Shane McHugh
OUR GOODMAN FAMILY
Meet Shane, our Group Wine Buyer
Shane is our Group Wine Buyer and Head Sommelier at Goodman. His first job in hospitality was recycling bottles for his brother in Ireland, he supports Bolton Wanderers, his favourite musician is Merle Haggard, he has a very good story about Tom Jones and if you’re ever going to Ireland, he’d very much like you to bring him a Cadbury’s Purple Snack Bar, thank you.
“I’ve been at Goodman since 2019. I’d worked for The Savoy, for Gordon Ramsay at a one star and a three star restaurant. I came here and just liked the vibe of it. It’s a little community, Goodman’s a proper little hub.
“I went to hospitality school, I trained for a year as a chef, then I did a Bachelor of Business degree, bar and restaurant management but I thought the idea of managing a bar or a restaurant wasn’t really for me. I took an interest in wine at the age of 18 or 19, it was module in college… and it turned out I was quite good at it. I had a stint in the States which gave me a lot of exposure to wine, I came back and thought I’d give it a go. I started as a commis sommelier and worked my way up. For me, anything I’ve ever been good at, it’s because I’ve worked hard at it, but wine… It’s the most natural thing I ever did.
“There are things on the list I wouldn't dream of taking off because people will hunt me down.”
“The way I see it, we’re a membrane, we’re what connects the grower to the consumer. It’s great to be able to put down a bottle of something like Pilcrow and tell their story, because I know Sara and Joanh, the people who make it, we speak weekly. For me that makes it real, and the guests know it’s real, it’s not an act. At Goodman, we’ve got so many of those relationships, and I feel more connected to producers here than I have been anywhere else. I mean, Pilcrow are sending us samples of their next vintages so we can choose what we want, and we’ll be the only restaurant in the UK that sells them.
“California has always been Goodman’s bread and butter, but I want to take that to the next level. Over the next year, I’m going to get into those key parts of the list, change things up a bit. Saying that, there are things on the list I wouldn't dream of taking off because people will hunt me down! It's already happened and I don't want it to happen again! But I’m going to get some great wines nailed in, find that next great batch of wines that take Goodman to the next level. We’ve got a lot of fun things planned.”
CREDITS
Interview by Neil Davey
Photography by Tom Bowles