Member Spotlight: Le Papillon

Life is all about metamorphosis. About shedding skin, growing and evolving into something new, something better, something different. The lowly caterpillar, when ready, hides away in a cocoon and grows until it emerges as the beautiful butterfly. This process hints at the infinite possibilities, and is a direct showcase of the wonder of nature.

It is also a journey Le Papillon owner Raman feels represents his own, symbolic of migrating countries and spending time ‘in himself’ to grow and finally emerge from himself as the butterfly, ready to fly and share joy with his food.

The French term for ‘the butterfly’, Le Papillon is the business venture that has allowed Raman to spread his wings:

Hailing from Iran where he studied at university and built up a bank of hospitality experience working in restaurants on the weekend, Raman is “really passionate about my cooking and trying new things, new foods and new tastes.”

Raman has also lived in Iraq and France before coming to England. He saw an opportunity to create his own independent business, in which he could combine his previous experience in hospitality with his artistic passion and love for cooking.

The business offers him the chance to keep true to his heritage and cultural roots, by representing his home with selling Iranian and Middle Eastern food. Festivals across the UK have benefited from these delicacies so far, with notable appearances trading at Download and Gone Wild festivals going down a treat.

He balances the business and the necessity to make money which he sees as one part of his life, with his artistic interests – “I love making art – being human, expressing myself, that’s where my heart is.” Le Papillon provides apt chance to let Raman’s creativity flourish too, and has been like an artistic project for him – designing the logo, website, putting together all the branding, even doing the handy work.

Passion is an essential ingredient in making any business work, and Raman has found this intertwines with his creative side: “The business gives me an engine to be able to boost my artistic side, so they are both very important for me.” He elaborates by explaining how it doesn’t matter so much what you do, but that “it matters to have passion for it.”

Le Papillon has been going for three years, the majority of which Raman has also been a student at Dartington where he’s a Masters student in Art. As you might expect, he states it is “very, very hard to work as a student at the same time as running a business.” He credits his positive outlook and abundance of energy at helping him succeed with these ambitions – he believes it is better to “not stop, just keep going.”

When asked about what lessons he’s learned through running his own business, Raman points out how important it is to believe in yourself: “You should believe in yourself and when you do you will grow.” He feels it is “important in life to not be scared to learn something new, to try something different, to take on the adventure that comes.”

There aren’t many adventures as big as starting your own business and although as Raman is well aware, one of the biggest challenges that poses, is the inherent risk that comes with it. Running a business is always underpinned by an element of risk, yet it is exactly this that makes the business so precious.

Furthermore, he recognises that things aren’t always going to go right – especially in business – but that every failure is a chance to grow and learn. “It’s like a baby, when they start trying to walk how many times do they fall down? But they keep getting up and trying again, so they keep taking the next steps and make progress. I’m very lucky that since starting my business I have been surrounded by friends and loved ones who helped me to build myself up. I’m grateful to all these people who helped me and in turn I try to help and uplift others whenever I can.”

Hand in hand with that risk, comes the reward of running your own business. For Raman, that comes in the form of freedom. “With the freedom of owning your own business, you have a lot of responsibility, and I love that as it makes you grow.” Raman is very conscious too of creating a positive work environment – after being bossed around a lot working for other people, he recognises how “when you’re working for someone else, it’s hard to have that same freedom.”

Success is a subjective measure, and means something different for everyone. The beauty of independent hospitality is it encourages individualism, and allows people to define their own version of success. For Raman, the answer is wholesome and refreshing: “If I said in one word, I would say peace. If you can find peace. For me I think if today is better than yesterday, then that is success.”

His philosophy as an employer is directly influenced by his experiences working for people, and for anyone who works for Le Papillion he “wants them to enjoy it, to feel valued and part of the team – it’s about having friendly energy everywhere.”

The energy is something Raman loves about catering at festivals, and when asked which dish he’d recommend a new customer should try, he’s full of enthusiasm for the lamb kebabs he wows crowds with, but also speaks highly of the falafel and vegan options he is proud to offer.

If at a festival, you’ll probably notice – or smell – Le Papillon due to the distinct charcoal barbecues they use to cook everything separately – for one, Raman admits he’s no fan of using oil, and although this set up is more expensive to run, he “believes it produces the healthier food and people do enjoy it. That really satisfies me.”

Honest feedback is invaluable, and Raman seeks it out at festivals by mingling among the crowds – he’ll “take off the uniform, walk among the crowd and when I see someone eating our food I will ask them their opinion.” People can be guarded and are more likely to speak shallow compliments when asked on purchase at the unit, so this tactic really helps Raman gauge exactly what the consensus is regarding his food, noting that “in different festivals and different areas tastes can vary so it’s good to get a wide gauge of feedback.”

When asked about what advice he’d give now to himself three years ago, when just starting out with Le Papillon, his answer is simply to “have less stress and take it easy”. You can’t argue with that! Looking forward, future plans for the business look like expanding to be able to work at more festivals, and ultimately to arrive at boasting a fixed-site premises; a home for Le Papillon.

Whatever the future holds for Le Papillon, it is imperative to Raman to ensure “the business carries on giving me an engine to be able to boost my artistic side” and the two can happily co-exist.

To follow the journey and keep up with Le Papillon, click here. For more member features and relevant industry news, click here.