A LITERARY FEAST

Restaurateur Michelle Garnaut, who hosts annual literary festivals at her M restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai, has a guilty secret.

The Australian — a voracious reader of all kinds of books for most of her 54 years — is a university drop-out who failed to complete her English Literature degree. It is a source of minor embarrassment to Garnaut, especially when asked for career advice by eager youngsters.

“I am not proud of that, it is not good encouragement for young people, says the always-candid Garnaut. “I did English Literature at university and dropped out. I loved reading as a kid and still do. I am not much of a movie or TV person, I prefer a good book.”

The bibliophile restaurateur’s passion for the written word is reflected in a commitment to the annual M literary festivals, where writers are flown in to give talks and seminars — and attend lively parties — at Capital M in Beijing and M on the Bund in Shanghai.

For details on the Capital M Literary Festival, check out The Write Stuff and the that's Beijing Events page.

The Shanghai event is a long-running fixture in the culture-starved commercial city, so it was only natural Garnaut would transplant the formula to Beijing when Capital M opened two years ago. Previous big-name authors who have come to China include Amy Tan, Gore Vidal, Jan Morris, Junot Diaz, John Banville, and Louse DeBernieres.

The selection of writers is always eclectic, featuring individuals who have penned books on crime, business, China, Nazi concentration camps, sex, pop music, football, science, religion, wine and typography, meaning there is something for everyone who has an interest in the printed word. A previous festival even had a seminar by a writer on the highly acclaimed cult television series The Wire: former journalist Bill Zorzi gave insights on how the groundbreaking HBO drama was put together.

A sprinkling of stellar names is assured, thanks to Garnaut’s wide range of contacts in the literary world; this year the guest list is set to include Alan Hollinghurst, Mohammed Hanif and Tom Rob Smith, as well as locally-based journalists Evan Osnos and Ian Johnson. The chance to see China for the first time, be wined and dined in some of its best western restaurants and socialize with fellow writers is certainly a draw when it comes to attracting headliners.

“Running the festival is a lot of hard work and it certainly doesn’t make money, it costs money to do it,” says Garnaut, who also sponsors residency programs for upcoming writers and poets.

“But I really enjoy it; through this, I have now met an unbelievable amount of writers and, through the M restaurants connection with music, I have met some of the top conductors in the world. The nice thing about running a restaurant is that you generally find people who are usually in a happy situation.”

Garnaut herself is certainly much cheerier than two years ago, when Capital M first opened, just as the brutal Beijing winter began. Business was slow during the first six months but the boss and her investors had deep pockets, and confidence that the M concept — classic European food in a refined setting — would ultimately prove to be popular with Beijing residents.

“Our first winter here was tough,” admits Garnaut. “We are now into our third year and the increase in business is 30 to 40% on last year. We have potential to grow with a bigger and bigger local base. Right from the word go, we had many more Chinese customers; when we opened in Shanghai 13 years ago, there wasn’t really that Chinese middle class.

“Timing is so crucial with opening a restaurant – having the right thing at the right time. We painted ourselves into a corner with M on the Bund because the expectation was that our next place would be spectacular. I think we have delivered on that in Beijing, but it took us seven years to find the right place. It is a fabulous location, just off the Square.”

The customers of Capital M know they are not in for any major surprises with the fare; it is not a place for those in search of molecular gastronomy, or faddish east-meets-west creations. Mediterranean-style dishes dominate the menu: crispy suckling pig is an M staple, house-smoked salmon and imported steaks are popular and pavlova, an ultra-sweet dessert that hails from the proprietor’s home city of Melbourne, is an ever-present.

Garnaut, the eldest in a family of nine, has been in and around the restaurant and bar business since waitressing as a teenager, but had no formal training as a chef. Nor did she have any initial aspirations to run a chain of restaurants, or live most of her adult life in Hong Kong and China.

But her first modest restaurant, M at the Fringe, proved to be such a success that it stayed in business for 20 years, patronized by, among others, the former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten. The Shanghai operation was added 13 years ago, followed by the much-anticipated opening in the capital city in a prime spot at the top of Qianmen. Ironically, there is no M restaurant now in Hong Kong, with the owner unable to find affordable premises.

She says: “The formula is that we don’t have a formula; it is hard work and you have to make sure that it is the right thing at the right time. For success, you have to have a clear idea and carry through your idea and work hard and persevere and roll with the punches.

“My management style is that I am a bit of a mother hen, I am the oldest in the family of nine so I am naturally bossy! But I have had to fire people, I had to do that even before I had my own business; pathetic bosses who left it up to you. I thought when I am the boss I will never do that: I find the firing bit is not that difficult, if someone is not working that well they are not happy anyway.

“The restaurant and hotel industry is really a lifestyle, you have to live it and if you don’t live it, you don’t enjoy it. I meet the most remarkable people, it is fascinating.”

During non-working hours in Beijing, the owner likes to attend symphony-orchestra performances, or chamber-music recitals. A late-in-life convert from pop music to classical music, Garnaut often hosts musical soirees at Capital M, particularly chamber music.

When it comes to restaurants, Garnaut’s favourites are Xiao Wang Fu restaurant in Ritan Park, close to her diplomatic-compound apartment, and Made in China restaurant in the Grand Hyatt hotel. Modo in Nali Patio is another choice.

None of them can boast the history of the M brand. There are only two restaurants in the stable, but the name has become synonymous with classy, western-style comfort food and, thanks to tourist trade and the literary festival, achieved a measure of international resonance.

Adds Garnaut: "When we opened, my ambition was just to run one small restaurant. M is now a name that lots and lots of people know; if you are interested in restaurants you would be familiar with it."