The Gentleman‘s Journal Podcast

Jeremy King first appeared on our podcast in the summer of 2020, when we met in a whirring office above The Wolseley, the flagship restaurant of his sprawling Corbin & King group. Two years later, following a shareholder dispute, he relinquished control of that particular empire — a difficult moment that he nonetheless describes now as "not such a bad thing." In the four years since, he has opened The Park (an excellent, humming New York brasserie); Arlington (an ingenious re-birth of the beloved old Le Caprice); and now Simpson's in the Strand, a timely resurrection of one of London's most iconic restaurants. This episode is very much a 'chapter two' to our original conversation, then — in which we touch on why restaurants need to 'have a point'; Jeremy's surprising plate-clearing talents; and why you should never get annoyed about something you'll shortly forget.

"Kindness is always the answer," says Cosimo Gheradini, one of the family members behind the beloved restaurant group Sant Ambroeus. Here, in a conversation recorded at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge, Cosimo discusses Milanese roots, the ingredients that make a truly great dining room, upcoming plans in Miami — and why the first ten seconds of any restaurant experience are the most important.

 

With thanks to Jumeirah Carlton Tower

Our guest on today's episode of the Gentleman's Journal Podcast is Peter Williams — the founder of both Aubin and Jack Wills, two of the most defining English style start ups of the 21st century. Here, Peter discusses his highly unlikely path into fashion; his 23-year-old midlife crisis; the early viral success of Jack Wills; the changing nature of the British high street; and why youth and naivety could be the most powerful tools for any entrepreneur.

It takes ten years to become an overnight success, they say. At the eight year mark, Topjaw’s Jesse Burgess and Will Warr very nearly tapped out. The pair had been making longish-form food-adjacent YouTube videos since 2015 — things like a 21-minute, three part series on the best burger in London. (“We haven’t exactly moved on,” laughs Will now.) It was going okay. It was going fine. It was even going quite well — which is a terrible way for anything to be going whatsoever.

“And then there came a moment when it was like, right: this has been a side project for so long,” says Jesse now. “Are we going to pack it in because it takes up a lot of time? Or are we going to carry it on — at which point we have to put our all into it. It was one or the other..."
 
Here, Jesse and Will discuss London's best restaurants, birthday celebrations, the problem with hype, and their admiration for the people behind the industry.

Caspar Lee made his first YouTube video at the age of 16 and made his first million from the platform at the age of 21. Now, he is the founder of three businesses that have put some of what he learned in that world into action — an influencer marketing agency, a creator management company, and Creator Ventures, a VC fund with $65m under management, with his Caspar invests in the technologies behind internet culture.