WHILE Scotland’s restaurant scene is booming the experience of a man who has developed a very successful eating place suggests the rise of social media and review sites has been a mixed blessing for the sector.

Name:

Paul Wedgwood.

Age:

42.

What is your business called?

Wedgwood the Restaurant.

Where is it based?

Edinburgh.

What does it produce, what services does it offer?

We are a small restaurant focusing on local produce. When we opened we wanted to create the “perfect night out”, comfortable and unobtrusive service and surroundings. Our guests are invited to relax for the evening not just an hour or two, and I think we’ve achieved that.

We are open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

To whom does it sell?

We’re lucky to be situated on the Royal Mile and cater for a large number of visitors to the city, but we receive a lot of repeat custom from Edinburgh locals as well. We have great relationships with local hotels and tour operators which often send their guests to us.

What is its turnover?

In six figures.

How many employees?

20.

When was it formed?

We opened our doors in August 2007.

Why did you take the plunge?

I decided I wanted to be in the hospitality industry at a young age. I took a lot of inspiration from my dad; he cooked a lot when I was younger and never followed a recipe. And then when I was pot washing at the very beginning of my career I was snuck a half pint at Christmas and I was sold on a life in the kitchen. Opening your own place and being your own boss is a natural progression of the industry.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

I was born in Warrington then spent my early years in Paisley before returning to England. I went on to work in all sorts of environments. These included theme parks, pubs, busy bistros and high end restaurants. I trained at a hospitality college and my passion was to be in the kitchen. My first break was getting a placement at the Miller Howe, a really prestigious hotel in the English Lake District under Chef John Tovey. After that I went on to open the Georgian House bar in Kendal. I came across the site where we opened Wedgwood when I was visiting my parents, who live in Edinburgh. It seemed ideal for what we wanted to do.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

We had some capital to start but mum and dad put their house deeds in the bank to enable us to have a £50,000 overdraft.

What was your biggest break?

We were awarded the best newcomer in the UK from the Hardens Guide in 2010; that was a fantastic moment in the spotlight and really helped seal our status in Edinburgh and the Scottish dining scene.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

The camaraderie. We’ve tried to create a nurturing environment for all our staff and the team really is like a family. Everyone has a voice and is encouraged to use it, and every member of staff is important as each other. We all share our ideas to push the business on to bigger and better things.

What do you least enjoy?

Recruiting! We are really suffering a chef shortage here in the UK and it’s so difficult to find chefs with passion and the desire to succeed. Having said that we are very lucky to have minimal staff turnover. We are very fortunate that, in many cases, chefs who have left to gain more experience in other places, have returned to Wedgwood to continue their careers.

What is your biggest bugbear?

Those guests who use social media/review sites as a negative rather than a positive. We have been threatened by some guests in the past that unless they get something free they will leave a negative response – thankfully these people are very few and far between. When we opened the restaurant in 2007 review sites like TripAdvisor were at the height of their dominance and it was a useful tool. The positive feedback we received really helped bolster us in the early days, and it was a great platform to get the name out. Now though we’re lucky enough that we have a loyal customer base and we’ve found that word of mouth is far more important.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

To keep ourselves firmly established as a local restaurant and still be here in 20 years! It would be lovely to continue to be recognised by the industry, our peers and of course our customers. Last year we celebrated perhaps one of our biggest achievements to date, being named Restaurant of the Year (outside London) at the Food & Travel Reader Awards. We are constantly looking at possible other ventures.

What are your top five priorities?

Consistency in the restaurant; health [both my own and that of my team]; family; happiness; continued success.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

Reduce VAT for the hospitality industry. It is an uphill struggle with minimal profit margins.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

Keep carrying on – stay true to your original ethos and just keep going!

How do you relax?

I think it’s so important to stay creative and keep experiencing new flavours and new places. I love to travel and whenever possible I will be away experiencing something new. I’m the Head Chef of the annual Barbados Celtic Festival and I love going over to take part in that. You can’t beat cooking in the sunshine!