SUBSCRIBER-ONLY ARTICLE
The Interview: Will Smith, Co-owner, Arbutus, London
Will was born in Birmingham and studied geography at Kingston University, in London. After working at a hotel to earn money prior to university, he took a diploma in hotel management at Manchester Polytechnic, sponsored by the hotel company Swallow Group. He began his career with Swallow in 1991, before moving to Cameron House in Scotland in 1994, and the following year to the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. In 1998, he decided on a change of direction, switching to restaurants, and moving to London. He began work at L’Odeon, the Regent Street restaurant under chef Bruno Loubet, where he met current partner Anthony Demetre. They left together for Putney Bridge in 1999, a purpose-built restaurant in southwest London. Demetre earned a star there, keeping it until the restaurant shut in 2005. Arbutus opened in May this year. ...
This article is only available to subscribers to Harpers. Subscribers have access to the complete archive of Harpers online, going back to 2002, as well as full access to the Harpers Wine and Spirit Directory. As a subscriber, you would also be able to take advantage of the new keyword alerts service.
|
