Before getting carried away with cooking, Russian Alexander Blank and Italian Giulio D'Erme managed to work as managers in large international companies. Thoughts about creating a culinary studio appeared when they were choosing a place to relax with their friends. The attempt was successful: the service was in great demand. Then the friends sold the company and opened a bigger school. There are no long courses at Culinaryon: the focus is on master classes that can entertain a company of clerks after work. Having invested money from the sale of houses in the studio, the partners did not fail: after six months they had to rent additional space. Last year, the company's turnover reached 160 million rubles. Entrepreneurs say their school holds 60% of the cooking course market and is the largest in Europe. Now they are planning to open a studio in Singapore, London and New York. The Village found out how they did it.

From office to kitchen

Alexander Blank: We met Giulio 15 years ago when he was the Marketing Director of Indesit Company in Spain. I was engaged in management consulting, our company advised them.

Giulio D'Erme: After that, we began to work together: Alexander came to Indesit as a sales director. So we worked for four years. In general, each of us has extensive experience in leadership positions. Alexander specialized in finance (Value Partners, UBS, Finaport), and I specialized in marketing (Philip Morris, Nike, Rosinter Restaurants, Triumph International).

Alexander: The idea to open a culinary school came to us in 2006. It was born from the fact that we were looking for a place where you can have fun with friends. But our climate does not allow all year round walk in the park and spend time outdoors. Therefore, rest is somehow connected with food. But we didn't want to just sit in a restaurant. The culinary school seemed to us just the same format of leisure. In addition, among our friends there were many chefs. Not only from Russia, but from Australia, USA, Italy and France.

Julio: So, in 2006, in parallel with the main work, we launched the Italian culinary school Accademia del Gusto. It was a small room measuring 150 square meters, in which invited chefs held master classes. The business gradually began to grow: at first there were 70 events a year, then 250. But still it was not what we would like: we dreamed of a big studio that would not be limited to one kitchen. And in 2012 we went out of business to start a new one.

Giulio D'Erme

Alexander: But Accademia del Gusto became a good school for us. In the beginning, we even bought the ingredients ourselves. I remember well how after work we went to the Metro for groceries. It was late and the supermarket was empty. Giulio and I shared a shopping list and agreed to meet in half an hour at the fruit and vegetable section. There was one last ingredient left to buy. In the list, it was written in Italian - porro. Neither I nor Giulio knew what it was. I had an old HTC, through which I tried to go online and find out the translation of this word. But the Internet did not catch, no matter how hard I tried. I ended up calling the chef around 1:00 a.m. and found out it was a leek. But a new problem arose: we knew what it looked like in soup, but we didn’t quite imagine it uncooked. Then we went to look for this mysterious greenery in the vegetable department. With grief in half, we managed to find a seller who brought us leeks.

The adventure didn't end there. Happened at the checkout the technical error so you can only pay in cash. We turned out all our pockets, but there were still 800 rubles missing. Then Giulio remembered that he had a small amount in his passport "just in case." And when we arrived from the Metro, it turned out that the elevator in the building of the culinary studio did not work and the whole mountain of food had to be carried on foot to the 4th floor. On the flights, we periodically stopped to rest, and looked at each other and said: "It's good to be an entrepreneur, right?"

New project

Julio: Accademia del Gusto allowed us to test the market. We realized that there is a demand for culinary schools, and it is rather big. So, in November 2012, we launched the Culinaryon culinary studio in the Novinsky Passage business center. It took us about 1–1.3 million dollars to open it. To collect this amount, both me and Alexander had to sell their houses. Six months later, we expanded, rented additional space. Thus, the total investment amounted to about 2.5 million dollars, now we have 5 halls for master classes and 1 conference hall, with a total area of ​​850 square meters.

Prior to opening, we made many calls to potential clients. Our main goal was to attract as many companies as possible who would order a corporate master class from us. In addition to our old contacts, we tried to meet new people. LinkedIn is a great help here. In this social network it is immediately clear who general manager companies, and who is HR. As a result, we opened in November, and in 40 days we held 40 events.

Putting together a team was easy. Now we have 50 people on our staff, four of them are chefs and eight sous chefs. Giuseppe D'Angelo became the brand chef, we have been working with him for 7 years. Master classes are regularly held by invited chefs - there are about 50 of them - from different restaurants. We invite many foreigners who teach what they specialize in. Sometimes you come across such clients who want to cook only with a chef from a certain restaurant. In that case, we go and get to know him. But there are fewer of them, we know many. Chiefs refuse very rarely. But really, this format is not suitable for everyone: in order to conduct a master class, you need not only to be able to cook, but also to love people. And some chefs are misanthropes.

For clerks and billionaires

Alexander: In the new culinary studio, we have implemented a completely different concept. We wanted to convey to the visitors that at the master class you can not only cook delicious food but also have fun. We expanded the menu to eight cuisines (Japanese, Spanish, Thai, French and others), and did not limit ourselves to only Italian.

All master classes of our studio are divided into two areas - private events and open ones. For the latter, you can sign up for a group of up to 20 people. The ticket price ranges from 2,900 to 4,900 rubles. Each lesson is dedicated to a specific topic. For example, a master class on cooking pasta, meat or fish dishes. On average, about 30 open master classes are held per month.

The scenario of the corporate master class depends on the client. Our customer-service-manager finds out which format is more suitable, the number of participants, taste preferences - everything that is needed for preparation.

Julio: The event usually lasts three to five hours. There is no limit on the number of people for this workshop. The largest once had 200 people, and the smallest was visited by only one. It was the director of the bank, who came for a month every week to learn how to cook some dishes with the chef.

Alexander: The whole room of our kitchen can be transformed by separating the zones with soundproof partitions. So, somehow in one part there was a bachelorette party, which ended with songs with Verka Serdyuchka, in parallel, an open master class of Spanish cuisine was going on next door. In another hall, an event was held for the top managers of the Shell concern, and in the next part, friends of a well-known entrepreneur from the Forbes list were preparing dishes for a culinary evening in the back to USSR style. I also remember the master class that NASA astronaut Terry Wurts came to us two weeks before leaving for space. It was a private party where his friends were. During the evening, he showed videos he had recorded in zero gravity.

Each master class has a chef, sous chef, bartender, event manager, photographer and two cleaners. Unlike professional culinary schools, our focus is not on the chef, but on the client. We are not like a university where there is a professor and students who diligently write down valuable knowledge from the teacher in a notebook. the main objective- have a good time, unite and cook delicious meals. Each participant is given an iPad containing step by step recipe with photos and explanations. In addition, if one of the guests did not understand or was not sufficiently involved in the process, then the staff takes care to interest the guest as much as possible.

Julio: As a rule, three or four dishes are prepared at one event. Before proceeding to the kitchen business, at the request of the client, we arrange a buffet table. Many come to us hungry, after work, and you have to wait at least an hour for the first dish. As soon as something is ready, portions are immediately served and eaten. Sometimes guests make common portions and individual ones, then there is an opportunity to compare who did better.

Alexander: If you look at the restaurant market as a whole, then in Moscow 30% is occupied by beer restaurants and Russian cuisine. Master classes of Russian cuisine are not very popular with us. “I already know how to cook dumplings, and my mother makes the best borscht” - apparently, many people think so. Therefore, the absolute bestseller, which occupies half of the master classes, is Italian cuisine.

In open master classes, all dishes related to meat are in the lead. Vegetarians are in the minority. Last year, for example, only 50 people expressed a desire to cook "green" dishes.

Most often, women come to master classes: 75% of them. Men - 25%. The average age of participants is from 25 to 35 years.

Julio: Ingredients for master classes are brought to us by suppliers. In the studio, we do not store anything in large refrigerators, the products are delivered in the morning for an evening or afternoon event.

We have many suppliers, it all depends on the category of products. For example, we buy Italian delicacies from Dolce&Salato, vegetables and herbs from Belaya Dacha, fish is supplied by La Marée. We used to buy Australian meat, but after the sanctions we switched to Russian brand Miratorg. Before the embargo, they managed to buy 2 tons of different cheeses, and there are still purchases from last year.

For wine, we work with different companies, with the same Simple. And starting this year, we even produce our own wine, which is made for us by order at the Pierazzuoli winery in Tuscany.

Alexandre Blanc and Giulio D'Erme

The biggest

Alexander: Last year, culinary master classes in Moscow were attended by about 55,000 people, of which 25,000 came to us. We are the largest culinary studio not only in Moscow, but throughout Europe. Our turnover last year reached 160 million rubles. At the beginning of this year, everyone panicked: the euro - 100 rubles, what to do? But the fears were not justified, and we managed to grow by 41% in the first half of the year. In April, for example, we held 180 events. In the summer, of course, we expect a lull. In Moscow, as soon as the greenery appears and the snow melts, this is the reason why you should never be indoors. Urgently in the fresh air to enjoy these two weeks of summer. But here we offer an alternative - a barbecue master class, for example.

There are about eight more studios on the Moscow market that hold large culinary master classes. But each of them has chosen a different format of clients they are reaching out to. According to our own assessment, we occupy 60% of the market, the closest competitor is the school of Yulia Vysotskaya with 23%. Their clients are readers of the culinary portal edimdoma.ru. They are focused on learning how to cook. Basically, all schools practice an academic approach. We want to instill a passion for cooking so that after our visitors come to Culinaryon, they would want to cook at home with their family.

Julio: In September, we will open culinary studios in Singapore, and a little later - in New York and London. Plus, we will expand in Moscow in parallel.

We want to open in those places that are the center for each region. If you look at the United States, then everyone looks back at New York: if the concept went there, then they want to use it in other places. And Singapore is the gateway to all the countries of Southeast Asia. In addition, it is easier to open there, there is a large concentration of corporate clients, and everyone speaks English.

But we do not claim that we will open strictly according to our plan. For example, we met an entrepreneur from Houston. And he wants to buy our franchise so he can open it in his city. He says his city is second only to New York in terms of head office concentration. large companies. And it's much cheaper to open there. And he is indeed right. That is, if we meet people who have the same passion for cooking, we can easily change our plans.

If a child offers to help, be patient and try to accept this “help” with joy, even if sugar gets into the soup and oil lazily washes the shores of your kitchen.

And in order to minimize grocery costs, contact the professionals by giving your child to. There, your child will not only learn how to cook their favorite dishes, but also learn about safety rules in the kitchen and, perhaps, discover a real talent in themselves.

On a note! Laid out information at the time of writing.

Moscow

"Let the kids in the kitchen!" - This is the name of the children's course in the culinary studio of Yulia Vysotskaya.

Here, in the realm of taste, young gourmets comprehend the secrets of culinary skills, and parents proudly look at future assistants. Actually, the culinary holiday itself begins when chef's hats appear on the heads of future chefs. And then the guys will have a fascinating story and no less exciting action, where everyone performs the main part.

The young creator is given a separate workplace, and at the end of the classes, the cooks are issued a certificate.

NOTE TO PARENTS: The course includes 4 to 10 lessons and is designed for children from 6 to 12 years old. The cost is calculated for one child and one adult.

For parents who also want to get a portion of culinary inspiration, and children eager to fight, the studio provides family master classes "Cooking with Children". Here, each lesson is devoted to a separate topic, whether it be ruddy pies or the favorite delicacy of cartoon characters (ratatouille). It is convenient that the classes are designed for the whole family. You can take your mom, dad, grandparents with you for culinary exploits. After all, learning together is much more fun!

NOTE TO PARENTS: One ticket is purchased per family. The price is for a family contract.

Theater of taste

It is definitely worth visiting the theater of taste. After all, this is the first and only culinary theater in the capital - a creative tandem of culinary and theatrical art. There are no spectators in this theater, because having crossed the threshold, you automatically become its actor - a participant in the culinary action.

"Delicious School" is one of the most popular directions of the theater, where children learn culinary wisdom. Classes are usually held within the framework of the thematic week. For example, weeks of homemade bread or mind-blowing Italian desserts. In just a couple of hours, young chefs will be able to master the secret of cooking one of the dishes, whether it's real Italian pizza, homemade ice cream or French truffle.

In addition to the intricacies of preparing culinary masterpieces, young cooks will also learn about the culinary traditions of different countries.

NOTE TO PARENTS: a delicious school opens its doors to students from 4 years old. In order to get into the class, you must send an electronic application. The ticket can be redeemed at the box office of the theatrical "Workshop".

Kids Club - Ribambell

At the Ribambell Café, your child will learn the secrets of cooking their favorite dishes, as well as what foods will help them grow up strong and healthy.

All classes are held in the form of a game. In such a culinary class, study becomes an unusual game, entertainment. As a result, a happy child, and you will have a real helper in household chores.

NOTE TO PARENTS: Participants are between 3 and 12 years old. The duration of one master class is 40–50 minutes.

Saint Petersburg

Lavrushka, culinary school

Here, delicious and simple recipes are chosen for classes. At the same time, inspiration and creative impulses of students are only welcome! Your child will not only learn how to roll out the dough, sculpt ideally shaped dumplings and dumplings, but also learn a lot about the national dishes of different countries and interesting facts associated with them.

NOTE TO PARENTS: the age of young cooks is from 5 years. The duration of the lesson is 1.5 hours.

Petersburg restaurant school

The studio of culinary skills "Golden Spoon" operates at the St. Petersburg restaurant school. Surprisingly, in this atmosphere of creativity, even a slight interest in cooking is ready to grow into something more. After all, the "Golden Spoon" is prestige.

Real professionals who work as chefs in the best restaurants in the city teach here. And school students regularly take part in the "Golden Kulin" - a competition in culinary arts. By the way, quite successfully: little chefs with enviable constancy accept awards from the hands of the governor himself.

In the "Golden Spoon" your child will be able to learn a lot of culinary secrets: master the technique of drawing with colored chocolate, elegant marzipan modeling and masterful work with dough.

NOTE TO PARENTS: Classes are for children from 3 to 15 years old. Training can take place in a group or individually.

"Beautifully served", culinary school

Here the lessons are held exclusively in the form of master classes. The best chefs of the city tell and show how to make a culinary masterpiece out of ordinary products, who, by the way, have an amazing gift for storytelling and are able to interest even the smallest participants in the action. At the end of the master class, your favorite dish will be tasted.

NOTE TO PARENTS: One lesson lasts from 1.5 to 3 hours. Group lessons can be from 4 to 6 people.

Yekaterinburg

"Kulina-yummy", children's culinary school

The school itself is territorially located in the technical school "Culinar", where on Saturdays and Sundays, future chefs comprehend all the wisdom of culinary arts.

The topics of the classes, as usual, are chosen at will. It can be an exquisite cutting of vegetables, a sandwich show, a study of the tea ceremony, or modeling from salt dough.

In addition, the school hosts themed classes where children learn a lot of interesting things about Russian, Italian, French, Japanese and Oriental cuisine.

NOTE TO PARENTS: the admission of children to school is carried out in 4 subgroups - 7–10 years old, 10–13 years old, 13–15 and 15–18 years old.

International Culinary School at USUE-SINH

Ural the University of Economics opens doors not only for students, but also for young chefs. It is here that the International Culinary School opens its arms to gourmets.

A 10-day cooking class will teach your child how to cook, knead dough, cook soups and, of course, how to master sandwiches. However, it is likely that the child will also learn how to make candy wrappers and chocolate out of thin air.

Everything is possible in this school, because the topic of one of the classes is chosen by the children themselves. Actually, the topics of weekly classes are not a secret and are available on the school website.

NOTE TO PARENTS: School enrollment is weekly. The duration of one lesson is about 3 hours, during which your young child will learn how to cook their favorite snacks, delicious breakfasts and soulful dinners. With such zeal, you can safely take a week off to take a break from the kitchen.

"Povarenok", culinary arts studio

In the family center "Darina" culinary skills are honed every Sunday. In one lesson, children have time to learn the secrets of cooking two dishes and the basics of serving.

The culinary course itself includes 10 lessons, during which the intricacies of preparing everyday and festive dishes are studied, up to airy desserts. Children who already know how to cook can take the Chef and Confectioner courses.

NOTE TO PARENTS: Children from 6 years of age are engaged in the studio "Povarenok". At the same time, groups are divided by age: 6–8 years old, 8–10 years old and older. The duration of the lessons is 1 hour 20 minutes.

Krasnoyarsk

"Entourage", culinary studio

Cottage cheese mousse with candied fruits, fragrant apple pie or lush cheesecakes… How do you like this menu? By the way, this is only a small part of what children who have completed the course “I will cook!” Can cook! in the culinary studio "Entourage".

In addition to cooking gourmet dishes, chef Alexander Laevsky will teach children important culinary tricks: how to keep your fingers away from a knife, how to use kitchen utensils, and where to find inspiration to boldly juggle ingredients, creating something new. By the way, the author of the dish can try another masterpiece right there, on the spot, sitting at a perfectly served table.

NOTE TO PARENTS: cooking classes in the studio are held once a week. Pre-registration is required for all classes.

Krasnodar

This school also has children's class, where a lot of gastronomic journeys await little culinary specialists. It can be anything: an Italian lunch of lasagna and tiramisu, or a gritty cowboy breakfast with burgers and grilled corn… One thing is constant: the perfection of taste and the general fun with which young visionaries cook, improvise and taste their masterpieces.

NOTE TO PARENTS: The current class schedule can be found on the Mandarin Gourmet website. Group registration is required.

Kazan

"Ratatouille", culinary studio

On Saturdays, a hooligan mood hovers in the studio. Still, the kids give heat! Either they leave with the whole team in search of John Silver's pirate recipe, or they rush to Italy, wanting to learn the secret of making ravioli or pizza. You understand, on Saturdays there are continuous adventures.

By the way, for true connoisseurs of the Italian language, there is an opportunity to combine business with pleasure - to learn the language right during the culinary battles. Why not an option?

NOTE TO PARENTS: cooking classes are held every Saturday, starting at 12.00. For children 4–9 years old, the presence of one of the parents is mandatory. Older children can safely cook alone.

Ufa

School of young culinary

Well, I must say that for parents this school of young culinary specialists is a real find. Mainly because classes here are completely free and take place every Sunday at the Moroshka restaurant.

It is also convenient that such a trip to the restaurant will be interesting for both children and their parents, who can calmly chat while the children learn how to cook another picnic sandwich.

Little craftsmen under the guidance of the Chef enthusiastically chop and knead, boil and bake, make specialties from different cuisines of the world and treat their parents to them. And then, together with animators and fairy-tale characters, they go on an adventure! This Sunday, they'll learn how to make Potato Cake for the Cheshire Cat's Crazy Tea Party.

NOTE TO PARENTS: the beginning of culinary battles - every Sunday at 14.00.

Chelyabinsk

School of a young restaurateur

This culinary project took place with the support of the national restaurant award "Golden Fork" and high school service of the Russian-British Institute.

The curriculum at the School of Young Restaurateurs is completely unusual: here the future generation of restaurateurs will learn not only about the secrets and intricacies of cooking their favorite dishes, but also learn impeccable service and etiquette. In total, the culinary course includes 5 practical classes.

NOTE TO PARENTS: the school recruits children in 3 groups of 10 people. Groups of different ages - 10–12 and 13–15 years old. At the end of the training, the chefs will receive a surprise - a certificate, as well as a chef's hat and an apron as a gift.

Novosibirsk

"Culinary Club", studio of master classes

According to one of the parents, after the evening at the Culinary Club, her son spoiled his family for three days Italian pizza. The result, as they say, on the face. Actually, the club itself sees its mission in this: to easily and unobtrusively involve children in the process of cooking.

Now the club has programs for children aged 6-10, where young talents make dumplings or even collect pizza in pieces. For older children (10-14 years old), the culinary school operates in summer period. At the end, your child will be able to cook even those dishes that require considerable courage even from experienced chefs.

NOTE TO PARENTS: for children's workshops, the duration of the lesson is no more than an hour. For children from 6 to 10 years old, the presence of an adult is required.

Everything is about the same. AND keyword, is "about".

Approximately, because the above "bought-spent-got" scheme is a little wider and requires some preparation.

But the field for creativity is so wide that you can do this))))

My chef friends to the question: "If you opened your own studio, where would you start?" practically in a voice they answered: "We would look for a suitable premises, we would buy the necessary equipment." Yes, indeed, we need both space and equipment. And some people start there. But is it? Let's take a step back.

Further dialogue will go in the mode of questions that I will ask you and answers that you will give to yourself, fixing the answers on paper if possible. These rough sketches will allow you to create a studio on your own.

I propose to start by answering a very simple question: "Why do I need a culinary studio?" Any of the following will work:

• i want to earn money
• I want to solve a social problem and teach culinary arts to children
• I want to be the owner of my own cooking school (that's cool!)
• I am interested in investing in highly profitable projects
• I'm bored and want to do something

The main thing is that when answering the question, you are honest with yourself. For a lot will depend on the answer to this question - the general concept, the chosen format, the location of the studio, monetary and non-monetary costs.

The next step on the way to my own studio, I would call the formation general concept project. And there are at least two questions here:

1 How do I see my studio?

2 How will my studio be different from all previously created ones?

The answer to the first question will give you a "draft draft" of the image of the studio - descriptions such as "provence-style, in light colors with curtains and flowers on the window. It has a lot of light, it is small, cozy, chamber ..." are quite suitable. You immediately imagine both the size and decoration and mentally arrange the guests and staff around the studio. This is very helpful - visualize!

The second question is more about the business component of the project - if there are already similar establishments in your city, then in order to attract customers to your studio, you will have to fight - alas, people who are passionately interested in cooking and able to pay money for their hobby are limited. And in order for them to come to you, you need to offer something special.

In a free version of the theory competitive advantage Michael Porter can be represented as follows: in order to succeed, you need to offer customers something new. Or similar, but the cost of services should be lower than that of competitors.

Everything. There is no third. How will you be better? Are you the first to open such a project in your city? - Fine! You can offer your events at any price! And your competitors will be ... studios for teaching drawing and modeling, burning and knitting - yes, people are looking for themselves. And not just in the kitchen.

Let's move on to next level detailing the project, the importance of which is difficult to overestimate. This is the choice of format that you offer to visitors.

The word "format" here refers to the method of organizing events in the studio. Try not to invent anything at first, but visit several different master classes in different studios. Even if for this you have to go to a neighboring (or not so) city.

In order to make it a little clearer what to look at, I will give examples of possible formats:

• individual master classes - everything is simple - 1-3 participants, one chef, a small studio, intimate, cozy. I don’t know examples of such a format, but I admit that this is possible provided that the financial component is not the dominant one when creating a project;
• demonstration master classes - the number of participants is almost unlimited, one chef who shows step by step how a particular dish is prepared. This format was proposed by the studio "Gastronom" (Moscow)
• master classes, where each visitor has a fully equipped workplace, the event is led by one chef, each participant has step-by-step recommendations. As a result - how many participants, so many different (but similar) dishes - each participant has his own taste impressions and despite the recommendations, the words "to taste" work wonders. The most striking example is the studio of Yulia Vysotskaya (Moscow)
• combined master classes, in which the chef invites participants to perform certain steps, but always does the final assembly of the dish himself, because it is necessary to show the reference taste and serving elements. An example is the studio of the "Culinary Club" (Novosibirsk)

Are other formats possible? Certainly. For example, if you are targeting corporate events, then you need to understand the number of participants, internal organization processes - what and how to do.

Why is the format so important? Because it determines the filling of the studio with equipment, furniture, utensils, communications. That is, if you have a format with a workplace fully equipped for each visitor, then you need a table, a connected hob, a mixer, a blender (maybe), pans, pots of the required volume and quantity ...

By multiplying each of the positions by the number of proposed jobs, you will understand the amount of everything you need.

Having compiled a table and going to the store (or better on the Internet), putting down the prices, you get a figure of the possible first costs.

But buying all this is not a problem - the times of total shortages have long since sunk into oblivion. I'll suggest a pitfall by asking the question: "What electrical power is needed for the studio equipment, provided that all participants turn on their electrical appliances?"

Naturally, we move on to the next point of the plan - the room. It must accommodate all visitors, hangers for outerwear, places to eat... Is that how you imagined it?

What else do we need? Water. Sewerage. Air conditioning (would be nice). Illumination. Availability of communication networks (the list goes on).

Form all the requirements for the premises on a separate sheet and record the results for each of the options examined (to be honest, our checklist for the premises barely fit on three pages, and if we hem the comment sheet, we don’t always fit into four ).

If possible, invite a designer or architect to inspect - they will implement the project on paper, arranging furniture and equipment. And it's good if they see the room with their own eyes. (By the way! If you are going to work with children, it would be good to remind the designer that tables for children should be lower than standard).

Take pictures. All that is possible. Viewing photographs will allow you to capture nuances that may have fallen out of sight during inspection.

And this is all work that precedes physical cash spending. The more carefully it is done, the more words of gratitude you will say to yourself in the future.

How many square meters in the room you like? What is the rental rate? What are the terms of the lease?

Do you have your own premises? Fine! Or maybe it’s better to rent it out and not deal with all these troubles? (this is not a joke, but an element financial analysis- compare the possible income from renting the premises with the possible income from the work of the studio).

What's next? You can make a business plan. Calculate income (average cost of a workshop times the number of workshops per month times the average number of participants) and expenses (rent, groceries, wage personnel, taxes and other payments). Subtract one from the other. Look at the result. Make a plan for the coming year. Look at the payback of the project. Make a decision about its implementation.

* Calculations use average data for Russia

Business in the area educational services is becoming more and more popular: early development schools for children, language courses, drawing schools for children and adults, etc. The number of different training centers, courses and schools is increasing every year, and with increasing competition in each individual segment, more and more new and their new types. These include, for example, culinary schools.

This is a relatively new phenomenon. With the growth of people's well-being, their interest in high-quality nutrition increases. They visit restaurants, get acquainted with cuisines from around the world, and then want to learn how to cook them at home and master all the tricks of the culinary arts. In this case, they come to the aid of culinary schools. Often they are created on the basis of an already existing cafe or restaurant. Thus, the school owners save on renting space and the necessary equipment for conducting classes. However, a school can also be created from scratch. The costs in this case will, of course, be more, but, on the other hand, opening a culinary school is much easier and cheaper than an institution. Catering. So if you're dreaming of doing restaurant business, but do not have the necessary capital and / or knowledge for this, then a culinary school will be the best option to start.

Literally twenty years ago it was difficult to imagine the existence of special schools where people are taught to cook. Of course on the shelves bookstores presented great amount cookbooks. They are bright and beautiful, with detailed illustrations and descriptions of each stage of cooking a particular dish. In addition to books, there are a large number of television programs and video instructions for cooking any dish - from ordinary to the most exotic. Despite this, people attend cooking classes with great pleasure. Among the advantages of the latter are visibility, the ability to get the help of a specialist and ask questions to an expert (neither books nor programs will help in this), the availability of all the necessary ingredients and products (components for preparing exotic dishes are quite difficult to find on sale). Finally, the courses involve active communication, which is especially important for their main target audience - women housewives. In addition to women, culinary courses are also enjoyed by children of both preschool and school age.

So, what does it take to open your own culinary school. First of all, you will need a room. In the absence of your own cafe or restaurant, there are two options for solving the problem with the area - rent a suitable room and equip it yourself, or agree with the owner of an already functioning cafe to hold classes in his kitchen on certain days. Classes are usually held in the evening weekdays and on weekends. The option of renting a cafe is less expensive, because if you rent a separate room, then you will have to bring the necessary communications, make repairs, and install special equipment. Accordingly, the costs will be higher. On the other hand, culinary school classes usually take place at least two or three times a week. The duration of one lesson is, on average, 3-4 hours, and the number of people in the group should not be more than ten people (and best of all - 5-7). Only in this way the leader will be able to pay attention to all the “students”. At the same time, classes can be held in two shifts - morning / afternoon and evening. Thus, it will be quite difficult to find a cafe whose management will agree to rent out their kitchen so often and for such a long time.

The room where your culinary school classes will be held should be located closer to the city center or at least within reach of it. After all, many of your students will come to classes by public transport. If you open courses in a large city, then you can consider renting a room in a densely populated residential area. In addition to the location, the second criterion for choosing an area is the availability of all necessary communications. With this, most likely, there will be no problems. However, repairs still need to be done. You can get by with a more budget option or order a design project from specialists. The interior design of your “classroom” can be either neutral or themed (if your school specializes in a certain cuisine of the world). For example, now people are most interested in Italian or French cuisine, respectively, the interior of your room can be made in the Provence style. Although it is not necessary to spend money on designers. You can tile the floors and part of the walls (1-1.5 meters from the floor) with ceramic tiles in order to make it easier to wash them after class. And separate decorative elements (chopping boards with decor, pots, dishes, bunches of herbs, etc.) will set the necessary “mood” for the entire interior.

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Furniture (desktops, chairs, racks, shelves for food storage), equipment (refrigerators, stoves, hoods, splits), utensils, cutlery, crockery, etc. can be purchased at conventional stores. For convenience of work and economy of the place the stove can be "mounted" on one side of the table. Thus, a large desktop, on which food is cut, dough is rolled out and the necessary ingredients are mixed, will have three work surfaces, and on the fourth side (from the side of the teacher) a stove with an extractor hood is installed. Of course, such furniture will have to be made to order. When planning a room, look at photos of the interiors of other culinary schools. Consider all the nuances. For example, if you plan to conduct classes for both children and adults, then you should not make the tables lower (then it will be inconvenient for adult students to work at them), but you will need to purchase high enough chairs so that the children are comfortable. Children usually work at the table while sitting, and adults, as a rule, standing (not counting theoretical classes). The table should be strong enough and have a smooth, easy-to-clean surface. Metal tables meet all these requirements. However, they may not "fit" into the interior of your kitchen. In this case, tables made of natural wood with a polished surface are suitable, but they will cost much more. Buy necessary equipment worth it when you already find chefs for classes. Specialists will tell you exactly what they need and where to buy it.

But finding good teachers is perhaps the most difficult task. On the one hand, these people must be masters in their field, know all the nuances of cooking various dishes, have an idea about the cuisine of different countries of the world, and be talented chefs with extensive experience. On the other hand, they must be able to communicate with people (and not only with adults, but also with children and adolescents), have charisma, be sociable, courteous and be able to attract the attention of listeners and present any, even the most boring material in an interesting way. Unlike other courses (for example, courses foreign languages) people come to a culinary school not only to learn how to do something well (in our case, to cook), but also to communicate with like-minded people, learn something new for themselves, have fun and interesting to spend their free time. Thus, your teachers must be passionate about their work. Talented chefs who teach classes in such schools not only explain what and how to do, but also tell the history of dishes in the process, acquaint students with the peculiarities of the cuisine in different countries and even in different regions of the same country, they share their experience... A person for whom cooking is just a job will not be able to interest other people and, most likely, even discourage them from all desire to learn something.

Where to find such cooks? In a small town, you don’t really have to choose, so school owners prefer to “grow” such specialists on their own. They hire high school graduates educational institutions- culinary technical schools and colleges, train them, send them to various courses and seminars. This requires considerable investments, time costs and is fraught with risks: a specialist trained by you can at any time leave for another place and you will have to take a new person and start all over again. If you live in a city with a population of over one million people, then in this case there are chances to find a suitable chef in one of the city's cafes or restaurants. But the salaries of your teachers will be significantly higher.

Develop a curriculum with the help of your school's teachers. There are a large number of different culinary programs: national cuisine (Italian, Russian, French, Spanish, Oriental, etc.), vegetarian cuisine, dietary cuisine, dishes for children, decoration of dishes (including with the help of carving - cutting flowers and figurines from fruits and vegetables), etc. A separate training program is for children. Keep in mind that children's groups will be larger, since the cost of education for them should be higher than for adult students. If you increase the number of people in the group, this difference will not affect your profit. In addition to practical exercises, the program should also include a theoretical part (about 30% of the total time). Among the theoretical “subjects” in culinary schools there are the following: festive table decoration, food compatibility, calorie content of foods and dishes, culinary secrets, table etiquette, etc. Although many schools prefer to combine practical and theoretical parts: while students are busy preparing food and cooking dishes, the teacher tells them the theory. You can take existing training programs as a basis, but it is still desirable that your programs be copyrighted. After all, even if there is no culinary school in your city yet, then it is likely that after the opening of your courses, competitors will not keep you waiting. Don't forget to take pictures of activities at your school (with the permission of the students). These photographs, subsequently placed on your website or in booklets, may become the best advertisement and attract new listeners. In addition, you can purchase or rent a professional video camera and film your classes. Then they can be mounted and posted in an abbreviated form (without unnecessary details, secrets and details) on the YouTube channel. It may not help you find new clients, but it will certainly increase the visibility of your school. Some schools even sell their video lessons, but this option is hardly suitable for a young company. First you have to "make" a name for yourself and gain a good reputation. Besides general program, your school may also have training and development classes professional specialists working in cafes and restaurants. Additional source income of culinary courses is the organization of cooking and delivery of food to corporative clients(catering).

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Before opening culinary courses, it is necessary to complete all the documents and, most importantly, obtain permission to carry out teaching activities (since the word “school” or “courses” will appear in the name of your center).

The cost of organizing your own culinary school will be from 70 to 300 thousand rubles (depending on the format - courses at a restaurant or "autonomous"). True, this amount does not include advertising costs, but you can’t do without them. The main target audience of such courses are women and children. However, in Lately culinary school attends all more men. Therefore, take this into account when developing a training program and compiling advertisements. You can advertise the services of your school through advertisements in local newspapers and magazines, using leaflets distributed in mailboxes, outdoor advertising(the most expensive way), advertising on the radio and on the Internet. Even if your school is located far from the city center, you should not be limited to one area. Cooking courses are still a relatively new phenomenon in our country. Many people prefer to learn from their own mistakes from cookbooks and recipes online. Therefore, in order to pay off your expenses for organizing a culinary school as soon as possible, try to cover the entire city with your advertising. Create a website for your school thematic groups v in social networks, advertise on local sites and forums (especially those where your target audience is women with children, such as forums for moms). The simplest business card site can be made in a web studio for 3-5 thousand rubles or on your own. True, you still have to spend money on promoting your site, but if the competition in your region for the query "culinary school" is low, then the cost of site promotion will be lower.

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Decide in advance on the prices for schooling. The cost depends on various factors: city, location, course, etc. The minimum price for one lesson for entry level in a large city is from one thousand rubles. Thematic (for example, national cuisine) and professional education costs more - from three thousand rubles. Many schools offer their clients to purchase a subscription to attend several classes at once. When you purchase a subscription, the cost of each individual lesson is reduced. Cooking classes with children will cost less - about two to three thousand rubles a month. For master classes with invited chefs, prices will, of course, be higher. When determining the cost of training, take into account several factors at once: your expenses (rent, salaries for teachers, purchase and delivery of products, etc.), your profit and the average cost of similar services in your area (or in the nearest city with the same population ).

As in the case of other general education courses, the demand for culinary school services directly depends on the season. It is obvious that there will be fewer people in the classroom in the summer, because many of them leave the city on vacation. Thus, the "culinary" season falls on the period from autumn to spring (not counting the New Year holidays). If your school is located in a resort town, then the situation with the demand for its services will be the opposite. Abroad, many hotels and guest houses open such schools for the entertainment of vacationers. They offer an abbreviated training program dedicated to the preparation of national cuisine. In our country, such schools on the coast have not yet become widespread, which is explained, among other things, by the small number of foreigners who come to rest in Russia.

There are culinary schools (and part-time specialized travel agencies), which not only conduct classes themselves, but also offer their clients the so-called "culinary tours" for 7-10 days. They negotiate with the same schools abroad (mainly in Italy, Greece and France) and act as a travel agency that sends clients on vacation and study abroad. In this case, the so-called "introductory" training program is used. For vacationers, gastronomic excursions, tastings of different varieties of wines, cheeses, master classes on the use of olive oils, various spices, etc. are arranged.

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If you absolutely decided to open something of your own in the gastronomic field, be prepared for a number of problems.

The first is the similarity with others and the absence of one's own distinguishing feature. If you have even the slightest flaws in terms of the uniqueness of the project, drop this business.

How it was for us: in 2012, my business partner Giulio D'erme and I decided to open a culinary studio, the basis of which would be thematic master classes for everyone. The main idea was that in our studio it would be possible not only to learn how to cook, but also to have fun in a good company. Such a new, non-trivial form of leisure. It's not like a restaurant, but you can eat. There were no such studios in Moscow. I think we succeeded in firmly occupying a niche in the market, because we abandoned the academic approach in the idea of ​​culinary master classes.

Remember: if you are thinking about a new project and have not found clone businesses in this area as a result of monitoring the market, this is the first step towards success.

Sell ​​a house - build a business

The second problem is the modest budget. This is the problem with many projects. Even with very original idea hardly anything can be done without funds. By the way, my business partner and I had to sell our own houses to meet the startup expenses. Of course, we had a place to live, but the risk of losing property was still there.

Therefore, my advice is: try to build a business with partners, especially if you alone do not have enough resources.

Make a detailed spending plan - how much will it take to rent, how much to repair and form style and for advertising. Write down each ruble, as well as possible savings options.

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We did the interior design of the studio ourselves, it turned out cheaper and faster. Look at the websites of expensive design studios, read on the Internet about current trends, bypass the addresses of all competitors, and then come up with something of your own.

We saved over $50,000 on interior design. For the overall budget - a solid increase. And the feeling of own contribution to your business is completely different. In addition to money, you need to invest effort, all of yourself.

How to save on advertising? designate target audience, look for opinion leaders, try to prove to them what you really stand for. Demonstrate all the advantages of the project, and if it is really interesting to the public, then they will find out about it. So, for six months we organized master classes for opinion leaders, gastronomic critics and journalists for free. As a result, the spending was not as big as if we began to advertise ourselves in some standard way. Of course, we calculated the possible costs in advance.

For the first year, the company's income amounted to 90 million rubles. In 2014, we earned 165 million rubles. In the crisis year of 2015, we earned more than planned, and the turnover grew to 215 million rubles. In addition, in 2015 we launched international level by opening a second studio in Singapore. And in 2016 we plan to earn 300 million rubles.