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Who are the Hosts de Luxe of Boston's Thanksgiving Day din ners. That is a question which doesn't bother Mr. Jones of Boston, for Mr. Jones is going down to the market next Wednesday afternoon and dig down into his jeans to get the price to pay for a turkey com pared with which a football will look like a dried up bean. Nor does it cause any mental turmoil to Mr. Smith of Boston; for Mr. Smith knows that Mrs. Smith has filed an order for a Thanksgiving dinner with the corner grocery, which, when the bill comes in, will fill his pocket book so full of holes that it will resemble a Swiss cheese or a piece of Cluny lace. THE TRAVELLERS’ HOST It is, however, a question which af fects the hundreds of travellers we will be in Boston during Thanksgiving; and It is a question which can be answered without a moment’s hesitation by any seasoned traveller. The answer, right off the bat, is: ‘‘Mon sieur the Head Waiter.” It is Monsieur the Head Waiter, who speaks fluently anywhere from four to eight languages, who makes the homeless traveller feel at-home in SBoston’s big Hotels. It is he who welcomes the wan derer with a smile and a bow which makes the wanderer forget his lack of friends in a strange place. It is she who reads the wanderer, with a flourish, to a casey seat. With a polish acquired, in many cases, in the greatest hotels of the world, he assists Mrs. Wanderer in the removal of her wraps, sees that the table is prop erly bedecked with flowers, and sets a host of underlings to flying feverishly between the table and the kitchen. If Mr. and Mrs. Wanderer are not quite sure of the exact delicacies which they wish, Monsieur the Head Waiter, can make suggestions which Mr. and Mrs. Wanderer need have no fear of accept ing; for kings and princes have accepted the suggestions of some of Boston's Mead Waiters. Master of Hotel Take, for instance, Emile Coulon. Emile is the Maitre d’Hotel of the Iotel West minster. ‘Master of the Hotel” is the title which he bears. You may, if you wish, call him the Head Waiter and not be wrong, but “Maitre d’Hotel” is his proper designation, and Master of the Hotel he is, in very south. Ile is a Frenchman and was born in Le Mans in 1875. When he was 20 years old he went to Paris and started in as a waiter at the Hotel Continental—a hotel which every travelling American knows. He soon realized that the po sition of waiter can lead to important places. He did not know what statisti cians know—namely, that a very small percentage of people in the United States earn salaries as large as those earned by a good Maitre d’Hotel, but he knew that such a position was not to be sniffed at. So he determined to visit many other countries in order to learn other languages besides his own. He went to London, where he was first with the Princess Restaurant, and then with the Hotel Cecil. Then he went down into Germany, and in Berlin was in the Ho tel de Rome and the Hotel Bristol. From Berlin he went to Vienna, where the Bristol Hotel engaged him. His next jump was to Italy, where he kept going south, first being in the Hotel Royal Danielli, Venice; then in the Hotel Quir inal, Rome; and lastly at the Hotel des Etrangers, Naples. All the time his fame was growing. Visitors asked for Emile to make their dinners a success. Among those, whom he served in Naples were King Victor Emmanuel III., and Philip of Orleans, pretender to the French throne. In foreign countries, dining is an art. Chefs are decorated by kings; good waiters are highly commended. Emile was com mended. That was in 1900, the year of ‘the Paris exhibition; and from Paris the moving spirits of the Palais d’Orsay sent for Emile to come and help open the cafe as assistant head waiter. The next year he came to America. In New York he was head waiter, or ‘“‘Captain,’’ as the big hotels say, at the Savoy and at Martin's. From New York he came to Boston as Captain at the Touraine. Since then he has been Maitre d’Hotel, first at the Lenox and then at the West minster. Made a Record That is the record of a good Maitre d' Hotel. Emile Coulon speaks—and speaks fluently—English, French, German, Ital ian, Spanish and Russian. Distinguished travellers are proud to shake him by the hands when they enter a dining room over which he presides. Ile founded the Boston section of the International Geneva Association, an association of head waiters founded nearly 3 years ago. Such a career is in itself a liberal education, and all of Boston’s big hotels have Maitres d’Hotel and head waiters whose careers are much like that of Emile Coulon. That is why Mr. and Mrs. Wanderer feel at home when, every lit tle while during their Thanksgiving din ner Monsieur, the Head Waiter ends confidentially over their table and wishes to know if everything is as it could be. If it is not a presto, a finger is snapped, a crowd of waiters rush to the rescue, and everything is made smooth. The Touraine has in its grill room two head waiters, who, although they appear to be little more than boys, have had a world-wide experience. They are Albin Hesselbarth and Axel Bergqvist. Hessel barth is the head waiter and Bergqvist is the assistant head waiter. Bergqvist is also the president of the Boston sec tion of the International Geneva Asso ciation. In Balloon Corps Hesselbarth was born in Leipsic, Ger many, in 188. He worked in the Kaiser hof Hotel in Leipsic first, and then went to the Barks-Voelen Hotel in Am sterdam. From there, in succession, he went to the Hotel Metropole in London, the Grand Hotel in Manchester, the Ho tel Europe in Brussels, the Grand Hotel in Luxembourg, and the Hotel Stras bourg in Nancy. Then he came to New York, where he was with Sherry’ s, the Holland Trouse and the New Astor. From the New Astor he came to the Touraine in Boston in 1800. Since he is a German, it was necessary for him to return to Germany for military service. He went back for three years and served in the balloon corps of the German army. Then he came back to the Touraine, where he has been ever since. Bergqvist,who is just 30 years old, was born in Gottenburg, Sweden. He has had the honor, when in England, of serving the resent iling of England. He started as a waiter in his native city, and then went to the Grand Hotel in Christiania, Norway. Thence he came down to the Palace Hotel in Berlin. His next jump was to the Grand Hotel in London, and from England he came to New York, where he was in the Waldorf and also in Rector's.. From Rector’s he came to the Youraine. Many a traveller feels at home when he goes to the Hotel Somerset and en counters the smiling face of Antonio Moneta, the Somerset's Maitre d'Hotel. He is an Italian, born in Como in 1879. He worked first in Berlin, at the Bristol and at the Grand Hotel de Rome. His next step took him into Italy, where, in Genoa, he was at the Hotel Isotta, and in Milan at the Hotel Europe. From London, where he next officiated at the Carleton and at the Russell, he ‘came to New York, where foreigners who visited Martin’s, Sherry’s, the SW Knickerbocker and the New Plaza exclaimed in pleas ure at the sight of his face. From the New Plaza he came to Boston and offi ciated successively at the ‘touraine, the Westminster and the Somerset. Felix Valle is the Maitre d'Hotel of the Hotel Lenox. He is an Italian, born in Asti, and is only 25 years old. Before coming to New York he had seen S ser vice only in Turn,in Monte Carlo and in Niece. In New York he was at the Waldorf, at Martin’s and at the Knicker bocker. From New York he‘came to’ the Lenox. Frank Schober, head waiter at the Thorndike, is a native of Aussee, Aus tria, and is 31 years old. He has seen service in Linc, Austria, Paris, London, Munich, San Remo, Italy; at the Hotel Marie Antoinette in New York; and at the Lenox, ‘the Parker House and the Thorndike in Boston, Longest Service Known to almost every business man in Boston is ‘“‘Nick’’ Stull, head waiter at the Winter Palace Tavern, or ‘‘Frank Locke's,” as it is more often called. “Nick” has seen continued service in one restaurant for a longer time than any other Boston head waiter, for it was 1? years ago when he came to ‘Frank Locke'’s. He started in at the Hoffman House in New York, going from there to the old Shelburne at the corner of 32d street and Broadway, and from the Shelburne to Martin’s. ‘Then he had charge of the dining rooms of the Bing ham House in Philadelphia. From Phila delphia he went to Kinsley’s,in Chicago, and then to the Cafe Royal in Pittsburg. From Pittsburg he came to Boston. All the politicians know Louis la Franche and KE. J. Keyworth. Louis is the head waiter at the Parker House, while Keyworth holds the same position at the Bellevue. LaFranche was born in Geneva and, before coming to the Par ker House, he had been at the Waldorf, Rector’s, Sherry’s, Delmonico’s and the Netherlands in New York ,and at the Essex in Boston. Nor do these complete the list of the autocrats of the dining table who are widely known. George Morisso, in the Rathskeller of the American House; John Cousens, at the Essex; James St. Leger, at the Copley Square; William Fredericks, at the Brewster; John Kelly, at the Adams House—all these are fa miliar to Bostonians who patronize ho tels. So, too, are the head waiters of the other big hotels. Experienced travellers who find them selves in Boston when Thanksgiving comes around place’ themselves in the hands of Monsieur the Head Waiter at dinner time, for they have learned that he is a host who can’t be beaten. ANTONIO MONETA, MAITRE D'HOTEL, HOTEL SOMERSET EMILE COULON, MAITRE D'HOTEL HOTEL WESTMINSTER FELIX VALLE, MAITRE D'HOTEL. _OF THE HOTEL LENNOX AXEL BERGQUIST, ASSISTANT HEAD WAITER, HOTEL TOURAINE FRANCS SCHOBER, HEAD WAITER, HOTEL THORNDIKE ALBIN HESSELBARTH, HEAD WAITER , HOTEL TOURAINE SCHOLAS STULL HEAD WAITER, HOTEL, WINTER PLACE TAVERN LOUlS LA FRANCHE, HEAD WAITER PARKER HOUSE
Newspaper Details
Boston Sunday Post
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Sun, Nov 26, 1911
Page 54
Full Page
Clipped by
Adeline C.
USA 01 Aug 2026
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