From Kitchen Porter to Restaurant Owner: My Journey Through 30 Years of London Hospitality

From Kitchen Porter to Restaurant Owner: My Journey Through 30 Years of London Hospitality

When I arrived in Britain from Brazil in 1994, I did not arrive as a restaurant owner. I started at the bottom of the hospitality industry, working as a kitchen porter. I was washing dishes, cleaning, helping wherever I was needed and learning, little by little, how a busy restaurant really works.

More than 30 years later, hospitality has become a huge part of my life. I am Jackson Fiorini, and today I am part of the family behind The Tapestry Tapas Bar in Mortlake and The Pottery Tapas Bar in Kingston upon Thames. The journey between those two points has taught me more than I could ever have imagined.

Starting at the Bottom

Working as a kitchen porter was hard work, but it gave me something incredibly valuable: respect for every job in a restaurant. When you begin in the kitchen, you quickly understand that a restaurant only works when everyone contributes. The person washing the pans, the chef preparing the food, the waiter welcoming the guests and the person behind the bar are all part of the same experience.

I wanted to learn. I watched, listened and took every opportunity to understand another part of the business. Over time I worked through different roles in hospitality, learning about food, service, customers, suppliers, staffing and eventually the business side of running a restaurant.

Becoming a Restaurant Owner

Owning a restaurant is very different from simply working in one. Suddenly you are responsible for everything: the food, the team, the building, the bills, the atmosphere and, most importantly, the experience of every person who walks through the door.

The Tapestry in Mortlake became a place where I could put those years of experience into practice. Over the years we have welcomed local families, regular customers, businesses and people celebrating some of the most important moments of their lives.

Hospitality is not only about celebrations. We also look after families gathering after funerals and cremations, and those occasions have taught me how important sensitivity, organisation and genuine care can be. Sometimes the best hospitality is simply making things easy for people when they have enough to think about already.

The Pottery and Working as a Family

The journey continued with The Pottery Tapas Bar in Kingston upon Thames. Working alongside my sister Lucia and our team has allowed us to develop another restaurant with its own personality while keeping the same values: good food, a relaxed atmosphere and personal hospitality.

Both restaurants are influenced by the food and cultures that have been part of my own life. We love Spanish tapas, but my Brazilian background naturally finds its way into the way we cook, entertain and welcome people.

What 30 Years in Hospitality Has Taught Me

The restaurant business can be difficult. There are long hours, rising costs, staff problems, building problems and unexpected situations almost every week. You learn very quickly that plans change and that resilience matters.

But there is another side that keeps me passionate about hospitality. You become part of people's lives. You see couples celebrate weddings, families gather for birthdays, companies bring their teams together and old friends meet around a table. Years later, some of those same people come back and remember a particular meal, party or conversation.

That is why I have come to believe that hospitality is about much more than food and drink. People may forget exactly what was on the plate, but they remember how a place made them feel.

Still Learning

After more than three decades in hospitality, I still feel that I am learning. Restaurants change, technology changes and customers change. I am now also sharing more of the behind-the-scenes reality of restaurant life, food, events and the lessons I have learned along the way.

When I think back to arriving in Britain in 1994 and starting as a kitchen porter, I could never have predicted where the journey would lead. I am proud of what we have built, but I am even more grateful for the people I have met along the way.

For me, that remains the heart of hospitality: food brings people to the table, but human connection is what makes them remember it.