Personal experience: I opened a confectionery studio. How and how to make a culinary studio? How to start a culinary school

This is the story of a cute small business. There are two directors in the Compote studio - two equal partners, Oksana Kim-Flyosk and Zauzamira Abisheva. They hatched the idea independently of each other: one in Nice (Oksana's husband is French), the other in Almaty. When the idea matured, with a difference of several days, they came with their business plans to Askar Baytasov, Managing Director of AB Restaurants (the largest restaurant company in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the group includes more than 20 establishments, including the Del Papa restaurant chain, Bochonok ", Augustin, coffee houses" Coffeemania ", Cafeteria). Mr. Baytasov invited the girls to get acquainted and look at each other, "sniff", as Zauzamira and Oksana themselves say. They sniffed and decided to work on the idea together. So it's also a story of compromise.

Share of luck

Cooking is one of the trends of our time. The creators of the culinary studio say that they felt it intuitively, and then, while developing the idea, they realized that they were in the stream. “It first came up with the idea, and when you go to Google and see that this is a huge trend, everyone is crazy about cooking, you understand that cooking, gathering around the table is fashionable,” Zauzamira recalls. The emergence of an idea does not yet mean its implementation; but here, as the Compote directors repeat, “our idea was lucky”: the trend was noticed not only by them, but also by Askar Baytasov, who became an investor in the new business.

The two business plans were combined, and the creators of the studio do not focus on the fact that something had to be abandoned. On the contrary, they indicate that the best was taken from each business plan. Zauzamira Abisheva laughs: “Oksana paid more attention to the professional side, the technical one, and my emphasis was on the social component: drinking wine, socializing, cooking together. There were funny moments when we calculated each lesson, because the investor demanded from us not only ideas, but also numbers. And when we were counting, Oksana and Askar said: "Why wine, it makes the class more expensive." I said: “No, we need wine. It's a social lubricant. "

They quickly moved from jokes to business: within three or four weeks after Askar Baytasov saw business plans to create a culinary studio, he found a place for it. In the very center of Almaty. “Having seen the premises, at first we thought that it was very, very small, 2 times smaller than we wanted - we counted on a minimum of 80 square meters. Askar did not insist, it was possible to look for something else, but we decided: so be it. And it turned out to be even good. The fact that the studio became a chamber influenced the format. That is, if it were large, the format would be different: we initially assumed that there would be two tables - we cook at one, eat at the other, and rest. But this divides people: someone can move away, sit on the sidelines, and so on. And here we have one center where all people sit - it unites, ”says Oksana.

It took six months to open a culinary studio and about eighty thousand dollars (at an estimated sixty). In addition, this amount does not include the internal resources of AB Restaurants used to create Compote: for example, the help of lawyers who know all the requirements of the authorities regulating this market, advice from chefs who know the technical part very well - from which refrigerators and dishes to buy before where to put the oven. “Some processes took place automatically, we, in fact, did not even take part in them, and if it were not for the investor and the well-established system of work in AB Restaurants, it would have been much more difficult for us,” the directors of the company admit.

The Compote culinary studio opened in September last year. “It was possible to drag out for another couple of months - this is always the case with construction. But we set a strict framework for ourselves: we invited the famous Russian chef Alexei Zimin to the opening. And he clearly named the date when he could come. By the way, we remember him with gratitude - it is clear that he is a star, he has a huge fee. Zimin and I arrived at the studio the evening before the opening. And everything seems to be in order with us, but still smells of paint a little, the clock is on the windowsill - it hasn’t been hung; it is not clear where which frying pan is - now we know it by heart, with closed eyes, and then there was no system yet. In the back room - a bunch of food for tomorrow's opening: meat, vegetables, spices. Oksana and I are running, we don't know what to grab onto, and at some point I go into the back room, I see Zimin: calmly chooses food for himself, without saying a word, perfectly understanding how we feel before the opening, "- Zauzamira Abisheva shares emotional memories and adds that the first three months of the studio were very stressful.

Food as entertainment

The culinary studio Compote focuses on those who are interested in food as a topic, and not as a physiological need, and who are willing to spend money to make their everyday life brighter. The cost of classical master classes lasting 3 hours is about 10-14 thousand tenge, events of the "Open kitchen" format - a little cheaper, 7-8 thousand. How are classic master classes different from open social cooking? Oksana explains: “The classic master class is led by a practicing chef who explains everything, and each participant has his own set of products prepared, and everyone prepares his own. As for the "open kitchen" format, this means: a group of people prepares one dinner for all. One of the subformats of "open kitchen", when cooking, including specially invited guests famous people, athletes or musicians, and you can easily communicate with them in the process. " Zauzamira adds: “Open kitchen” can be both lunch and dinner, and it is a more informal event. The operations are divided as if this is your kitchen, you are cooking with friends: one peels the carrots, the other cuts. That is, the operations are divided among all. And in the classroom, the goal is to teach a person to fully master the process of preparing this dish. "

The culinary studio has a lot of activities. In addition to master classes and "open kitchen" classes for children, private master classes and closed culinary holidays, corporate events with culinary themes. We can say that the culinary studio offers to acquire not so much the opportunity to acquire cooking skills (although they, of course, too), but the atmosphere and mood created by a stylish interior, hospitable hostesses, a couple of glasses of wine, and, of course, delicious food... Compote directors say that their expectations have been met: the culinary studio receives most of its income from those who come there for entertainment - for corporate and just parties, birthdays, family holidays, presentation.

The audience that Compote bets on are people in their twenties and older. However, the main body of visitors is still in the age range of thirty to forty. For the most part, these are already established and fairly wealthy people. When asked whether there is a special price filter for the audience, Ms. Abisheva notes that “it is not overpriced on purpose, but we could slightly lower prices for regular open classes - since this is not the main source of income for us. The main source is still corporate customers with activities, but we do not consciously do it. Because at the beginning of our activity, when classes were 5-6 thousand tenge, different people came in and asked to pour vodka. And what is happening here - they were not interested in all this ”. Compote now notes a trend that people who cannot attend expensive cooking classes all the time use these events to celebrate a significant event for them: "For example, invite a girl to celebrate the anniversary of the beginning of a relationship here."

Amateur cook

Zauzamira Abisheva draws attention to one more point why a culinary studio attracts clients: “People who work in offices often do not see the result of their work, which can be felt and touched. And when they come to us, you can see it! A man fries a steak - he is already hovering like a kite over him - no one comes near, I will fry this steak! Or a young guy makes some kind of cheesecake - and sees that it is in perfect shape, the cream is good. People have a certain sense of completeness - that they do everything with their hands. This is actually very important. Not to mention it's really delicious. "

The culinary studio can accommodate 13 people at a time, in the rare case 14 people, if it is a classic master class, and 16 people - if the event is in the "open kitchen" format. Registration for events in Compote is not closed until the last moment, despite the fact that the purchase of products is done in a day or two. “We know that if the class is for meat, then the probability is 80% that it will all come together, even at the last moment. Therefore, we buy 13 servings for 13 people, in the worst case, two sets of products will remain. If there are other classes, then there we buy 2-3 portions plus to those who signed up. And if at the last moment people contact us, we always have the opportunity to add 2-3 more people, ”explains Zauzamira, and Oksana adds:“ We are working now according to the scheme - an advance payment of 50% at least a day. Previously, there was payment after the fact, but practice has shown that there are people who sign up and do not come. We keep their place, we incur losses. I had to switch to a different scheme. "

If at first the studio was busy with master classes and meetings in the "open kitchen" format almost the entire week, now there are fewer classes, and the rest of the days, as they say in Compote, are "busy with parties." If we estimate the total number of participants in both master classes and corporate events, it turns out that since the opening of the culinary studio, about 3 thousand people have visited it. 20-30% of them steel regular customers... “They have passed each more than 20 classes for sure. We are now thinking about some kind of loyalty system, it's time. These are really loyal people to our studio: if they record, we are 100% sure that they will come, and we do not require prepayment from them. And if we know - a person always visits this chef, we call him and talk about it - maybe he did not have time to see our new schedule. By the way, parents also want something like club cards, because about half of the children return to their children's cooking classes (the average age in these classes is 5–6 years), ”the studio directors say.

Cooking with kitchen stars

At first, Compote was strongly supported by the brand chefs of AB Restaurants: “These are strong chefs, mostly foreigners - we had to start somewhere. Because if we immediately started paying some large fees, it would be difficult to put the commercial side of the matter on stream. And so we had a head start of several months. Plus, we also made arrangements with other chefs, not from AB Restaurants, for example, with Giorgio Palazzi, the founder and chef of Pomodoro restaurants. And it should be noted that Askar Baytasov took it completely normal, ”says Ms. Abisheva.

There are no problems with inviting chefs to public master classes in the studio: “they already know us,” says Compote. Despite the fact that in such classes, the chefs' fees are either purely symbolic, or are completely absent. Public master classes are mainly for the image load, they are promotions for restaurants in which chefs work. But if the chefs are invited to a private event (and the scheme usually looks like this: a client came to an open master class, he liked it, he brought his company or department to the team building. And, as a rule, he says: “I visited such a chef, I just want him ”), then the fee here will already be quite tangible - up to 150-200 thousand tenge.

Heading towards internal reserves

The culinary studio Compote has already become a rather fashionable place in Almaty - which, of course, was what its creators wanted. Using their experience in advertising, they actively use social media- carefully considering which photos to upload so that customers want to return to them. “And here we have a symbiosis: Oksana is responsible for the photo, and I write the texts well,” says Zauzamira. Compote did not advertise for money at all: “At AB Restaurants, we put up table tokers about what a culinary studio is. And now we are laying out our schedule there. The rest of the main advertising tool is social networks, where we do everything ourselves. " In addition to the two directors, there are 5 more employees in the studio: an executive manager, two master class assistants and two technician who are cleaning the premises.

According to Oksana Kim-Flyosk and Zauzamira Abisheva, they have chosen a successful business model: they do not need a permanent staff of waiters, they do not need a warehouse of products: they made a schedule - they bought it. Of course, there are fixed costs - such as rent, utility bills, staff, but the studio has not only reached self-sufficiency, but also generates income. Nevertheless, Oksana and Zauzamira are not going to expand their presence in the Almaty market by opening another studio - they are sure that their project now covers almost all the needs of the southern capital. “Perhaps we will expand operationally, we have a lot of ideas for expanding the business itself - it can be gastronomic tours, and some kind of off-site events, picnics and so on ...” - Oksana shares her ideas. “We, of course, would like to invite some stars - Jimi Oliver, Belonika, Vysotskaya - not because we ourselves are ambitious in this regard. We just know that our audience needs it, ”adds Zauzamira.

Even at the stage of discussion during the creation of the culinary studio, Askar Baytasov said to the two future directors: "Calculate the business plan in the usual scenario and in the optimistic one." Then it seemed to Oksana and Zauzamira that the optimistic scenario was the ultimate dream. The real Compote turned out to be better than dreams of it - the optimistic scenario has already been exceeded by 50%.

Production plan
Store monthly costs
What OKVED must be indicated for cooking

Sample business plan for opening a self-catering store (food to order)

How much money does it take to open a cooking store

According to preliminary calculations, it will be necessary to invest about 1,958,800 rubles to open a business:

A step-by-step plan for opening a cooking store

The opening of cooking will be accompanied by a clear implementation of the plan, which includes the following sequential actions:

Search for funding sources for the project
Search for premises
Business registration and conclusion of a lease agreement
Carrying out cosmetic repairs, coordination with regulatory authorities
Purchase of commercial and kitchen equipment and households. inventory
Personnel search
Purchase of products and ingredients
Development of an advertising company
Establishment opening

Product range of a culinary store

Our cooking will make money in three main areas: Trading directly in the store (selling to retail customers). Delivery of ready-made meals to order (to offices, home, etc.).

Demand prepared food is growing from year to year, especially in large cities, so we will allocate additional funds to develop delivery. The development of such a service will be facilitated by the favorable location of our point (there are many offices and elite areas of new buildings nearby)

Execution of large orders for the preparation of food for festive buffets, banquets and other events. In this direction, we will work with banquet halls cities that do not have their own kitchen. The main culinary range will include:

Baking (pies, pizza, belyashi)
Salads
Pickles
Snacks
Hot dishes
Side dishes and pastas
desserts
Cakes and biscuits
Drinks (tea, coffee, juices)
Banquet dishes
Alcohol, excluding hard liquor

How much can you earn by opening a cooking store

The average sales check of our institution, according to preliminary calculations, will be 200 rubles. The average number of visitors in the retail department will be 70 people, and about 20 more. will purchase culinary products to order.

Potential daily revenue is 18,000 rubles, monthly (22 working days) - 396,000 rubles. It is also worth considering the profit from large orders for banquets. In total, we plan to serve up to three such orders per month, for a total amount of 100,000 rubles.

Download a culinary business plan from our partners, with a quality guarantee.

Production plan

Since our cookery will have its own kitchen, this will require compliance with the relevant requirements for the premises on the part of Rospotrebnadzor. We have selected a room containing two entrances, with proper ventilation and all the necessary communications, including water supply, heating, electricity (of sufficient capacity) and sewerage.

The room does not border with any industrial production and transferred to the appropriate type of permitted use. Only cosmetic repairs are required. The leased area is 74 sq. m., rent - 44,400 rubles. per month.

What equipment you need to choose for a culinary store

All the necessary kitchen equipment will definitely be purchased: a cutting table, a refrigerator, a convection oven, a pizza oven, a frying top, a stove, a coffee maker, a microwave oven, dishes and equipment. About 1.4 million rubles will be spent for these purposes.

The hall for receiving visitors will also be appropriately equipped ( shopping room). There will be a trade showcase, racks, a seller's counter. There will also be several high tables for quick bites.

Ingredients and products for cooking will be purchased from local suppliers and farms... Some of the products are planned to be purchased at the wholesale depots of our city, as well as from bakery organizations.

Store monthly costs

Procurement manager with a personal car -20,000 r. per month
Senior chef - RUB 25,000 per month
Chef assistant - 18,000 RUB per month
Administrator (manager) - 25,000 rubles. per month .

It is planned to arrange an accountant and a cleaning lady under an outsourcing agreement. The total wage fund per month will be 120,000 rubles... In the Pension Fund and the FSS (off-budget funds) 40,000 rubles will be deducted. monthly.

Which taxation system to choose for a culinary store

As an organizational and legal form, it is planned to register an LLC - a company with limited liability composed of two founders. Taxation system - USN, 15% of profit. A cash register will certainly be installed.

Marketing and promotion of culinary

The main advantage of our cookery is that it will work in a fairly advantageous place. There are many large office buildings nearby, where hundreds of enterprises of various profiles operate. Office workers one of the main clients (always busy people).

It is also worth noting the presence in the immediate vicinity (200 m.) Of a higher educational institution... Special marketing techniques for promoting a business will only apply to food delivery. For this, according to the business plan, we plan to use the media, the Internet and banner advertising.

To attract the same retail buyers it will be enough to place a bright advertising sign above the entrance and distribute leaflets to nearby office buildings.

Financial plan (best result)

Let's move on to calculating the main economic indicators business. Monthly cooking expenses

Total - 397,400 rubles. Revenue per month: 496,000 rubles.

Profit before tax: 496,000 - 397,400 = 98,600 rubles. Simplified taxation system, 15% of profit: 14 790 rubles.

Net profit: 98,600 - 14,790 = 83,810 rubles. per month.

Business profitability is 21%... With such indicators, investment in business pays off in 24 months of culinary work.

It is complete, finished project which you will not find in the public domain.

1. Confidentiality

3. Stages of project implementation

4. Characteristics of the object

5. Marketing plan

6. Technical and economic data of equipment

7. Financial plan

8. Risk assessment

9. Financial and economic justification of investments

10. Conclusions

What OKVED must be indicated for cooking

Any subject entrepreneurial activity, regardless of the organizational and legal form (individual entrepreneur, entity) when submitting documents for registration, the required documents must indicate the code of the activity that he will be engaged in.

To open a cookery, we indicate 56 as the main code, which, according to OKVED, corresponds to activities related to the provision of drinks and various food products. Further, depending on the specific direction, are indicated additional codes.

What documents are needed to open

To open a cookery, you will need to register. If you initially set up a large business, then we register a legal entity in the form of a limited liability company. On opening small cooking it is enough to register individual entrepreneurship. For LLC the following documents are submitted:

application for registration and Articles of Association of the company;
decision of the meeting of shareholders and information about the director, chief accountant;
legal address and a receipt for payment of the state fee;
register with government authorities and obtain appropriate permits;
open a current account with any bank.

For individual entrepreneur For individual entrepreneurs, a simplified registration procedure is provided. It is enough to apply and a document confirming the payment of the state duty, a photocopy of the passport and obtaining permits, register and receive a bank account.

Professional business plans on the topic:

Cooking business plan (42 sheets) - DOWNLOAD ⬇
Canteen business plan (42 sheets) - DOWNLOAD ⬇
Pizzeria business plan (46 sheets) - DOWNLOAD ⬇

Do I need permission to open

This area of activity is associated with obtaining a number of permits:

to carry out culinary activities we obtain permission from Rospotrebnadzor. To obtain it, you will need to collect a certain package of documents, which includes not only an assortment list, but also requires education;
having received permission from the named government body we go for permits to the sanitary and epidemiological station and the fire inspection.

In addition to the above permits, it is necessary to conclude an agreement for:

removal of waste and other garbage;
disinfection of premises;
documents on the passage of all employees of the object of medical examination;
in the case of delivery of ready-made meals, semi-finished products will need to be received at vehicle sanitary passport;
undergo certification and obtain the appropriate documents for the quality of the prepared dishes.

Before getting involved in cooking, Russian Alexander Blank and Italian Giulio D'Erme managed to work as managers in large international companies. The idea of starting a culinary studio came about when they were choosing a place to relax with their friends. The attempt was successful: the service was high demand... Then the friends sold the company and opened a bigger school. There are no lengthy 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 lose: after six months they had to rent additional space. Last year, the company's turnover reached 160 million rubles. The entrepreneurs say their school has 60% of the cooking class market and is the largest in Europe. Now their plans are 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 about 15 years ago, when he was the Marketing Director of Indesit Company in Spain. I was engaged in management consulting, our company consulted them.

Giulio D'Erme: Then we started working together: Alexander came to Indesit as Sales Director. We worked like this 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: We got the idea to open a culinary school in 2006. She 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 walking in the park and spending time in the fresh air all year round. Therefore, rest is somehow connected with food. But we didn't want to just sit in the restaurant. The culinary school seemed to us just the very format of leisure. In addition, there were many chefs among our friends. Not only from Russia, but from Australia, USA, Italy and France.

Julio: So, in 2006, in parallel with our main work, we launched the Italian culinary school Accademia del Gusto. It was a small room measuring 150 square meters where 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 wanted: we dreamed of a large 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 has become a good school for us. In the beginning, we even bought the ingredients ourselves. I remember well how we went to Metro for groceries after work. 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 department. There was one last ingredient left to buy. On the list, it was recorded in Italian - porro. Neither I nor Julio 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 I didn't catch the Internet, no matter how hard I tried. In the end, at about 1 am I called the chef and found out that 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 greens in the vegetable department. With grief in half, we managed to find a seller who brought us leeks.

The adventure did not end there. There was a technical failure at the checkout, so you could only pay in cash. We turned out all our pockets, but another 800 rubles were missing. Then Giulio remembered that he had a small amount in his passport "just in case." And when we arrived from Metro, it turned out that the elevator in the culinary studio building was not working and the whole mountain of food would have to be carried on foot to the 4th floor. In the flights, we periodically stopped to rest, and looked at each other with the words: "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. For the opening, we needed about $ 1-1.3 million. To collect this amount, both me and Alexander had to sell our houses. Six months later, we expanded and rented additional space. So, the total investment amounted to about $ 2.5 million, now we have 5 master class rooms and 1 conference room with a total area of 850 square meters.

Before the opening, we made a lot of calls to potential clients. Our main goal was to attract as many companies as possible to order a corporate master class from us. In addition to our old contacts, we tried to meet new people. LinkedIn was an excellent helper here. On this social network, it is immediately clear who general director companies, and who - HR. As a result, we opened in November, and in 40 days we held 40 events.

It turned out to be easy to assemble a team. Now we have 50 people on the staff, including four 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 the chef from a certain restaurant. In this case, we go and get to know him. But these are fewer and fewer, we know many. Chefs very rarely refuse. 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 cooks 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 dishes, but also have fun. We have expanded the menu to eight cuisines (Japanese, Spanish, Thai, French and others), we did not limit ourselves to only Italian.

All master classes in our studio are divided into two directions - private events and open ones. For the latter, you can enroll in 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 custom-service manager finds out which format is more suitable, the number of participants, taste preferences - everything that is needed for preparation.

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

Alexander: The entire kitchen space 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 Serduchka, in parallel there was an open master class of Spanish cuisine in the neighborhood. In another hall, an event was held for the top managers of the Shell concern, and in the next part, friends of the famous entrepreneur from Forbes list prepared dishes for a culinary evening in the back to USSR style. I also remember the master class to which NASA astronaut Terry Worths came to us two weeks before his departure into space. It was a private party where his friends were. During the evening, he showed videos that he recorded in zero gravity.

Each master class has a chef, sous chef, bartender, event manager, photographer and two cleaning ladies. 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, rally and prepare delicious meals. Each participant is given an iPad with step by step recipe with photos and explanations. In addition, if one of the guests does not understand or is 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 starting the kitchen business, at the request of the client, we arrange a buffet table. Many come to us hungry, after work, and you need to wait for the first dish at least an hour. As soon as something is ready, the portions are immediately served and eaten. Sometimes guests make common portions and individual portions, 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. Russian cuisine master classes 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 takes up half of the master classes, is Italian cuisine.

In open master classes, all meat-related dishes 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: there are 75% of them. Men - 25%. The average age of the participants is from 25 to 35 years old.

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

We have many suppliers, it all depends on the product category. 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 the Russian Miratorg brand. Before the embargo, we managed to buy 2 tons of different cheeses, and there are still purchases from last year.

We are guilty of working with different companies, with the same Simple. And from this year we even release our own wine, which is made for us to order at the Pierazzuoli winery in Tuscany.

Alexander Blank and Giulio D'Erme

The biggest

Alexander: Last year, culinary master classes in Moscow were attended by about 55 thousand people, of which 25 thousand 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: EUR - 100 rubles, what to do? But the fears did not materialize, and we managed to grow by 41% in the first half of the year. In April, for example, we held 180 events. In summer, of course, we expect a lull. In Moscow, as soon as greenery appears and the snow thaws, this is the reason why you should never be indoors. Urgent fresh air to enjoy these two weeks of summer. But here, too, we offer an alternative - a barbecue master class, for example.

There are about eight more studios on the Moscow market that conduct major culinary master classes. But each of them has chosen a different format of clients to which they turn. By our own estimation, 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 aim to learn 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 like to cook at home with their family.

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

We want to open up in places that are the center of 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 countries South-East Asia... In addition, it is easier to open up there, more concentration. 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 to open in his city. He says his city is second only to New York in terms of headquarters concentration. large companies... And it's much cheaper to open there. And he is really right. That is, if we meet people who have the same passion for cooking, we can easily change our plans.

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

The first is similarity with others and in the absence of its own distinctive feature. If das has at least some slightest flaws in terms of the uniqueness of the project, then drop it.

As it was with us: in 2012, my business partner Giulio Derme and I decided to open a culinary studio, the basis of the business model of which would be thematic master classes for everyone. The main idea was that in our studio it was 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 seems like not a restaurant, but you can eat. There were no such studios in Moscow. I believe 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.

Selling a house - building a business

The second problem is a modest budget. This is the problem with many projects. Even with a very original idea, it is unlikely that something can be done without funds. By the way, my business partner and I had to sell our own homes to cover the startup costs. Of course, we had a place to live, but the risk of losing property was still present.

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

Make detailed plan expenses - how much will be spent on rent, how much for repairs and form style and advertising. Write down each ruble, as well as possible savings options.

Cost saving options

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, go around the addresses of all competitors, and then come up with something of your own.

We saved over $ 50,000 on interior design. For the general budget, this is a solid increase. And the feelings of your own contribution to your business are completely different. In addition to money, you need to invest strength, all of yourself.

How to save on advertising? Indicate target audience, look for leaders public opinion, try to prove to them what you really stand. 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 half a year we organized master classes for opinion leaders, gastronomic critics and journalists for six months. As a result, the expenses turned out to be not as large 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 RUB 165 million. In the crisis year of 2015, we earned more than planned, and the turnover increased to 215 million rubles. In addition, in 2015 we entered international level by opening a second studio in Singapore. And in 2016 we plan to earn 300 million rubles.

Find a recipe in world wide web, everyone can watch a video tutorial and follow the recommendations exactly, but there is no guarantee that it will be possible to cook a really tasty and beautiful delicacy, because it is impossible to become a chef remotely. In almost every city there are many people of different ages and professions who want to learn how to cook professionally. If you are dreaming of opening a cooking class for beginners, do not hesitate, you will find people willing to come and learn.

Cooking is not just the process of preparing food, but also useful hobby, a unique opportunity to communicate with friends or like-minded people, a field that develops along with programming, so you may not have time to learn all its subtleties even in a lifetime.

It is the kinesthetic sensations, interactivity and variety in culinary that attract many people. Cooking classes will certainly meet all the expectations of such enthusiasts.

In the West, they have become a popular entertainment and way of organizing leisure activities back in the middle of the twentieth century. TV shows, live master classes from world famous chefs, a series of recipe books for every taste and budget, schools teaching cooking skills different countries- all this was familiar to Americans and Europeans long before something similar emerged in the post-Soviet space.

Pioneers

For the first time on the territory of Russia, culinary courses appeared in the 90s of the last century, when the famous English chef and restaurateur Jamie Oliver once again came to Moscow in order to popularize healthy image life and homemade food.

After that, he visited the capital more than once, organized master classes, gave interviews, presented his books with recipes, and even opened a restaurant. His original idea picked up by Russian entrepreneurs and chefs, thanks to which it is easy to find culinary courses in cities and towns of the country and learn how to cook.

Demand creates supply

First of all, you should decide on the profile of culinary courses, because it is from this that they will depend on the target audience, the specifics of which directly affect your income and risks. Naturally, in big cities, the demand for this type of education and leisure is greater, there you can think about unique and extraordinary courses that none of the competitors have offered anyone yet.

In small towns, the idea of opening courses in Brazilian or Indian cuisine is unlikely to pay off, at the level of small settlements creativity in this regard is minimized. In megacities, however, such exoticism will be perceived with delight and interest.

Men and children are also in action

Cooking has long ceased to be a primordially female household responsibility. Nowadays, men are also showing great interest in cooking, who, as a rule, become the most famous chefs in the world. Some believe that even with fine work on confectionery they do better.

Cooking classes can be designed for a specific group of people. For example, it is now fashionable to involve children in cooking, and to acquaint the elderly with products and combinations of tastes that are unusual for them. The most popular modern trends are considered vegetarian dishes, cuisines of the world, slimming food and proper nutrition.

Legal nuances

Decor required documents and obtaining a license to open culinary courses is important stage, which should not be put on the back burner. If you want to single-handedly legally own such a business, you first need to register an individual business.

If the idea of culinary courses belongs to more than one person or you cannot do without the experience and support of partners, then the business is formalized as an LLC.

According to the documents, culinary courses will be listed as non-state educational institution... In this case, taxes are deducted according to a simplified system in the amount of 6% of the profit.

You can get a license that officially allows you to conduct cooking courses at the Department of Education, where you need to come with the following documents:

a statement from the owner;
statements of founders, their documents and charter;
certificate of registration in off-budget funds;
a certified copy of the certificate of registration of the LLC;
OKVED and a certificate of registration with the tax office;
documents confirming the qualifications of teachers;
Plan of the education;
information about the room where the chickens will be held;
work permit from SES and fire department;
availability of the necessary literature corresponding to the training program.

Within a month, the request and the provided package of documents will be considered by the relevant commission. After this period, you will receive official permission or a refusal to conduct cooking courses. Documentation is necessary if you plan to provide a paid permanent professional education for many people and issue them authentic certificates.

If an individual entrepreneur draws up courses as a development center, then a license is not required. This form of business corresponds to 2 types of OKVED code: 93.05 - personal services and 92.51 is a club-type establishment. Taxation will be calculated according to the following scheme: 7% of net profit and 15% of total profit. This significantly reduces the cost of keeping your bookkeeping, but opening a bank account is a must. In addition, you need to conclude a garbage collection agreement.

Important! Only a similar business idea can be tested under the preferential patent taxation system. She does not require accounting, but you will not be able to get significant profit within its framework.

Room selection

An ideal place for a cooking course would be a place already equipped for cooking, such as a cafe or restaurant. More often than not, it is the institution owners who develop such business ideas. If you are not one, you can agree with the owner of the establishment on cooperation, but in this case, you will have to adjust to the schedule and workload of the restaurant or cafe.

You can also rent an abandoned buffet or dining room, but this is a more costly option in terms of finances, since most likely the premises will still have to be repaired. A powerful electrical network, ventilation and sewerage are what must be in the place chosen for the courses.

Important! It is best to be located in the city center, where, as a rule, many people live and where it is convenient to get from other areas. Rent in a metropolis and a small town differs significantly in cost. Therefore, opening courses, for example, in a residential area of Moscow, may turn out to be more cost-effective than in its center.

Dishes and appliances

A professional kitchen requires a lot of investment in equipment for storing, cutting and preparing food. The minimum set of cooking class furniture includes tables and chairs, counters and shelves for a variety of ingredients. Of the dishes and other devices, it will be impossible to do without cutting boards, knives, bowls, pots, several types of pans, a whisk, forks and spoons, spatulas, baking sheets.

Out of clothes professional chef and his students need aprons, caps or other headgear, fireproof gloves, or potholders. The most expensive will be the acquisition of equipment, the basis of which in the kitchen is a refrigerator, freezer, stove and hood. For in-depth training, you cannot do without an oven and microwave oven, mixer, blender, food processor, ice cream maker.

The types and complexity of equipment that you need will directly overestimate the chosen direction of the cooking courses. For example, it is not advisable for children to be entrusted with the work of dangerous electrical appliances and a gas stove.

Attention! If you expect to educate people and issue certificates to them in a quality manner, purchase only professional furniture, dishes and appliances in specialized stores. Distinguished chefs-teachers will not agree to work with equipment for home use, which can also reduce your credibility in the eyes of competitors and customers.

People are the key to success

To find interesting person who would be both a good teacher and an experienced chef is difficult. It depends on him whether people come to you for courses, whether they recommend them to their friends, whether they will be happy to come to other culinary training programs.

The chef-teacher should not only pay attention to each student, but also present boring theory in such a way that the lesson seems to be a fascinating performance that I would definitely like to see more. Not every certified culinary specialist knows how to vividly present knowledge, express own thoughts, attract the attention of students and find an approach to them.

As a rule, in megacities, where there are many well-known chefs and qualified personnel, there are no problems with the selection of personnel. This is more difficult in small towns. If you want to open courses in Mexican cuisine, you may not find a specialist and give up this idea. You may need to prepare the chefs for the courses yourself.

Promotion is a delicate matter

IN modern world there are dozens of ways to promote your business. Which one to use - the choice is yours. Promotion through social networks is now considered the fastest and most effective, because even no newspaper in the world can boast as many views as posts on Instagram or Facebook.

No less effective is contextual advertising, which often grabs the attention of the user of search engines. For a detailed acquaintance of those who wish with culinary courses, you can create a website where you can permanently and in the future free of charge you can post any information. Large banners, leaflets and flyers are the easiest and most budgetary way to promote.

More costly, but less troublesome option to sign an agreement with advertising agency, which will develop and implement a scheme for promoting your business.

Long journey of a millionaire

It is difficult to say how soon the investments will pay off and increase, without having accurate calculations and not having decided on all the components of a business idea. Profit is influenced by the specifics of the courses, and the location, and the professionalism of the teachers, and marketing moves. After all the preparations, plan a clear lesson plan.

There should be no more than 10 people in the group so that the chef has time to pay attention to everyone and answer their questions. Make the class schedule as convenient as possible for the students. Lessons are held both in the morning and in the evening. The duration of one lesson for mastering new material and practice is on average 3 hours.

There can be 3-4 such meetings a week. You determine their cost yourself, taking into account the costs and ability to pay students. VIP clients can be offered individual lessons, and for additional fee it is possible and carry out the departure of the chef-teacher at home.

Important! If you clearly and competently plan the costs and attract as many people as possible, then ideally in 3-4 months the first stable income... For a large city, this sum is at least 100,000 rubles, for a small city - 40,000 rubles.

Prospects and pitfalls

It is difficult to guarantee the profitability of a particular business because there are too many factors involved. Like any activity, the idea of starting a cooking class has its advantages and disadvantages.

The pluses include:

demand for mastering the basics of professional cooking;
interest potential clients to communicate with famous chefs;
a wide range of course specifics;
high profitability;
fast payback;
the opportunity to take a leading position in the educational business.

Among the disadvantages that can interfere with your plans and significantly affect the level of income and the success of the idea are:

the presence of large initial capital;
lack of qualified chefs who are talented teachers;
the scale of the city in which the courses will be held.