NEW YORK—I noticed him at the Athletic Club during the Annual Mess Night, which is a formal dinner for the New York Marines. While the service men dressed in impeccable uniforms with their guests in formal suits and ties, he was easy to notice—and not because he could easily have been the tallest man in the room—but because his dress was simply a chef’s coat, military trousers, and combat boots. Yet the entire event was masterminded by Chef Agostino von Hassell, a retired Marine.
This Mess Night dinner, held by and for New York to recognize the Marines for their outstanding courage and effort, was meant to raise funds for them and their families. The menu was the same as that prepared at the Waldorf Astoria for General Eisenhower upon his victorious return after World War II.
As a military man himself, Hassell still applies the Marine’s motto “Semper Fidelis,” a Latin phrase meaning “always faithful,” as well as ready to serve, to protect and sustain, to all his work.
He can talk about homeland security, write about generals, wars, and military food in several languages, manage the Repton Group (one of the most recognized corporate intelligence firms in the country), and slice and dice, putting on the most extravagant dinners with the same flare and ease.
But from his cordial yet automatic, “Yes, Ma’am,” (to my request for an interview) to his duty-bound sense to give back to the community, a sense that exceeds and embraces the rules of war and combat—Agostino von Hassell is no less than a modern knight, preparing, after battle, the feast in the castle’s grand hall. He embodies a sense of chivalry, choosing the life of a Marine over that of a diplomat.
We had agreed to meet in one of his offices in midtown Manhattan.
History was etched into every corner of the residence-turned-office. I felt as if I had stepped through a passage of time, where I walked from the drama and majesty of ancient medieval times, to the Age of Romance, and into the present.
Coming from a family of diplomats and warriors, Mr. Hassell’s family’s background is typical for the European aristocracy: taking care of the people and the land, but also serving the sovereign through military service.
European history has records on the Hassell family going back to at least A.D. 1200. Some of his ancestors helped bring civilization to Eastern Europe as knights and members of the noble class and aristocracy.
“We had many Hassells in the Crusades and … serving your sovereign was a normal, understandable activity, and we have always served either in uniform or in civil service,” he explained.
Hassell was born in 1953 in Bonn, Germany, and grew up in Rome and Brussels.
This Mess Night dinner, held by and for New York to recognize the Marines for their outstanding courage and effort, was meant to raise funds for them and their families. The menu was the same as that prepared at the Waldorf Astoria for General Eisenhower upon his victorious return after World War II.
As a military man himself, Hassell still applies the Marine’s motto “Semper Fidelis,” a Latin phrase meaning “always faithful,” as well as ready to serve, to protect and sustain, to all his work.
He can talk about homeland security, write about generals, wars, and military food in several languages, manage the Repton Group (one of the most recognized corporate intelligence firms in the country), and slice and dice, putting on the most extravagant dinners with the same flare and ease.
But from his cordial yet automatic, “Yes, Ma’am,” (to my request for an interview) to his duty-bound sense to give back to the community, a sense that exceeds and embraces the rules of war and combat—Agostino von Hassell is no less than a modern knight, preparing, after battle, the feast in the castle’s grand hall. He embodies a sense of chivalry, choosing the life of a Marine over that of a diplomat.
We had agreed to meet in one of his offices in midtown Manhattan.
History was etched into every corner of the residence-turned-office. I felt as if I had stepped through a passage of time, where I walked from the drama and majesty of ancient medieval times, to the Age of Romance, and into the present.
Coming from a family of diplomats and warriors, Mr. Hassell’s family’s background is typical for the European aristocracy: taking care of the people and the land, but also serving the sovereign through military service.
European history has records on the Hassell family going back to at least A.D. 1200. Some of his ancestors helped bring civilization to Eastern Europe as knights and members of the noble class and aristocracy.
“We had many Hassells in the Crusades and … serving your sovereign was a normal, understandable activity, and we have always served either in uniform or in civil service,” he explained.
Hassell was born in 1953 in Bonn, Germany, and grew up in Rome and Brussels.
