{"id":738,"date":"2021-10-26T14:19:06","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T14:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/?p=738"},"modified":"2024-09-11T15:39:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T14:39:57","slug":"alumna-and-iranian-cookery-teacher-simi-on-setting-up-a-business-in-the-heart-of-bath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/2021\/10\/26\/alumna-and-iranian-cookery-teacher-simi-on-setting-up-a-business-in-the-heart-of-bath\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumna and Iranian cookery teacher, Simi, on setting up a business in the heart of Bath"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simi Rezai-Ghassemi is a double graduate from our School of Management<\/a>, with a degree in business administration (1997) and a PhD in the evolution of entrepreneurship (2004). She\u2019s also the founder of Simi\u2019s Kitchen<\/a>, a supper club and cookery school on Bath\u2019s Great Pulteney Street. It combines her business know-how with her love of teaching and passion for cooking, especially dishes from her homeland, Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs children we were encouraged to play, then when we got older to study,\u201d Simi tells us. \u201cI came to cooking in my thirties when I\u2019d completed my PhD. I love research so I treated it almost like a new degree and taught myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simi devoured the history, terrain, and culture of different countries through learning what they eat. \u201cTake Italian food,\u201d she says, \u201cthey have pasture in the north, because they\u2019re on the Swiss border, so they cook with lots of butter. In the south, the land is dry, so they grow olives and use olive oil. That\u2019s the beauty of food: it\u2019s the best souvenir from our travels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Simi<\/a>
Simi tending to her organic allotment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From Azerbaijan to Bath<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Born in Azerbaijan along the Silk Route, Simi and her family first came to the UK to study, later returning while her father was on sabbatical. But when her parents returned to Iran, 17-year-old Simi stayed in the UK with her younger sister.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war in Iran got worse, sanctions came into place and they couldn\u2019t send money, so I worked to support my sister through her education. When she graduated, I was then able to study. Bath\u2019s business degree<\/a> was perfect because I was able to undertake two placements to cover my living expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe course was so diverse \u2013 I met people from all over the world who I\u2019m still friends with now. It taught me to be open to new ideas, people, and ways of doing things,\u201d she adds. \u201cI also learned how to run a sustainable business by first doing the groundwork and creating a thoroughly\u00a0researched business plan.\u00a0 This was helpful in identifying the gaps in the market and enabling me to find my USP.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Student life in the <\/strong>'90s<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As a Bath student in the mid-'90s, Simi recalls toga parties, yoga and craft classes. \u201cIt was all very civilised,\u201d she laughs. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have The Edge [the arts hub on campus], but the University provided courses in the city centre in things like pottery and stained-glass courses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simi also brought a flavour of Persia to Bath by becoming a founding member of the \u20181001 Nights\u2019 society, which celebrated the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean. \u201cPeople who have been at the University a long time will remember it \u2013 it was a thing of glory!\u201d she smiles. \u201cWe\u2019d transform a room on campus into an Arabic tent and fashion costumes, put on shows and make huge buffets.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Simi<\/a>
Simi's Kitchen is based on Great Pulteney Street in Bath<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Setting up Simi\u2019s Kitchen<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In 2009 she established her business, Simi\u2019s Kitchen, after teaching a friend to cook Iranian dishes. \u201cI\u2019m someone who likes to share \u2013 whether that\u2019s food, knowledge or experiences \u2013 and I realised that I could combine them by hosting supper clubs and teaching cookery. I made a website and people started coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Simi\u2019s degree stood her in good stead for entrepreneurship, her PhD taught her about the importance of adapting. \u201cMy research was based on the theory of evolution and applying that to business,\u201d she explains. \u201cI knew full well that if you do not adapt to your surroundings then you will not survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been the businesses that have adapted that have been able to come through the pandemic. In my case I was a cookery teacher, but now I have a successful supper club offering and I have started catering too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her advice to any budding business owners? \u201cIt\u2019s all about people \u2013 suppliers, customers and colleagues. Reach out to those in the industry and make lasting relationships,\u201d says Simi. \u201cThe friendships I've made since starting Simi's Kitchen are very important\u00a0to me. We support each other and have great food and drink in our gatherings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Images by KMS Photo.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Simi Rezai-Ghassemi is a double graduate from our School of Management, with a degree in business administration (1997) and a PhD in the evolution of entrepreneurship (2004). She\u2019s also the founder of Simi\u2019s Kitchen, a supper club and cookery school...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1077,"featured_media":739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[186,188,180],"tags":[5,49,91,45,9],"class_list":["post-738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-news-and-updates","category-bath-city","category-features","tag-alumni","tag-bath","tag-case-studies","tag-entrepreneur","tag-university-of-bath"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/10\/Simi.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1077"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}