personalities. As such, she is perhaps one of Fourways Inn's greatest assets.

Employed by the internationally-renowned restaurant since it opened to rave reviews in 1976, Mrs. Farge is the one called upon -- whether it be to answer questions on the Inn's history or to determine how best to meet the special needs of a regular guest. "We try to be first class,'' she said. "I think the standard of food is very good and the service also. The staff work together and all try to keep up the reputation and they are very good. But there are three of us that have made 20 year anniversaries -- Mimi Caines, Saviour Messina and myself; we have all been there since the night we opened under Walter Sommer. "It has a lot of atmosphere and a lot of history. I'm very attached to it. Outside of the fact that I've been there for so long, it was the favourite spot in Bermuda of the last surviving member of my mother's family before it opened as a restaurant.'' Mrs. Farge said that the history of Fourways Inn -- so named because it has entrances from the North, South, East and West, is linked with the Harvey Family of Bristol Cream fame. "The Harvey family used to export their wine and so on to West Indies from Newfoundland, Canada, where their warehouses were,'' she explained. "They used to sail down to Bermuda and got involved with Bermuda in that way and then one of them married a Bermudian and established the property we now know as Fourways Inn.

In fact, the house next door to Fourways, BelAir, was owned by the Harvey family as well and I think there's still a BelAir in Newfoundland that they once owned.'' Mrs. Farge, who is also responsible for the beautiful floral arrangements which add to the decor of the Inn, said that the Harvey family maintained the elegant home and property until the late 1800's when it was bought by an American. It was not until the 1930's that it was purchased by Emily Moss and her husband and transformed into a small guest house, continuing in this pattern until it was opened as a restaurant by Foxy Cooper and then taken over by members of the Wilkinson family, her son Richard, and Walter Sommer. "Mr. Sommer was president of the Princess and the Southampton Princess and after he got out of that, he looked for another property. He, being a foreigner of course, had to have Bermudian associates but he was the major operator because he had been in the business for so many years and knew the job pretty well. His options were either Fourways Inn or Tom Moore's Tavern but seeing that Fourways was more central (than Tom Moore's in Hamilton Parish), and had more area for expansion -- at Tom Moore's he would have gotten into swamp and jungle -- he decided this was the better property; and it has proven to be successful over the years. "In the meantime, the Waterlot Inn had burnt down. Waterlot was operated by the Princess properties and my son, Richard, was working there as manager under Mr. Sommer. He invited my son to join him in his venture and so Richard came over as manager of the property with Mr. Sommer as general manager. "It took about nine months to get it in order because the property had been left derelict for between five and six years. We expanded and transformed various parts of the building.'' Nine years ago, she said, Mr. Sommer expanded even further, putting in cottages offering its guests the complete hospitality experience. "It used to be my flower garden and so I was quite upset when I learned that all my flowers were to be destroyed but the architect did a wonderful job and my flowers are still there. Everybody who stays there is happy with the cottages; they're quiet, and quite cosy and the restaurant has always had very good write ups.'' One of the benefits of working at an internationally-renowned, four-star restaurant, We're all family at Fourways! famous, walk through the doors. "We've had a lot of famous people,'' she said. "Many come incognito. When (former United States Secretary of State) Henry Kissinger came, we had to cook souffles for him four times over because he was dashing to call the White House all the time. It was during the Cold War and a lot of business people from Europe were there and he was admonishing them, telling them, `Don't deal with Russia!'. "(Former United States president) George Bush was there and was liked by everyone. He was very informal. The staff knew in advance that he was coming but we kept it a secret and treated it as if it were a regular night. Everything was going along normally except that there were FBI men everywhere so we decided to put them in the bar because we didn't want the regular diners to know that Mr. Bush was coming. However, the American counsel at the time, got up and proposed a toast at the end of the meal. Of course President Bush had to respond and people caught on and came crowding around, but he was quite personable and talked with them all. "We've also had a lot of Arabs. They used to come with their entourage, lots of pretty girls and so on. After every toast, they would hurl their crystal glasses into the corner. Of course the waiters were distraught but they were having a good time. They're Muslims and while they don't drink in their own country they certainly do in ours.'' The greatest thing, she said, was getting to know the regulars so that one came to think of them as extended family. "Through making reservations, you get to know people and can really upset them by putting them in the wrong position. Very often it's true that the table is more important than the food and the service to some of our regular customers. "There's a lady who regularly comes to stay in the cottages. She's 90-something years old and she comes back and always says we're like a family to her and how it's such a nice atmosphere. And now, we are getting a lot of honeymooners and we look forward to seeing them come back again and again. "In this business, you have to like people. You tend to enter into other people's lives and if you live alone, it's like having a family, especially with the staff. At Fourways we always say we work as a team. A lot of people who work here come from abroad and ours is a pretty small property so it's much more personable. People in the Western World today are very stressed. Many come to Bermuda to relax. They find it very calming and Fourways adds to that; the way we get people to smile and how we look forward to people coming back. It means we've done a good job.'' PHOTO We're at your service! Maisie Farge has been with Fourways Inn since it first opened 20 years ago, serving as hostess, florist and generally an all-round asset to the restaurant. The restaurant's dining room is a place where everyone feels at home, not only because of its' lovely decor but also because of its' welcoming staff. Pianist Saviour Messina has been with Fourways Inn since it first opened, and has established himself as a favourite with the restaurant's customers. Members of Fourways Inn's acclaimed staff are always prepared to go that extra mile for every one of their customers. From left, executive chef, Steve Young; dining room captain, B.J. Knapen; pastry sous chef, Kayte Gregory; sommelier, Claudio De Riz; executive pastry chef, Greg Heng; dining room captain, Federico Bruschetta; waiters, Hakan Onel and Mehmet Goksel and pianist, Saviour Messina with restaurant manager, Gerry Ivers. Shown, one of Fourways Inn's deluxe cottages. Overlooking a pool and lush gardens, the colony is only seconds away from the Island's finest kitchen. Delectable pastries prepared by pastry sous chef, Kayte Gregory (left) and executive pastry chef, Greg Heng, found, not only at Fourways Inn, but also at its pastry shop on Reid Street in Hamilton, lend new meaning to the word, `temptation'.