Confessions of a Retiring Four Seasons Captain

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Donald Trump will be delighted to know that Jorge Marquez, senior captain at the Four Seasons restaurant – a man with whom he had a run-in over a bottle of wine he ordered – will soon call it quits, retiring after 36 years of dealing with the city’s and the world’s Who’s Who over lunch and dinner.


At dinner the other night at an Upper East Side Asian-fusion eatery, Chilean born Mr. Marquez, 69, who joined the Four Seasons as a captain in 1968, recalled that Mr. Trump once came into the restaurant with a group of Japanese businessmen, ordered a bottle of wine, the cheapest on the menu, in fact, and asked him to decant it. Mr. Marquez tried to explain to him that the candle used in the decanter process was more expensive than the wine he had ordered and suggested he forget about decanting it.


Angrily, the Donald told Mr. Marquez: “I never want to request you again.” And he never did.


Friendly, amiable, and soft-spoken, Mr. Marquez also recalls a run-in with Joseph Columbo of the Columbo crime family. When he spotted Mr. Columbo, he approached him and started talking in Italian. Mr. Columbo wasn’t impressed. “I speak English better than you do,” he shot back. They never spoke again. Two months later, Mr. Columbo was murdered.


Mr. Marquez also met mobster John Gotti at the restaurant. Mr. Gotti, whom he described as an excellent tipper, was seated at the time at one of the best tables in the Pool Room, the Four Seasons’ premier dining area. Mr. Gotti, who suspected the light in the table plant might be bugged, asked that it be unplugged (which it was) and that he be moved to a different table. Mr. Marquez, though, was fearful of moving him to a less desirable table, so he asked the late Paul Kovi, a former owner of the restaurant, to do it, explaining that he was married and had two children. Mr. Kovi never did ask Gotti to move.


These are some of the colorful incidents Mr. Marquez experienced in his years at one of the city’s classiest restaurants. Four Seasons customers – luminaries Mr. Marquez has personally served -include royalty (such as King Constantine of Greece), presidents (including Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter), and a host of actors (among them Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Gregory Peck, Alec Guiness, and Warren Beatty).


Undoubtedly one of his most memorable moments was an unexpected strip show in the Pool Room. It happened 12 years ago at lunch when four models from the Ford agency suddenly stripped down to their birthday suits and jumped into the pool.


“I’m sure it was one of the most scenic lunches ever for many of the diners,” Mr. Marquez said. In a partial encore a couple of weeks ago, a man, dining in the same area, stripped down to his shorts and jumped in the pool. Four Seasons’ personnel had to restrain his companion from doing the same thing.


His biggest tip came from a Saudi Arabian, who hosted a group of six people, including two American couples. When it came to paying the bill, the Saudi’s bodyguard opened an alligator attache case full of cash. Mr. Marquez’s tip, over $1,000, turned out to be 100% of the check and an extra $500.


The best and worst tippers by nationality? Mr. Marquez, who bears a resemblance to actor Marcello Mastroianni, who once told him “you know, you look like me,” said the best tippers are far and away American Jews.


Among the worst: South Americans and Europeans (such as the French and English). The very cheapest: people from Australia and New Zealand. “I don’t think they believe in tips,” he said. Among the steadies, the cheapest tippers – Mr. Marquez wouldn’t identify them – are two well-known network officials. One of the biggest local tippers is said to be Mayor Bloomberg.


Thanks to his lofty tips, Mr. Marquez, who came to America in 1959 and once worked as a bank teller at the Bank of America in San Francisco and as a captain at the 21 Club, managed to send his two children through college. His son is a stockbroker; his daughter, a translator at the U.N.


It’s no secret that the fear factor related to possible terrorism has led to sizable hotel and restaurant cancellations for the Republican National Convention, in many instances said to be on the order of 20% to 25%. But not so at the Four Seasons, says Mr. Marquez, one of 14 captains at the restaurant, which generates annual revenues in excess of $17 million. “We’re packed and fully booked for the convention period,” he observed.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use