of meat on silver dinner trolleys to each table and carving them in front of guests – a custom that still prevails today. The establishment flourished: in the 1851 census, the Cigar Divan's premises were home to the tavern keeper, the manager, and 21 staff. The restaurant was, according to the Baedeker guide for 1866, a "large well-appointed establishment". Shortly before his death in 1864, John Simpson sold the restaurant to Edmund William Cathie, and in 1865 the business was floated as a limited company. A prospectus was issued for "Simpson's (Ltd)" with capital of £100,000 (equivalent to £ as of ), to purchase and extend the Divan Tavern. The prospectus stressed the great increase in trade caused by the opening of Charing Cross station nearby, and that Cathie would remain as manager. He employed the British Master Cook, Thomas Davey, who rose through the ranks to head his kitchens. Davey insisted on the thorough and consistent Britishness of Simpson's. He even replaced the word "menu" with "Bill of Fare". In 1898 Richard D'Oyly Carte, proprietor of the Savoy Hotel, acquired Simpson's. Carte died in 1901, and his son Rupert D'Oyly Carte took over the business from 1903, in which year Simpsons was closed for redevelopment. All the old furniture and fittings were sold off, including the largest solid mahogany table in existence, 265 chairs, and 60 other mahogany dining tables. The restaurant reopened in 1904 under the name it bears today, Simpson's-in-the-Strand, Grand Divan Tavern. 20th century to World War II Though the premises were updated under the new management, cooking methods remained traditional. In an article in The Times in 1905, details were given of the Simpson's method of cooking beef. "A large open fire is absolutely indispensable, and it must be sufficiently large for every portion of the joint to face the centre or 'red' fire, which will give a steady and ascertained heat during the whole time the joint is revolving and being cooked ... basting must be continuously done. ... Not more than one minute should elapse from the time the joint is taken from the spit until it appears at table." In 1914 the death of the head chef at Simpson's was a sufficiently noteworthy event that The Times featured the news under the headline "Thomas Davey and his culinary patriotism". The obituary noted that Davey, who died in harness aged 72, had commanded