I Quit My Job, Had Zero In The Bank and Built London's Hottest Indian Restaurant - The Tamila Story

 Glen Leeson, co-founder of The Tamil Prince, The Tamil Crown and Tamila, joins Dan Pope to unpack how one of London’s most talked-about Indian restaurant groups was built from pub pop-ups, second-hand fridges and blind belief.From Patty & Bun’s burger boom to JKS discipline, lockdown hustle, personal guarantees, viral Sunday roasts, Dishoom collabs, delivery strategy and the magic of creating a restaurant that feels alive — this is a proper founder story about graft, taste, timing, luck and learning by doing.📙Download HUNGRY Big Banging Reading list here 🧾 HUNGRY survey would be so grateful if you may please fill out ON THE MENU:00:00:00 Intro 00:01:08 Patty & Bun’s Wild West 00:05:23 London’s burger boom exploded 00:10:23 Why Tamil became three brands 00:13:12 Failed pub pop-ups and bad fit 00:17:08 Selling the landlord with no money 00:20:11 Opening before the kitchen worked 00:21:49 The review that changed everything 00:27:03 Letting neighbours shape the restaurant 00:30:05 Why blind belief matters 00:33:24 Meeting Prince at Market Halls 00:36:52 The Sheffield fridge road trip 00:40:28 Cooking the first Tamil menu 00:43:23 Pitching from a one-bed flat 00:47:16 Creating the Indian Sunday roast 00:53:13 Prince’s insane work ethic 00:56:12 JKS structure versus Patty & Bun chaos 01:02:27 Learning what not to do 01:08:21 Giving weird ideas time 01:11:13 Why competitors should collaborate 01:18:09 Building fun into the culture 01:21:16 Pressure, growth and imposter syndrome 01:29:03 The site that could’ve killed them 01:32:29 The accidental kitchen window 01:35:00 Making the toilet unforgettable 01:39:12 Delivery without killing the experience ============================================== ♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here - https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/🍲 ============================================== 🤝 Let's Connect! ►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/) ►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/) This episode was edited by: G.Thomas Craig (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gthomascraig/)   📙Download HUNGRY Big Banging Reading list here 🧾 HUNGRY survey would be so grateful if you may please fill out