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until 1888. A pioneer in the development and management of luxury hotels, he knew how to entice wealthy customers and quickly gained a reputation for good taste and elegance, and by the mid-1880s the Grand Hôtel
National in Lucerne had earned a reputation as the most elegant hotel in Europe. Ritz was
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The hotelier himself withdrew progressively from the affairs of his various companies, selling his interests in hotels at
Frankfurt and Salsomaggiore in 1905 and retiring from the Ritz Hotel Development Company in 1907, from the Carlton Hotel Company in 1908, and from the Paris Ritz Company in 1911.
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but was evidently dissuaded by
Escoffier, who felt that their interests would be better served by keeping the scandal quiet. Lady de Grey sided with Ritz; she cancelled her party at the Savoy on learning of his sacking, stating "Where Ritz goes, I go". Ritz subsequently established a
375:". His code was "See all without looking; hear all without listening; be attentive without being servile; anticipate without being presumptuous. If a diner complains about a dish or the wine, immediately remove it and replace it, no questions asked."
422:, positions they held from 1889 until 1897. Ritz put together what he described as "a little army of hotel men for the conquest of London". The Savoy under Ritz was an immediate success, attracting a distinguished and moneyed clientele headed by the
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According to
Montgomery-Massingberd and Watkin, "the outstanding success of the Savoy owed everything to the civilized genius of César Ritz and his brilliant chef, Auguste Escoffier, who introduced the English to the subtlety and delicacy of
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restaurant owned by the
Chevallier family, where he was later dismissed for breaking too many dishes in his desire to work briskly. He worked his way up from assistant waiter to restaurant manager of a restaurant on the corner of
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at the hotel broke during a frigid day, and a group of 40 were arriving for lunch. Ritz changed the menu to hot dishes, moved a table into the smaller drawing room, and heated 40 bricks in the oven to be wrapped in
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in Paris, which was one of the most lavish hotels in Europe at the time, where he met many rich, self-made
Americans as guests who had a profound effect on him. In 1873 he was a waiter in Vienna at the time of the
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Regular moves then followed, usually twice a year just ahead of the migration of the international tourist set from the hotels of Nice or San Remo in winter to Swiss mountain resorts such as Rigi-Kulm and
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and projects in Madrid, Cairo and
Johannesburg. According to his wife, "César's suitcases were never completely unpacked; he was always either just arriving from or departing upon a new journey".
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in his hotels. He decorated without heavy draperies and wallpaper and replaced them with washable paint and lighter washable fabrics. In 1887 Ritz bought the Hôtel de
Provence in
347:, a difficult period given the eccentricities of its alcoholic manager who lived on a diet of raw ham, bread, and wine and had a habit of disturbing the guests, ringing bells at 5
453:, and others to "alter licensing laws whereby restaurants could not open on Sundays and had to close at 11pm on other nights." In March 1898, Ritz was sacked from the Savoy for
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Ritz would go on to find investors and open a number of his own hotels. By the late 1890s, Ritz was an extremely busy man, with hotel enterprises in Rome, Frankfurt,
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on 26 October 1918. Although from a humble Swiss background, César Ritz and his luxurious hotels became legendary, and his name entered the
English language as an
237:, manager, and eventually hotelier. After a short stint working at the Hôtel de la Fidélité, he worked as a waiter in a workman's bistro and took a position in a
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a.m. and chasing his wife through the corridors with an army pistol. Ritz meekly commented that "I did what I could to pacify the clients" in the circumstances.
290:, by which time he had begun to acquire a considerable knowledge of the industry and the culinary preferences of esteemed people such as the Prince of Wales.
564:, the now-famous French chef and father of modern French cooking. The partnership lasted until Ritz had to retire in 1907 because of deteriorating health.
171:). He was an early hotel chain founder known as "King of Hoteliers, and Hotelier to Kings," and it is from his name and that of his hotels that the term
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457:. He was implicated in the disappearance of more than £3,400 of wine and spirits, as well as in receiving kickbacks from suppliers. In a 1938
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In the winter of 1873 his astonishing career in hotel management began when he undertook the direction of the restaurant at the
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306:. He once stated that his "years of wandering in the wake of a migratory society had begun". While working as manager at the
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By 1912, according to Marie-Louise Ritz, to all intents and purposes his life had finished. In 1913, he was placed in a
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in London in 1905, which became one of the most popular meeting places of the era for the rich and famous. The
532:, Paris, late in 1898. At the inauguration, on 1 June 1898, were many figures of the European elite, including
189:, the youngest of 13 children in a poor peasant family. At the age of twelve he was sent as a boarder to the
1011:"As the Paris Ritz Shutters, Remembering Its Mysteries, Misbehaviors, and Unhurried Luxuries | Society"
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of her husband, Ritz's widow maintained that he resigned. According to a damning report by the Savoy's
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César Ritz
Colleges – International Hospitality and Culinary Management School in Switzerland
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as supplies of fresh meat dwindled during the siege and zoo animals took their place.
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of high-class cuisine and accommodation. He is buried in the village of his birth.
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cloths placed at the footstool of each guest. This quick thinking was noticed by
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in summer. He had a period working as the maître d'hôtel of the Grand Hôtel in
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Ritz and Escoffier: The Hotelier, the Chef, and the Rise of the Leisure Class
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in Haymarket, built in 1897–99 under the designs of C.J. Phipps. Bombed in
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in Switzerland, an incident occurred that changed his career. The
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and held the same position, in parallel, at the Grand Hôtel in
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In 1878, he became the manager of the Grand Hôtel National in
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and invented at the Savoy many celebrated dishes, including
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and the Restaurant de la Conversation and Minerva Hotel in
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In 1888, he opened the Conservations Haus restaurant with
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Ritz with wife Marie-Louise in 1888. They had two sons.
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Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh; Watkin, David (1980).
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Ritz's formative five years in Paris, including the
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The London Ritz: a social and architectural history
378:According to his widow, Ritz also was a pioneer of
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151:(23 February 1850 – 24 October 1918), was a Swiss
155:and founder of several hotels, most famously the
1078:- Claude Roulet - Editions Quai Voltaire - 1998
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1089:Ritz, The King of Hoteliers and Host of Kings
1040:. London and New York: Hambledon and London.
468:Ritz threatened to sue the hotel company for
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1076:Ritz, une histoire plus belle que la légende
969:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
963:Ashburner, F. "Escoffier, Georges Auguste".
942:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
418:to become the first manager and chef of the
331:, who noted his efficiency in a scrapbook.
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20:
1103:(1st ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott.
281:In 1872, Ritz became floor waiter of the
167:in London (the forerunners of the modern
1115:Site dedicated to the life of César Ritz
921:Montgomery-Massingberd & Watkin 1980
909:Montgomery-Massingberd & Watkin 1980
897:Montgomery-Massingberd & Watkin 1980
809:Montgomery-Massingberd & Watkin 1980
779:Montgomery-Massingberd & Watkin 1980
755:Montgomery-Massingberd & Watkin 1980
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716:Montgomery-Massingberd & Watkin 1980
701:Montgomery-Massingberd & Watkin 1980
674:Montgomery-Massingberd & Watkin 1980
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966:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
939:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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822:"The master chef who cooked the books"
440:thin toast named after the same singer
185:Ritz was born in the Swiss village of
1023:from the original on 26 November 2013
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516:In 1896, he formed the Ritz Hotel
481:, the hotel was later replaced by
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536:, the Duke and Duchess de Rohan,
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520:with South African millionaire
936:Allen, Brigid. "Ritz, César".
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1101:Cesar Ritz: Host to the World
1009:Hotchner, A. E. (July 2012).
994:. New York: Clarkson Potter.
1038:Escoffier: The King of Chefs
983:UK public library membership
956:UK public library membership
373:the customer is always right
1099:Ritz, Marie Louise (1938).
509:, Monte Carlo, Lucerne and
371:the first to mandate that "
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169:Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
16:Swiss hotelier (1850–1918)
1196:People from Goms District
215:1867 Universal Exhibition
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880:"Savoy's epic scandal",
871:, pp. 170, 212–213.
1036:James, Kenneth (2002).
451:Lord Randolph Churchill
975:10.1093/ref:odnb/50441
948:10.1093/ref:odnb/48534
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323:, the designer of the
37:Portrait of César Ritz
544:. He went on to open
445:Ritz campaigned with
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827:11 June 2012 at the
432:French haute cuisine
416:Richard D'Oyly Carte
325:Grand Hotel National
1201:Swiss-German people
990:Barr, Luke (2018).
884:, 19 May 1985, p. 2
833:The Daily Telegraph
538:Calouste Gulbenkian
231:Franco-Prussian War
213:at the time of the
470:wrongful dismissal
398:Ritz and Escoffier
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260:Edmond de Goncourt
1068:978-0-906053-01-0
1047:978-1-85285-396-9
1001:978-0-8041-8629-2
981:(Subscription or
954:(Subscription or
811:, pp. 18–20.
745:, pp. 69–71.
562:Auguste Escoffier
483:New Zealand House
404:Auguste Escoffier
294:First managership
264:Théophile Gautier
159:in Paris and the
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534:Lady de Grey
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137:Charles Ritz
81:(1918-10-26)
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1206:Ritz family
1186:1918 deaths
1181:1850 births
1165:Switzerland
1027:18 November
1016:Vanity Fair
522:Alfred Beit
489:Ritz hotels
436:Peche Melba
420:Savoy Hotel
408:Baden-Baden
406:as chef in
392:Baden-Baden
384:cleanliness
321:Max Pfyffer
300:Grand Hôtel
256:George Sand
229:during the
193:college at
107:Nationality
69:Switzerland
1175:Categories
1091:, Film by
985:required.)
958:required.)
869:James 2002
604:References
568:Later life
550:Ritz Hotel
526:Hôtel Ritz
244:Rue Royale
187:Niederwald
181:Early life
157:Hôtel Ritz
149:Cäsar Ritz
145:César Ritz
115:Occupation
102:Niederwald
61:Niederwald
53:1850-02-23
47:Cäsar Ritz
25:César Ritz
1141:Biography
1061:. Aurum.
857:Barr 2018
845:Ritz 1938
794:Ashburner
767:Ritz 1938
743:Ritz 1938
686:Ritz 1938
594:Küssnacht
518:syndicate
507:Wiesbaden
485:in 1959.
459:biography
239:prix fixe
207:sacristan
199:sommelier
177:derives.
87:Küssnacht
1021:Archived
825:Archived
582:Lausanne
503:Biarritz
463:auditors
438:and the
153:hotelier
133:Children
119:Hotelier
1127:Portals
598:epitome
528:in the
499:Palermo
380:hygiene
364:Lucerne
341:Locarno
337:Lucerne
329:Lucerne
317:flannel
147:, born
1153:Hotels
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554:Madrid
540:, and
511:Menton
412:London
388:Cannes
368:Monaco
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266:, and
191:Jesuit
125:Spouse
645:Allen
455:fraud
211:Paris
174:ritzy
110:Swiss
1080:ISBN
1063:ISBN
1042:ISBN
1029:2013
996:ISBN
382:and
304:Nice
246:and
203:Brig
195:Sion
163:and
161:Ritz
76:Died
43:Born
971:doi
944:doi
588:in
580:at
552:in
414:by
343:on
327:in
302:in
274:in
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