Moving to California

Moving to California

It was the year 1981 when I was recruited to become Food & Beverage Director for the Newporter in Newport Beach, California. Which is a Hyatt Hotel now? We decided it would be a good move. Living in New York City and Connecticut lost its appeal... My two youngest children, Kurt and Heidi, and I packed up the belongings we wanted to take. Most of my furniture I had sold and the items the other kids wanted they moved into their home. The rest went into storage.

I rented a limo to take us from my son’s Neal, Paul and Rodmond’s home in New Haven, Connecticut to Kennedy Airport. We landed in Los Angeles where my sister-in-law and brother-in-law picked us up from the Airport. We stayed with Carroll and Russ the first few weeks. The drive to Newport Beach was a long one. I commuted every day with the children. I enrolled them in the school in Newport Beach for the fall. Yes it was summer when we moved to California.

I started to look for housing, which I found on Balboa Island. A cottage style house with very shabby furniture. The house was a summer rental so we could not move in until September.

My new job was to start on September 5, right after Labor Day. We moved on Sept. 2^nd to Balboa Island. All three of us loved that little Island. Heidi and Kurt started school and I started my new job. Here comes the kicker! My second day on the job, the General Manager called a meeting with all of the top management to introduce me. As we were in the meeting I was called to the phone and had been informed that Heidi and Kurt did not show up in class even though I had dropped them off. I felt I had to excuse myself from the meeting to go looking for my children. The General Manager was annoyed and said quote, “Woman do not belong in top manager position.” I for one am a very reactionary person and turned around and said, “You can take your job and shove it.”

I knew he and I would never work well together, the Food & Beverage Director being the number two person in any Hotel. You see, I was recruited in New York City by the Seagram’s Company which owned the Newporter at the time. The General Manager never met me until I moved. He was not pleased that I was hired without his input. I actually can understand that now. At the time I thought, “What an arrogant SOB.”

I went hunting for Kurt and Heidi and found them at the famous Newport mall. Now, here I was with no job, a rental to pay for and living expenses. It was a good thing that I had some limited income for the children from SS.

The next day I picked myself up and went job hunting. I knew I would not have a hard time finding a job, which I didn’t. I took on a spotter job for an upscale Mexican Restaurant.

Of course that was not a steady income but it helped us over the hump. One evening as I was sitting at the bar observing the servers and Bartender (who was working into his own pocket), across from me was a couple a beautiful young woman with a man not to my liking. I kept thinking, "What is she doing with that guy??" We started talking, introducing ourselves and so my friendship with Nancy began. Nancy to this day tells people I picked her up in a Bar, and I respond with, “You picked me up.” Nancy gave me her business card which I tossed in a drawer at home.

As I said before, the house had very shabby furniture so, after a couple of days, I went out and bought some dark green sheets with roses for color, some plants and candles and redecorated our home. I will never forget when my son Kurt came home from school with a friend. He said to his friend, “My Mom can make a dump look elegant.” What a compliment from a 15 year old. Both Heidi and Kurt started to settle in and make friends.

I for one went on a job hunt and after a few days was hired by the owners of Ambrosia and Le Premier Restaurants. I was hired as a troubleshooter and trainer and recipe taster for Le Premier Restaurant which was a very new venture. Le Premier had a Swiss Chef whose cooking was more tuned to catering big functions instead of cooking on the line. His sauces were the worst I ever tasted, all flour and paste, yikes! One day I went into the kitchen and put a spoon into his sauces and the Chef went berserk. He threw a Chef knife at me yelling about what gave me the right to taste his sauces. I have to say here that Gerald the owner and his Brother Gustav never told him that I was hired to do just that. Gerald was not happy with the food in general. I told Gerald that his Chef is a banquet Chef and he needs to let him go. I than went on the hunt to find him a banquet Chef Position, which I found in Las Vegas. He was happy to move on and, after a few weeks even called to thank me.

Le Premier and Ambrosia Kitchen

We hired a new Chef with expertise in California and Danish Cuisine. Gerald and Gustav came from Denmark to the States. Le Premier became a very successful Restaurant and I had fun working with everybody

Ambrosia was already very famous throughout the country. I stayed with the restaurant for 2 years.

I will add a photo. Next the California adventure continuous!