Kate Butterfield
OUR GOODMAN FAMILY
Meet Kate, Co-General Manager
in Goodman Mayfair
Kate Butterfield Co-General Manager at Goodman Mayfair
Kate Butterfield has been promoted as one of Mayfair’s Co-General Managers. She likes her beef from the Peak District, correctly thinks Digestives are a better biscuit than Hob Nobs and believes that Topic, and Ferrero Rocher, do not get the hazelnut-based praise they deserve...
Kate was always going to be in hospitality. Her grandmother was a landlady for pretty much all her life, with pubs all over Manchester. Her aunt also had a pub – “where I got my first job, at 15, 16, washing up basically” – so, despite studying business and finance at university, Kate’s love of hospitality was always likely to dictate her career.As Kate admits, “If it’s in your DNA, you’re in trouble…”
“At the end of the day though, people want to have a nice wine, and enjoy it. Some want to talk about it, but at the end of the day, wine is there to be enjoyed. There’s no right or wrong.”
Pre-Goodman, Kate has run pubs in Shoreditch, assorted bars, before slipping more into restaurants, after realising she liked the customer interaction and being out on the floor more than being behind a bar. And she and Goodman clicked instantly. “My last job was in Kingly Court. There were a few regulars but it was mostly very touristy. It was good experience, understanding the tourist side of things, but Goodman, Kate feels has a better mix of clientele “plus you have the time to get to know your regulars.
“Also, this is often a very young trade, but here you’ve got a mix of experience, younger, older, new staff, people who’ve been there, done it and come back. It’s a really good mix of people and management styles, it’s got this organic culture… This is the sort of place I want to be in.” If eating at Goodman, British beef is Kate's choice "because it has more intense flavours. Chips - obviously, Northener. Creamed spinach, plus the mushrooms and onions".
Credits
Interview by Neil Davey
Photography by Tom Bowles