Extraordinary Car Club's Sam Miller
We caught up with friend, restauranteur and petrol head Sam at his garage to chat all things Alfa Romeo, road trips and his day to day work uniform.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
My name is Sam Miller I'm a family man, Restauranteur and Car enthusiast!
I have operated Muriel’s Kitchen with my Wife since 2012 and currently run Muriel’s Kitchen, Muriel’s Espresso and Ochre inside the National Gallery. I also have a love for iconic, classic and retro cars and I run a car club The Extraordinary Car Club organising tours, meet ups and events for members of the club.
Where did your love of cars come from?
My Dad. He is a passionate Ferrari Tifosi and has been trading in them for the last 40 years!
When did you start collecting and what was your first model?
I’ve had many cars over the years and had lots of cars I wish I had never sold; like my BMW E30 325i Estate and my Peugeot 205 GTI. When I bought my 1972 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super I knew straight away that it was a car I wanted to keep forever and hopefully one day pass it on to my kids.
Can you tell us a bit about the car club?
I started the car club because I wanted to see the world, travel with friends and like-minded people, in the seat of a classic car. Over the last few years, we have been to Amsterdam, Bourdeaux, Cornwall, Paris & The Black Mountain Pass in Wales, and next May we have a trip planned to Scotland. I love a good old fashioned road trip, seeing new places, eating, and drinking in great places as well as meeting new people.
What’s your favourite trip you’ve been on?
Amsterdam was first and by far the maddest! I really enjoyed the trip surfing in Bude, we drove down on a Friday with clear blue skies, had fish and chips on the beach with a few bottles of Champagne while the sun went down and the next day, we all went surfing. I also managed to organise a local pasty shop to deliver warm pasties and cold bottles of cider to the beach for when we got out the water! It was simple but it really worked.
What’s the allure of Alfa Romeo? Can you tell us about this car?
I love Alfas!! They are fun and quirky and put a smile on my face, they are interesting in many ways but especially the designs, so stylish and they also have a rich history in racing & I love learning about the different models they have produced over the years. The car I’m photographed with is my 1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6 which is very special to me. The car has a lovely history and only had one lady owner from new whose husband was an Alfa enthusiast and bought the car for his Wife. I’m very fond of it and it’s in my perfect specification, black gunmetal with crema interior. I drove it to Paris last November with 7 other classic cars and it was fantastic!!!
What’s your day to day work uniform?
It really depends if I’m on shift or not. If I am on shift, I will wear a blue suit, white shirt and a tie with a pair of Paraboot Michael in either Lisse Marron or Black. If I’m just working then I’d wear my Jelado 301 xx Jeans which I love, with a pair of vans 73DX,
Margret Howell checked shirt and a Vetra jacket or something along those lines.
Aperitivo of choice and crisps pairing? And can you share your recipe?
Rum Old Fashion with some traditional Spanish olive oil crisps.
Recipe:
Ingredients
1796 Santa Teresa Rums
Demerara Sugas
Angostura Bitters
Ice Cubes
Orange Zest
Method:
A big glug of your favourite Rum I really like using 1796 Santa Teresa, 2 spoons/ 5 ml Demerara syrup, Angustora bitters mix all together add 5-7 ice cubes and stir well until cold, peel the zest of an orange over a cognac glass so the oils perfume the glass and then strain the liquid into the glass, finish by dropping the peel into the glass and enjoy!
I also love a Pint of Guinness with salted peanuts!!!
Favourite book, record and film?
I’m not much of reader if I’m honest but I really enjoyed reading about Ross Edgely swimming around Great Britain, it’s mad!! I still can’t quite believe he managed to do it! My favourite record is Lightnin Hopkins - Baby please don’t go! and my favourite film has to be 3:10 to Yuma with Russel Crowe and Cristian Bale.
We also asked Sam to put together a little playlist of some of his most listened tunes, including; Fela Kuti, Jamiroquai and Nas.