Jeremy King was at work as usual recently at the Wolseley, his flagship restaurant in the grand old car showroom on London’s Piccadilly. There he likes to greet diners and make sure that every tablecloth is hanging properly, and that the cycle of cocktail-drinking, dinner-ordering, cork-popping and oyster-slurping is running smoothly.
If he failed to catch up with some of his regulars or didn’t scrutinize the table settings quite as keenly as usual when he was on a round of his other restaurants, he might be forgiven. The co-founder of some of the capital’s favorite places to eat is battling to retain control of his empire. King is threatened with losing his castles.
