Meet The Team – John Wiltshire

Posted on January 20, 2015 by admin

John Wiltshire, General Manager of aqua shard, joined Aqua Restaurant Group in April 2013 to lead the opening of the restaurant – one of the biggest and highest-profile restaurant openings in London, and indeed the UK, that year. As GM, John is in overall charge of every department of the restaurant and will be familiar to regular guests who he always makes time to greet!

John, how long have you worked in hospitality?

All my life! My parents owned holiday apartments in Bridlington when the English seaside holiday was in its prime, and at the age of 15 I was working in a 40-room hotel doing breakfast. I considered studying interior design but trained as a chef instead and although I decided that wasn’t for me, it set me on a training path that saw me obtain a HND from Birmingham College of Food and a degree in Hotel Management from De Montfort. In my gap-year I worked for Marriott in Atlanta.

Where did you work before aqua shard?

I worked for a number of major hotel and hospitality groups, particularly specialising in large openings. I was working in Dubai having opened Embassy Dubai and then as a supplier to many of the best-known hotels including the Jumeirah and Burj al-Arab. Two great roles came up at the same time, one in Muscat and the other in London – and as you know I chose London!

Why was that? What excited you about aqua shard?

Even in Dubai, where there are hotels and restaurants in some of the tallest buildings in the world, there was excitement about The Shard. I loved the thought of opening a ‘restaurant in the sky’, especially one on the scale of aqua shard – I knew it would be a huge challenge! Also the enthusiasm of the owners was contagious; I’ve seen the restaurant go from a shell to the beautiful restaurant it is today and despite it being my fifteenth opening, I still feel the same excitement.

What advice would you have for someone considering a career in hospitality?

Be prepared to work hard for long hours, for which you’ll be rewarded with one of the most interesting jobs imaginable. The interactions you’ll have with guests from every walk of life will enrich you; you really can put your life, heart and soul into this job. Do it!

So, we’re coming for a meal – what should we order?

I’m a Yorkshireman so I love meat dishes and our chef Anthony Garlando really does source the best meat, particularly beef. He occasionally will put a large cut – about 1kg – of beef to share on the menu and I would recommend that if you see it. Also the roast beef with Yorkshire pudding that’s on our Weekend Brunch menu is terrific. I’m also a big fan of fish – halibut was a childhood treat so I always order it when it’s on the menu here out of nostalgia!

Finally John, any favourite memories of your time here to date?

So, so many, but a particular highlight was when Gwyneth Paltrow hosted a party to launch our charity Christmas tree initiative for Kids Company in our opening year. She was – of course – incredibly glamorous but also very gracious, and even came with me to visit the kitchen; I’ll never forget the chefs’ faces when an Oscar-winning actress strolled in and started waving to everyone.

Many thanks for your time John!