Anna Hughes
OUR GOODMAN FAMILY
Meet Anna, our General Manager
at Goodman Mayfair.
Anna has been General Manager of Goodman Mayfair since October 2021 and before that, she could be found at Zelman Meats and Goodman Canary Wharf. Proudly Welsh – “and more Welsh than normal at Six Nations time” – her Goodman meal of choice would be a Lake District Bone-in Ribeye (“with truffled everything”), she hates dill, will have a Double Decker if you’re popping to the shops, and gave up playing the violin at school after hitting another pupil with the case.
“Hospitality was a bit of a random decision. I’d studied biology at university and moved to London and thought I’ll work in hospitality to make some friends and then I’ll find a “real” job. I worked for what’s now Rosewood, discovered hospitality was my jam and stayed in the industry. From there I went to Salt Yard, then to Santo Remedio at London Bridge, then to Zelman Meats in 2019. And the rest is history.
“Goodman Mayfair can feel little bit… intimidating. That’s probably the wrong word, but Maddox Street is the flagship, it’s been open since 2008, it’s a bit of… well, an institution now. People come because they love it here. It’s a second home. For some it’s a first home! They come to be welcomed, so we need to know what everyone likes, who they are. On the surface, that can sound quite intimidating but you’ve just got to throw yourself in there: ‘Hello, my name’s Anna. I know you’ve been coming since the beginning of time, but I haven’t, so it’s very nice to meet you!’
“People come because they love it here. It’s a second home. For some it’s a first home!”
Anna Hughes, General Manager, Goodman Mayfair
“There’s responsibility but it’s so supportive, you just have to go in and start chatting. My job is chatting with wonderful people all day long, how great is that? (Well, that and managing a restaurant, of course.) But it’s really nice that the boundary between staff member and guest can be so slight, because so often guests care about us as much as we care about them. And that doesn’t happen very often.”
CREDITS
Interview by Neil Davey
Photography by Tom Bowles