Glen Leeson, co-founder of The Tamil Prince, The Tamil Crown and Tamila, joins Dan Pope to unpack how one of London’s most talked-about Indian restaurant groups was built from pub pop-ups, second-hand fridges and blind belief.
From Patty & Bun’s burger boom to JKS discipline, lockdown hustle, personal guarantees, viral Sunday roasts, Dishoom collabs, delivery strategy and the magic of creating a restaurant that feels alive — this is a proper founder story about graft, taste, timing, luck and learning by doing.

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ON THE MENU:
00:00:00 Intro 00:01:08 Patty & Bun’s Wild West 00:05:23 London’s burger boom exploded 00:10:23 Why Tamil became three brands 00:13:12 Failed pub pop-ups and bad fit 00:17:08 Selling the landlord with no money 00:20:11 Opening before the kitchen worked 00:21:49 The review that changed everything 00:27:03 Letting neighbours shape the restaurant 00:30:05 Why blind belief matters 00:33:24 Meeting Prince at Market Halls 00:36:52 The Sheffield fridge road trip 00:40:28 Cooking the first Tamil menu 00:43:23 Pitching from a one-bed flat 00:47:16 Creating the Indian Sunday roast 00:53:13 Prince’s insane work ethic 00:56:12 JKS structure versus Patty & Bun chaos 01:02:27 Learning what not to do 01:08:21 Giving weird ideas time 01:11:13 Why competitors should collaborate 01:18:09 Building fun into the culture 01:21:16 Pressure, growth and imposter syndrome 01:29:03 The site that could’ve killed them 01:32:29 The accidental kitchen window 01:35:00 Making the toilet unforgettable 01:39:12 Delivery without killing the experience

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This episode was edited by: G.Thomas Craig (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gthomascraig/)

Grenade founder Al Barratt returns in this re-cut episode on how he built one of the UK’s most successful challenger brands — and sold it to Mondelez/Cadbury in a deal that ultimately valued the business at over £600m.

Al breaks down the brutal reality behind big exits: invasive due diligence, trademark protection, global scalability, profit, team quality, and why most “hot” brands are built on smoke and mirrors. He also reveals how Grenade moved from sports nutrition into petrol stations, supermarkets and the chocolate fixture — taking on Mars, Snickers, Dairy Milk and Kinder Bueno by making protein bars feel like a mass-market food product, not a niche gym supplement.

A masterclass in challenger brand strategy, premium pricing, retail distribution, category disruption, and building a business that big companies actually want to buy.

📙Download HUNGRY Big Banging Reading list here
🧾 HUNGRY survey would be so grateful if you may please fill out

🤝 Let's Connect!
►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/)
►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/)

This episode was edited by: G.Thomas Craig (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gthomascraig/)