New Stratford business has a spicy tale to tell
THINKING of setting up your own business? David Rolfe of Stratford thought about it for three or four years and then launched his business which he named after his dad – Spicy Mike.
Now that bit needs a little clarification.
The full name of the business is Spicy Mike’s Burgers and David’s concession can now be found in the Keys pub in Ely Street, Stratford, where it serves up a whole range of foodie delights across a number of popular cuisines with rump steak pattys, vegan options and Tex-Mex plus the all important sides as well.
His business partner is Stef Hayward and the two great friends have known each other for 18 years and more having worked together at Cox’s Yard on the bar in Stratford all those years ago and they even went to the same school – Alcester Grammar School.
“It was a great way of bonding,” David said. “Stratford in the summer working on a bar, taking bookings, serving food by the river – our friendship formed then. When the opportunity came to rent out the kitchen at the pub as part of the concession agreement we knew it was a very good location to take up.”
All health and safety and Food Standards Agency requirements are managed by David and Stef who have taken on Curtis Southall of Stratford College as an apprentice to further underline the commitment to Stratford; they want to create new jobs and income in the town centre.
David has a natural understanding of food having run a kitchen in Australia for a while and he also has an experienced repertoire in hospitality.
“I’m fully self-taught and consider food and cooking to be a hobby of mine,” he said.
“We’ve got various specialities on the menu like our flat top smash burgers where we take a three-ounce burger and make it paper thin and caramelise it for two or three minutes using fresh produce all bought locally. We have a mixed menu and launched as a Mexican food business originally. We’ve fed homeless people at Foundation House and have a special meals menu where kids eat for free because we want to stay close to the community.”
Like many new businesses things start to happen when a green light tells the individual to go for it and sometimes the idea can snowball from there. The sequence was just the same for David who spent 12 years in corporate sales promoting human resources and payroll software before changing career direction.
“I didn’t want to be tied down and had the idea of running my own business at some stage. I then started the business and Stef came on board a few months later and now we are both directors. Our first big event was a private request for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last summer and from then on our mobile catering spread by word of mouth and three events were booked soon after. We want to keep the mobile catering of the business as well,” David said.
But how did the name come about?
“I needed to give myself a ‘stage name’ and Spicy Mike's Burgers is named after my father – Mike – and it’s his family nickname because Mike likes to buy a whole range of spices off the shelf from Fox’s Spices Limited in Stratford. Afterwards he keeps the jars in the garage and that’s why we call him spicy Mike,” David said.
He has no regrets about his new venture which launched in February in fact he’d encourage anyone to do the same.
“Win or lose - follow your dreams,” David said.
