Ok, by now, even you know me just from reading this blog, you should know I am a kind of hippie person, who think the world should be living some kind of not-imposed-but-chosen-socialism system, where everyone would live, work, grow and prosper together – cutting out all the power-trip-fear-controlled-sh*t which in my view is the instigation for violence, sadness and frustration age we are witnessing these days.
That said, I was the first one (if not the only) to be outraged with news of a brazilian entrepreneur opening a brazilian restaurant in London – but wait for it – spending ONE MILLION pounds for such plan. The restaurant was in Knightsbridge, same plot where Harrod's is by the way. It spread across 3 floors. It had not wonderful but good reviews when it first opened - but one million pounds? Come-on!!
For someone who came from the very country indeed where the social differences are appalling, he knew what this money - oh, what the heck – half of this money let's say for the sake of the argument could have done for kids in the streets, families without a job, hopeless souls who have nothing to loose turing to the bad side of the story of a country that is either too weak or frightened to fight back.
So when I had some friends asking me if I wanted to go to visit Mocoto, I usually was even afraid to sound rude and boring with all my lecture about how I found everything wrong with this place. I was adamant I would never ever set my foot there. I preferred much more, if I had to, help honest brazilian people trying to make a living from honest little restaurants where you can have the real deal. Much more with a friend who works at the embassy, I have contacts of wonderful brazilian cooks who can make traditional brazilian meals with delivery at your door step and a fair prices. I would never pay gold money to a guy who was obviously sitting on the dosh (as we say in Brasil) and just wanted his pockets to be even fatter.
So today I rejoiced read this news , which one of these friends who heard my hippie-lecture sent to me.
Mocoto is closed after 6 months on the go. No more money for those who don't know how to spend it wisely.
It's a shame one million pounds is already gone, but at least it is good to know people are not gullible, are not stupid just to do something because its trendy or expensive.
I am happy to see life is, after all, fair.
PS: The head chef of the restaurant was called Darryl Healy. Makes you wonder, how authentic the "first authentic brazilian eaterie" – as it branded itself – planned to be, and in fact was.
5 comments:
Missed you... is everything ok? I hope so...
Well I cannot believe someone spent 1 million pounds to open a restaurant and six months late it's all over... That's too much money... I cannot believe...
And you're right. He could have done a lot of things for the others... it's a shame... it's too much money for nothing...
Have a nice weekend!
I am sorry to say, this man has spent a lot more than a million pounds. Apparently the total bill was 5 million pounds! And it only lasted six months. Obviously he knew nothing about restaurant businesses. So much more could have been done with so much money...
There is another way of looking at this, Agape. I regard you as my friend, and I am not being controversial simply for the sake of it, please believe that. But the sort of thing you decribe is what I believe is called Capitalism. And though you may not like it - and indeed it might not always be likeable - it is still to a large extent the system which keeps the world afloat.
Consider that a man spends a million to make another million - and then another and another. Consider that some at least of those millions find their way back into the economy of his country - and ask yourself if after all the people of that country will not somehow be the better for it?
Now I have no way of knowing anything about the plans - or the hopes and dreams - of the man you wrote about. But isn't it just possible that something good may have come back to Brazil if his restaurant hadn't failed, but prospered?
Just a thought, that's all....
Nothing is ever entirely black and white, it seems to me - and good may result where one least thinks of looking for it.
I missed you, friend! What Beatrice said is interesting. I don't know what to say, can I be quiet for now? hehehe... Beijos.
This seems like money laundry to me.
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