Michael Flagg – författare

Arthur Simms was an amazing and an exceptional man. This biography has been described as a timeless 'evergreen' which captivates interest and even entertainment from a socio-historical context, through chartering the life of a man from lowly beginnings in London's 1920's Kennington. A man who became a leading light in hospitality management education post 1945 and who played a role in elevating standards, qualifications and the societal perception of this occupation as a profession, as it is recognised today. This book has 473 pages and some 300 illustrations placing it beyond limits for the bedtime reader. Here are fourteen chapters which are free standing but linked to one another with some features on 'experiential learning' and 'transferrable skills', as well as other avenues for research in further and higher education centres. Chapter 1 by Geoff Felix also an author, Punch and Judy performer and maker of ventriloquial figures, describes Arthur assisting his father, the celebrated ventriloquial figure maker 'Quisto', performing 'Punch and Judy' to the royal children at Buckingham Palace.Furthermore Arthur's trip to the palace kitchens 'for the ice cream which changed his life' ie: - his career choice. Chapters 2 and 3 uncover Arthur's schooldays leading to Westminster Technical Institute where he gained a first class cookery diploma. Then in chapter 4, his work experience in some prestigious London hotels and the Carlton's and George V in Paris, having been granted a one year work visa. Chapter 5 describes his return and experience at the Savoy Grill, the Trocadero, the Grand Hotel Leicester and the Gargoyle Club London. Then, in World War 11 as a founder of the British Army Catering Corps and afterwards as Head Chef at the Potsdam Conference in 1945. As a champion for the improvement of training standards and qualifications, he became first head at Brighton Municipal College Catering Department in 1946 (Chapter 6) and in 1952 to a purpose-built department at Portsmouth Municipal College. (Chapter 9) Between 1964 and 1966 he was seconded as Principal, to the Pusa Institute New Delhi India. (Chapter11).Other chapters cover his membership of the City and Guilds committee for the first professional cookery examinations (Chapter 7), the founding of the Hotel and Catering Institute (Chapter 8) and links to the Association Culinaire Francaise (Chapter 12). The development of Hospitality management in higher education gets extensive coverage in Chapter 10 and the concluding chapters are 13, on his consultancy with Chandris Lines and 14, on his final years. Each chapter has appendices for more in-depth information for further interest or research; on a career spanning five decades, promoting Haute Cuisine under the French influence in some former colonial destinations. 'Uncle' Arthur's name lives on and he is remembered today by hundreds of his former students' colleagues and friends worldwide.

Arthur Simms was an amazing and exceptional man and this book has recently been described as an ''evergreen''perfect for any coffee table !Arthur was a pioneer in UK hospitality education post Second World II. As a young boy he assisted his father Quisto, performing Punch and Judy to the royal children at Buckingham Palace by special warrant from Keith Prowse. It was a conducted trip to the palace kitchens to get an ice cream (unobtainable in the mid-1920s), that gave him the firm conviction to become a chef. Training at the only centre Westminster Technical Institute London, he gained a first class diploma, before undertaking experience at the Ciros Club Orange Street Piccadilly, well-known during the dance band era and at the Trocadero.A chance meeting with the niece of the French Ambassador, who on his day off became his dancing partner for the swing technique with the Joe Loss Orchestra Tottenham Court Road, also gained him a visa to work in Paris at the Carltons Hotel near Montmartre, Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur. This opportunity enabled him to meet the Chef of Kings and King of Chefs the famous Auguste Escoffier, at a Paris exhibition. On return to London he worked at the Savoy Caf Parisien, the Grand Hotel Leicester and the Gargoyle Club, owned by David Tennant and Lady Viola Tree in demimonde Soho. In 1939 and the outbreak of war saw a move to Aldershot, where he was selected as one of eight chef instructors for the newly formed Army Catering Corps. In 1945, as the Head Chef at the Potsdam Conference he was introduced to Stalin, Truman and Churchill. In 1946 he Arthur became the first Head of Hotel and Catering at Brighton Municipal College and gained membership of the Regional Advisory Council for the first City and Guilds of London Institute qualifications in professional cookery. He was appointed as a judge for the Salon Culinaire Hotelympia International Exhibition, London. Later in 1952, he was chosen as Head of Hotel and Catering in a new purpose-built wing of Portsmouth Municipal College, which he saw grow from local to international repute. In 1964 he was seconded for two years as Principal in Hotel and Catering to the new Pusa Institute, New Delhi India and under his leadership its reputation surpassed that of the first centre in Bombay. Arthur retired in 1977 and died in 2003. He is remembered today by hundreds of former students, colleagues and friends worldwide.