants led by Shannon Bennett. I literally showed up at their back door for two days in a row and was turned away each time. On the third day, they asked their hiring manager to talk to me and I guess, convince me to leave.
Maybe it was my passion or my earnestness because they decided to take a chance. I did it all – sweeping floors, peeling potatoes, shelling prawns and I learned to be thorough and fast. I worked my way up from sous chef to apprentice, clocking 80 to 90 hours a week. It was physically and mentally grueling. I suppose I learned to build that resilience muscle early.
Shannon Bennett noticed my work and took me under his wing which brought other opportunities to broaden my horizons as a chef.
You’re Never Too Young to Build Equity
I barely had enough money throughout my early twenties. In fact, when I apprenticed at Arzak in Spain – then one of the world’s Top 10 restaurants – I didn’t even get paid!
Yes, the pay as an apprentice chef was measly but from whatever I earned, 20% went to investing. When I was 20 years old, my Dad who is in the property valuation business, advised me to invest in a house in a coastal town not far from Geelong. When I sold it, I had a decent amount of cash that ended up going towards my initial capital when launching Tom & Serg.
I know when you’re that young, the idea of investing seems audacious but to me, it was a no-brainer. Even though I had a small amount, I started early. It is with discipline that I managed to create value out of the money I was earning. Long-term investing is where I see growth. If you’re patient and time it well, you get solid dividends.
The Value of a Business Partner
In work and in business, play to your strengths and learn to delegate and conquer. When we launched Tom & Serg, I decided I would focus on the cooking and creative side of the business and Sergio, with his business background, would focus on the operational and finance stuff.
It also makes sense to find a business partner you have worked with before or at least seen at work. Sergio and I both worked at Jones the Grocer so we knew what the other was capable of, our work ethic and values. We opened seven outlets in four years and to maintain that kind of pace, you have to be completely aligned with your business partner.
Although we have both gone solo in the food scene since the past two years, I have some tremendous memories of our time working together.
“Choosing your business partner well will not just set your enterprise for success, but also develop you as an entrepreneur.”
Take Away?
Tom proves a fantastic study in the power of not just seizing opportunity but also creating it for oneself and listening intently to gut instinct.
“I’d been accepted to study economics at university but I never showed up. Working in kitchens just seemed a far more creative thing to do.”
And there was no looking back.
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