25 - The Importance of a Morning Suit

THE RITZ HOTEL, Paris

The Ritz' Espadon restaurant, summer terrace  (2010)

Years ago, long before I made my life with Brenda, I discovered the Ritz Hotel’s wonderful business luncheon.  The chef proposed everything that was the best of the day:  tasters, starter, main course, cheese, dessert, coffee and more sweets.  And all this for about 50 dollars (this is going back a few years). 

I became quite a regular client, often lunching solo.

Luigi, the host-maître d’hôtel, always seemed delighted to see me.  On this particular day some twenty years ago I vaguely sensed something changed.

Star chef Michel Roth in Ritz kitchen

 I was attuned to the fact that a new gentleman in morning suit was participating in the service.  I knew that each level of command in the French hotel hierarchy carried with it a precise category of clothing, and as I understood that the morning suit indicated top man, I was surprised to see that Luigi –surely the chief maitre d’hotel—was dressed in a simple, dark suit.

I was just making idle conversation and had no inkling of reopening a dramatic wound.  When I clumsily asked why he wasn’t wearing his morning suit, I thought he was going to burst into tears.

« You have noticed, of course, that I am no longer … », he seemed unable to finish, and injected a brave smile.  « Yes, the man you saw earlier is the chief, the new director. »

« But surely you are the head of the waiters, » I ventured, not knowing how to back up, having uncovered this indelicate can of worms.

Classic morning suit in 1898 watercolor

 « You see, during two years, there was no director, » he said, as though delighted in the complicity of a client who had finally noticed. «So I was like the acting head.  And now with the appointment of this man, I am no longer anything.  And to make sure that I understand perfectly what has happened to me, I have been instructed to return my morning suit. »

I sincerely commiserated and said how unjust this all seemed.

Towards the end of the meal, Luigi returned to say how much my comments had meant to him, how rare it was to hear when people were happy with the restaurant.  He said it was disheartening how many people wrote to say bad things.  Just that week someone had written about a lunch months earlier, criticizing the service as well as the food.    I asked how much weight this kind of condemnation held, and he said it could be enormous.

L'Espadon (watercolor by B.Redmond)

 When I said that my tendency was simply not to return to a hotel or restaurant when unhappy, but that I loved to write when the experience was outstanding, his eyes lit up.   He didn’t quite dare say anything immediately, but before I left, he managed to convey in the most discreet and delicate manner how much a complimentary letter sent to the right person could mean in his precarious situation.

I was more than happy to oblige.  Even though it didn’t get his morning suit back, my letter apparently did give a certain boost to Luigi’s professional self esteem and cemented an enduring complicity between us until his retirement several years ago.

L'Espadon Restaurant in 1955, unidentified gentleman in foreground  (Google photo)

SIDEBAR:  The last Night at the Ritz ... out with a bang!

Brenda and daughter Fiona in main lobby last July,  Ritz' last Sunday

It was a full house for the Ritz’ closing night. 

Boarding-up its ornate 18^th century doors last July, the granddaddy of Parisian luxury hotels began a major overhaul expected to last at least another two years.

The hotel was booked solid that last Monday night, and at prices way out of the realm of most of us ordinary mortals (reportedly 14,000-dollars for the Coco Chanel suite, named after one of the hotel's most prestigious residents).

Portion of bedroom in Coco Chanel Suite (Associated Press photo)

Star chef Michel Roth proposed a special 300-dollar menu for his “au revoir dinner” (foie gras, lobster and caviar, pigeon and cherries, ending with a peach Melba, the most famous creation of the hotel’s first chef Auguste Escoffier).  Wine and coffee were not included, but the restaurant still sold out. 

Well-heeled regulars came from around the globe for the final days.  Rarely have so many flags been raised at the same time to announce guests’ nationalities:  clients from Hong Kong, Japan, U.S.A., Singapore, Russia --not to mention France and the rest of Europe-- filled the iconic old palace one last time.

Despite promises to uphold tradition, some conservative regulars feared an overly modern transformation.  “We wanted to spend one more night here before it was too late,” an elderly German gentlemen said.  “You never know what it’s going to be like in two years time.”

“It’s so sad.  We’ve been coming here for over 20 years,” said a teary-eyed Hong Kong matron.  “Some of the plumbing may need changing, but we love it.  It’s historical, and it’s home.”  As reported by the French press agency, she embraced all staff she encountered in the lobby before heading out onto the Place Vendome.

The 200-million dollar facelift, in addition to all of the obvious heating-airconditioning-electricity refittings, will equip the Ritz with a state-of-the-art spa and spectacular new garden restaurant with a retractable glass ceiling.

Putting on the Ritz (Google)

 At its opening in 1898, the Ritz was the first in the world to have electricity in every room and en-suite bathrooms in most.   

 It inspired Irving Berlin's 1929 song “Putting On The Ritz” and the novella “The Diamond As Big As The Ritz” by Scott Fitzgerald, once a reguzlar guest with his wife Zelda.

Owned since 1979 by Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed, it was here that Princess Diana had her last meal with Al Fayed’s son Dodi in 1997.

All bedrooms will be completely redecorated, but a Ritz spokeswoman said they would stay traditional in style, in the hotel’s trademark tones of pink and blue.  A public letter from the hotel's managing director promised to ensure that the “charm and personality of the Ritz is kept alive.”

“The Ritz will remain the Ritz,” pledged a hotel spokesman recently in its newsletter.  “Its DNA will remain intact.”

Vintage Ritz dinner, probably the 1930's (photo Ritz Hotel archives)

Your input is welcomed:  hotel-musings@hotmail.fr

Next Friday:  "Babe Ruth's 60th Home Run, back to the Aberdeen Hotel"

[Photos are mine, unless otherwise credited]

CROSS REFERENCING … a look at other postings

The Ritz Hotel was also featured in sidebar for blog No. 18, "Cesar Ritz" Dec. 28, 2012  (to access, click on above title).