So now I really feel like we’re up and running. Around 150 people associated with the London restaurant industry including chefs Mark Hix, Richard Corrigan, Pierre Koffman, Claude Bosi and Fergus Henderson and restaurateurs Nick Jones, Des MacDonald, Marlon Abela, Des Gunawardena and David Loewi turned out last night for a reception to find out more about the London Restaurant Festival.
Given that we had invited about 180 people this was hugely encouraging if a little nerve-racking. Fay and I, and the growing team, have always been convinced that the concept for a London Restaurant Festival is a winning one but it is rather pointless if no one else gives a fig.
However, the fact that those gathered were so enthusiastic and supportive of the idea was reassuring. For me, it really shored up the commitment to create what I am confident will become, in time, the world’s most stimulating restaurant and food festival.
In keeping with this growing spirit of goodwill, and enthusiasm, Des McDonald, CEO of Caprice Holdings, who also sits on the LRF steering committee, generously provided the location –The Club at the Ivy. We are extremely grateful for this and also the delectable food provided by Urban Caprice. Both are owned by Richard Caring, who also sits on the LRF steering committee.
Mumm provided the champagne for which we are also grateful.
The evening wasn’t just about having drinks and eating small food however. Fay gave an elegant turn explaining her motivation for creating the LRF and highlighting the fact that the restaurant industry, as an entity, has too long been neglected and the time has come for its celebration. She also stressed the fact that the LRF is for all restaurants and not just the swanky ones. On her blog, on this site, she expands on this.
I then revealed that the LRF gala opening night party will be on October 7th at Quaglino’s and co-hosted by Vanity Fair before sharing some of the events we are planning and chivvying those gathered into contributing ideas. In my experience chefs and restaurateurs are always coming up with inventive ideas to boost their business, in the LRF they now have an umbrella under which these ideas can be fostered, and marketed, so the potential is fully realised.
Tim Etchells, the MD of Single Market Events, and one of our founding partners, then reassured guests that the LRF wasn’t just a couple of hacks with a good idea and no way of actually making it happen.
With a successful roster of events that include London Fashion Week, the British Motor Show, the Good Food Show and the Top Gear Show Tim explained how Single Market Events would help make the festival sing.
I won’t go into it here but if you would like more information on the nitty gritty then please register on this site and we will provide the information you require.
Mayor Boris Johnson’s office called me earlier in the day and he apologised for not being able to attend but reiterated his wholehearted support for the LRF and said he would help in any way he can. October 7th is firmly in his diary.
In his place Sally Chatterjee, the interim head of one our key founding partners Visit London, said a few words outlining the importance Visit London places of the LRF and how they can enable it achieve the scope of its ambition. I would like to thanks her for taking the time to come along.
It was good to see LRF committee member Janet Street Porter who is a fervent supporter of London restaurants and a passionate Londoner.
“I think it’s (the LRF) a fantastic idea,” she said. “We’ve been useless in championing our restaurants and this is just what London needs.”
This was a sentiment I heard repeatedly throughout the evening from photographer Richard Young and Daily Mail columnist Richard Kay to the teams that run the New West End Company (Oxford, Bond and Regent streets) and those from Covent Garden.
Hoteliers Gordon Campbell Gray (No 1 Aldwych) and Sinclair Beecham (The Hoxton) were no less ebullient in their support.
Such a variety of guests, and such a groundswell of support, is crucial and heartwarming but now the work really gathers pace to ensure all the events flourish in year one.
Last year I was chair of the judges for The London Restaurant Awards. I remember looking round Grosvenor House Ballroom – that inevitable venue – at the end of the awards evening and seeing too many disappointed faces of short-listed chefs who had not won and who furthermore had paid a good deal of hard-earned money for a seat at the interminable dinner. I thought then, there must be a better way of celebrating London’s astonishingly wide and interesting array of restaurants than this. I thought about London Fashion Week and the support it received not only in terms of press but also occasions like the reception given in Downing Street. Chefs and restaurateurs should receive as much recognition as designers of clothes. Both industries employ many people and contribute to the economy as well as to the gaiety of the nation.
