Maxim’s – A great Restaurant
One of the world’s great restaurants is Maxim’s, on the Rue Royale in Paris. From the street, you see only typical Parisian building and the famous red awning that says ‘Maxim’s’. But when you walk inside, you know immediately that this a restaurant devoted to luxury. The light isn’t very bright , so it takes a few minutes to see the lovely gold mirrors, the paintings of famous customers, the white tablecloths, the red velvet seats … and the beautifully-dressed men and women who go there. If you look carefully, you see that many of these men and women have familiar faces. Maxim’s is a favorite eating place of the world’s celebrities.
But the rich and famous didn’t always eat at Maxim’s .The restaurant opened in the 1890’s and enjoyed several years of success. But after World War One, it became less popular and well-known people looked for other places to eat. In 1931 a man named Vaudadel bought Maxim’s. Mr. Vaudadel was a clever businessman, and he hired Albert Blaser as the maître d’hotel (head waiter).
Albert , who was very arrogant, loved his job because he had to decide where people would sit and when they would get their tables. And he very much enjoyed making famous customers wait a little while from time to time. One customer said: ‘That man is incredible. He is bigger snob than any of the snobs who eat here.’ And this , of course, what the reason for his great success.
1. Albert was …
