An interview with JP Knaggs and Ryan Williams of Bijou Café.


JP: What is your food philosophy in seven words or less?

Simple food will make you simply happy.

Ryan: What are some new menu items you are introducing at Bijou?

It’s not so much new dishes, but new flavors, new techniques and new styles. All made with love.

Ryan and JP: What is your favorite dish on the menu?

Ryan: It’s between the Shrimp Piri Piri, which has a lot of spice and flavor, and the Gravlax house-cured salmon, which is subtle yet delicious. JP: Definitely the Shrimp Piri Piri—I put it on the menu in 1986. It has evolved some, but still on the menu and very popular.

JP: What is the most valuable lesson you've learned in your 31 years running Bijou Café?

In my younger days, I was the chef on a large luxury yacht and was chatting with the owner one day and I asked him the secret of his success. “I have never been afraid of anything, in business or in life,” he said. I opened my own restaurant 31 years ago with a lot of fears but kept his philosophy in mind and never let fear of the unknown hold me back. I’ve learned that success was not just about me. I refer to our staff as the Bijou family and like to think of them as a close-knit group and a team where everyone depends on the other to win the game.