For the past 25 years, Jamb has been making and selling some of the most beautiful fireplaces, lighting, and furniture on the Pimlico Road. The brainchild of Charlotte Freemantle and Will Fisher, who are partners in life as well as work, Jamb’s unique take on the English country house has become a sensation. Charlotte recently joined us for lunch with her friend Whitney Robinson, an editor and entrepreneur.
Charlotte, is the Long Lunch a habit or aberration for you?
An aberration! It’s hard sometimes to break away from our Pimlico Road shop.
What makes a Long Lunch enjoyable, versus a chore?
Being with good friends, with chilled white wine and not having to return to the office.
What are the qualities endemic to a good lunch companion?
One who is complicit in taking the afternoon off.
And who did you bring to Arlington?
Whitney Robinson, a lovely new friend of ours, who was formerly Editor-in-Chief at Elle Décor. He now consults for Qatar Museums and is an incredible entrepreneur. He is always so fun and interesting.
What did you eat and drink today, and why?
The galette with tomatoes that was simply delicious. The chicken Milanese — something I would never be able to cook myself — is always a treat. We shared a carafe of chilled Sancerre.
What will you order on your next long lunch at Arlington?
I had my eye on the risotto.
Can we reminisce about your favourite Long Lunch of all time?
With my entire, large family on the River Thames before Covid. It goes down in history as one of the happiest, carefree, multigenerational lunches that started at midday and ended late into the evening.
If you could Long-Lunch with absolutely anyone on the planet — no offence to Whitney — who would it be?
It would be with my late father, just to have one more conversation and reminisce of the times he brought me to Arlington when it was Le Caprice and all our happy times together.
And would you like to review Whitney’s lunch order? Were you envious?
I think he was envious of me as he had to order another galette — although I had to leave before Whitney and he managed a pudding!
On the days that you are Long-Lunching, do you dress differently?
Normally I’m in jeans with a shirt, so I loved dressing up in a Casey Casey skirt with an Etro shirt.
What is your favourite time of year in which to enjoy a Long Lunch?
May or June when it’s beautifully warm but not too hot and you can sit outside.
The best day of the week for a Long Lunch is….?
Friday, so you can sleep it off the next day.
Do you have any other thoughts about Long Lunches that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear them.
Invest, relax and enjoy them. The Romans would depict a skeleton in the mosaic floors of dining rooms, and if you were seen to be refraining from eating or drinking, the host would point to it, reminding us that we are all mere mortals, so enjoy life while you can.
CHARLOTTE’S DOSSIER
Birthplace: Southampton.
Neighbourhood: Camberwell.
“Short” lunch strategy (i.e. when not at Arlington): Kat Coffee near the Jamb shop in Pimlico.
Cocktail: A dirty Martini.
Workout: Rarely, if ever.
Bookshop: Lala Books in Camberwell or Libera on Hanbury Street.
Current projects? Adding to our lighting collection and two decorating projects.
Any cultural recommendations for us? The film Vacances by Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, documenting all her summer holidays with her eccentric grandmother filmed over ten years. I am fully invested in the second series of Rivals on TV, as well as Legends.
