"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 a brigade of 100 men, and that under his supervision 1,400 pounds of English meat, 300 pounds of turbot, 100 pounds of Scotch salmon, and two wagonsful of vegetables were on average prepared for the table every day.