Kuku
OUR GOODMAN FAMILY
Meet Kuku, our Bartender at Goodman Mayfair
You could argue that Goodman Mayfair is synonymous with three things: steak, wine and Kuku. We mean, since arriving on day one, Kuku has even outlasted the Jospers…
He’s a Chelsea supporter, drinks – as well as makes – an excellent Old Fashioned (or sometimes a Dirty Martini), and will take his chips truffled, thank you very much…
“I’ve been in London 21 years. I was born in Albania, but it was poor at the time, so I spent three years in Greece, one year in Milan, with my brother, working on a building site…” Kuku smiles and gestures around Goodman Mayfair. “This is better. “I'm a Chelsea supporter because when I first came to London, my cousin helped me and he lives in Chelsea. I was living around there, working around there, walking around there… We didn't have the Premier League in Albania, just Italian football, so when I started watching the Premier League here, I was in Chelsea, watching Chelsea.”
“The guests are like friends now. They make me feel good, so Goodman feels like home. I have a family now, I have to work hard, but I am happy here, I am content. People sometimes ask if I’ll move on, but when other people tell me they come here because of me, or call me a legend, why would I leave?!”
Kuku laughs and shrugs. “It got me.” After working as a bar man at Carluccio’s under Dave Strauss and Helen, when they moved to Goodman, Kuku followed.
“So I’ve been here since day one. It was new, it was different, it was challenging, it’s hard work but I love it. I knew nothing about wine when I joined, but I've learned a lot and still want to learn more, more, more! “And the people are good.”
Kuku gestures to the bar, where one of his regulars is enjoying a drink Kuku prepared earlier. “The guests are like friends now. They make me feel good, so Goodman feels like home. I have a family now, I have to work hard, but I am happy here, I am content. People sometimes ask if I’ll move on, but when other people tell me they come here because of me, or call me a legend, why would I leave?!”
Credits
Interview by Neil Davey
Photography by Tom Bowles