Financial lunacy reigns unchallenged in the kitchen

I saw two things today that convinced me this country has utterly lost even a fleeting glimpse of the plot.

First, a restaurant review by Feargus O’Sullivan said a place called The Urban Turban in Notting Hill was “a good place for a superswift authentic Indian nosh-up with pals” – which means a quick Indian meal if you don’t follow London journalese.

The service only rated one star out of five, the food only four out of five, the “vibe” – which maybe means the number of odious braying twats in the place – only three out of five and, wait for it, it only costs £80 ($120!!) for a meal for two. Actually, they serve “Indian Tapas” – a mongrel Indo-Hispanic concept.

What planet is Feargus on? I’ll tell you: the planet Other People’s Money. A few weeks ago my friend Professor Srikumar Rao took Joe Sugarman and me to one of London’s five Michelin-starred Indian restaurants, the Qilon. That certainly was worth that kind of money, but come on, Feargus. £80 for a few snacks?

Well I’d barely swallowed Feargus’s load of rancid biryani when along came some more indigestible crap. The papers said today that the government plans to pay obese people to eat less. With what? Other people’s money again.

Hey, wake up, Gordon baby and smell the toilet. We’re in it. There’s a financial disaster going on. You nurtured it. You’ve had our money already. We have a massive deficit. Surely even someone as arse-marooned as you must remember it as you swan around telling the world what to do (who gives a shit what you think, by the way?)

Tell you what, if you want to pig it up, friends, be my guest. It’s absolutely none of the government’s business, but if it were I have a better idea. You should be paying us, not the other way round.

About the Author

In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Drayton one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing.

He has worked in 55 countries with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Columbia Business School, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.

Drayton has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig. His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has also run his own businesses in the U.K., Portugal and Malaysia.

He was a main board member of the Ogilvy Group, a founding member of the Superbrands Organisation, one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Caples Organisation in New York and Early To Rise in Florida.

5 Comments

  1. Well – I’ve heard it all now. That is so unfair. I’m going to stick a pic on photoshop and balloon the whole family.

  2. If they really wanted to win back some voters, re-legalise smoking in offices.

    In fact, as part of building service charges, it should include free fags for everyone.

    And they should issue ash-trays, and have people come and empty them for you.

    And pat you on the back as you cough your way out of the place each night.

  3. Hey Drayton:

    If I could hang out with you and Joe Sugarman for lunch, I wouldn’t care where the hell we ate…as long as O’Sullivan hand’t given it raves. 🙂

    Besides–manna for the mind beats crumbs for the tum in my book (so why am I not skinny??).

    Keep the missives coming–learning as much as I’m laughing.

    Apryl

  4. Amanda

    That really reads like a U.S. review… lots of b.s. & dallying about with getting to the point (& then you find there isn’t one.) I swear by home-cooking anything you can find in any star restaurant…the adventure is enough to inspire, pass on, & regale during other dinners.
    I’ve been to enough “essential” (actually horrible) restaurants during business lunches, dinners, etc.

  5. Derek

    Drayton,
    you should read A.A Gill`s review of `Urban Turban` in todays Sunday Times. His pre-amble about `Chicken Huggers` is a classic. He also says you could eat well for GBP15 a head !!
    Go For It !!!!!!

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