BURGER AND LOBSTER 01
Burger and Lobster, London
BURGER AND LOBSTER 01
Burger and Lobster, London
It's more than just burgers and lobster for the staff
Photography By HENRY HARGREAVES, words by HENRY HARGREAVES
in Conversation with Andrew Flood and Maisie Denning
Combine American beef with Canadian Lobster, Russian business men and London and you get the runaway success of Burger and Lobster. A hip collection of restaurants that are famous for their hyper-focused menu. But what on earth do they serve for staff meal? I found out...
LUXURY TO THE PEOPLE
The first location opened about 4 years ago. It was a wacky concept from 3 and a half Russians. The idea was to have a place that was the flip side to restaurants that were offering so many choices, instead just keeping it simple. But also to bring something that had been seen as a luxury product and make it more approachable. We were surprised in the early days about every second person who came in had never tried lobster. They came and loved it and told their friends and brought them in to try it. The idea is so simple that it had a universal appeal.
"There is no legal obligation here in the UK to serve a staff meal... I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t do it, it’s such a small token of your gratitude, but a way to make such a big impact with your staff."
BURGER AND LOBSTER 02
BURGER AND LOBSTER 02
THE HEATHROW TANK
The supply chain has changed slightly over the years. As we grew, it became more efficient to gain control over the sourcing of our products. Now we consistently serve Nebraskan beef for the burger and Eastern Canadian lobster. We work directly with the Canadian government on sustainable fishing and ship the lobsters directly to our main holding tank at Heathrow airport before it goes out to our London-wide locations. We go to great lengths to make sure the lobster’s are made as comfortable as possible, this is reflected in how they taste.
FACTS ON LOBSTER
Lobster’s are surprisingly sustainable. They have no natural predators. They constantly regenerate their own DNA. On special request, you can get extra large ones here, that we call the “big boy’s.” A couple of years a go we served an 18lb lobster to a group. This lobster was over 100 years old so it had lived through both world wars!
"Burgers and lobster are rarely served at the staff meal. It’s a time for them to taste and smell something different."
BURGER AND LOBSTER 03
BURGER AND LOBSTER 03
THE STAFF EATS DIFFERENTLY
Burgers and lobster are rarely served at the staff meal. It’s a time for them to taste and smell something different. It gives our chefs a chance to cook something else, perhaps experiment on new dishes for their own repertoire or prepare something their home regions that they would like the staff to experience. There is also a healthy competition between our locations. We even have a shared Facebook group that we sometimes post our staff meals for everyone else to see.
"A couple of years a go we served an 18lb lobster to a group. This lobster was over 100 years old so it had lived through both world wars!"
BURGER AND LOBSTER 04
BURGER AND LOBSTER 04
THE MEAL IS A BIG WIN
There is no legal obligation here in the UK to serve a staff meal.I worked for years in a big organization that didn’t offer a staff meal. I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t do it, it’s such a small token of your gratitude, but a way to make such a big impact with your staff. We get our people in here ½ hour before opening so they can eat, chill out, be briefed on any important topics and ease them into the right frame of mind for the shift while making sure they are well fed.