Welcome to our little series of mini-interviews in which we take a shallow dive into the deep waters of different careers to give YOU a little insight into what the industry looks like from all sides.

Representing the world of restaurant owning is Bash Redford, of Forza Win and Forza Wine. Inimitable in his energy, kindness and enthusiasm, he cares deeply about creating a progressive, inclusive, positive work environment – oh, and about making sure you eat a really nice tea. The very lovely and critically acclaimed Forza Win shut its doors last year, but Bash never stops moving and there are exciting things ahead. Forza Wine still basks in its glorious views across London, great drinks and delicious, impeccable cooking.

• How did you come to own your own restaurant?

Ha. Well there’s a funny story – I guess it depends on how you define ownership. I was wrongly paid a tax rebate and took that as a sign from on high that I had to do something that I actually wanted to do with my life. At the time I was working behind a desk  in an arts charity, managing their communications. With that job, I’d been for a meeting with a company that had a roof garden they didn’t use (Pulse Films) and I asked them whether I could lease it for use as a ’supper club’. That was me, Thom and James (now Pizza Pilgrims). We had no idea that what we were doing was completely illegal and we were shut down two weeks after we opened, but I still ‘owned’ a restaurant.

After that my first bricks and mortar site was actually a really, really knackered old warehouse in Peckham – when we signed the lease it had a hole in the roof (AKA extraction) no toilets, very little electricity and the dodgiest landlords known to man, but it was ours, and we had a legit booze license. Myself and a group of friends built the first iteration of it, which was ‘rustic’ (you got splinters in your arse sat on the benches) but the food, the drinks and general atmosphere BANGED.