History of the Brazilian Court Hotel

Chapter 6 The Brazilian Court Sells

The BC was sold to Bernard Francis Powell of the Belleview - Biltmore, Clearwater, Florida and Gran- ville Morse of Palm Beach in 1963 for $500,000. Bernie's sister Katherine Powell was married to Morse. During the 1940s and 1950s the BC became "the place to stay in Palm Beach if you wanted to keep a low profile." The new owner in 1963 Granville Morse attested to the "BCs reputation for keeping mum about its guests." Citing one instance, Mr. Morse said, "I got a call one day from someone who said royalty was coming. He didn't tell me who it was, just said the person would be checking in under an assumed name, staying for a couple of days, and to send the bill to him." Morse believed the guest was Prince Phillip enjoying a pri- vate vacation. I worked at the BC in several capacities in the 1960s. One job was serving horderves to the rich and fa- mous. On the way from the kitchen to the lounge I would sample from the plates of chicken livers wrapped in bacon, cheese balls covered with caviar, crackers with pate' and other epicurean delights. breads with bacon and hollandaise sauce. I also learned to eat the smelly dessert cheeses and how to use the finger bowl at an early age. When I began dating I did bring some of my girlfriends to eat at the hotel. Talk about making an impression. I always paid a visit to the kitchen after dinner to thank the chef for his exceptional cooking. It amazed me to see the organized chaos of cooks, waiters and waitresses in these hidden recesses. Bernard Powell, one of the new owners of the BC, was having dinner there shortly after acquiring the hotel. He complained about the heavy Fostoria glass- es used for dining. He ordered new glassware imme- diately. I often ate at the Brazilian Court, most of the time with Bright and Ruth. My favorite entre ’ was sweet-

Brazilian Court Hotel officially opened its doors for the winter season on Monday. The formal opening was presceeded by a private cocktail and holiday dinner party on Saturday evening, hosted by the Uni- versity Women of North Palm Beach. Brazilian Court is co - owned by Granville A. Morse of Palm Beach, and Bernard F. Powell of Birmingham, Mich.. Mr. Powell is also president and managing director of the Belleview Biltmore, Bellair at Clear- water. Bright W. Johnson enters his fourth season as reservations manager. Charles Mathews has returned to the hotel as chef. He just completed his 20the consecutive summer at Weekapaun Inn, Weekapaug, R. I.. This will be Mr. Mathew ’ s second consecutive season at the hotel and his 12th at Brazili- an Court. Robert Caswell has joined the Brazilian Court stall this season as Maitre d'hôtel. Mr. Caswell has headed the dining room at the Sunset Hill House at Sugar Hill, N. H. for many years. Joining the Brazilian Court staff are Alvin J. Sterman, assistant manager; L. Malcolm Taylor, auditor; and Miss Bodil Olsen, housekeeper. The entire staff anticipating an active 1965 - 66 season. Many improvements have been made during the summer with the tropical gardens are lovelier than ever.

Chef Matthews was the head chef at the Brazilian Court for many years in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The Austrian's forte was baked specialties; pies, cakes, breads. But his most admired trait by his employers was his ability to keep from losing money in the res- taurant. He was adept at ordering, suffering very lit- tle losses and serving excellent meals. He painstak- ingly oversaw every plate that left the kitchen to make sure it was right. His leftovers were used in putting together the employee's meals for the next day. Having often eaten in the employee's dining room when Mom and Dad were out of town, I can vouch for the quality of even those meals.

1965

Palm Beach Daily News, December 19, 1965: Brazilian Court Opens For The Season

In November the Chef would begin getting the kitch-

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