London’s Most Famous Restaurateur “Maintaining Your Standards Is The Fastest Way to Bankruptcy” - The Wolseley, The Ivy, Le Caprice, Simpson's - Jeremy King

Jeremy King doesn’t just talk about restaurants — he talks about change, class, creativity, ego, instinct, death, literature, leadership, and why the best dining rooms become tiny theatres of human behaviour. In this conversation, the legendary restaurateur behind The Ivy, Le Caprice, The Wolseley, Arlington and now Simpson's in the Strand explains why “maintaining standards” is actually the road to bankruptcy, why great restaurants must constantly evolve, and why hospitality is really about love, generosity, observation and care. Jeremy and Dan explore everything from Mick Jagger and Bianca Jagger at Le Caprice, to Lucian Freud, A.A. Gill, Harold Pinter, Graham Norton, Apple, Kodak, IBM, The Beatles, New York brasseries, Parisian cafés, class in Britain, and why every great creative or political movement may have started in a restaurant. This one is unforgettable. A conversation about restaurants, yes — but really about how to live, lead, notice, change, and leave the world slightly better than you found it. 📙Download HUNGRY Big Banging Reading list here 🧾 HUNGRY survey would be so grateful if you may please fill out ON THE MENU: 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:03 Why Restaurants Must Always Change 00:05:46 Why Leadership Is A Benign Dictatorship 00:07:24 Maintaining Standards Leads To Bankruptcy 00:13:47 Why Restaurants Get Defensive 00:17:35 Why Enough Is Never Enough 00:20:06 Why Altruism Still Matters 00:22:13 When Jeremy Refuses A Booking 00:26:06 The Silent Couple At Mirabelle 00:32:08 Arlington, Soho And Restaurant Design 00:35:55 Why Great Restaurants Are Egalitarian 00:41:18 Why Money Ruins Taste 00:43:49 What Makes The Best Restaurant? 00:47:43 Why Restaurants Need Creative People 00:49:43 How Le Caprice Changed Service 00:55:19 Why Culture Hates Real Change 00:59:49 Why Strong Opinions Win 01:03:00 How To Prepare For Death 01:05:14 Why Jeremy Has Regrets Every Day 01:06:16 The Power Of Happy Problems 01:08:30 Why Jeremy Finally Wrote A Book 01:15:12 Why Restaurant Work Changes Young People 01:18:31 How Shyness Became Jeremy’s Advantage 01:20:17 Can Dogs Sense Us Coming Home? 01:24:11 Why We’ve Lost Our Instinct 01:27:14 The Brain’s Restaurant Memory Card 01:33:09 Why Moneyball Thinking Kills Instinct 01:35:12 How Jeremy Feels A Restaurant’s Hum 01:38:07 Why First Impressions Mislead Us 01:41:18 Do All Movements Start In Restaurants? 01:44:10 Why Creativity Needs Long Lunches 01:48:48 Jeremy’s Favourite Books And Writers 01:55:31 How Meditation Helped With Lucian Freud 01:58:21 How Literature Taught Jeremy Restaurants 02:00:01 Jeremy King’s Best Life Advice 02:03:29 Ruthie Rogers’ Eye Contact Lesson 02:05:33 Why Questions Beat Statements 02:07:33 How Mick Jagger Helped Le Caprice 02:11:43 Why Jeremy Prefers Narrowcasting 02:13:01 Jeremy King’s Rules For Success ============================================== ♨️Still bloody HUNGRY? Course ya are. Each week I spend 15 hours writing my newsletter. It’ll take you 5 mins to read. Full of wisdom from the biggest names in food and drink. Subscribe here - https://hungryfeast.beehiiv.com/🍲 ============================================== 🤝 Let's Connect! ►Let’s link-up here ​ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-pope/) ►Stalk me here ​ (https://www.instagram.com/_hungry.pod/) This episode was edited by: G.Thomas Craig (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gthomascraig/) 📙Download HUNGRY Big Banging Reading list here 🧾 HUNGRY survey would be so grateful if you may please fill out