Sketch: the big picture
When Sketch opened in 2003, it was almost universally panned. Fifteen years on, it boasts two Michelin stars and is counted among London's restaurant royalty. Owner Mourad Mazouz and chef Pierre Gagnaire reflect on their rollercoaster ride with Tom Vaughan
"A friend of mine wanted to open a nightclub in London, so I looked for a site for him," explains Mazouz, his Algerian-French zeal as lively as the vivid pink and cream wallpaper behind him. "In a week, somebody showed me this place. So my friend told me, 'Ah great, I will do it'. But then - nothing. Silence!"
Gagnaire guffaws and gives a disbelieving bounce of the eyebrows. "He had been in love with a woman in London. And now, he was not in love anymore and didn't want to come to England! So I had the paperwork for this building in front of me, and everybody wanted it - Marco Pierre White, Saatchi - so I signed it. I had no clue what I was going to do with it."
From such uncertain, impulsive moments, Sketch was born. Now, 15 years on from the launch (and nearly 20 from signing for the site) Mazouz and Gagnaire can laugh about the journey they've been on together - from public whipping boy to industry royalty.
Mazouz's impulsive site grab might have given him fertile ground for a new restaurant, but it wasn't until he cold-called Gagnaire that the seeds of Sketch were sown. "I had eaten at Pierre's restaurant in Paris and I was blown away. I had never eaten like this, never had these textures. I went to see him to ask him if he had a chef. I was quite naÁ¯ve, you know? But after three meetings, he said 'Why not me?'"
ouz's first London restaurant, casual North African bistro Momo, had been a big success but he had never ventured into fine dining. For a top-end rookie to snag one of the world's most celebrated chefs was an astounding coup. But for Gagnaire, Mazouz's vision gave him the opportunity to settle some unfinished business. "When I opened my first restaurant, in Saint-Étienne in France in 1977, it was in a big 1930s house like this," says Gagnaire. "And it was my ambition to create something like this. But it was Saint-Étienne - it is like a suburb of Liverpool. I had to close it. But when I met Mourad, I understood immediately this project - music, art, food, the mix of guests from all over the world. So I said, 'Why not me?'"
So far, so good: a prime central London site, one of the world's most revered chefs. What could go wrong? "Everything!" answers Mazouz. "The building was in a very bad state, it was leaking, holes everywhere. When we started digging, the foundations moved. It was a nightmare. It took us four and a half years - we went four times over budget. It ended up costing £12m. I had Pierre waiting for two years. I was sinking. It was like my head and body were under the water in the middle of the ocean. I was going home crying, saying I am never going to achieve it."
Yet worse was to come. When the restaurant finally opened, the critics gave it a pounding of Mike Tyson-esque proportions. "A lot of bollocks," sneered The Guardian's Matthew Fort of the design-led interiors, giving it a plump zero out of 20. "Dog's breakfast, baby sick," claimed The Independent. "The most expensive restaurant in Great Britain," howled The Guardian.
Mourad Mazouz on⦅the difference between a chef and a restaurateur "A chef is more focused on the plate, because food is first. For me, food is important. But for me, a restaurant is a flower. The food is the centre, but the fun, the welcome, the service, lighting decor are petals. If you take more than three petals, it is not a flower. For me, that is a restaurant. A chef is focused on the middle. A restaurateur looks at it all." …life as a 21st-century restaurateur "I used to spend time in my restaurants. Now I spend time in my office doing paperwork and dealing with TripAdvisor - people who take out their misery on their keyboards. One woman came to Momo for years, but one day she comes in and our chef is away and the food is not at its usual high standards. She goes onto TripAdvisor and she is so bitter. Fifteen years and one day it is not 100% and she is bitchy. It makes me so sad. This didn't happen 10 or 20 years ago." …the difference between Paris and London "I compare it to music. In Britain you are so proud of your rock and pop - you are kings of it. In France, the music has never been as big a thing. So we opened our blinkers - in Paris every night you can go to little gigs with music from all over the world. Now I find it so much more interesting than music here. I will say the same for food in France. They think they are the best but have closed their blinkers. But Britain has opened its doors. When you lack something you are more open. When you think you are the best you are closed off." …being an independent restaurateur in Mayfair "Momo is the last independent on its street. There are managers everywhere, I can't go in and talk to an owner. People go to the suburbs like Dalston now because they want something more real. If you are in central London like me you struggle. It's hard. I'm an old-fashioned artisan and I don't want to fail. And I'm fighting not to fail." Get The Caterer every week on your smartphone, tablet, or even in good old-fashioned hard copy (or all three!).
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