Caterer

I hear that in consequence of the death of the Marquis de Lur-Saluces, the wonderful Château d'Yquem crû, of which he was the proprietor, will come into the market. There is here a wonderful chance for some millionaire to acquire fame. To be proprietor of the Château d'Yquem vineyards is as good a title of distinction as any peerage. Imagine the pleasure of asking a man to dinner, and to order up a bottle and, when the wine is served, to say, "This is a wine I grow down at my place in France, you know." Then, after a pause, to add, "We call it Château d'Yquem. Perhaps you've heard of it."

Mr Loreto Santarelli, restaurant manager at the Savoy hotel, London, whose death was recorded in the last issue of Caterer & Hotelkeeper, had been with the Savoy group for 30 years. In April 1919, he took over the position of assistant head waiter in the Savoy grill room, and in 1926 was promoted to restaurant manager. He adopted British nationality in 1932, but in June 1940, when Italy joined the war, was interned with many other Italian hoteliers. Mr Santarelli was released after eight months' internment and returned to the Savoy in February 1941.

Greenall Whitley is hopeful its Grand Hotel in Brighton can be fully restored after the bomb attack during the Conservative Party Conference last Friday which killed four people - including Devon restaurateur Jean Shattock - and injured 32.

The Warrington-based group, which acquired De Vere Hotels in August this year, told Caterer & Hotelkeeper: "We are fairly confident we can restore the hotel to its former glory."