30-year-old business lady Nina Gudkova herself cooks, sets the price for her wonderful desserts and is not afraid of failures.
Nina was born on January 27 in 1983, she is not married, since work takes her whole life. Her children are cafe-pastry shops, fashionable places of the capital. Nina Gudkova and Pavel Kostorenko are the "parents" of famous institutions in the capital. These are Friends forever company, I love cake, Breakfast Cafe, Brownie Cafe and Conversation.
Looking at the girl, it is hard to believe that restaurateur Nina Gudkova is a fan of desserts. She cooks them herself, spending days at the kitchen counter. The key features of her sweet masterpieces are the originality of the recipe, large portions and an incredible amount of fresh berries. Any dish is very tasty, in the cafe, according to guest reviews, I want to come back again and again.
Education, career
The biography of Nina Gudkova did not develop exactly as she planned. She always wanted to open her own cafe, but she did not burn at all with the idea of becoming a cook or confectioner.
Her education is known that she received the specialty "manager of the restaurant business" at the Moscow Academy of Tourism. After the girl went to gain experience in the capital's restaurants.
Her parents hoped that she would be a brilliant economist, but Nina Gudkova went her own way and chose the career of a restaurateur. Parents were not enthusiastic, but, looking ahead, we note that they allocated Nina funds to open their own institution. The sum of several million rubles opened the way for Nina to the world of the Moscow confectionery business.
After the university (we are talking about the biography of restaurateur Nina Gudkova), she completely devoted herself to gaining experience in metropolitan restaurants. In an effort to learn all the ins and outs of this business, she worked as a manager, accountant and merchandiser - she wanted to learn everything. Together with their friend-economist Pavel Kostorenko, they ventured to set sail freely on the stormy waves of the Moscow restaurant business and open their own business.
The story of Nina Gudkova is one of the brightest examples of success, and in principle it can well serve as a book-guide for beginner businessmen. The technologies of its success are not classified, although this is probably not enough: few people manage to boast of their own restaurant chain by the age of 30, the character of a person is also important.
Nina admits that she does not consider her work a job, it is her way of life. Just think - take it away from the person, and with what he will remain? But for now, this is the whole world for her, in which she experiences joy and sadness, where calm and complete chaos reign. But Nina admits that she even gets tired with great pleasure, because she loves insanely what she does.
Looking at her, it’s hard to believe that the girl runs several restaurants.
Secrets of Success
Self-confidence - this is not for her to occupy. Already at the age of 15, Nina realized that she wanted to open a coffee shop, and unlike many dreamers, she brought her idea to 100% implementation. Conceived, then it must be done.
After receiving a professional education and gaining experience in the capital's institutions, at 25 she realized that the knowledge she gained was enough to open her own business.
The money saved was not enough, she turned to her parents and took a certain amount. Together with a friend, Pavel Kostorenko, in 2008 opened the first Friends Forever cafe in Moscow, an institution of the format of an American coffee shop. Parents all waited until the girl “played enough” and got a “normal” job as an economist or lawyer. But Nina is not one of those who obey, and her parents resigned - stopping her daughter turned out to be a futile exercise. In addition, Nina's grandmother, having tasted delicious desserts, issued a verdict that she could be proud of her granddaughter.
This is not to say that success was long in coming. A year later, entrepreneurs opened a second restaurant, then a third. In total, Nina and Paul have seven establishments.
Nina hardly eats her desserts. This is surprising, but she, who insanely likes to come up with cakes and pastries, cookies and other goodies, doesn’t need anything special except apples. Perhaps Nina is following the figure.
Nina Gudkova, completely devoting herself to work, still does not forget about herself. If you want to go to the cinema or to Paris, she will certainly find time for this.
Projects
In 2010, Gudkova and Kosterenko tried themselves in a radically different format than the confectionery - beer Favorite Pub was opened. Then came the "American Dessert Lab" called I Love Cake.
According to Nina, desserts are an inexhaustible number of recipes, a category in which there is no "ceiling", they can be invented constantly. The main thing is not to stop learning.
Nina's know-how - glass refrigerated display cases for desserts. The confectioner admits that at first her masterpieces melted in them, but then, having improved the system, everything began to work normally. Here are the projects of Nina and Paul:
- I love cake.
- Favorite Pub.
- Friends Forever.
- Conversation (cafe of American cuisine).
- Breakfast Cafe (breakfast all day).
- Friendly pizza (pizza delivery service).
- Brickstone beer (brewery).
According to Nina, the secret to the success of the project was to discard everything that makes no sense and interferes. Starting a business, Nina was responsible for the ongoing internal processes, and Pasha - for communication with the outside world. Plus, they had an accountant who ensured reporting. They didn’t attract anyone else - eminent chefs and PR agents did not work in the team, according to Nina, there was nothing to coordinate with them, they coped. The menu was written a week before the opening. Nina confesses that she has not rested for many years, but since work is her life, on vacation she would not know what to do.
To many who suffer from snobbery, seemingly strange at first glance unprofessional and not very difficult to make desserts that can be easily made at home. Nina explains that the format of the institution is precisely in simplicity, the main thing here is the taste and high quality of the products. She asks the question: will all cafes be ready to sell for 450 rubles a huge piece of fresh cake weighing a pound, generously decorated with fresh berries? Nina emphasizes that these are homemade desserts, and the feedback that “I cook such a cake every day in my kitchen” is a compliment for their establishment, which means their cakes are popular.
"I will not cook eclairs"
Nina is a very principled person. If a visitor comes to her and is surprised that there are no eclairs on the menu, Nina will be pleased to inform that such establishments as Volkonsky and Coffee House are located very close - literally around the corner, and that she - Nina - will not cook eclairs. Her passion is fresh berries, which are simply abundant in her desserts.
The average price of a piece of berry cake Nina Gudkova - 450 rubles. Prices are high - maybe, but in establishments - a full house, somewhere management even had to limit the time spent at the tables. Nina doesn’t smoke or sell strong alcohol (institutions have a family format), there is no way to fight board games, there are no discounts either. Perhaps such conditions are not for everyone, but Nina is sure that any visitor can be brought up.
Start
In 2008, Nina and Pavel, having invested 7 million rubles, opened Freinds Forever. Three of them went on lease, and two weeks later property prices collapsed. This was the first test, and then others followed - the beginning of 2009 was marked by a fatal deficit of customers who began to save on visiting the cafe.
They went on a trick with the goal of creating a fleur of “American pathos” for their institution: they positioned themselves not as the owners of the institution, but as a brand chef and brand manager. Counterparty snobs were happy. Nina became the face of the cafe, regular customers loved her and always turned to her with personal requests - to cook with this or that ingredient, or without it.
