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Alan Yau, the founder of Wagamama, has done well for somebody who hates to cook.
Having made his name with the creation of the Japanese noodle bar chain (which he sold in 1998), the Hong Kong-born entrepreneur has gone on to build a multi-million pound British restaurant empire.
In addition to Busaba Eathai, a canteen-styled Thai restaurant named by Time Out magazine as one of the best places to eat in London, the 45-year-old is behind Hakkasan and Yauatcha, two upmarket Chin-ese restaurants that each hold a Michelin star.
More recently, he has returned to his roots to create cheaper food for the masses with the opening last month of Cha Cha Moon in London's West End, which amounts to his take on the menus at Hong Kong's traditional dai pai dongs (no-frill street noodle stands).
In January, the publicity-shy Yau found himself in the spotlight after he sold a majority stake in Hakkasan and Yauatcha to Tasameem, the property arm of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, for $60 million.
The sale was the first of a series of similar deals involving high-profile individuals and luxury dining establishments. Nobu, a sushi chain favoured by celebrities, and D&D London, Sir Terence Conran's restaurant group, have been put up for sale since.
This has led some in the business to wonder if restaurant owners are calling the top of the market.
"Not at all," says Yau. "It doesn't matter if we sell on the downturn or the upturn of the business cycle because this end of the market is so exclusive it will always attract certain types of buyers regardless of market conditions.
"Middle East investors have shown a keen interest in buying restaurants with upmarket brands because they fit well with the luxury mall and hotel developments spreading through the Gulf."
As far as his deal with Tasameem goes, Yau says he did that to fund the expansion of Hakkasan and Yauatcha across the Middle East, Asia and the US.
The son of a poor tailor, he has come far from relatively humble beginnings to prosper in London's restaurant scene.
After following his parents to the UK when he was 11, he spent his teenage years working at the family takeaway in Norfolk before moving to the capital to read politics at London Metropolitan University.
Yau went to work for GKN, the engineering group, but he wanted to run his own business. With help from his father, he raised £50,000 to open a Chinese takeaway in Peterborough and made his investment back in six months.
He then worked at a McDonald's franchise in Hong Kong for three months - a stint he jokingly admits was industrial espionage - before returning to London to open the first Wagamama in Bloomsbury in 1992.
Obsession
Even today, cracking the fast food market remains an obsession of Yau. Three years ago, he hit upon an idea he claims will be the next big thing in fast food. He plans to sell his remaining stake in Hakkasan and Yauatcha within the next year or two to concentrate on the new project.
"I can't tell you what it is yet," he says with a wink. "But it'll be big. Big enough to rival the McDonald's and Burger Kings of the West."
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