Charlie Bigham
My alarm clock goes off at 6.30am but I am quite often awake before that, because I have four small children.
I'm usually awake somewhere between 5am and 5.30am, and at about 7am I have breakfast with my family. I'm not keen on routine and never have the same thing to eat - that would frighten me.
After breakfast I rush around getting the children to school and then, at 8am, I hop on my bike and cycle from my house in Shepherd's Bush to my production kitchen. It takes 20-30 minutes, and that's my exercise for the day.
I get to work at 8.30am and the first thing I do is deal with my dreaded e-mails. I then try to have a quick catch-up with the staff to make sure they are happy.
Over the course of the day I stay close to the production kitchen and I wander around talking to the staff. The people I employ are crucial to the business, and I place a huge emphasis on their training and development.
My days are generally spent in meetings of one sort or another. In the mornings I always sit down with Nick Parker, the commercial manager, and Matt Prodger, the food service manager.
We chat about new enquiries and we try to spot trends in the marketplace. It's important to us that we lead rather than follow. At the moment I'm also busy because I'm trying to find a site where I can open another production kitchen next year. I'm looking to invest up to £4m in the kitchen, which I hope to open by September 2004.
Most mornings I disappear from the office for at least a couple of hours and I go to visit a customer or I meet somebody about the new site.
I like to go out, because it keeps me interested and fresh. I suppose 50% of the time I go to see a customer and 50% of the time they come to me.
I'm usually back in the kitchen by midday, because that is when the food is leaving. All our food is made fresh each day.
At lunchtime I get together with a selection of representatives from the management team and we'll meet with our two development chefs, Mark Down and Julian Langdon, to taste a range of dishes they have made that day. We launch about 100 new recipes a year, so it is a rare day when we are not trying something new.
After I've tried the dishes I spend the afternoons returning phone calls and e-mails. I then leave the office at 7.30pm and cycle home.
One night a week I'll meet someone after work and we'll have a drink or two and some nice food.
Otherwise, I get home by 8pm and, although it sounds terrible, I usually eat the food that we create at work in the evenings, too. If not, I have a big bowl of salad.
After dinner I have a good chat with my wife and I go to bed by 11pm. The television never really seems to feature, because I don't have time. I like reading and I usually fall asleep while reading a book.
Factfile
Bighams, 10 Commercial Way, London NW10 7XF, Tel: 020 8453 9890, Web: www.bighams.com
Just a minute…
Where do you see yourself in 10 years' time?
I would hate to predict that. If life was that predictable, I would be hugely depressed.
What has been your greatest experience?
I suppose having kids is pretty amazing. My wife, Claire, and I have four children: Caspar, six; Rhoan, four; Petra, two; and Miles, eight months.
What do you most want to achieve in your life?
I want to keep stimulated and never get bored.
