How I got started
It was a mid-life crisis that led chef Tim Lawrence to buy the Estbek House Hotel and Restaurant in Sandsend, North Yorkshire, having spent 24 years at the Trenchers fish restaurant in nearby Whitby.
Lawrence and his business partner paid close to the £450,000 asking price for the three-storey Georgian property, which has five letting bedrooms, a 36-seat restaurant over two floors, open-view cooking and courtyard seating for 24 diners.
"I'd always wanted my own business by the time I was 40," says Lawrence. "It was a lot of money, but we just had to bite the bullet and go for it."
Despite some initial misgivings - "When I first bought the place I thought I was the biggest mistake I had ever made," he says - the pair soon settled into the task of re-energising the business.
First they revolutionised the food and beverage offering, bringing in an extensive vegetarian menu, more creative fish recipes and a bold wine list.
Lawrence says takings in their first month, February 2004, were 50% up on those achieved the year before - not bad for a head chef whose background is predominantly in fish and chips and a business partner whose background was dealing with frozen cakes for Sara Lee. "I think we've shocked a lot of people," chuckles Lawrence.
The pair now plan to overhaul the en suites in the letting bedrooms and turn the owner's apartment into a bar area, moving the accommodation above.
"I'm really pleased. We've come a long way in a short space of time," says Lawrence. "After that first fortnight I wouldn't have changed it for the world. It was the best move I've ever made."
