"You’ve got to love food, drink and looking after people"
Freelance writer Ben Locker interviews the Lemon Tree’s Patrik Minder.
The moment I first arrived at The Lemon Tree restaurant in Colchester, I couldn’t resist the urge to look over my shoulder. I just knew there must be some film
star or rock legend hovering behind me. Why else would the staff be waiting attentively at the door, welcoming me in like an old friend?
But there wasn’t a celebrity to be seen, and it quickly became apparent that every single customer who arrived after me was given the same VIP treatment.
That’s because there’s no way The Lemon Tree’s owner, Patrik Minder, would ever settle for less. When he joined me in the restaurant’s Roman Cavern – set into Colchester’s ancient town wall – it became clear that excellent food and attentive service form the foundations on which his restaurant is built.
Indeed, when I asked Patrik – in between mouthfuls of an exquisite and delicate seafood terrine – what he felt were the hallmarks of a successful restaurateur, he said simply: "You’ve got to love food, drink and looking after people".
Prestige and Experience
He’s certainly racked up plenty of experience doing just those things, and his culinary pedigree is impeccable. His career began in his native Zurich, where he worked as an apprentice chef and had the good fortune to meet his wife Jo, who was studying catering at Colchester Institute and had come out to Switzerland to train. The two of them moved on to Montreux before returning to England, where Patrik took a job at London’s prestigious Intercontinental Hotel, which overlooks Hyde Park from Park Lane.
From London, they returned briefly to Switzerland and then headed to Munich, where Patrik worked at the famous ‘Aubergine’ restaurant under celebrated Austrian chef Eckart Witzigmann – the first German speaker (and only the third person outside France) ever to be awarded three Michelin stars. At Aubergine, Patrik developed his repertoire of Austrian and Bavarian classical cooking, including such dishes as fleischpflantzerl (meatballs) and milk-fed veal. He also learned at first hand how chef’s reputations were not simply won by excellent cuisine, but by pulling out all the stops on behalf of customers – Aubergine employed a full 18 chefs to look after 45 diners at each sitting.
Patrik and Jo stayed in Munich for two years before heading back to London for a final time. Patrik, now with world-class experience under his belt, took up a position at Pierre Koffman’s ‘Tante Claire’, then on Royal Hospital Road. Meanwhile, Jo landed a job at Harrods, working successfully as a private chef for the ever-exacting Mohammed Al Fayed.
Red Pepper to Lemon Tree
By 1993, the couple moved to north east Essex and Patrik brought his expertise to well-known local restaurant ‘Le Talbooth’ in Dedham before wielding the knives on behalf of ‘Red Pepper’ on Colchester’s St Johns Street. When its owner put Red Pepper up for sale, Patrik and Jo jumped at the chance to buy it and, after flirting with the idea of renaming it ‘Bonito’, the duo threw open the doors to The Lemon Tree in 1997.
Over the ensuing decade, The Lemon Tree has been astonishingly successful – it’s presently enjoying growth of 18%-20% per year, flying in the face of the credit crunch. Patrik and Jo have built up a formidable team, all of whom pride themselves on providing the best possible welcome, food and service. They also source the finest ingredients, buying them locally wherever possible. But, as I talk to Patrik over lunch (his traditional bangers and mash are first rate, by the way), what strikes me most is the fact that he’s always picking up new ideas for his menus – from any source he can.
At root, Patrik is deeply inspired by his grandmother’s traditional Swiss cooking, and some adaptations of her dishes appear regularly at The Lemon Tree – sumptuous chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream soused in pear and chocolate sauce, elegant salad dressings, and a whole range of creations based around bread, apples and milk.
Listening to Customers
To this base, Patrik has melded a whole range of influences picked up during his time as an international-level chef, from his regular visits to other restaurants across Europe and – crucially – in response to his customers’ suggestions.
"It’s important to be tuned in to your customers," he says. "You need to find out what they like, and be flexible enough to develop your menus to appeal to them better. If they ask for something, the answer is always ‘yes’".
"You also need to adapt to changing times – people increasingly want a wider range of lighter meals, and they’re much more allergy conscious. That means you need to offer equally excellent food that’s suitable for people who are sensitive to gluten or other allergens."
Award Winning Cuisine
It’s an approach that has paid off, and The Lemon Tree has been enjoying a period of expansion. Its stylish outdoor terrace has been refurbished and redesigned, its outside catering service is growing exponentially, and it continues to stage an imaginative variety of events, including Jazz evenings, themed meals and historic tours of Colchester. It’s little wonder that the Colchester District Business Awards 2007 named Patrik as Businessman of the Year (he also nabbed the Restaurant of the Year Award from the Colchester Golden Oyster Awards 2008).
As I finish the last mouthful of a very memorable lunch, Patrik sums up the restaurant’s success. "The Lemon Tree offers good value, and we care about our customers. That’s why we’ve come to be the restaurant of choice for Colchester’s business community. It’s a brilliant town for us to be in."
I’ll raise a glass to that!
This is an edited extract of an article that originally featured in Issue 1 of Palladian Impressions, the newsletter of Colchester printing firm Palladian Press. The original feature is available here.