Matthew Butcher is a larger-than-life character, who loves hugs as greetings and immediately made me feel at home and as though I was talking to an old friend when I went in to talk to him at Ronnie’s. Matthew talked a lot about how lucky he has been in following his dad’s advice to surround himself with good people, having worked for Shannon Bennett and Ryan Clift at Vue de Monde and Josh Emett and Gordon Ramsay in New York and at Maze in Melbourne. He has also done the hard yards and that combined with a genuine love for hospitality and for people is reflected in his ETO Collective group of venues. Now, I did actually try to count up the various restaurants and bars that are part of this group and then Matthew mentioned a couple of others that are opening soon, so let’s just say that he has an impressive portfolio of places where delicious food and a fun vibe are the priority. This was such a treat of a conversation and such a pleasure to share with you.