There are few executives who know how to inject a heritage brand with cultural relevance and a singular sense of cool quite like Kim Carroll. Now the global communications director at Dunhill, she is presiding over one of the most exciting fashion operations in London. She joined us for lunch with her friend Tatjana von Stein, an interior architect.
Kim, is the Long Lunch a habit or aberration for you?
It used to be a habit. Pretty much every weekend involved a Long Lunch of some sort that would inevitably end hours later, usually with everyone piling into some silly bar, doing silly things. Then, I had a beautiful baby boy last year and temporarily things have changed. I’m fully intending to make a habit of it again soon, though.
What makes a Long Lunch enjoyable, versus a chore?
The winning trifecta is the company, the food and the wine — in that order. But really, it’s all about the company. There are few things more soul-soothing and life affirming than a fantastic conversation, particularly when you suddenly realise hours have disappeared without anyone noticing.
What are the qualities of an ideal lunch companion?
Cracking conversation, the willingness to go deep. I love a good DMC over lunch. Combined with a great sense of humour. I find the best lunches are when you disconnect from everything outside the table and become completely connected to what’s happening on and around it. By the time the bill arrives, several hours later, you feel buoyed up by life and reluctant to leave.
Who was your companion at Arlington?
One of my best friends, the very talented Tatjana von Stein. She runs a London-based interior architecture studio and is a rare breed: brilliantly creative, completely original and one of the most stylish people I know. The Dean Munich, her latest project, is a hotel that pairs Jugendstil elegance with the city’s exuberant 1980s creative spirit — it’s a real vibe. She’s working on so many cool projects; a hotel and members club in London, a luxury resort in Portugal, another luxury hotel in Salzburg. She’s constantly flying around the world so I was delighted she was in town and able to join me for this Long Lunch. She’s excellent company — we roar with laughter whenever we are together.
What did you eat and drink today, and why?
Tat and I both love to pick at things, so we ordered lots of plates and shared everything: the plum tomato and basil galette; seared scallop with harissa butter; endive, walnut & roquefort salad; grilled courgette with lemon and mint; baby gem salad and two portions of fries. We had a glass of Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve to accompany it. Excellent lunch. Not a morsel left. Jeremy King is a genius.
What was your favourite Long Lunch of all time?
I’ve had many, so it’s hard to pinpoint a single favourite. But there is one that is so vivid in my memory I can smell my mother’s cooking and hear the hum of cicadas in the heat. My parents used to own a villa in Greece, on the island of Skopelos. My father designed and built the house in the 60s, in a small bay called Panormos — a deep, fjord-like natural harbour and haven for yachts and fishing boats, and once the site of an ancient fortified city. We went there every summer as a family. It was a rustic, simple, no-frills kind of villa, but its magic was in its position — right on the water, and west facing, so the sunsets were breathtaking. And in the centre of our courtyard, under the cascading 100-year-old olive tree, was a large white marble table surrounded by rattan chairs that looked out onto the calm, sparkling waters of the Aegean. That table was the centre of everything.
The Long Lunches would unfold slowly, always with friends of my parents arriving early, jumping off the jetty for a pre-lunch swim, and staying far longer than intended. My mother, an excellent cook, would serve up a delicious plate of pasta, Greek salads, bread and tzatziki. My father, at the head of the table, smoking his pipe, ouzo in hand and telling stories. There was always plenty of retsina, and always, without fail, the sound of laughter. Time seemed to dissolve there. Lunch would stretch on for hours, sun-drenched, until eventually people would drift off, not home, but simply into other states of being, finding a bed or a deck chair for a siesta, still suspended in that easy, unhurried rhythm. It remains, to this day, the most magical place I have ever known. And the loveliest memory.
If you could Long-Lunch with absolutely anyone on the planet—no offence to your companion—who would it be?
Two people, both sadly no longer here: A. A. Gill and my father. In fact, I’d have them both at the same table. I suspect it would be an extremely good lunch, and I’d probably do considerably more listening than talking.
On the days that you are Long-Lunching, do you dress differently?
I like dressing appropriately for things — and feeling comfortable is central to how I hold myself. I rarely wear heels day to day because I’m permanently rushing around, so a Dunhill men’s loafer has become my go-to, exquisitely made, beautifully designed. Or anything from Le Monde Beryl, I love their stuff. I live in tailoring these days because I love how a suit makes me feel — quietly empowered, always elegant. For Arlington, though, it was 35 degrees, so I wore a simple cherry red silk summer dress I found in a vintage shop in Chichester about five years ago. It fits like a glove, and it’s one of those brilliant things you stumble across once and never find again.
What is your favourite time of year in which to enjoy a Long Lunch?
Impossible to choose — each season brings its own idiosyncratic pleasures. A Long Lunch in summer, out under the sun, is hard to beat. But equally, a winter lunch cosied up by a fire is its own kind of heaven.
The best day of the week for a Long Lunch is….?
Saturday. The best long lunches are the ones that start early and run into dinner. If you’ve had to cancel your evening plans because you’re still at the table, you’ve done well!
KIM’S DOSSIER
Birthplace: Rome, Italy.
Neighbourhood: Highbury.
“Short” lunch strategy: Something delicious and light, somewhere close to the office, with someone who understands that we really do only have 30 mins. I usually end those lunches with a double espresso.
Cocktail: A spicy margarita. Although, really, I’d rather drink Champagne.
Workout: Pilates and running. Although I haven’t run one single mile since giving birth. Something to remedy.
Bookshop: House of Hodge near my flat in Highbury — a gorgeous little second-hand bookshop full of delights.
Current projects: My husband Neil and I are buying a home and renovating it, which I suspect is going to test the strength of our relationship and our ability to make decisions about taps. But the biggest and most important project of my life is being the best and most present parent I can be to my son, Ludo, and partner to Neil, while navigating a full-time job that I genuinely love. It’s quite often chaotic, always exhausting but mostly wonderful.
Cultural musts: Evolution, a new BBC series. It’s a realised account of the evolution of five animals from the dawn of life. I feel like a kid again, I’m completely hooked. London is currently heaving with summer exhibitions — Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin at the Tate; Anish Kapoor at The Hayward Gallery; Schiaparelli at the V&A and Henry Moore sculptures scattered across Kew Gardens. The capital at its best!
