Mark Hix mourns the loss of Le Caprice from the West End where it made London history with “a star-studded cast every day”.
The chef, who worked at Le Caprice for 17 years, recalls one incident when kitchen porters were armed with hosepipes to protect Princess Diana.
“The paparazzi were outside so we decided to get her out the back staff door and into her car,” Hix explained, adding that the porters were armed with the unconventional weapons “to fend them off”.
Another time, actor Omar Sharif and musician Ian Dury “had a punch-up” in the restaurant over a girl who was one of the guests, Hix reveals.
And when fists weren’t flying, the place was filled with “the Condé Nast crew, art dealers, artists, and agents”.
It was announced last month that due to coronavirus Le Caprice would leave its art-deco dining room behind the Ritz after 38 years. Owner Richard Caring says it will reopen elsewhere.
Hix added: “The dining bar was always full and it was casual so no one felt like a loner if they wanted to read the paper and have an eggs benedict.” Punch-ups, princesses, and eggs benedict. What more could you want?
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Writer Giles Coren has been calling for help from his north London neighbours over his cat, Mo Tenzing, who keeps getting lost. The cat has snubbed lockdown by escaping at least three times in recent weeks. Coren asked on app Nextdoor for help locating him. One cruel commenter wrote: “I can only conclude that Mo is totally fed up with your articles.” How catty.
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MAHSA TALIEFAR, the law student trying to privately prosecute Dominic Cummings over his lockdown trips, has reportedly been told by barristers that there is a chance of conviction. But prominent lawyer Matthew Scott says it has “no prospect” of success. Scott urges donors to the crowdfunder, at £41,000, to give to Vision Aid Overseas instead.
SW1A
Mark Jenkinson MP tells the Commons that Cumbrians ask suspected Cumbrians “’as thou e’er sin a cuddy lowp a five barred yat?”. The real mccoys know that is dialect for: “Have you ever seen a donkey jump a five barred gate?”. Genuinely foolproof.
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Lisa Nandy, who banged the drum for towns in her Labour leadership bid, tells a Labour List event a friend texted when she became shadow foreign secretary: “that is a lot of towns that you now speak for”. Nandy added "it's almost a natural extension of what I was doing before because in the end foreign policy is about psychology." All the world’s a town.
Serena nets a great partner – her daughter
Olympia Ohanian Jr found a decent partner for a tennis game yesterday — her mother, 23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams. She certainly wouldn’t want to be on the other side of the net. Meanwhile Love Island presenter Laura Whitmore bemoaned making an effort, saying she “might have to rethink the lipstick when wearing a face mask”, and Bella Hadid popped out to the shops in a mask herself. Let’s hope the model didn’t make the same mistake.
