More Of This Kind Of Thing

Fair play to Jamie Oliver, he knows how to work a room… I went to the launch dinner of the chef’s new restaurant, Catherine Street, last week and he gave a speech to the gathered room of writers, editors, suppliers and food-world movers and shakers.

What was particularly noteworthy about it was that Oliver’s speech felt properly heartfelt and honest – yes there was the stuff about getting the restaurant ‘band’ back together and what fun it was to have Andrew Lloyd Webber as his new landlord (the location is right in London’s theatreland), but a lot more besides. 

‘This is a second chance for me’, he said. We all know what happened last time there were Jamie Oliver restaurants in Britain… It pre-empted any questions from curious journalists and got everyone listening carefully. He was humble, and even perhaps a tiny bit nervous.

Added to that, Oliver – or more likely his smart in-house and agency PR teams – had arranged a smattering of the farmers, growers, chocolatiers and other suppliers for the Catherine Street enterprise at the tables. It meant that we all had someone to talk to about their work and relationship with Jamie Oliver while the main man made his way slowly around, and while we ate ‘family style’ from an edited menu.

So what could have been a glitzy, boozy melee was instead a more intimate, involved event. Bravo to the team and more of this kind of thing please!