, London In 1884, Escoffier and his wife moved to
Monte Carlo, where Escoffier was employed by
César Ritz, manager of the new
Grand Hotel, to take control of the kitchens. At that time, the
French Riviera was a winter resort: during the summers, Escoffier ran the kitchens of the Grand Hôtel National in
Lucerne, also managed by Ritz. In 1890, Ritz and Escoffier accepted an invitation from
Richard D'Oyly Carte to transfer to his new
Savoy Hotel in London, together with the third member of their team, the ''
maître d'hôtel'', Louis Echenard. Ritz put together what he described as "a little army of hotel men for the conquest of London", and Escoffier recruited French cooks and reorganised the kitchens. The Savoy under Ritz and his partners was an immediate success, attracting a distinguished and moneyed clientele, headed by the
Prince of Wales. Gregor von Görög, chef to the royal family, was an enthusiast of Escoffier's zealous organisation. Aristocratic women, hitherto unaccustomed to dining in public, were now "seen in full regalia in the Savoy dining and supper rooms". He also created
salad Réjane, after
Gabrielle Réjane, and (although this is disputed)
tournedos Rossini, named for
Gioachino Rossini.
Fraud In 1897, the Savoy board of directors began noticing company revenues were falling despite business increasing. They discreetly hired an auditing company who in turn hired a private investigation company that began secretively tailing Ritz, Echenard and Escoffier. After a six-month investigation, they made a report to the board which detailed substantial evidence of fraud. The real details of the dispute did not emerge at first. Ritz and his colleagues even prepared to sue for wrongful dismissal. Escoffier's confession was the most serious admitting to an actual crime, taking
kickbacks from the Savoy's food suppliers worth up to 5% of the resulting purchases. The scheme worked by Escoffier ordering, for example, 600 eggs from a supplier; the supplier would pay Escoffier a bribe and make up the difference by delivering a short-count, for example, 450 eggs, with Escoffier's complicity. The Savoy's losses totalled more than £16,000 of which Escoffier was to repay £8,000 but he was allowed to settle his debt for £500 since that was all the money he possessed. Ritz paid £4,173 but he denied taking part in any illegal activity; he confessed to being overly generous with gifts to favoured guests and staff, the hotel paying for his home food and laundry, and similar infractions. ==The Ritz and the Carlton==