Sat Bains interview: ‘I think stagnation is death’

As two Michelin-starred Restaurant Sat Bains celebrates a staggering 25 years, we sat down with its chef patron to discuss what it takes to stay relevant, life-changing moments, and feeling fear on a day-to-day basis.

Updated on • Written By Ellie Donnell

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Sat Bains interview: ‘I think stagnation is death’

Restaurants seem to open and close faster than you can say ‘service please’ these days, so it feels good to be chatting to chef extraordinaire Sat Bains at his eponymous Nottingham restaurant, discussing the highs and lows of the last 25 years. Now more than a quarter of a century old, Restaurant Sat Bains is a relative veteran in restaurant terms. He opened the restaurant in 2002, won a Michelin star just a year later, and scored a second star in 2011 which it has retained to this day.

That’s pretty good going for a restaurant located in an industrial estate underneath a flyover, but Sat isn’t one to be complacent. In fact, the restaurant's unorthodox location is one of the main reasons (amongst others) he’s chosen to work so hard over the years.

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‘We’re already on the backfoot. When we meet you at the door – the smell, the lighting, the staff, the warmth - we've got to make the diner feel relaxed as soon as they get here and make them think it was worth the journey,' he explains.

Once you’re inside, you could be anywhere, but the restaurant’s offbeat location on Lenton Lane breaks down a lot of preconceptions about what a two-star restaurant should look like. Then again, he's never been afraid to break the mould.

Sat was born in Derby to Punjabi parents who moved to the UK in the 1960s. His dad was a hard-working business owner with a number of local shops in Nottingham, and from a young age his parents had already prescribed a clear trajectory for his life: arranged marriage, then kids, and to one day take over the family business. But Sat had different ideas.

Deciding he didn’t want to work for his dad, he enrolled at Derby College where he completed a City & Guilds catering qualification, becoming obsessed with French gastronomy and its pioneers in the process. He cites Marco Pierre White, Nico Ladenis, Pierre Koffmann and Raymond Blanc as being his idols, and in his twenties, he'd even go on to work alongside one of them, helping Raymond Blanc set up his first bistro Le Petit Blanc in Oxford.

The dining room (left) and bar (right) at Restaurant Sat Bains
Image credit: Laurie Fletcher. The dining room (left) and bar (right) at Restaurant Sat Bains

That period of his life - before Restaurant Sat Bains - wasn't without its challenges though. The chef was kicked out the house at age 17 for dating his then wife-to-be Amanda, an experience that forced him to grow up and take on responsibility despite being just a kid. Sat stepped up to the plate: he was one of the original team hired to open Raymond Blanc's Le Petit Blanc in Oxford, and spent time at L’Escargot in London, but drained of cash and with a mortgage to pay, he moved back to Nottingham to take on a chef role closer to home. Not long after, the restaurant closed unexpectedly, and Sat was made redundant.

Turning point

They say as one door closes, another one opens, and the chef was about to experience a career-defining moment that would change his course forever. In 1999, out of a job and uncertain of what lay ahead, he applied for and won the Roux Scholarship at the age of 28. The win couldn't have come at a better time, but that accolade did more for Sat's career than he could have possibly predicted, allowing him to work and dine at some of the best restaurants in the world, including three Michelin starred Le Jardin des Sens, and El Bulli in Spain. He describes the win as a lifeline: ‘Without that I don’t think I'd be here.’

He doesn’t lament the experiences he faced leading up to that point. Adversity makes you stronger, and the chef recognises how the hard times made him into who he is today. ‘I needed to go through all that shit to then find this, to teach myself all the failings of not being a good chef.’ For context, he didn't think he was any good until after the scholarship. ‘Then having the accolade of the Roux, the support of the Roux...’, Sat trails off, his silence a marker of how much it meant to him.

'There's a lot of fear on a day-to-day basis.’

After that, the job offers started rolling in, but the chef had his heart set on opening his own solo venture. He secured a head chef role at Hotel des Clos just outside Nottingham, and within a few months the name above the door had changed to Restaurant Sat Bains. A year later, he won his first Michelin star. By 2011, he had two.

25 years of RSB

25 years is a long time to stay in one job, for anyone, but for a restaurant owner it represents the difference between remaining relevant and falling behind, between your business standing the test of time, or closing within its first year.

‘I never in my wildest dreams thought that a quarter of a century later, we'd be still relevant or still here’, he admits, and the truth is that serving exceptional food doesn’t always guarantee longevity in the game. So how do you stay relevant? Sat puts it down to not having anyone above them – it's just himself and Amanda running the ship, which means they can make and implement decisions quickly without having to consult a board of investors. ‘We can adapt and move and change. That fluidity allows us to be different and keep pushing.’

Cornish crab with crab bisque, sourdough croutons and caviar (left), and hare with maitake mushrooms and shaved truffle (right)
Image credit: Laurie FletcherCornish crab with crab bisque, sourdough croutons and caviar (left), and hare with maitake mushrooms and shaved truffle (right)

Sat has spoken frequently over the years about having a lot of motivation, and we wonder where that desire to push comes from. Is it ambition? Fear? Passion? Perhaps a little of all the above. ‘I think it's probably the opposite, which is not to stand still,’ he says. ‘I think stagnation is death.’

‘We haven't got a safety net. If it fails, it’s on mine and Amanda’s heads. There's a lot of fear on a day-to-day basis.’

He’s quick to add that it’s not unhealthy fear that drives him, rather the reality of his situation keeps him on high alert. Sat and Amanda aren’t afraid to take risks, which is one of the reasons Restaurant Sat Bains has been able to stay afloat in an industry that’s in constant flux. They were one of the first restaurants to instigate a four-day working week back in 2015, and more recently they made the drastic decision to cut covers from 50 to 28 following a major refit in 2022, in turn having to increase the price of its tasting menus. The idea was to offer Sat, Amanda and the team a better work-life balance, while giving them more breathing room to focus on creating the best possible experience for the diner. The switch-up came with risks, of course, but there was logic behind the change. ‘We’re calculated risk takers,’ Sat explains.

So no, change doesn’t seem to faze the chef - it’s staying the same that gives him anxiety. ‘One thing I'm afraid of is not having an idea. I don’t want to be short of them. I want to be able to say that if the restaurant failed, we did everything we could. Even if there was a glimmer of light and we didn’t try something, I’d be broken. That's the thing that gets me. That's what gives me my fire.’

Kitchen culture

There’s also the small matter of having two Michelin stars to retain, which perhaps is another reason the chef feels an immense responsibility to keep pushing. Does he feel pressured by the stars at all? ‘No, I don't. It's not in my mantra. I'd never say to anyone in the kitchen, ‘do you think that’s two stars?’. I just don't want to put that pressure on them.’

Instead, he focuses all his efforts on delivering delicious food that stands out from the crowd, staying in his own lane and refusing to follow trends. His hard work philosophy is something he instils in the team too, practicing a firm but fair approach to managing members of staff.

‘I’m not tolerant of tardiness or deceitfulness, but everything else we’ll teach you. If you mess up, I'll teach you. If you don't give a shit, I can't deal with you.’

Sat Bains
Image credit: Laurie Fletcher

Amanda, who helps manage the day-to-day operations at the restaurant, elaborates: ‘We're very relaxed, both our methods and the way we do it is very relaxed – but we’re very professional. We'll have a coffee and chit chat and talk about what everyone did at the weekend, but when you're on, it's about discipline.

‘Discipline is crucial to success’, Sat agrees. 

Second chances

Three years ago, while working out in his garden with his personal trainer during lockdown, Sat had a heart attack and was rushed to hospital to undergo triple bypass surgery. Events like that are unpredictable and often tricky to recognise, especially for Sat who’s lived a healthy, active life since day dot, working out since he was 15 and paying attention to his diet. He reports feeling a numbess around his eye and temple, signs he'd never known until recently were symptoms of a heart attack.

Even when the paramedics arrived, he recalls not really registering the magnitude of the situation. ‘He [the paramedic] asked me if I have an overnight bag, and I thought oh I’ll be back tomorrow. I was getting dinner ready as well! Chicken marinating in the fridge. But that was it – I didn’t come back for 10 days.’

Sat’s always been health conscious, but the heart attack shone a light on his mortality. Now, he’s ditched lifting heavy weights for more restorative forms of exercise: walking 10km before breakfast, taking up jiu jitsu, and spending more time outdoors. That’s not to say he’ll be stepping away from the kitchen anytime soon, but Sat and Amanda's decision to cut down on covers and weekly services is evidence enough that the pair have their sights on Restaurant Sat Bains having real longevity – maybe even another 25 years – and to do that it’s got to be sustainable. 

So, what does the future look like for RSB? Sat returns to that ambiguous question again - how do you stay relevant? - the pursuit of that alone clearly a major driver for the chef. And while there might not be a hard and fast answer, we'd argue Sat has a better idea than most. 

Who have been your biggest influences?

Marco Pierre White, The Roux's, Pierre Koffman, Nico Ladenis, Raymond Blanc.

If you could give someone just starting out some words of wisdom, what would they be?

I was given these words once, and they've stood the test of time: write down a five-year and ten-year plan and assess it each year. Be brutally honest with yourself.

What's your favourite thing to cook at home?

Chicken.

Do you have a guilty pleasure?

I love Dairy Milk chocolate. My nutritionist says I’m allowed either 100g of dark chocolate or three Freddos a week, so I eat three Freddos a week.

Favourite foodie destination?

Japan – I've been four times.

If you weren't a chef, what would you be doing?

I think I would have been an artist. My first passion was art. I love drawing.

What do you do to relax?

I love training. I think it's good for your soul, good for your mind, good for your spirit.

What was the last great thing you ate?

Mallard. I cooked and ate this year’s first mallard yesterday, and it was incredible. I did two breasts - pan fried, rendered the fat - and it was perfect.

Keen to explore more of the UK's top-level dining scene? Discover every three Michelin-starred restaurant in the country, from Simon Rogan's L'Enclume to Core by Clare Smyth.