Forty eight (ii)

He had a knack of trusting the right people and mistrusting the right people. (Or is that the wrong people?)

His honesty was only stretched when, with over-enthusiasm, he’d sell the future of the business as if it were today’s reality – quite possibly a leadership trait more than a personal flaw. And nothing pleased him more than a long evening with friends at a great restaurant or around his own kitchen table.

Giuliana says he wasn’t a “foodie” when he started the business, but he soon became one, with an increasingly vocal dislike of food stuffs sold out of season – particularly when it entailed shipping stuff half way round the world. It seems he was very early to the food miles debate. Good virgin olive oil and wine were apparently the exceptions, to which he’d say: “The very best rules are known for their exceptions.”