Good staff are the key to success

Recruiting and retaining a stable team of happy chefs is easy, claimed Simon Woodroffe, managing director of Yo! Sushi, speaking at the conference.

In an upbeat and inspirational talk about how he founded and has since developed his chain of conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, Woodroffe said good people, including chefs, were key to the success of the business.

"We are reasonably deskilled at Yo! Sushi," said Woodroffe. "But we still attract chefs because what people want is decent money, a culture in which they can thrive and where it is fun. And above all they want opportunities to learn."

Woodroffe explained that Yo! Sushi chefs were also motivated because all their ideas were listened to, regardless of their level of seniority.

"We let any of our chefs create dishes and try things out. They then send photographs of the dish and a recipe to the executive chef and if it works, we'll serve that dish in all our restaurants. That gives the chefs a big kick."

Woodroffe put the popularity of the Yo! Sushi brand down to innovation and his readiness to take risks. "Constant innovation is the way to run a business," he said. "The companies that do that are the ones that will grow and succeed."