Nessun Dorma singer’s food fear revealed
his former butler. Next week sees the release of Pavarotti, a documentary movie based on the life of the tenor, by Oscar- winning director Ron Howard.
Simeon Rosset worked for the Italian singer in 2004 and revealed his former client’s remarkable list of food demands.
His requirements included having a 24- hour personal kitchen set up next door to his bedroom.
Simeon, of the Rosset Bespoke Butler School in Edinburgh, revealed how the star insisted on 24- hour access to freshly made food – because of the years he spent starving as a child in war-torn Italy.
And he revealed that, despite buttling for some of the world’s top pop stars – such as Bono, Kylie Minogue and Sir Cliff Richard – none had as long a list of requirements like Pavarotti.
“I’ve looked after an awful lot of top rock stars but no- one’s had a rider like Pavarotti,” said Simeon, who was the opera star’s personal butler on his UK tour in 2004. “One of his requests was we had to convert the bedroom next to the one where he slept into a small kitchen.
“We installed lots of fridges where we had to keep a very specific list of food – which was, without exaggeration, enough to feed 20 people.
“There were to be three roast chickens at all times. There was fresh pasta available at all times. We had to have tomatoes – a particular type of Italian tomatoes – at all times. The food was on a constant rotation – it was always fresh and ready to go.”
Part of Simeon’s job was to ensure the tenor had access to the meals he requested but, despite his large frame, Pavarotti did not eat a huge amount.
“The thing was he didn’t eat the food that was there,” added Simeon.
“He would rarely touch it. I asked one of his staff why is it he had all this food here.
“They said when Pavarotti was a young boy, he was so poor, that he’d often have to go days without eating.
“He actually had a phobia about being away from food. He had to be near food, or he started to get a bit scared