`Passion, if you like'.

Publication: Asia Africa Intelligence Wire

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COPYRIGHT 2004 Financial Times Ltd.

(From Bangkok Post)

Byline: HARRY THAMANAN

One evening some five years ago, Mohammed El-Fayed, owner of the Ritz Hotel in Paris came into the Pacific City Club restaurant with its chairman, Mr Arsa Sarasin. El-Fayed looked at the restaurant manager, thought for a moment, then said to him, ``I know you. You worked for me at the Ritz. If you ever want your old job back, just let me know.'' The restaurant manager was Artur Kluczewski, today the maitre d' at the New York Steakhouse at JW Marriott Hotel and formerly of Ma Maison. Born in Poland, where his father gave up a military career to become an hotelier, Artur went to hotel school in Cracow. His ambition to succeed in the business was obvious to his fellow students. ``You'll be maitre d' of the Ritz by the time you're 30,'' one of them prophesied. ``More like 50,'' said Artur, but in fact, he was only 28 when he was offered the job, to be remembered by the hotel's owner. ``Don't make a big deal of this,'' Artur cautioned as I plied pencil to notebook. ``I had a restaurant director above me...

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