Richard Caring was this week named as Britain’s richest restaurateur in The Sunday Times’s Rich List. We Jews love a fress, so what are the chances that Caring is one of us?
Against
Caring’s father is an Italian-American GI who was stationed over here during the Second World War. Indeed, Caring’s original name was Caringi — more linguini than lockshen. He did not marry a nice Jewish girl either — at least, our rabbinical panel found no evidence that Jacqueline Stead, the Aldershot-born daughter of a retired army major, is kosher. Neither, it has to be said, are the restaurants he owns, which include The Ivy and Le Caprice but not Bloom’s or Reubens.
For
Caring’s mother, Silvia Parnes, was Jewish, and Caring was brought up in the North London heartland — Finchley, to be precise. When the going got really good, he purchased a modest place in North-West London, which has been labelled the Versailles of Hampstead. He made his money in the shmutter trade, he is best mates with nice Jewish boy Philip Green, and his heavily coiffed hair resembles that of Lord Levy — who may or may not have played a part in Caring’s secret £2m donation to Labour (since returned with thanks). He is a fan of that most Jewish of sports, golf. Indeed, his collection of clubs includes not just drivers and putters, but also Wentworth in Surrey.
Verdict
This guy can dine out on his Jewishness at London’s top restaurants whenever he wants (seeing as he owns them all).
So we say he is 68% Jewish