Guess who's back in town?

He lost his entire empire but Mark Hix has returned to London at the Groucho, no less. David Ellis has the exclusive interview

- David Ellis

TWENTY-FIVE years ago, when Mark Hix was being lined up to become chef-director at Caprice Holdings and its trio of restaurant stars, Le Caprice, the Ivy and J Sheekey - he could not have seen that things would go as they have.

Sixty next month, Hix has, you might say, been around the block. After Caprice came the kind of success that arrived bundled up with book deals and TV spots and wondering which place to open next; but lately there has been the low of losing a restaurant empire and the humiliation of temporarily being barred from using his own name for business. Having first moved to London more than 40 years ago, Hix even left town, scuttling down to Dorset to sling fish from a truck. Most days, he says, he'd have a small bottle of cider brandy on the go to share with the local fishermen, or he'd go and join them at the harbour.

"I looked at myself and I thought, 'you've been in the business a long old time"," he says now, with a rueful glance into his coffee. "And there's nothing in the bank account." But despite a scalding past couple of years, the chef's soft-spoken weariness is the affable kind. He is sanguine, a ruddy-cheeked optimist. And his confidence has come good - last Tuesday, the Standard broke the news that Hix was making his London return, this time as director of food and beverage at the Groucho, the Soho club famous for the bad behaviour of the artists, writers, rock stars and royalty that come in. That evening, Hix could be found sat at the bar, having a drink, holding court.