Public school rebel

As an 18-year-old at the UK's most famous public school, Sam Harrison was seen as something of a low achiever. When he visited the careers centre at Eton College, it wasn't a future in law or the City that he had in mind; rather he wanted to know about hospitality and catering courses. "I don't think anyone had ever asked about going into hotels or restaurants before at Eton," he confesses, "but I already felt drawn to this world."

When he packed his bags and left the school for good, Harrison recalls the head's passing shot to his parents was something along the lines of how "disappointed" the school was that their pupil was not going to fulfil his potential. He was off to Oxford Brookes University to study hotel and catering management, rather than going, as the school expected, to take an academic degree at a top university.

But looking at Harrison today, just 14 years later, one can't help hoping his old Eton teachers happen to pass by Chiswick in west London some time soon. There they will find a buzzy new restaurant and bar (opened in mid-August) that has queues of would-be diners lining up in the street outside on busy days and that's got the name "Sam's" proudly above the door.

If the excellent reviews from the critics and 1,000 or so contented diners per week at Sam's Brasserie & Bar aren't proof enough that Harrison is in the right profession, then the smile on this youthful restaurateur's face should be. Not that he is smugly sitting in the back office, grinning as he counts the till receipts. In fact, Harrison is to be found all day, every day, wearing an apron and cheerfully serving alongside the waiting staff out front.

"Working on the floor is where I'm happiest," Harrison says. "Hospitality is what this business is all about and that's what I love - looking after customers. Diners respond to it, too - they like to know who ‘Sam' is and that I'm always around."

Harrison adds that the restaurateurs he most admires are those who similarly have a visible presence in their establishments. "You look at Jeremy King and Christopher Corbin at the Wolseley - two of this country's most successful restaurateurs. You always see one of them on the floor during every service to greet diners and keep things running smoothly," he says.

"Similarly, people forget that, before he appeared on TV, Rick Stein worked solidly at the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow for 20 years to build the business, scarcely taking a day off. OK, he was in the kitchen, but he was hands-on in his business, keeping it running as it should be."

It is, in fact, Stein who has had the greatest impact on Harrison's career and who continues as a mentor to him. For, after completing the Oxford Brookes degree in 1996 and then doing a two-year management training programme with Walkers Crisps, Harrison went to work at the Seafood Restaurant as a waiter. "I decided I wanted to go to Cornwall as a change from London and wanted to work for an independent restaurant."

Six months later, Harrison had been promoted to assistant manager of the restaurant, and after another six months he was catapulted to the position of general manager for Stein's Padstow mini empire (also encompassing the bistro, hotel, fish and chip shop, and cookery school).

When the job of general manager came up I persuaded Rick to take me on. It was a big leap of faith for him as I was just 27, but we already had a good rapport. I knew he needed someone to give the job 24/7 and to make sure things happened and I was prepared to give it everything," he explains.

After two years in the job, however, Harrison felt he wanted to return to city life and gain more experience. "I was in an amazing job and loved it, but I was young and wanted a change of scene. So Rick and I had a chat and he suggested I go to Sydney because it was a young city and there was so much happening there restaurant-wise. In fact, both jobs I then ended up doing out there - at the Bondi Beach Caf and opening Moorish restaurant - came through his contacts."

Returning to the UK in 2003, Harrison filled in time helping friends who had just bought Troubadour restaurant in London's Earl's Court. But he also began thinking seriously about having his own place.

Influenced by restaurants he had seen in Sydney and New York, Harrison's aim was to establish a relaxed brasserie that was open long hours, so people could come in and eat at whatever time suited them. "One of my favourite places is Balthazar in New York, which is open from 8am in the morning through to 2am at night and it's buzzing throughout. I love that evolution of a restaurant through the day."

And Sam's is, indeed, open all day every day (9am-11pm), offering a similarly relaxed vibe, where diners can come and go at will. "I'm also looking at installing wireless internet access, so people who work at home can come in here to eat and hang out, bringing their laptops with them," Harrison adds.

Not that it was easy getting the place open. Harrison explains he did a huge amount of research into the best parts of west London to open a neighbourhood restaurant, then did detailed analysis on the local markets and a "phenomenal amount of number crunching" to put his business plan together.

His first lucky break came in July 2004 when he saw the site that ultimately became his. Located on the ground floor of a former paper factory that's now converted into a small business centre, it was a space that needed converting from scratch. "I loved the high ceilings and the industrial, New York feel of the place. I knew it could become somewhere special and I was really lucky that the landlord [Workspace] was keen to have an independent restaurant in here, rather than one of the chains. They even gave us a rent-free period to support the conversion and start-up."

Around the same time as viewing the site, Harrison met Rufus Wickham, a chef with an impressive track record, including stints at London restaurants Kensington Place, Bibendum, La Tante Claire, the River Caf and the Square. "We met through mutual friends and immediately hit it off," Harrison says.

Harrison then called Stein "as he had always said he'd be interested in backing me if I started my own place". Persuaded by the business plan and a liking for Harrison's choice of chef, Stein did, indeed, come on board as a backer.

However, even with such a heavyweight, Harrison was turned down by bank after bank for loans. But restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas (proprietor of the two Sonny's - in Barnes and Nottingham - and the Phoenix in Richmond) also decided to back the project and she convinced her bank, the Bank of Scotland, to get behind the restaurant.

A fourth partner, Luke Tate, a finance director for Compass, came on board at around the same time, similarly bringing business expertise with him to the project.

Harrison declines to say how much each of his backers put in, but confirms that he is the major shareholder in Sam's, with the three other partners holding equal, lesser shares. He also reveals that the four of them are likely to offer Wickham a stake in the business in due course.

With a 20-year lease on the site, Harrison says he sees Sam's as his long-term enterprise. Hence the earthy-hued, practical, industrial design was deliberately "simple and timeless". And hence, though things are going well so far, he is not taking anything for granted. "Average spend on food is currently £20, which is higher than we expected. And our number of diners is also ahead of our projections - we're averaging 50 for lunch daily and 100 for dinner, while we forecast 250 for lunch per week and 500 for dinner," he says. "But we need to continue to build this business and work hard to keep the diners coming."

With this, Harrison apologetically brings the interview to a close - there are tables to be served and he doesn't want to keep his diners waiting.

The backers

Sam's Brasserie marks new ground for both Rick Stein and Rebecca Mascarenhas. Although both are experienced restaurateurs, neither has previously acted as a backer for another restaurateur before.

Stein says he was keen to give a "helping hand" to Harrison because he had been "such a talented manager" when working at the Seafood restaurant. "And he has always had a special determination to be a good caterer. He is believed to be the first Eton boy to go into catering and is so proud of this profession.

"Like me, he feels we're in this business to entertain people, not to make our own lives easy. So many restaurants in this country offer grudging service and mediocre foodm, but Sam is driven to offer good food na dwarm hospitality."

Stein continues that he is also impressed by Rufus Wickham, the chef Harrison recruited for Sam's. "Wickham shares the same enthusiam for the restaurant as Sam does - they are both exceptional people."

He stresses that his role in the project is very much an informal one. "I chat to Sam regularly, but I don't want a formal consultancy role - I've got too many other things going on."

For her part, Mascarenhas says she talks to Harrison about five time a week, offering "advice on licensing, personnel and number-crunching issues". "I feel really committed to helping where I can, be it using Sonny's leverage to get Sam's credit with suppliers or whatever."

Like Stein, she says she was keen to back Harrison because "he's and exceptional caterer". "I got to know him because I interviewed him to be my general manager at Sonny's [in 2003], but he me turned down. He told me that he didn't feel he could take the job because he wanted his own place and he felt it wouldn't be fair to take it on a temporary basis. He's a very honourable, honest man."

She continues: "When I saw his business plan, I was very impressed as is was so thorough. I did not hesitate about getting involved."

What's on the menu at Sam's

• Lamb's kidneys on toast, grain mustard, £6.50
• Peasant terrine, onion marmalade, £8
• Steamed mussels and clams with chickpeas and chorizo, £7/£12.50
• Roast line-caught cod, brandade, parsle sauce, £13.50
• Roast chicken, celery risotto, thyme jus, £12.50
• Slow-roast shoulder of lamb, apricot stuffing, harissa, couscous, £12.50
• Poached apricots, Greek yogurt, toasted almonds, £5
• Panna cotta, rhubarb compote, £5.50
• Chocolate tart, crème fraîche, £6

Sam's Brasserie & Bar, 11 Barley Mow Passage, Chiswick, W4 4PH.
Tel: 020 8987 0555.
www.samsbrasserie.co.uk