“Terence Conran was my mentor, my friend, my antagonist” Wine News

A memoir on the late Sir Terence Conran written by Stephen Bayley but banned from publication now appears ready for publication after his death. Bayley wrote the manuscript in 2018 but admits, “Terence saw it and got incredibly upset.” The couple were subsequently in a legal dispute when Conran died. “I hope and believe it will be released,” says Bayley, design consultant.

Discussing his relationship with Conran in the last episode of the Biting Talk podcast, Bayley says, “He’s been my boss, mentor, friend, antagonist, friend again and lately an antagonist. he, “he was a remarkable man and very few people have made a more positive contribution to material life in this country in recent years.

“He didn’t invent the moulis, nor the chopsticks, nor the dough or the soup, nor the chicken broth, nor the quilt, but he was a very astute popularizer. Elizabeth David taught people how to make ratatouille but Terence Conran sold you the kitchen you wanted to do it in. He was not a particularly talented designer but he was a merchandising editor, a great integrator [and] a great observer, ”says Bayley.

“We had a difficult relationship that ended with long silences,” he said to himself. “Terence saw in me a mirror image of himself. When I worked with him he constantly criticized me for not being able to focus, being a gibbert flibberty, never doing anything right, moving on all the time. time – but that was exactly how it was.

“I saw the best of him – a man of great talent, charm, humor and wit and occasional generosity. The worst of him was a rather greedy stage executioner who refused to give credit to others. This has always been the basis of the friction between us. “

Listen to the full interview with host William Sitwell in this week’s episode of Biting Talk on the audio player above, which also features nightclub boss Carlo Carello lamenting the neglect of late night hospitality , restaurateur Camelia Panjabi celebrating Chutney Mary’s 30th birthday and entrepreneur Charlie Bigham about his successful supermarket food brand. In addition, mixologist Farhad Heydari concocts a spider highball of gin.