“Often you’ll go to places and people don’t feel comfortable and they’re looking around,” he says as we sit side-by-side on a leather banquette, sipping freshly poured cocktails (Martini with a twist for him, French 75 for me). “When you go to a place that’s brand new and everyone is talking to their friends, you know it’s right,” he says. “It’s about creating an environment that people feel comfortable in, and can actually converse and have a good time. They’re not waiting for something to happen.”
We’re at Little Felix, Merivale’s newest opening and latest addition to The Ivy precinct on Sydney’s George Street. We’ve only just met (bar a brief introduction at the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards) but the bar’s décor – with its dark green walls and plush velvet chairs – creates an instant intimacy. It’s conspiratorial.
Over the course of the next hour, Hemmes will discuss everything from his childhood and teenage years through to the impact of Sydney’s lockout laws and business confidence. He is warm and animated, never more so than when discussing his family, especially his late father, John, and his two young daughters.
More than anything, Hemmes is hospitable. He makes you feel welcome and wanted.
Hemmes learnt the art – and joy – of entertaining from his parents, John and Merivale. (The Merivale group, which began as a fashion house before morphing into a hospitality empire, is named after Hemmes’ mother.)
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2019 من Gourmet Traveller.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 2019 من Gourmet Traveller.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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