Philippe Collin’s historical novel “Le Barman du Ritz” (The Barman of the Ritz) is a fictionalized account of the Parisian life of Frank Meier, the very real bartender who worked Place Vendôme during WWII.
At that time, Frank Meier is already a celebrity in the world of mixology. Austrian by birth, he emigrated to New York at the age of 15, where he began to make a name for himself at the bar of the Hoffman House Hotel but returned to Europe to fight with French soldiers during WWI.
He began working at the Ritz in 1921, published in 1936 a book that became a reference in the world of mixology, “The Artistry of Mixing Drinks”, in which he unveiled four hundred cocktail recipes, and his legendary affability made him the darling of Parisian high society. His expertise led to his appointment as president of the French bartenders’ association, and his comfortable lifestyle was ensured by his salary, tips and outside gigs at the French American Embassy and Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s house.
The successful career of this Frenchman by adoption is shattered by WWII. The Ritz, which is occupied by the Luftwaffe in June 1940, enjoys a special status: it is not totally requisitioned, thanks to the nationality of its Swiss, and therefore neutral, owners – César and Marie-Louise Ritz. Hermann Göring takes over the imperial suite, bringing with him several high-ranking Nazi officers but the Parisian palace continues to receive its regular clientele.
It’s a motley crew that evolves within the walls of the Ritz palace, with Frank Meier’s bar rapidly becoming the epicenter. Nazis, collaborators, shady art dealers and opportunist hotel residents like Gabrielle Chanel unknowingly rub shoulders with resistance fighters hiding in the hotel’s maids’ rooms, German personalities like Inga Haag planning to assassinate Hitler in Operation Valkyrie, and resistance fighters whose social position is in the spotlight, like the Ritz manager’s wife, Blanche Auzello.
To be a bartender is to be a chemist and a psychologist”.
Frank Meier
Frank Meier, who speaks German, French and English, observes, listens and unwittingly finds himself at the head of a bar that turns into a deadly shadow theater as the months go by.
A deadly shadow theater for Frank Meier himself, too – since he hides his Jewishness.
Through Frank Meier’s fictional diary, Philippe Collin depicts the deadly waltz of pretenses that unfolds before the eyes of a beleaguered bartender who unwittingly finds himself in the eye of the Nazi storm.
Editor’s note: Here I am at the Bar Hemingway, which didn’t get its name until 1994. Frank Meier’s bar was formerly the Petit Bar, the capital’s first luxury bar open to women, who could come unaccompanied.
Chanel dress, sunglasses and necklace
April 5, 2025
