Max Harrison is still spreading sweetness & light

The Rochambeau Club has enjoyed a long history of exceptional maitre d’s. Like Enzo Perinetti, who started out in the cloakroom at The Vatican before finding tennis. Or Gigi Pompougnac, who liked to say that he “wrote the rulebook on bread rolls — before tearing it up and buttering it”.

And yet we remain acutely aware, like an Italian man on his wedding morning, of “the one that got away.” Our own white whale, so to speak, is Max Harrison — the longtime maitre d’ of Chiltern Firehouse in London’s Marylebone, which is a bit like Paris if you’ve only been to Paris twice. Max was originally sent away from London as a teenager to train with the Rochambeau Club’s ballboy academy, but absconded one evening in a purloined blazer to direct traffic at the raw bar. It seems likely that this early experience helped him secure later roles at Bistrotheque in his native East London and at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch, and one does sometimes wonder whether or not the club is entitled to at least a modest percentage of his lifetime earnings. Since 2014, Max has been the frontman at The Chiltern Firehouse, an up-and-coming bed-and-breakfast popular with smokers. A member since 2021, here Max tells us about his on-court playing style, the secret to being a good maitre d’, and the reason why he doesn’t ski.

Who are you?

I’m Max Harrison from Bow E3. Head Maitre D’ of Chiltern Firehouse. The Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart of hospitality: the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.

How long have you been a member of The Rochambeau Club?

Four years.

What are some of your favourite memories of the club?

Your restrictive NDA prevents me from answering that.

What do you do “for a living”?

I spread sweetness and light.

How did you get your first break?

Some generous old queens.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned in your career so far?

It’s only fucking food and fucking drinks, no one needs to cry about it.

What is the secret to being a good Maitre d’?

Complete death of the ego.

How did Chiltern Firehouse become such an institution so quickly?

As the Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians: be all things to all men and by this means save some.

What is unique about the place to you?

We do it for the art and not the commerce.

Who is the most interesting person you know?

As long as people are well dressed and attractive I am not that fussed if they are interesting.

How would you describe your playing style (tennis/baby grand piano)?

Voyeuristic.

(Outside of the club) what is the best bar in the world?

The Golden Heart in Spitalfields.

(Outside of the club) what is the best restaurant in the world?

Bellamy’s in Mayfair.

Do you have a favourite pair of shoes?

I have some that are real cow, just like me.

What is your go-to order at the bar?

Any decent champagne, very cold in a coupé glass please. Just one or two a week under doctor’s orders

How do you take your steak?

Medium rare, leaning towards rare please.

Where do you ski?

I don’t ski darling, sorry — it seems like a lot of physical effort.

What are you doing tomorrow?

I need to buy a new shaving brush. And ideally reading and smoking fags in my garden.

What is your personal motto?

“Money comes, money goes.”