César Ritz
"Escoffier, moreover, confessed to taking “commission”, gifts or kickbacks from the Savoy’s suppliers (a regular 5 per cent in the case of Messrs Hudson Brothers, grocers on the Strand) amounting to a whopping £1.4 million in today’s values. The board first became suspicious in 1895 when, although overall receipts increased greatly, the profits from the kitchens fell. In 1897, the kitchen actually showed a loss...