The news was devastating for his team but, having cherished the dream of having his own restaurant since 2008, the situation was even more heartbreaking for the Romanian. 

But, just as he and wife, Roxy, were trying to come to terms with the decision, they noticed a change. 

“Suddenly, lockdown ended and everyone who had been stuck at home for three or four months started coming out again and having fun,” Viorel recalled. “Because we had so few staff at that point, Roxy came in to help out and we were both struck by how busy the place became.

Pictured: Roxy started helping at Roseville Bistro when the business became busier after the pandemic

"We went home after a particularly busy service and when I asked her how she saw the situation, she said it had potential.” 

“The change was tremendous,” said Roxy. “The fear of covid had lifted and people wanted to go out and socialise again. But the challenge we faced trying to keep the restaurant open was enormous.” 

It was, as Viorel explained, a feat which led to significant changes. 

“I told my business partners that we had reconsidered the decision to close and really wanted to keep going,” he said. “However, as far as they were concerned, the risk was too great and they’d had enough. 

“While we recognised the risk, we also believe that if you don’t take risks, you don’t get anything, so we took every penny we owned and put it into the business to try and secure its future.”  

Perilous though the decision was, it appears that the couple’s “no risk, no reward” approach paid off, as not only is Roseville Bistro still going strong but Viorel, together with new business partner Roxana Hinui, has just opened his second venture – Jersey Roseville Café.

Pictured: Together with new business partner Roxana Hinui, Jersey Roseville Café opened this month

Based in what used to be The Sinful Vegan in Halkett Street, the café – which opened in the middle of October – offers everything from coffees and bacon rolls to cooked breakfasts, a takeaway offer and a selection of “relaxed lunch” starters and mains. 

But while the menu might feature the word “relaxed”, Viorel admits that this is not a feeling with which he is very familiarat the moment. 

“During covid, we had a lot of sleepless nights wondering what the future of the business might be,” he said. “Now I am having a lot of sleepless nights, trying to ensure that the standards in both restaurants are as I want them to be, and thinking through every detail.” 

While he admits to being “a little bit tired” – “you mean exhausted”, interjects Roxy – midnight musings are nothing new to Viorel, whose culinary career began many years ago in his native Romania. 

“I started as a kitchen porter/cleaner in a big hotel in Bucharest,” he explained. “After seven or eight months, I approached my manager to ask whether I could train to become a commis chef, something which had been mentioned to me when I applied for the job. However, the boss refused to let me change positions, as he said I was too good at what I was doing.” 

Disappointed by the lack of opportunities to progress, Viorel left the hotel, inspired by an offer presented to him by a close friend. 

“I told him what had happened and he said that if I wanted to become a chef, I could work in his pizza restaurant in Bucharest. It was a really busy restaurant based in one of the town parks, and we often served 600 pizzas a day,” he said.  

As well as becoming familiar with the wood-fired oven, Viorel used his time there to “learn so many skills and secrets of Italian cuisine from the Italian chef”, skills which he then honed further after joining “a fancy restaurant” in the city. 

Pictured: Viorel still uses his knowledge of Italian cuisine he learnt whilst training

“As well as learning more cooking techniques, I learnt one of the most valuable lessons of my career, which is that you can’t rush perfection,” he said. “The executive chef constantly strove for perfection, and was always at my shoulder, saying ‘add more salt’ or ‘add more pepper’ or asking whether I had seasoned a dish properly.” 

“That was when I used to wake up in the night to the sound of Viorel saying ‘add more salt’ in his sleep,” laughed Roxy, adding that her husband had been banished “to the sofa” in the build-up to the launch of Jersey Roseville Café, so that he could “plan his menus and order the wallpaper without disturbing me”. 

“It has been a lot more work than I expected to get the café ready,” admitted Viorel, whose inspiration for the business came following a chance conversation with a friend. 

“I’d popped into The Sinful Vegan for a coffee and a chat with the manager, who is one of my best friends, one morning in January or February,” he explained. “During the conversation, he mentioned that the lease was due to expire this year and that he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to renew it.

"As soon as he said that, I had that lightbulb moment, and I spent the next two or three months asking him whether he had reached a decision yet. 

“As soon as he said that he had decided to close the business, I jumped at the chance to take on the premises.” 

Pictured: The new premises is in the former Sinful Vegan site on Halkett Street

As well as taking on the site, Veriol and Roxana employed a number of the staff from The Sinful Vegan. But while they had a vision for their new outlet, bringing all the elements together was less straightforward than they might have imagined. 

“Because we have worked in hospitality for a long time, and already have a restaurant, we thought that opening a coffee shop would be easy but we’ve had a few surprises along the way,” said Roxy with a smile. 

“I wanted to have a coffee shop because Roseville Bistro is only open in the evenings,” Veriol added. “Having a location in the middle of town enables us to offer some of the Roseville Bistro favourites – such as the seafood linguine – while also trying some new ideas.” 

And that focus on new, he adds, is critical. 

“There is a lot of competition in town, so it is important to offer good-quality products at good prices,” he said. “But it’s also important to stand out and not have the same dishes on my menu that my neighbour has on their menu.

"That’s why you will see a Jersey black butter breakfast sandwich alongside a Japanese egg sandwich. You can get an egg mayonnaise sandwich anywhere but where else can you get a Japanese version where the chef has boiled and grated the eggs on the premises, removed the yolks and combined them with mustard and wasabi to make a mayonnaise and then whisked everything together to make a lovely creamy filling?

“Similarly, where else would you find a sandwich which combines Jersey black butter, bacon and brie? People might think it sounds strange but it just plays on the favourite combination of sweet and sour.” 

And Veriol, Roxana and Roxy have plenty of plans to introduce more fresh ideas to the menu in the near future. 

“I’ve just finished putting our Christmas menu together,” said Veriol. “When we started on the town project, we already had bookings for Christmas but no menu, so that was another middle-of-the-night job. I am also keen to add some Romanian items to the café menu but that will come in time. At the moment, we are still assessing the demand and finding out what people want.” 

Pictured: The menu features new breakfast additions plus Rosville Bistro favourites 

Whatever does appear on the menu will, the trio add, remain faithful to their vision of quality. 

“When we opened Roseville Bistro, we weren’t aiming to get rich. We just wanted to offer good quality, use Jersey products wherever possible and enjoy a good life,” said Roxy.

“The same principle applies to Jersey Roseville Café. We know it will take a while to grow but we are confident that it will be a success. Having two premises also gives us the opportunity to promote the bistro in the café and vice versa.” 

But while recognising the potential marketing benefits of having two locations, Veriol is only too aware of the potential pitfalls. 

“We have to maintain the standards of Roseville Bistro and replicate them at the café,” he said. “If someone has a great breakfast in the café, they might then go for dinner at the bistro but if I do something wrong in the café, it could impact the restaurant as well.

"That consistency is key. Whether I’m in the restaurant, the café or having a rare day off, the customers shouldn’t be able to tell the difference. That perfection should always be there in every dish.” 

READ MORE...

This article first appeared in the November edition of Connect Magazine – read the edition in full below...