Geoffrey Johns

Name:

Geoffrey Johns

Business:

Geoff the Chef food limited

Web site:

Years in business:

1.5

Number of businesses:

1

I was born and bred in Grange Town, Cleveland. I left school with the ambition of joining the navy as a mechanic. Despite passing all my exams I failed my medical due to a defect in my ear drum. I was gutted.

I then decided to complete a one year mechanical course before working in a pub kitchen when I was twenty. Since then I have always worked in the catering industry.

A few years ago my partner and I were watching a documentary about a successful company that made Indian curries. My wife turned to me and said ‘you could make a much better curry than that!’ That was really the ‘Eureka’ moment for me and I started thinking of possible concepts for a product.

I’d previously worked in a hospital and was familiar with the cook – chill – package process. I eventually started to develop a fully cooked supermarket version of the ‘Parmo’ a Tees Valley speciality consisting of cooked chicken breast coated in golden bread crumbs with a smooth Béchamel source and grated cheddar cheese, something that nobody else does.

After a lot of hard work and persistence I eventually managed to get the product finished working closely with Food Standards at Middlesbrough Council to complete the labeling and packaging. I hit the phones pitching the product to anybody from chain supermarkets to farmer’s markets. I then started to look at alternative markets such as schools dinners and car boot sales.

After approaching two local shops that agreed to sell the product I found that my ready made ‘Parmo’ flew off the shelves. After a year and a half successfully selling the product and identifying that there was a market, I decided to take the next step. I’m currently setting up a factory, due to open in two weeks, with the aim to start mass producing the product later this year. It’s all really exciting.

Owning your own business can be very demanding. I have three children and a lot of financial pressures. I work seven days a week and put 100 percent into everything I do. But I find being your own boss to be very rewarding; I prefer the fact that I’m earning money for myself, and not for someone else.

If I was to give advice to anyone thinking of starting their own business I’d say start as you mean to go on and be honest with yourself. There’s a danger you can think ‘I can get away with this’ financially but sometimes you have to take a step back, look at the bigger picture and restrain yourself from doing something you really want to do.

I think my biggest challenges so far has been to understand the buyer’s perspective, often big name supermarket chains with headquarters based outside of the region. The Parmo is indigenous to the Tees Valley area but not many people know what it is elsewhere.

I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. During the initial stages of my idea I literally couldn’t stop talking about it. I was telling everyone, friends, family co-workers and anybody else who’d listen.

After a hugely important pitch to one of the big chain supermarkets I came out confident, only to find the company after me was pitching the same thing. It shook me to the core. I soon realised that one of the people I’d boasted to actually knew someone who worked at a rival company. From now on I try and keep things closer to my chest and have become slightly less trustful. Sometimes that’s just how business works.

The support I’ve received has been fantastic. My partner has been a constant source of encouragement and support. External support is out there to. The Food Standards Commission helped me correctly label the product and I successfully secured a £10,000 grant from the local council.

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