Luke Mangan finds the recipe to develop a food empire
The talented chef used to be a one-man operation, but now he heads a food empire overseeing 630 staff in Australia and overseas.
Mangan, one of Australia's most renowned chefs and restaurateurs, is spinning more than just a few plates.
In addition to his signature Glass Brasserie in Sydney, there are Salt grill restaurants in Surfers Paradise, Singapore and Jakarta, and Salt with the adjoining World Wine Bar in Tokyo. Then there are the commercial agreements with P&O cruise liners, three of which have Salt grill restaurants on board, and Virgin Australia, which has Mangan as its consulting chef.
His latest venture is Headquarters, a warehouse unlike any other in Australia. It will bring Mangan's head office and warehouse, at separate locations for the past four years, under the one roof in Sydney. "It's a big open space, a versatile space, and having everything under the one roof cuts down on overheads," he says.
Headquarters will also house Mojo Wine Bar, a casual wine and tapas bar, and the Test Kitchen, which will be used to develop new dishes and train kitchen and service staff.
Mangan speaks with relief when he talks of the opening in mid-May. "We've been working on it since September last year and I can't wait for it to open," he says.
Mangan started his career in Melbourne's Two Faces restaurant after dropping out of school at 15. He worked as a chef until 35 when he resolved to branch out.
"I decided I didn't want to be chained to the kitchen," he says. "Since then I've had a lot of luck, been in the right place at the right time."
Now 42, Mangan says he learnt that chefs have to be multi-dimensional. "Margins in restaurants aren't what they used to be," he says. "It's a tough business. Chefs need more outlets, more streams of income."
And Mangan has plenty of streams. There are the four best-selling cookbooks, corporate catering, the speaking circuit, his signature range of gourmet products, a weekly spot on Nine's Today show and, just recently, baby food.
Mangan launched Baby Bites a month ago with Aussie Farmers Direct distributing the new range. "There is no other preservative-free baby food on the market, so to me it was just common sense," he says. "I went to Heinz with the idea about two years ago, but they weren't interested."
Mangan has plenty of other fish to fry. Based in Sydney, he takes three weeks out of every month to oversee his international operations, including P&O and Virgin.
All are performing well - some more so than others.
"Glass does $10 million a year in revenue, but Singapore is double that," Mangan says. "The biggest profit margin is in Asia because of the labour costs. Australian labour costs are incredibly high compared with Asia."
Each restaurant has a head chef, in whom Mangan places a lot of trust. "The head chefs are all people who've been with me for a minimum of eight years and I treat it like a partnership and give them a lot of freedom," he says.
"I know I wouldn't be where I am today if I was tied to the kitchen and didn't have the supportive staff. We've got a great team."
Four years ago when P&O approached him to come on board, Mangan had his doubts.
"Initially I thought being involved in P&O wouldn't be a good thing," he says. "When we met, they told me they really needed to lift their game. Then they agreed to my terms of having a separate restaurant with separate staff. It's something I never thought I'd do or could do, but it was an opportunity that came about and I went for it."
A year after signing with P&O, Mangan sealed the deal with Virgin - a deal that came about after he cooked for Sir Richard Branson on Branson's private island in the Caribbean. Mangan is now the consultant chef for Virgin's first, business and domestic classes, plus the Virgin lounges.
So now that he has restaurants on land, sea and in the air, what could possibly be next?
"I'll have to talk to Richard about food in space or food underwater," he jokes.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Luke Mangan is an Australian chef and restaurateur who oversees a multi-faceted food empire. His operations include signature venues such as Glass Brasserie in Sydney, Salt Grill restaurants in Surfers Paradise, Singapore and Jakarta, Salt with the World Wine Bar in Tokyo, commercial agreements placing Salt Grill restaurants on P&O cruise liners, and a consulting role with Virgin Australia. He also runs product lines, corporate catering, cookbooks, TV appearances and recently launched a baby-food range.
Mangan has deliberately diversified beyond restaurants to include best-selling cookbooks, corporate catering, public speaking, a branded gourmet product range, a weekly TV spot, commercial deals with P&O and Virgin, and a preservative-free baby-food line (Baby Bites). For everyday investors, this diversification can reduce reliance on any single revenue source and help smooth earnings in a tough restaurant market.
Mangan’s group employs about 630 staff across Australia and overseas. His international footprint includes restaurants in Asia (Singapore and Jakarta), Tokyo, placements on P&O cruise liners and ongoing work with Virgin Australia, which requires him to spend about three weeks every month overseeing international operations.
Headquarters is a new warehouse-style facility in Sydney that brings Mangan’s head office and warehouse under one roof. It also houses Mojo Wine Bar and a Test Kitchen for developing dishes and training staff. Mangan says consolidating those functions into a single, versatile space cuts overheads and improves efficiency.
According to Mangan, Glass Brasserie generates about $10 million a year in revenue, while his Singapore operations do roughly double that. He also notes the biggest profit margins come from Asia due to lower labour costs compared with Australia, although performance varies by venue.
Mangan has commercial agreements with P&O that place Salt Grill restaurants on at least three cruise ships; he negotiated separate restaurants and staffing to protect quality. He is also the consulting chef for Virgin Australia’s first, business and domestic classes and Virgin lounges—a role that followed cooking for Sir Richard Branson. These partnerships extend his brand into sea and air travel and diversify revenue beyond brick-and-mortar restaurants.
Baby Bites is Mangan’s preservative-free baby-food range launched recently. It’s distributed through Aussie Farmers Direct. Mangan developed the product after approaching major manufacturers like Heinz, who weren’t interested at the time.
Mangan emphasizes that restaurateurs must be multi-dimensional because margins in restaurants are tighter than before. He stresses building multiple income streams, trusting and partnering with long-term head chefs, and seeking operational efficiencies (like consolidating office and warehouse space). For investors, these points highlight the importance of diversification, strong management teams and cost control in hospitality businesses.
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