Matt Harris’s career journey has had its fair share of pit stops and twists and turns.
From race-track engineering to a street-food ambulance to supermarket shelves, he is now the North London foodie founder behind the UK’s first ultrasonic pickles.
After being awarded a scholarship to race NASCAR in the US, Matt Harris thought he was on the cusp of a professional motorsport career. But when the 2008 recession hit, sponsorship collapsed and Harris completed just eight laps before his dream abruptly ended.
Today, as the hospitality sector faces an ongoing crisis, he shares his advice for those looking to diversify and channel a passion for food into a unique product.
Know you’re in the best place to improve and innovate
“Spend time thinking about the skills you have and how you can transfer them. As restaurateurs and chefs, we are obsessive about what we do. We engineer new ideas every day. This can be applied to a new business venture. Often working in hospitality, we do a range of jobs and wear many hats, this is also the job of a start-up founder.”
“My own unlikely entrepreneurial journey can be traced directly back to my racing days. I always approached racing holistically. I needed to understand how the engineers think, how the car works, and how countless variables interact. Food works the same way – every component affects the final performance. I can’t help but analyse and tweak until it’s perfect.”
Be driven by telling food stories in a different way
“When my career as a racing car driver ended, I embraced travel and realised it was the stories behind the food that really inspired me. I think its this drive that connects the hospitality industry and start-up food production. I did have a year travelling in the Deep South, where he fell in love with barbecue, fried chicken and the craftsmanship behind them, from the materials used in smokers to the weight and heat retention of cast-iron pans.”
Use the flex in hospitality industry to test your product ideas
“I did reluctantly take a job in media sales, but the pull of food didn’t go away. One night, after a few drinks, I impulsively bought an old ambulance on eBay and converted it into a street-food truck. The menu changed constantly as I tinkered with recipes using the same scientific mindset I once applied to race cars.
“My breakthrough came with chipbuffalo wings, a chipotle–buffalo hybrid that won Best Wings in London at Wingfest. This success led me to found Thunderbird, now a 15-site fried chicken chain. But one problem persisted: I couldn’t find a pickle good enough to accompany my chicken. Everything on the market was too sweet, too soft or too one-dimensional. I needed something with backbone – crunch, clarity, and proper flavour.”
Embrace culinary experimentation to find your niche
“Working in the restaurant industry means we get to know ingredients inside and out, and ideas can emerge from being immersed in processes, pop-up events, ingredient sourcing and realising where there is room to do things better.”
“My own inspiration for creating the perfect dill pickle came from asking a couple of simple questions. What are pickles? Answer, vegetables in delicious liquid. Who makes the most delicious liquids? Cocktail mixologists. After watching bartenders use ultrasound to rapidly infuse spirits with fruits and herbs online, I bought an ultrasound generator on Amazon and began experimenting in my kitchen.
“Ultrasound waves create microscopic bubbles in liquid, a process called cavitation. When these bubbles collapse, they release high-energy microbursts that shatter flavour from the herbs and spices, accelerating the release of aromatic compounds, and extracting the deliciousness that flavours our pickle brine.”
Use your foodie network to scale production
“I use my own kitchen in North London to produce a tonne of pickles a week. But whether you work in or own a restaurant, or are set up at home, the hospitality sector does have a spirit of generosity. Perhaps you know someone who can let you use their kitchens out-of-hours, especially if you’re developing a product that could supply their business?
“What began as an experiment has grown into a thriving production operation. Alongside our restaurant partners and independent delis, Pickle Project has now secured a retail listing with Ocado, its first major entry into mainstream grocery.”
Pickle Project’s Sweet Dill Pickle Chips now retail at £6 in Ocado and have already been awarded two stars in the Great Taste Awards 2025.
