Star treatment

BRENDA Sempers can tell a few tales. In a near-50 year career in catering she has marvelled at the manners of the Queen (although her dogs' behaviour left something to be desired); met stars of sport, soap and film; and worked with one of the late, great characters of York.

Her astonishing service was recognised this week when Brenda received the Evening Press-sponsored Customer Care Award in the York Hospitality Association's annual honours.

Working seven days a week at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Shipton Road just outside the city, the award recognised how this restaurant supervisor is also the social hub of the hotel.

"The difference between my mum and everybody else is she actually likes it," says her daughter, Jayne, who also works at the restaurant.

"She's just really happy doing all of it. And she has a real pride in what she does."

Mind you, Brenda, 64, learnt the hard way. Born in Cheshire, she left school at 14. Her ambition to become a solicitor was sunk by her family's lack of cash. After a few weeks' misery in a sausage factory, she lied about her age and took a job with a friend at shipping giant Cunard.

When they climbed aboard the Astoria at Liverpool docks in March 1955, the pair thought they would be away for the Easter holiday fortnight.

In fact the ship was taking troops to the Far East and did not return for three months.

Brenda worked, she says, as "a dogsbody" in the galley and dining areas.

"They used to measure all the tables then. Everything had to be perfect."

Once, her boss discovered she had laid the cutlery imprecisely. He threw all the place settings on the floor and made her lay 100 tables correctly. She never got it wrong again.

But the sea life offered compensations. The ship docked at Malta, Gibraltar, Durban, Cape Town and Hong Kong.

"Every time you went into port it was a great adventure," she said. "When you haven't been anywhere far, other than Sunday School trips as kids, it was exciting."

Brenda so loved Hong Kong she stayed there for two years, working in the Peninsula Hotel, favourite of Ingrid Bergman.

On returning to England she moved to Aldershot where her father was serving in the Army. Brenda got a job with Lyon's Catering. Run by a cousin of the Queen Mother, it was in charge of the catering for all Buckingham Palace's outdoor events.

"The first time I went, I would have done it for free just to say I had done it. I am a big Royal Family fan."

She worked for the company for years. As might be expected, the uniform was very starchy with a pinny and clip-on collar. "It was all buttons down here, and cuffs. You couldn't wear perfume or nail varnish or anything like that.

"They would give you a smell examination before you went out so you didn't contaminate the food."

The Queen was always introduced to her staff, and was very nice to them.

"One of the girls I worked with called Doreen, she practised it for three days: the curtsy on the left leg, calling the Queen 'your majesty' and then after that calling her 'ma'am'."

All this effort was lost when the Queen was finally introduced to Doreen. "She said, 'very pleased to meet you'. Doreen said 'pleased to meet you, your magistrate'.

"After she said that, she just froze."

Poor old Doreen also suffered at the paws of one of the Queen's "dorgis" called Harris.

"This bloomin' dog came and cocked his leg. It was a red hot summer's day and it peed over her silver salver on to her leg.

"She daren't move. We all saw it. All she could feel was something warm."

As well as the Queen, Brenda has served another of her heroines, this time at the House of Commons.

"I served Mrs Thatcher. I wasn't meant to though.

"Somebody else was supposed to do it, but the server didn't like her, she was Labour. So I said 'I'll do it'. She was nice and thanked me afterwards."

Brenda arrived in York when her father was posted here in 1959. She took a job at Rowntree's. "It was big money," she said. "Catering isn't big money, never has been."

It was there she met her husband Terrence. They were to have four children together, but divorced shortly after Brenda had their youngest son, leaving her with a large family to bring up alone.

But she has never had a problem with hard work, and took a night job at Young's Hotel in High Petergate. It proved to be a riot.

From about 1960 until his death in 1977, Charles Price owned Young's. He was one of the best known characters on York's social scene.

Full of mischief, this host's bluff observations about the staff and guests first turned the air blue, then filled it with laughter.

He would stun couples arriving at the restaurant with the words: "Madam, you are a better looking b*gger than he had in here yesterday."

One night two old ladies from Newcastle were standing outside Young's studying the menu. "He went out and put his arm around them," recalled Brenda.

"He said, 'If you go in there, don't have the curry. They put everything into it, even dog s***'.

"Those ladies came back and brought loads and loads of people. They used to say, 'that was the little man who we told you about'."

Staff on Sundays would get champagne and kippers for breakfast. Mr Price would toss a double-sided coin to decided who paid for the bubbly - but always picked up the tab, of course.

A talented pianist, staff knew when he had a row with his wife because the music would become louder and he would break into a chorus of Ain't Misbehavin', calling: "Can you hear this, mother?"

Mr Price was particularly cheeky with Brenda. He would hold her baby son in his arms and tell passing strangers that he was the father.

Then there was the time he called her in the middle of the night and demanded she go to the hotel at once. Two policemen were there when she arrived.

Brenda smiles at the memory. "'You stupid bitch,' he said, 'you left the window open last night and these officers have got me out of bed.'

"I said, 'I wasn't on duty last night'. He said, 'if you had have been, this window might have been closed. Now b*gger off home to bed.'

"It was 3am."

Yorkshire legend Freddie Truman would often talk cricket with Mr Price at Young's. Fiery Fred was delightful, said Brenda, and once beckoned her young son over.

"He had a £5 note, a ten shilling note, a £1, a 50p and half a crown. He said, 'Go on son, take what you want'.

"What do you think he took? He took the half crown. Freddie said, 'works every time'."

After Mr Price's death, Young's closed and Brenda worked at several other top York hotels including the Tanglewood and the Station Hotel.

She joined the Jarvis when it opened 13 years ago, initially to train the catering staff.

Now she is restaurant supervisor and York's Customer Care Award winner. What makes her so good at her job?

"I can talk to people easily," she said. And that applies whether she is serving Prince Andrew at Merchant Adventurers' Hall, the cast of Emmerdale at Castle Howard or the Ramada Jarvis customers whose tablecloths she and the chef once inadvertently set on fire (they don't flamb these days).

Spending seven days a week at the hotel leaves little time for socialising. But she dotes on her five-year-old grandson and takes him to school every day.

Brenda is considering retirement, but it is hard to imagine her leaving the hotel. A few years ago, the restaurant staff thought their syndicate had the winning Lottery numbers and were all set to go celebrate.

"My daughter said, look at my mum, she's going to stay and finish the night off."

And if they had hit the jackpot, what would Brenda have done? "I'd have still stayed."

Updated: 09:18 Friday, April 02, 2004