Angelo Maresca is leaving London's Savoy Grill today (31 July), after 21 years as its restaurant manager, to join another top London establishment.
Maresca was renowned for being able to recognise thousands of the regular diners at the restaurant, and remembering which were their favourite tables.
Rumours are rife that he is going to join the Ritz hotel or Brown's hotel, which was recently bought by Rocco Forte Hotels.
Maresca declined to comment on his options while he was still at the Savoy Grill, but he confirmed that he'd been offered as many as three positions in the capital. He said he would make a decision at the end of August, after a long holiday in Sorrento, Italy.
He added that he regarded his move as a "last fling" before he retired.
Although the Savoy Grill took Maresca on as restaurant manager in 1982, it had also been his first employer after he moved to the UK in the early 1960s, when he worked in the restaurant as a commis chef.
News of his departure follows that of another Savoy veteran, Anton Edelmann, who will join Sodexho after spending more than 20 years as maître chef des cuisines at the hotel.
By Angela Frewin
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 31 July - 6 August 2003