Career switches don’t get much more unusual than this one. Perry
Miller, most recently a consultant at lobbying firm AS Biss & Co and a
former director at Ian Greer Associates, has decided to bid farewell to
the frantic world of lobbying to serve drinks behind the bar in a West
End restaurant.
Miller’s long-term ambition has been to run his own restaurant, and last
week he finally took the plunge and left his job at Adele Biss’s political
consultancy.
Next month Miller begins a rigorous eight-month training in hospitality at
Smollensky’s Balloon restaurant and bar, learning how to wait on a table
and how to mix a cocktail.
He was not contactable this week, having jetted off to a palm-fringed
beach in preparation for the strenuous months ahead. He departed for Miami
and the Florida Keys after a champagne send-off last Wednesday at West End
restaurant Kettners.
However Miller, whose career included stints as a special adviser in the
Department of Transport and the Ministry of Defence, has not succeeded in
cutting all ties with the world of lobbying.
His restaurant training was organised by Adele Biss, and in return he will
continue to provide freelance advice to the agency’s clients during his
apprenticeship. He has also been invited to the firm’s first birthday
party at the Royal Festival Hall next month.
And his former colleagues have one last surprise in store:
’We have threatened to have our Christmas dinner in Smollensky’s,’ said
AS Biss account handler Alex Cole. ’The tips will have to be good.’
