At a place run by one of her many proteges, the chef and restaurateur talks about loss, family and Nancy Pelosi’s tablecloth
There is always pressure when your mentor comes to lunch. Anna Tobias worked in Ruth Rogers’s River Cafe in two spells, before opening Cafe Deco, a room of her own in Bloomsbury, a couple of years ago. Tobias greets her old boss in her new place at noon sharp with a mix of affection and a slight nervousness, the more so when Rogers, who is an avid hugger, but quite steely of eye, asks her what we should eat: “I’m told you do fabulous quiches?”
“Ah, sorry, no quiche today.”
