Tell us about you and your family? 

My wife and I met In Singapore – Mandy was working for JP Morgan
and I owned a comedy club and other bars and restaurants. Our
daughter Amelia was born in Singapore and has turned two recently.
She is the single most beautiful thing I have seen in my life and brings
the greatest joy for both Mandy and I. I took a year "out" recently and
spent every day with her, playing in the garden, at the beach, feeding
the ducks in our local pond. It was a truly magical time to have with
her. Now I have returned to work, Mandy will be able to share that same experience. 

 

Where do you live? Are you moving Marlow? 

Moving to Marlow will be interesting. At the moment, we live in Lowestoft in Suffolk and it's lovely living so close to the sea. But at least we will have the Thames and the beautiful surrounding countryside. We are looking at houses at the moment, which is proving to be a little more difficult than imagined – it's either no pets or no children. Unfortunately we've grown attached to all of ours, so the search continues.

 

How did you come to be the manager of the new Botanist in Marlow? 

The Botanist is a concept owned by The New world Trading company, which in turn is part of The Living Ventures Group. I have two very close friends that worked with Living Ventures from inception, so I've always been aware of how professional and progressive they are as a group. When the opportunity arose for the General Manager

position I jumped at the chance. A few phone calls later, I met with Mr Chris Hill (MD of NWTC) in Marlow for an interview and the rest was my future.

   As is with most things in life, hard work, focus, passion and, to a certain extent, luck is how I got to where I am now. I started as a bartender back at TGIs in 1992 after leaving the British Army. I moved to Hong Kong in 1994 to work as a bartender in a famous bar called The Jump and returned to England in June last year with my family after living in Singapore for 18 years. I owned a comedy club, bar & bistro and an extreme sports bar. I also opened 18 other bars and restaurants for investors. 

 

Tell us about The Botanist...

It's actually a very unique and fun place with live music seven days a week, fantastic herbaceous cocktails, 70+ bottled beers, ciders and ales and live ales. We like to include beers from local breweries, support the local businesses so to speak.

   The food selection is also diverse with a selection of pies served with chips, mushy peas and gravy, pan-fried sea bass, hanging lamb kofta kebabs, Malaysian chicken curry, cold meats and salads on our "deli boards" and not forgetting our Sunday roast.

   I think to understand it completely you need to visit and see the decor, the unique plating of our dishes and, of course, our service quality. Even if you visit just once you will experience our open fire in the middle of the restaurant and one of our many fantastic cocktails.

   Marlow is a beautiful town with an interesting history. Being situated so close to London allows for a good mix of both demographics and culinary experiences. We think that The Botanist will add a great new aspect to this. We are all very excited to be part of that scene and to add more diversity to not only West Street but to the "night life" of Marlow.

 

Who is the place aimed at - who do you hope to attract?

I don't feel that we are aimed at any one specific group to be honest. I think with what we provide with the entertainment, food, cocktails (both classic and contemporary), our ales and beer selection, we will appeal to a wide range of "Marlownians". 

   We are reasonably priced and aren't exclusive, I'd say we aim to be very inclusive in fact. Week days, I'd like to think we appeal to local business people, ladies that lunch and couples taking time for lunch or dinner together.

At weekends, I'd like to see dog walkers in the bar area having a beer or a coffee with their dogs at their feet, children coloring in our children's menus, as Mum and Dad order for them, and the local rugby team having a few beers and a burger after their game.

 

What inspires you? What are your aspirations for the new bar/restaurant?

Personally, my wife and daughter – they make me want to be a better husband and father every day. 

Professionally, working with great people. I mean that as in I'm inspired by people who work hard and aim to do better for themselves. People who strive to do something better today than they did yesterday, and who carry on through hard times.

   I want to create a family atmosphere for our guests, I want us to be the third place they come to – Home, Work and The Botanist. It will take time to get that commitment from both sides of the equation, but that's our goal. We need to prove ourselves through service, quality of product, value and consistency. Which I am more than certain we can do.

 

What’s on the menu today? What would you pick off the food and drinks list?

Having tried all of our food, that's a tough question [he laughs]... But today as it's a little cold and damp outside, I'll be having the asparagus soup with creme fraiche and chive oil served with fresh crusty bread for a starter, chicken & chorizo pie with mash, mushy peas and gravy, and for dessert the sticky toffee pudding. As for a cocktail, for me, it's a raspberry and amaretto sour with my meal and an Irish coffee with my dessert.

 

So they'll be live music every evening... what kind? What do you like? 

Yes, live music seven days a week, weekdays, and Sunday from 7:30pm onwards, and on Saturdays we have live music both during the day and the evening. We have pianists, Duets, trios. Some bring drum boxes, some bring a penny whistle. We like to mix it up and keep it interesting for our guests.

   I'm an odd one when it comes to music, I'm afraid. I like Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Muse, Simon and Garfunkel, Japan, Squeeze, The 3 Neils - Diamond, Young and Sedaka, Vivaldi, Chopin, Stereophonics, The Chili Peppers, The Mavericks, The Stones... Can I say Katy Perry? Pit Bull... Any and all really except Jazz! 

 

What is there to attract families/kids?

We have a great children's menu – chicken fingers served in small plant pots and wheel barrows for ketchup, scampi and chips served in little wicker suit cases, and then served in gardening trays, coloring pens and pads. It's all good fun and the food is great. For parents, we have cold wine and beer and great comfort food.

 

Where do you go from here? 

The Launch party is the main focus right now – we need to impress straight away and build not only our confidence, but also instill confidence in our guests.

   Ultimately, we want The Botanist to become part of the community, have us woven into the patchwork of Marlow. I have some great ideas how we can strive towards that and they will start early 2016. But for now, my main focus is on making sure we are taking care of our guests and are building and creating relationships with them.

 

* Here's 40% off for you on your food at The Botanist, Marlow, between the 26th and the 4th December. Just click and book at 

 

* Win a meal for two and a bottle of vino at The Botanist – enter here