An interview with Russell Norman and Twig – owners of Trattoria Brutto

Russell Norman is an award-winning restaurateur, writer and broadcaster.

As a restauranteur, Norman came from Caprice Holdings (owned by Richard Carling and included The Ivy, J Sheekey. Daphne’s and many more prestigious venues) and was the founder of POLPO Restaurant Group.

For those who don’t know Polpo was the first of its kind. With its casual style of dining and no reservations, it became an instant hit amongst London’s foodies and an unofficial blueprint for a new style of restaurant. If social media influencers had been around in those days, they would have queued up to get in!

Norman’s book POLPO – A Venetian Cookbook (of Sorts) was published by Bloomsbury and won Waterstones Book of the Year 2012. In 2014 he presented The Restaurant Man, a six-part prime-time documentary for BBC2, and his second book SPUNTINO – Comfort Food (New York Style) won the 2016 Guild of Food Writers Award for best food and travel book. He is a contributing editor for Esquire magazine and writes a monthly column as ‘The Accidental Cook’.