Rose Prince

When Idi Amin threatened to shoot the cook

Witold Szablowski describes an innocent chef’s narrow escape when the dictator’s greedy son showed signs of indigestion

Idi Amin eating roast chicken while watching a parade in 1978. Credit: getty Images 
issue 02 May 2020

Private chefs keep many secrets and are expected to go to their graves without sharing a morsel of gossip about their employers. Whether cooking for a pop star, tycoon or member of a royal family, chefs must guarantee confidentiality. Chatter can be career-ending or lead to lawsuits. For a few such cooks, revelations could even end in execution.

When the Polish journalist Witold Szablowski came up with the winning idea of writing a book about what some of the world’s most notorious dictators ate, it proved a difficult task. Finding just a few living examples of their chefs took more than two years; persuading these individuals to tell their secrets even longer. Many years after their former bosses had died or been deposed, they were still afraid of their past. One chef featured here — who cooked for the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha — still insists on an assumed name, Mr K, even though Hoxha died in 1985.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in