 At various points between 1913 and 1919, Thành (Ho) claimed to have lived in West Ealing and later in Crouch End, Hornsey.He reportedly worked as either a chef or dish washer (reports vary) at the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing.Claims that he trained as a pastry chef under Auguste Escoffier at the Carlton Hotel in Haymarket, Westminster are not supported by documentary evidence.