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.
“My father served in the German Foreign Office and was assigned to be the permanent representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations, and he was here in New York for a while. Then I came to New York after I finished my schooling. That was around 1973/74, and since I grew up with a diplomatic passport, I got tired of the diplomatic life and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to escape the horror of diplomatic life, without any regrets,” he said.
Although he is referred to as a chef, Hassell has never had formal training in the field. His passion for food was out of necessity.
“When you are always served bad food, you will have to learn to cook for yourself,” he said.
As a child, he was taught how to take care of the guests at home. He recalls carrying a tray with cups and ashtrays at a garden party in Brussels. The youngster pointed to the olive oil lamp and somehow dumped the whole assemblage—the tray and lamp—in front of the then president of the European Union, who caught on fire.
During his father’s diplomatic post at the United Nations in New York, his family served 3,500 people for seated dinners, some of which he prepared.
Although he is referred to as a chef, Hassell has never had formal training in the field. His passion for food was out of necessity.
“When you are always served bad food, you will have to learn to cook for yourself,” he said.
As a child, he was taught how to take care of the guests at home. He recalls carrying a tray with cups and ashtrays at a garden party in Brussels. The youngster pointed to the olive oil lamp and somehow dumped the whole assemblage—the tray and lamp—in front of the then president of the European Union, who caught on fire.
During his father’s diplomatic post at the United Nations in New York, his family served 3,500 people for seated dinners, some of which he prepared.
Mess Night
“I did not realize that when I started Mess Night, I had created a monster,” Hassell said.
The name Mess Night was inspired from the times when the British Navy 500 years ago would celebrate their victories and honor Her Majesty’s Royal Marines. The tradition of Mess Night is a much loved night of revelry and reaffirmation of common bonds that has a long-standing history in the Marines.
The name Mess Night was inspired from the times when the British Navy 500 years ago would celebrate their victories and honor Her Majesty’s Royal Marines. The tradition of Mess Night is a much loved night of revelry and reaffirmation of common bonds that has a long-standing history in the Marines.
The obligation was to have the best possible food and the best possible wines with the appropriate pomp and circumstance—meaning the best uniforms, the highest ceremony, and the best music. Since the United States Marine Corps’ forefathers are from the Royal Navy and Her Majesty’s Royal Marines, the U.S. Marines follow this tradition.
“You can have a Mess Night in the mountains of north Norway, or the Falkland Islands, or in the Middle of Iraq or Afghanistan,” Hassell clarified.
Hassell has a reputation for finding, interpreting, and recreating historical recipes. He has been lucky in finding these menus in the New York Library, which houses one of the world’s largest collections dating back to 1840.
“You just have to open your eyes and suddenly [you] find wonderful menus,” Hassell said. “It is all about logistics and planning … and it is about breaking rules. … You have to break rules. Anything can be done—it is just logistics, creativity, and the ability to break rules.
“Everybody comes with a package of cultural rules, whatever it is: ‘You have to cook something with only olive oil, or you have to serve yellow wine with a certain type of food.’ None of these cultural rules have any foundation and reality—especially wine. You are supposed to serve white wine with fish and red with meat—a very vague rule because in the late 1890s or so, to broaden the wine market, people made up the rules.”
Last year, Mess Night was a recreation of the historic “Mess Night” event attended by Sir Winston Churchill in 1920. The original event took place at Oddenino’s Imperial Restaurant in London and featured dishes such as “Poule au Pot Alexandra” and “Culotte de Boeuf Imperial.”
“You can have a Mess Night in the mountains of north Norway, or the Falkland Islands, or in the Middle of Iraq or Afghanistan,” Hassell clarified.
Hassell has a reputation for finding, interpreting, and recreating historical recipes. He has been lucky in finding these menus in the New York Library, which houses one of the world’s largest collections dating back to 1840.
“You just have to open your eyes and suddenly [you] find wonderful menus,” Hassell said. “It is all about logistics and planning … and it is about breaking rules. … You have to break rules. Anything can be done—it is just logistics, creativity, and the ability to break rules.
“Everybody comes with a package of cultural rules, whatever it is: ‘You have to cook something with only olive oil, or you have to serve yellow wine with a certain type of food.’ None of these cultural rules have any foundation and reality—especially wine. You are supposed to serve white wine with fish and red with meat—a very vague rule because in the late 1890s or so, to broaden the wine market, people made up the rules.”
Last year, Mess Night was a recreation of the historic “Mess Night” event attended by Sir Winston Churchill in 1920. The original event took place at Oddenino’s Imperial Restaurant in London and featured dishes such as “Poule au Pot Alexandra” and “Culotte de Boeuf Imperial.”
