This book made me think to start this column in the first place. When I read Ritz and Escoffier, all about the Savoy Hotel in London, how Cesar Ritz changed the way hotels treated their guests and Auguste Escoffier changed the way that restaurants work. These men created the hospitality industry that we enjoy today, and reading this book made me long to see this story on the big screen. There would be lavish sets draped in exquisite fabrics, filled with flowers. There would be a pristine kitchen working, the chefs in brilliant whites working in perfect harmony. The dinner parties would be the type that today’s celebrities would dream about. And it would all be true. Add in Hollywood starlets and Broadway leads, politicians and Oscar Wilde, and you can see how this story would scream out for the big screen. And when you find out how their Savoy careers ended for these men, you the screenplay practically writes itself. Author Luke Barr researched this diligently, just like he did his Provence, 1970 (watch this spot for that one to show up one day soon).
Note for producers: open your wallet wide for this one and bring back the gorgeous period pieces from Merchant Ivory that we all loved so much in the early 1990s, but with a modern look that will bring those Escoffier kitchens to life.
My review of Ritz & Escoffier
