Meet Ian Taylor: "There’s nowhere else in the world with such an international flavour!"

Ian Taylor of Cocinas Plus

Originally a Yorkshire lad – his father wanted him to play county cricket – Ian Taylor of Cocinas Plus never imagined that he would one day be running a successful kitchen showroom on the Costa del Sol.

Always something of a wanderer, Ian started out on his career in kitchens, not by selling them, but by working in them as a chef! He worked for a time in Switzerland, before leaving the heady heights of Swiss cuisine to sell fire extinguishers to farmers in Scotland! After which he had a spell running his own hotel, before deciding to make the move to Spain in 2001, where he settled in Valtocado, near Mijas Pueblo, and still resides today.

Ian talks to us about how he got into the kitchen business and his exciting plans for 2013…

Marbella now and ten years ago – what differences stand out for you?

We have seen a remarkable regeneration right across the Coast. The local ayuntamientos have really cleaned up their acts and cleaned up their towns too. New infrastructure such as the San Pedro underpass have made such a huge improvement to people’s everyday lives. We’re living in a very different Costa del Sol and a much better one.

Ten years ago there were also a lot of people taking advantage of the Costa to make easy money, now thankfully, most of those characters have left and the serious businesses and lovers of the Costa del Sol have stayed.

Personally what are your favourite aspects of life on the Costa del Sol?

The sun and amazing climate of course, what else! But I also love the multiculturalism of the place. The other night we had a dinner party and there were English, Spanish, Danish and German guests around the table. I don’t think there is anywhere else in the world where you could enjoy such an international flavour around the table.

Do you speak Spanish Ian?

Actually I don’t, though I do understand more than I can speak. But I do have a great team at Cocinas Plus who speak a multitude of languages including English, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and German, so there is never any communication barrier with customers or suppliers.

Why kitchens – how did you come to set up Cocinas Plus?

I didn’t set up Cocinas Plus, the business has been established for many years and was originally owned by my neighbour, Ingolf Jacobsen. Ingolf came to me back in 2010 and asked if I was interested in taking over the business, and I jumped at the chance. I was looking for a real ‘hands-on’ opportunity and I felt that Ingolf was offering me a business that I could build on and improve for the future. And here I am, three years later, with a second showroom in Marbella, a new kitchen and homeware online store www.e-cocinasplus.com and a lot more exciting plans for the near future.

Tell us more about these exciting plans!

Well we are branching out a lot more in terms of products. We launched the new online home and kitchenware store last year and we are selling to clients all over the world, so our business has become international in a very short time.

And of course aside from kitchens and kitchenware, we are starting to expand our range offering some really outstanding décor ware, ornaments and furniture pieces by designers such as Toms Company, with their Toms Drag Deco collection, Casa Bugatti and we will soon launch a collection by the renowned glass designer, Jan Borowski.

We are also soon presenting a luxury range of kitchens, which will be available in our Golden Mile, Marbella store. We’ll keep you posted on the launch.

What important lessons have you learnt since living in Spain?

I have definitely learnt to be more laid-back and to accept that not everything revolves around me and my agenda. Everything does take a little longer here. Stay cool and accept it and you’ll get along just fine, stress about it and you’ll be stressed often!

What advice would you give to someone relocating and wanting to set up a business here?

Vital: Make sure you get an excellent accountant and seek good advice from experienced residents and professionals and always have good people around you. You must also understand the differences of economy here and appreciate that if you want to make a success you have to do things properly.

Ian Taylor is owner of VIVA Recommends kitchen partner Cocinas Plus. With showrooms in La Cala de Mijas and on the Golden Mile, Marbella, Cocinas Plus is one of the leading kitchen showrooms on the Costa del Sol.

Take a look at some of the latest kitchen showroom offers on their VIVA Recommends microsite or visit www.cocinasplus.com for the latest kitchen designs and discounts on the Costa del Sol.