Ask anyone in the restaurant trade and they will tell you that there's only one thing harder than running a restaurant and that's running three or four.

Only a handful of companies on the Island succeed in doing this. One is Associated Cuisine, the Bermudian company owned by Claudio Vigilante and Mrs. Deborah Gillett, which owns Fresco's, Fresco's Express and Aqua, their new venture at Ariel Sands.

Interviewed at the Aqua premises, Mr. Vigilante and Mrs. Gillett are modest about their expanding empire.

Asked which kind of restaurants they think are most successful in Bermuda, Mr. Vigilante points out: "There's a difference between successful and profitable."

He speculates that the most profitable restaurants on the Island are perhaps the ones that are less labour intensive and can stay open for longer hours.

"But you have a choice whether you aim for quality."

In other words, if you focus entirely on the bottom line, you will end up sacrificing standards and from there, it's a downwards spiral.

"You come across restaurants which are struggling and in order to cut costs they try to make savings on the food. The last place you cut costs is the food."

Mrs. Gillett comments that their commitment to quality involves a constant, ongoing cost to the restaurant.

"One has to replace things as they break or fade. That is why The Temporary Customs Duty Relief Bill will be so appreciated by owners in the restaurant business."

Mr. Vigilante agrees: "In this business, you have to renew. Not because you get a return but because you have to look after your image."

He tells a story from his time as a manager at The Four Seasons Hotel in London.

A meeting took place during a recession period to discuss replacing carpeting.

Another manager complained that in light of recent lay offs, they should not be replacing carpet that did not appear worn.

Mr. Vigilante says he will never forget the response of the general manager: "We are a Five Star hotel. If I waited to change the carpet until it looked like it needed to be changed, it would be too late."

The company decided to renovate the Aqua premises despite a tight deadline - at the time they did not know that they would qualify for relief under the Temporary Customs Duty Relief Bill which will have retroactive effect for works done since January 2002. They improved the kitchen, extended the terrace and redesigned the interior with its trademark blues. "That was our choice: we have a reputation to uphold." Mr. Vigilante said.

Across the group he says they have spent more than $1 million over the past three and a half years on capital investment.

Asked which is the most difficult side of the restaurant business to learn, the food and wine or the finance, Mr. Vigilante laughs: "Learning the financial side is more expensive if you make mistakes!" Asked what such a mistake might be, he says: "If you put a certain dish on the menu and then find that a key ingredient is not in season, the cost of the dish spirals."

Mrs. Gillett elaborates: "Whatever the supplier charges, your price is fixed.it's printed on the menu so you are stuck with it for four months."

"If something works, you don't have to dramatically change it."

But you do have to keep bringing things up to date: "The food and wine business is a lot about trends."

Says Mr. Vigilante: "I definitely don't eat the same as I did ten or fifteen years ago. I want to be enticed, excited, surprised."

At Fresco's they change the menu every four months.

"It's not only important for the guests, but also for the staff." Asked where he gets his inspiration, he says he likes to travel. "Wherever we are, when I see an interesting restaurant I'll stop the car to have a look inside and check out the menu."

As for whether they are surpassing the competition, they are refreshingly team spirited about other restaurants.

Mrs. Gillett says: "Neither Claudio nor I look at it as a competition.

"We have friends in the industry and we wish each other the best because Bermuda needs the variety."

Mr. Vigilante agrees: "The way I look at it, Bermuda is just one 26 mile resort. Tourists will not want to eat at the same place every night. but of course, I hope that they will eat at both Fresco's and Aqua at least once!"

Mr. Vigilante claims that he himself enjoys eating at other peoples' restaurants, although it is hard to figure where he would find the time.

The decision to take on a hotel restaurant at Ariel Sands has meant doubling their staff from 30 to roughly 60 and means there is never a dull moment for Mr. Vigilante and Mrs. Gillett.

Fresco's and Fresco's Express are closed on Sundays, but Aqua is open 16 hours a day, seven days a week to serve breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and room service.

"It never stops," says Mr. Vigilante, slightly wearily.

Despite the hard work, he still gets a kick out of being in such a prime spot on the South Shore. Gesturing at the fantastic view of pool, beach and ocean from Aqua's terrace, he says: "If I had to write down everything I look for in a location, Aqua has it."

Aqua has something else: a certain edge in terms of food. In the mere three months that it has been open, it has nearly caught up with Fresco's in this respect.

Mr. Vigilante and Mrs. Gillett do not seem to have spread themselves too thin.

In Troy Smith and Alun Sperring, at Aqua and Fresco's respectively, they have hired two exceptionally able and creative head chefs.

Significantly, Aqua does not feel like a "hotel restaurant".

Mr. Vigilante comments that the Ariel Sands management's decision to hand over the restaurant to an independent is part of a worldwide trend.

He says that it is now rare for the best chefs to work for hotel groups.

What stands out most about Claudio Vigilante is the good rapport he seems to have with his staff.

You can tell from the way that they speak to him that he is a respected, yet popular boss.

Asked about this, he says it comes down to three things: "Firstly, you are only as good as your staff.

"Secondly, I've been an employee longer than I've been an employer.

"Thirdly, I have a "hands on" attitude.

"If I am the first one there and something needs to be done, the table needs to be cleared or an ashtray needs to be emptied, I'll get on with it."

Although he protests that there is "no formula", his egalitarian approach to management seems to be one key ingredient in his recipe for success.