How much is an ounce of gold?
I know the price is skyrocketing because everybody wants to fight us and they’re all building up their gold reserves in China and Russia, which is terrifying. But I literally haven’t got a clue. Also, what’s a bloody ounce?!
How did you earn your first pay cheque?
When I was 15 I worked as a waiter in a hotel in Tunbridge Wells. I can’t remember what they paid me.
Are you a saver or a spender?
Well, definitely not a saver. I mean, annoyingly, I’m not your target market, because I’ve never actually had any money. This whole thing [the Goring hotel] – I see it as looking after a plot of land that will hopefully still be here when I’m not. So I don’t even give it any thought.
What’s your most prized possession?
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Oh, it might be ‘the superyacht’. It’s 12 ft long and comes in four sections, which you can bolt together really quick. It fits in your car and has a sail made out of some high-tech material. You can take it to the beach and put it together in two minutes, then go sailing as far as you like. I almost drowned my 10-year-old son Otto on the maiden voyage, but that’s not the boat’s fault. It’s great – they’re made by a French company called Reverso.
[See also: Is the world’s first hydrogen-powered megayacht the future of yachting?]
What’s the secret to running a great hotel?
It’s nice when a hotel feels like it belongs where it is. Some do, some don’t. If you’re in another beige marble offshoot of a certain company and you could be in any town in the world, then that’s a fail for me.
How has hospitality changed over the course of your career?
It’s way more fun as a career now than it used to be. In London it started to change when I was in my twenties; you had people like Sir Terence Conran, but you also had chefs like Alastair Little, Marco Pierre White and the early days of Gordon Ramsay when he had Aubergine on Park Walk in Chelsea. It was suddenly like: ‘Wow, this is cool.’
You’ve recently written a book about the life of your friend, former professional surfer Larry Blair.
He’s had an unusual life. His dad was a bank robber and Larry became a bit of a crook himself. He got into some trouble with the police, so ran away to Hawaii. He became quite good at surfing, became the youngest guy to win Pipeline Masters [a prestigious surfing event] and found a new life through loving the ocean.
What’s your best quality?
Well, I do try hard.
[See also: Taste of Tuscany arrives in London with limited-edition truffle menu at The Goring]
And the trait you most dislike in other people?
There are plenty! But I think preachy hypocrisy is the least attractive trait in a human being. Which is why we all love it when a politician gets caught doing something, and there has been so much of that in the public sphere in the last few years.
Is there a principle you live your life by?
I believe that if you enjoy yourself and have fun, it does a great service to everybody around you. It’s infectious, whether it’s at work or anywhere. My dad was good at this. He was a madman, a total madman. He used to have parties and do ridiculous things – feats of bravado and stupidity and general party-drunkenness. It’s true that he did once have an altercation with Russell Crowe in the toilet. We’ll leave it at that – but it was very funny.
The Outside : Cheating Death, Chasing Waves and Growing Up in One of Australia’s Most Notorious Crime Families, by Larry Blair & Jeremy Goring, is published by Penguin
This feature first appeared in Spear’s Magazine Issue 94. Click here to subscribe
