Meet Lorenzo Salami, the Founder of Salami Events!

Lorenzo, we are so happy to chat with you today to learn about your private chef & catering services business. What motivated you to start as an independent chef?

Being able to make my own choices on both menus and presentations, and being able to offer my own creations to clients. I launched the business together with my partner – without her I would be lost!

Anita looks after the admin side of the business, from emails and phone calls, to managing our social media channels, to managing our accounts (sending/receiving invoices, tracking our spending and account receivables, etc.), to going food shopping for the events. She also assists me in the kitchen during events when needed and helps with my mise en place and plating up. Whereas I almost solely look after the food preparation and liaising with customers.

You are passionate about “bringing fine dining experiences to your clients in the comfort of their home”. Can you tell us more?

With the coronavirus pandemic, we realised there was an untapped market for this kind of event and experiences. We are realising every day how much this is actually true! 

So you launched your event and private diner experience after the pandemic started?

I was made redundant from my previous job as a Head Chef for a catering company because of the pandemic. I was jobless for a few months, but then decided to stop waiting around and start working as a freelance private chef.
 After a while, both my partner and I started seeing this as a good business opportunity, so she left her office job and started working with me. That’s when we decided to actually open a limited company and launch our own business.
The pandemic didn’t help the business per se, but it helped us understand what we were lacking from our previous jobs: the freedom that working for oneself brings. It has really helped with our morale and lifestyle for sure.

When you took the plunge and went solo, did you have support from friends, family or industry contacts, maybe some mentors even?

Some previous contacts in the industry definitely helped! I don’t have a person I see as a mentor, but I have different people that I had the pleasure to work with who helped me through my training and career, and whom I definitely look up to.

But day after day, solving one problem at a time, I realised it’s a learning curve and everyone can really be their own boss.

Going at it alone, what has been your biggest challenge or doubt?

Being able to take care of every aspect of running a company – I was doubtful about my entrepreneurial skills and was scared of how much I didn’t know about running a business.
But day after day, solving one problem at a time, I realised it’s a learning curve and everyone can really be their own boss.

What do you love most about having your company and being a small business owner?

I love the freedom of choice it gives me – In every aspect of it, from offering my latest creations to clients, to taking a day off on a Monday after a busy weekend working!

Do you have a favourite client request or menu you’ve created so far?

I love every job where the client totally trusts me in tailoring the best menu for their private dinner.

Before starting on your own, you worked in Michelin-star restaurants such as L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Gordon Ramsay au Trianon and Hedone. What is your best culinary memory so far?

The best memories I have are possibly the ones related to meeting world-renowned chefs like Massimo Bottura, Gordon Ramsay, Joel Robuchon. These were truly unbelievable experiences.  Every one of them were positive and encouraging with the team working for them. Seeing them, and the careers they have built, was motivation enough to keep improving myself.

You were also a Royal Sous-Chef for the Household of TRH The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. This must have been an incredible experience, can you tell us more?

Unfortunately, I cannot disclose too many details, but what I can say is that it was an amazing experience. Being able to cook for them and follow them all around the UK are memories I will always keep with me.

With such a successful start, what is your top tip for other business owners and/or those looking to start up their own business in the food industry?

This industry is super competitive, so make sure to offer something that’s unique, and therefore differentiate yourself from the competition.

You mentioned you love running your own business for the freedom it gives you! When you opened your Limited company, it certainly wasn’t to do admin, how did you hear about Tide?

My partner actually did a lot of research and she decided to open the business account with Tide after reading countless positive reviews.

How do you use Tide for the running of your business?

Receive payments and pay everything that’s needed to run the business, as you can imagine! 🙂 Again, my partner, on the other hand, uses most features like the invoice importer, and categorisation of expenses/payments. My favourite feature is being able to attach invoices easily by taking a picture from the app!

You are one of the stars of our new ad! What was your favourite moment on the shoot?

Shooting the fire scene (the one where I flambé the pineapple) was pretty cool! But apart from this, the whole experience was just amazing and it was a great environment.

Our mouths are watering! Any final anecdotes about the shoot or your business that you’d like to share with us and our community?

Since the Tide ad launch, we have been crazy busy and received a lot of requests! So again, a big thank you from myself and my partner Anita.