The end of the grand fantasy: restaurant dining may never be the same again From 1843mag
he Wolseley sits handsomely on Piccadilly, a stone’s throw from The Ritz. Behind its baroque ironwork entrance is a grand café of a type long familiar to residents of Paris and Vienna, yet rare in London. The interior is inspired by the columns and round arches of the Basilica Santo Spirito in Florence, but dressed with black-and-gold Japanese lacquer. A cosmopolitan space, it’s the jewel in the crown of the city’s pre-eminent restaurateurs, Chris Corbin and Jeremy King.
It’s natural to feel a pang of nostalgia for the well-appointed world of a few months ago. The crisis has shown us how precarious that era was King is a shy man who taught himself to be an extrovert. He spent much of his childhood in the Somerset town of Burnham-on-Sea. In his teens he was a bartender’s assistant at a local holiday village and also manned the ice-cream counter at the Seaspray Café on the high street. Both experiences forced him to be more outgoing. Eventually he would become the archetypal restaurant “greeter”.
King has a taste for the Mitteleuropean. When talking about Viennese institutions such as Café Central and Zum Schwarzen Kameel, he becomes fervent. “There’s a buzz and a glow and a sense of warmth and belonging,” he says.
The restaurants manage to be elegant and glamorous without being inaccessible. It’s a feat of alchemy born of a relationship that began in 1979. King was working as maître d’ at Joe Allen, a restaurant in Covent Garden with the atmosphere of a speakeasy, and got to know Chris Corbin, who at 27 was two years his senior. Corbin had also stumbled into the business.
Corbin soon became manager of Langan’s. But he quickly started hatching plans with King to set up their own place. So began the long process of working out exactly what made them happy and how to turn it into a business. Their first venture was Le Caprice, in 1981. They were backed by the fashion designer Joseph Ettedgui, but within weeks it became clear that their ideas were at odds: Ettedgui was intent on having harsh monochrome decor and fluorescent lights.
In 1981 Britain was known for its dismal cuisine and limited range of restaurants. Pasta was still seen as exotic and the country was in recession. But after deregulation boosted London’s status as a financial centre, it took off as a glossy global city and culinary playground for an increasingly aspirational and diverse population. Over the past 40 years the capital has remained Corbin and King’s heartland, as they have catered to trendsetters, gourmets and budget-conscious foodies.
Some restaurants impose a certain kind of experience on the diner. Both King and Corbin speak of the need not to be prescriptive. They make a spectacle not of the individual, but of the ensemble. Curved banquettes and circular tables allow customers to survey what’s going on around them, a form of set-dressing that creates pockets of intimacy yet also an air of communality and camaraderie.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why the Trump administration's win over Huawei could be bad news for TikTokCNN News, delivered. Select from our newsletters below and enter your email to subscribe.
Read more »
Song You Need To Know: 'Why Things Happen' by Jimmie Allen, Charley Pride, and Darius Rucker'Why Things Happen' opens up space for Charley Pride, Jimmie Allen, and Darius Rucker to bear witness. See why it's a Song You Need to Know
Read more »
Gigi Hadid Shares Video of Her Baby Bump and Explains Why She's Keeping Her Pregnancy Private'There's my belly, y'all. Like it's there.'
Read more »
Explained: Why Does Eliza Gasp At The End of 'Hamilton'?Lin-Manuel Miranda recently weighed in on social media speculation about that surprising ending.
Read more »
'Why We Swim' dives into water's transformative powerIn 'Why We Swim,' Bonnie Tsui tells extraordinary tales of swimmers who brave sharks, extreme cold and vicious currents around the globe.
Read more »