By Dave Hunter
Brian Maule, the multi SLTN Award-winning chef, made a triumphant return to Scottish hospitality this year when he took on a consultancy role with multiple operator Buzzworks.
It came after what had been an exceptionally difficult year for the renowned cook.
In 2023, after 22 years, Brian and wife Susan closed their award-winning Glasgow restaurant Brian Maule at Chardon d’Or as factors including rising costs and lower footfall in the city took a heavy toll on the once-booming business.
Speaking to SLTN recently, Brian said the closure, in July of last year, had affected him deeply.
“For the first three months I didn’t leave the house,” he told the paper.
“I was coming to terms with me as a person. I had lost my confidence a wee bit. I felt guilty of letting down my staff, my suppliers, my family. There was a lot of self-hurt, really.
“Fortunately I’ve had a lot of love from customers, clients, friends. Customers who have become friends.”
Hailing originally from Stevenston, Brian fell in love with cooking early, with classes at high school leading to a Youth Training Scheme and then apprenticeship, before he left Scotland to hone his craft in Lyon, France.
It was during this time that the commitment and, dare we say it, bloody-mindedness, that would become Brian’s stock in trade would make themselves known.
“As you can imagine, I didn’t speak French when I went,” he recalled.
“But I picked it up, as the only way to survive in a kitchen and socially – going to the pub and actually being involved in conversations.
“There was an element of wanting to learn, but there was also an aspect of needing to learn. I didn’t want to be standing downstairs peeling carrots and asparagus all day. I wanted to cook, so I had to be able to understand the checks coming through.”
Returning to the UK, Brian would start a 15-year stint working with the world-famous Roux brothers, a career that culminated in him becoming head chef at prestigious London fine dining restaurant Le Gavroche.
In 2001, and now with a young family, the Maules decided to return to Scotland to open a restaurant of their own.
Brian Maule at Chardon d’Or opened its doors on West Regent Street – at the heart of Glasgow’s (at the time) bustling city centre.
Brian said the goal was to serve food that was ‘accessible for everybody’ – quality, with a distinctly Glaswegian personality.
“When I opened I wanted to create something that wasn’t in the city, quickly,” he said.
“I wanted to bring my experience from London and France here, and bring that European knowledge on food, wine, that you can eat properly, drink properly, with a professional but soft service. I didn’t want a stiff service. We’re in Glasgow, we’re a very friendly city. It had to be relaxed, it had to be accessible price-wise.”
“That might sound straightforward. It isn’t. And getting the menu just right wasn’t always easy.
Brian explained: “I had a wine dinner with Michel Roux and we had truffles on the menu. I had some left and I tried to do truffle risotto as a special, steak with truffle, truffle salads with cheese. We had multiple things, and it just wouldn’t sell because of the price. So there was definitely an element that price was still there. It was tough in the beginning.”
Initially occupying a single floor, the restaurant soon expanded to include a basement unit, which was refurbished to cater for private dining.
The offer at the restaurant constantly evolved, with the a la carte menu changing every seven or eight weeks and the lunch menu changing weekly.
It’s safe to say Brian and his team carved out a stellar reputation in the city, with plaudits including winning the SLTN Restaurant of the Year (fine dining) award no fewer than five times.
And then, as with so many other businesses across Scotland, Covid – and the prolonged hangover following it – changed everything.
By mid 2023, with costs rising and footfall down, Chardon d’Or had gone from a tough but rewarding venture to a grind.
Brian said that, after two decades of building reputation and business, the constant pressure was almost as if the restaurant had gone back to day one.
“For the first time in my career I wasn’t enjoying my job,” Brian told SLTN.
“I wasn’t enjoying going into work.”
While it took Brian a while to process the restaurant’s closing, he eventually made it be known that he was looking for something new. A LinkedIn post to that effect attracted 800 messages from people wanting to have a conversation with him.
“For three weeks I was meeting half a dozen people a day. I was leaving the house at 8 in the morning, coming home at 6 at night. Just talking to people who had offers,” said Brian.
“Some were obviously not what I wanted. Some were interesting. But I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I looked at hotels and becoming an executive chef. I’m still not ruling that out. I’m not really ruling anything out. But I’ve enjoyed working with Buzzworks. I like their attitude. I love the way they’re putting their money back into their business to grow the staff. There’s not many businesses actually spending time and money on teaching.
“I think teaching is massive, internally. You can make a lot of people appreciate their job, appreciate life, appreciate other people, and make them more responsible. It’s massive, what they’re doing.”
With Buzzworks, Brian is working with kitchen teams across the company’s estate, from younger recruits to management, giving them the experience of his more than three decades at the top of the industry. It incorporates everything from small tweaks in the way the chefs are working, to advice on leadership, forward-thinking and planning.
Perhaps most importantly, he’s clearly got his confidence back.
“As a whole, I’m getting back to being Brian again,” he said.
“I’m a strong, determined guy, but I was weak last year. I’m not going to hide it. I wasn’t in a great place at all.
“But I’ve got a lot of good people, a lot of good friends and a lot of good acquaintances that have wanted to talk to me and help me in my journey.
“I’m only 55 so I’ve still got a mortgage to pay and everything else. I’ll be working for a wee while now.
“When it’s your own business and you’re working six days a week, you don’t have a choice. But I don’t want to work 70, 80 hours a week anymore. I don’t think that’s necessary.”
