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ISSUE 3
Adam Tihany From pupil to master:
reflecting on a life in design
Pierre KoffmannMarking 50 years behind the pass,
why the kitchen is still home
Alex Kratena On success, sustainability
and life after Artesian
www.narumi.co.jp/en | [email protected] | +81-52-896-2220
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CONTENTS
Setting
Entrée 015 Room for Thought
Appetizers 019 Trends and concepts impacting the world of global hotel F&B
SERVICE
The One Who Got Away 024Pioneering restaurant designer Adam Tihany reflects upon a life in design
Koffmann’s Kitchen 030Marking 50 years in the industry, chef Pierre Koffmann discusses hotel restaurants, pig’s trotters and why retirement didn’t suit him
Czech Please 036Renowned bartender Alex Kratena on success, innovation and life after Artesian
SIPPING
CocktailsAsia 076 The Donovan Bar, London
The Fallen Garden 078 Hendricks Bar
Be Healthy 080 Be Bop Bar, Prague
DrinksBlakes Restaurant Bar 82 Blakes Hotel, London
A Modern Classic 86 Ginaissance 90P(OUR) 96Jameson’s New Family 98
SIDES
Coffee Culture 106DIY Cocktails 110Events 114Petit Fours 122
SPECIALS
StartersThe Restaurant 043Amanemu Hotel, Shima
Santoro 044 Grace Santorini
Oratorio 046Elma Arts Complex, Zichron Ya’akov
Saltz 048 Dolder Gran, Zurich
Rofuto 050 Park Regis, Birmingham
Main CoursePaper Daisy 052Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach
Ocean 056Vila Vita Parc, Algarve
Väkst 064SP34, Copenhagen
Restaurant Le Cinq Codet 068Le Cinq Codet, Paris
Giardino 072Palazzo Versace, Dubai
Inspired Living
THE ART OF AUTHENTIC, PURE WATER.
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Find out why Vero is served by most celebrated chefs and awarded restaurants, hotels and spas.
“People like titles and statuettes but they don’t really mean anything. Just as the best restaurant in the world can be the café next door if you enjoy the food.” Pierre Koffmann on praise and subjectivity.
Setting
ABERFELDY, ITS TRADE DRESS AND THE LAST GREAT MALTS DEVICE ARE TRADEMARKS
THE GOLDEN DRAM
Distilling since 1898 in the town of ABERFELDY stands one of the last remaining PERTHSHIRE distilleries.
The ABERFELDY DISTILLERY sources its water from the PITILIE BURN, prized locally for its purity and
rich deposits of gold and minerals. The unique water source, combined with Scottish malted barley, creates
adeliciously rich but easy drinking dram.
Aberfeldy is famous for its particular honeyed notes - they come from the patient process of
longer fermentation, which allows for more flavour development. We then distil in COPPER POT STILLS,
HANDMADE by the same family for over a century, and age to perfection in oak casks.
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It’s a miserable night in the French capital. Outside torrential rain is blanketing the streets and, combined with the wind, the last of the late night stragglers meandering the 9th arrondissement have been driven inside.It’s my third visit to Paris in as many weeks. I’m holed up
in my room at Le Grand Pigalle after a lengthy day involving a train, another train, a misadventure on the metro and eventually a drawn-out walk through backstreets, suitcase in hand. Like many travellers – business or pleasure – eventually stepping into a hotel room on such an evening is an unrivalled bliss.
In my own case, the one pressing issue was that aside from a woefully inadequate St Pancras sandwich hours earlier, I was running on an empty stomach. The only convenience store offering a hot meal ‘nearby’ was neither very near nor very open. The thought of dusting myself off and propping myself up at a dinner table downstairs with only minutes until service stopped was unappealing. So I did as so many do, I scanned the in-room menu for whatever seemed hearty, unfussy, relatively economical and called to reception. And there, no more than 20 minutes later, was a pleasantly presented tray of relief.
Now, fed and watered, I can’t help but think about the vital role that room service played in both the experience of my day and, more specifically, my experience of the hotel. When we think of room service we often think about a hotel F&B offer that is reaping ever diminishing returns. Some hotel groups are deleting the service altogether whilst others are scaling back, offering food and drink only during restaurant opening hours.
My own choice was arguably one of necessity. What wasn’t necessity however, was to sample the hand bottled, specially mixed Negroni that had been left for me beside the bed. A handwritten brown manila tag lists the ingredients. There
are other cocktail options in the room’s minibar, ripe for the taking. Heavy crystal glasses lie in wait. Whether room service or minibar, both are ultimately options that allow the guest freedom to eat or drink without stepping outside the door, if they so wish.
In many ways my own evening cut to the core of the in-room F&B experience: one decision driven by need, the other by desire. What hotels are rapidly realising is that the room service and minibar models are becoming untenable when attached only to need. Had I arrived a few hours earlier, had the weather been better and had my knowledge of the neighbourhood been more substantial, I likely would have made a different dining choice. But desire is a very different guest motivation.
Take Blakes Hotel in London. We explore its new restaurant bar later in the issue, but when it comes to the rooms one will no longer find the staple selection of highly priced, undersized alcohol supplies. Instead, if guests fancy an in-room pre-dinner drink, a nightcap or even hair of the dog, they can phone through an order. The bar will whisk up a cocktail of their choice and deliver it straight to the room. In this instance convenience needn’t trump choice or quality. Room service becomes a desirable option. At the Ace Hotel New Orleans, guests are presented with an in-room cocktail bar complete with cocktail shaker, cutting board, glassware, cocktail recipe guide and mini-sized bitters. The ‘minibar’ becomes a desirable option.
Arguably the future of in-room hotel F&B now lies in how hotels hope to motivate guests to use and experience their services. Expecting that convenience will outbalance cost is perhaps no longer sustainable. But encouraging guests to order in or open up through the provision of creative concepts could reinvent the in-room model. And in that, there’s certainly room for thought.
ENTRée
Room for Thought
Harry McKinley | Editor
Supper Magazine, Strawberry Studios, Stockport, SK1 3AZ, UKTel: +44 (0)161 476 5580 • www.suppermagazine.co.uk
Editorial
Editor-in-ChiefMatt [email protected]
EditorHarry [email protected] Editorial Intern Kris Thomas
Contributors
Angus Winchester Dan F StapletonDominic RoskrowEmilee Jane Tombs Emily Elyse MillerJuliet Kinsman Lauren Ho
Photographers
Addie ChinnChris Tonnesen Gili ShaniNico ShaererPaulo BarataRichard PereiraScott Gordon Bleicher Simon WatsonVasco CelioWilliam Hereford
THE BRIGADE
Advertising
Advertising ManagerRachel [email protected]
Marketing
Brand DirectorAmy [email protected]
Design
DesignDavid [email protected]
ProductionDan [email protected]
Finance
Finance DirectorAmanda [email protected]
Group Credit ControllerLynette [email protected]
Group Financial ControllerSarah [email protected]
Accounts AssistantKerry [email protected]
Corporate
ChairmanDamian [email protected]
Website designed and developed by 93ft.com
Supper is printed by Buxton Press
SIX DECADES OF DESIGN
Email: [email protected] Online: robertwelch.com Telephone: +44 (0)1386 840880
The food organisation behind all great kitchens
KILNER SUPER CLUB.indd 1 17/06/2016 15:07
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With sustainability becoming a vital element in contemporary hotel design, development and management, innovative new methods to achieve a green reputation have emerged. From recycled materials being utilised in the construction process, to solar energy powering the guestrooms, hotels across the planet have taken steps to increase the efficiency of their developments, whilst decreasing their effect on the wider environment.
In recent years, brands such as Fairmont, Firmdale and Waldorf Astoria have introduced beehives to the rooftops of their hotels in an effort to simultaneously address the insect’s rapidly decreasing global population, and provide guests with organic, homegrown honey to accompany their respective food and beverage programmes.
Fairmont in particular has become a leading chain in this respect, with its Fairmont Bee Sustainable Platform spanning 22 properties in North America, Asia and Africa, and many hiring staff specifically to maintain the hives. Not only do
the colonies provide bees with much needed safe spaces, and keep hotel chef’s supplied with regular batches of the complex flavour option, but also significantly aid the surrounding area, with the bees pollinating landscaped elements of hotels and keeping the views serene.
Rooftop bees provide honey for two of Waldorf Astoria’s most popular dishes, providing wild strawberries with a wonderfully thick dipping sauce, and the field and forest mushroom chowder with subtle tones of natural flavour. Waldorf’s Park Avenue New York property boasts a hive of 300,000 bees alone and, since the ban on beekeeping in the city was lifted, over 300 colonies have sprung up around the city.
Rooftop gardens have become commonplace in many independent developments and chains alike, but becoming similarly popular are these expansive hives that not only benefit the dwindling species so integral to our ecosystem, but allow hotels to give something back to the space around them, and serve their own unique honey straight from hive to jar.
Breaking out in Hives
APPETISERS
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Over the course of five years, consumer reports have highlighted that - despite its historic status as a staple of diets worldwide - pasta may be a failing dish. These worrying documents confirm that consumption has dropped by 8% in Australia, 13% in Europe, and a staggering 25% in Italy. With quinoa, chickpeas, lentils, spelt, barley and chia becoming more appealing as healthier and more nutritious alternatives to carbs, and the emergence of vegetable spiralisers pandering to the increasingly large health-conscious market, the foodstuff could slowly be edging towards a slow, starchy demise.
A combination of the recent gluten free movement, lingering historical elements including the popularity of the Atkins and South Beach diets, the demonisation of carbs by those looking to shed a few pounds, and a collective shift towards protein rich foods present in many new diets, could all prove to be pasta’s death knell.
With over one hundred million people now claiming that they are actively working to eliminate gluten from their diets, a large dent has been hammered into both the popularity and profitability of pasta, a trend that now threatens to spread uncertainty into the potato and bread markets also.
However, a conflicting report from New York based research firm Nielsen has provided a ray of light in these dark times, suggesting that sales may have been up 2.9% this year, signaling a resurgence of interest after a long period of decline. Google searches of rigatoni and other short cut pastas have risen, and, according to the search engine giant, “It’s time for marketers to refocus their attention on pasta.”
The pasta market has been volatile to say the least, and, though a recession looked likely, perhaps a crash is avoidable. It is still too early to tell if bread will recover quite so swiftly, but after years of uncertainty, worrying numbers and a sullied reputation, pasta may just be back with a vengeance.
Penne to the dollar
APPETISERS
5689 WWRD Sleeper Magazine advert 0616 AW.indd 1 07/06/2016 12:53
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A new device has been created that allows restaurants, bars, and wine drinkers at home, to serve a glass without ever breaking the seal.
The Coravin wine extracting system operates by penetrating a thin needle through the cork in order to extract the wine and propel it into a waiting glass. Subsequently, the cork automatically reseals itself, and the remaining wine in the bottle is perfectly preserved by the inert gas injected into it by the device.
Invented by Greg Lambrecht, a medical inventor whose previous best-sellers included a spinal implant device, the product could potentially provide a solution to the age-old problems of unnecessary alcohol waste and the swift dip in quality of an opened aged wine, and will allow wine fans everywhere to sample without ever having to technically open the bottle. Developed over the space of 10 years and 4,000 bottle tests, the Coravin system has produced consistently
strong results, with an average of only 3 professionals out of 15 currently being able to correctly identify the difference.
Jancis Robinson comments: “I cannot fault Coravin technically and I can easily see its applications for restaurateurs who would like to offer particularly fine wines by the glass,” whilst Anthony Rose of the Independent notes: “It’s a Godsend for me and wine geeks everywhere.” The system is gathering pace in the food and beverage industry and is available widely in the US whilst shipping to over 20 countries worldwide.
Significantly cheaper than an enomatic dispenser, the current market standard, Lambrecht’s device is set to revolutionise the wine industry with its innovative mechanism. With little interruption to, or altering of the wine’s development process, and coming with an easily cleanable spout and needle, a nuclear engineer without a single wine qualification may just have changed the face of the industry for years to come.
Coravin
APPETISERS
“You don’t have to spend a night at a hotel to enjoy its bar. It’s a way to communicate with design, to see what’s happening in the world.” Adam Tihany on the democracy of hotel F&B design.
SERVICE
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A few minutes after arrival and we’re shifting tables to follow the sun. It’s a blazingly warm day in Paris and the starched white tablecloths of
the terrace at La Réserve are playing host to glasses of chilled wine, iced teas and al fresco lunches. It’s an apt spot to meet. The hotel is, in many ways, much like Tihany: classic but characterful, expensive looking but not ostentatiously so.
He’s in a bright mood. On a day like this, so are most people, but it’s clear from the way he immediately springs into conversation, having cheerfully debated table arrangements with the waiters, that he’s an affable kind of guy. Prime eating site secured, trademark spectacles swapped for shades and we’re already in full flow. He has a school reunion coming up and it’s dominating his thoughts. It’s been 50 years since he’s seen many of those attending and, by all accounts, they’re a successful bunch: members of parliament, doctors, lawyers - a veritable checklist of lofty professions.
Nonetheless his stature and international renown is likely to provide a focal point for conversation and, as such, he’s feeling a little trepidation about the whole affair. As he readily admits, he’s the ‘one who got away’.
Tihany grew up in Jerusalem and, like many Israelis of his generation, he was often defined by a desire to chase the bright lights of Europe and America where, it seemed, opportunities were plentiful and life was more cosmopolitan. “I joined the military service in 1966 and in 1967 the Six Days War broke out. So instead of two years long, my military service became three,” he explains. “By the time I was finished the only thing I knew I wanted to do was to leave the country and go somewhere else.” Of course, four decades ago, that was a far from straightforward goal. The world seemed a much larger place and resources were less accessible. “My parents weren’t well off enough to send me to the United States or to the UK, so I had to find a place that had public universities and subsidised education,
somewhere that was accepting students from Israel in the 60s. But, imagine, there was no Internet. Research was a very different ball game from today.” In the end the only option he could find was Italy. Two faculties were taking on students and the contrast was stark: one was architecture in Milan and the other veterinary medicine in Bologna. “As I always say, the only thing I knew about architecture was that I didn’t want to be a veterinarian,” he says with a smile.
Tihany’s candour is refreshing. Unlike many success stories, there’s no pretense that he was a protégé from birth, instead he admits the initial stages of his journey were as much a matter of circumstance as choice. He certainly didn’t disembark in Milan with a wealth of knowledge and a burning desire to design, nor does he imbue his experience with a rose tinted hue. “I didn’t speak a word of Italian and I didn’t know anything about architecture,” he says. “I just happened to arrive in 1969, which was the height of the student movement and
One of the most prolific names in global F&B, Adam Tihany has been widely credited as a pioneer of restaurant design. From Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental to One&Only and Westin, he has embarked on hotel projects that have defined the industry and bridged the gap between design and hospitality.
The One Who Got Away
Words: Harry McKinley
SERVICE
Adam Tihany at the bar of The Grill by Thomas Keller
on Seabourn Quest
Photography: William Hereford
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the social revolution. So from one war, which I understood, to another war I had no clue about, it was a pretty grim transition. This was the time when all of the great architects were unemployed and they changed their focus to furniture design, packaging and graphics. Because the universities were dysfunctional I had to work and study the profession the old fashioned way, like an apprentice. Eating and breathing it everyday you could say I became a designer by osmosis and training, rather than by reading books.”
What only becomes clear with the benefit of hindsight and the context of time is that Tihany had hit a swelling cultural wave that, when it broke, would sweep across the global design industry. The likes of Umberto Eco, Aldo Rossi and Paolo Portoghesi were all professors at the time and Tihany notes that it was the craft and culture of design that proved most formative as opposed to the structured, formal education process. Riding on the crest of revolution but battling a financial crisis, designers were using constraints to fuel innovation, spurred by a new way of looking at
the world and that which inhabits it. “This was the beginning of plastic furniture, of lighting design as we know it, it was the beginning of everything,” he says. “Being a part of that time, of that movement leaves a hefty sediment and it will always stay with me.”
Throughout these years Tihany’s American dream remained. The skyscrapers, smoking sidewalks and urban cacophony of New York City were etched on his mind. It was the idea of the place that continued to call to him, the vision of a world far removed from the dusty, wheat brown streets of Jerusalem and even the progressive but Euro-centric Milan.
By 1973 he had completed his studies and was working at a Milanese studio tasked with designing part of a major new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Curated by Emilio Ambasz, the Argentine architect who would become known as an early proponent of ‘green architecture’, The New Domestic Landscape was an introduction to Italian design for the US. “It had a lot of resonance because, before that, the last big wave of design was Danish. There was nothing
international in between in terms of style,” says Tihany. “So after that exhibition a couple of American firms came to Milan looking to import a designer and start an Italian design studio.” Already one foot on the plane, he seized upon the opportunity and volunteered immediately. Suddenly the idea of the Big Apple was usurped by the real thing.
Tihany worked for the firm for several years but, after landing a large residential project, opened his own New York office in 1978. Back in Paris, almost three decades later, he drops another ice cube into a glass of rosé and, with a broad smile, leans back and notes, “and this is where the adventure really begins.”
A storyteller at heart, and arguably by craft, Tihany exudes the charisma of someone who has spent his life in a person-driven industry. In many ways he’s also a salesman: selling his ideas to clients and convincing them of their logic and appeal, then crucially having guests sold on the final design experience. Yet in his early days the greatest struggle was selling himself to those who couldn’t figure out which box to put him in. People would ask if he was
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Oro at the Belmond Cipriani Hotel, Venice
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a product designer, a furniture designer, an architect or an interior designer. “All of the above,” he would say. “Give me a problem and I’ll design the solution.”
“Needless to say, I was starving for years,” he says; now making light work of a club sandwich. “Because people were very concerned about giving contracts to someone they couldn’t give a very narrow definition to. But I completely refused to pigeonhole myself. I didn’t want to succumb to the system. I adopted a stubborn mentality and an attitude of ‘I am how I am, you take it for what it is’, starving or not starving.”
Had it backfired we’d call it hubris of course, or idealism. But the fire in Tihany’s belly kept the hunger at bay and life would subsequently deal him an Ace, setting him on a trajectory towards international recognition. The year was 1980 and the setting was Studio 54. Tihany was approached by someone familiar with
his work and asked if he’d be interested in designing a restaurant. Driven by a thirst to work and a desire to eat, he was definitive in his response: “I’ll design anything.”
The restaurant, it transpired, was a New York offshoot of Paris’s La Coupole and would be the first grand café in the city. The 225-seat Park Avenue spot would emulate the Art Deco style of the original, with Tihany responsible for everything from the interior architecture and furniture, to the graphics, lighting and china. “The restaurant opened in a huge snowstorm in 1981 but still people flocked. Andy Warhol couldn’t get in and from that point onwards it was the hottest ticket in town.”
Tihany was doing what he loved to do and the success of the project encouraged him to go and have a sign printed. It read: Adam Tihany, Restaurant Designer. In one fell swoop he had defined himself and birthed a profession. “I was the first person to ever call themselves a restaurant designer, so I have to take credit for the lowsy invention,” he says.
Now of course, restaurant design is a thriving, self-sustaining industry and Tihany has progressed to global design stardom,
embarking on projects throughout the world and working with numerous hotel groups. But the biggest difference between then and now, thinks Tihany, is the sheer popularity of food and drink. Eating out or grabbing a drink at a bar has become the lubricant for modern social interaction. “F&B spaces are really one of the main places that afford public access,” Tihany says. “You don’t have to spend a night at a hotel to enjoy its bar. It’s a way to communicate with design, to see what’s happening in the world. It used to be that every great architect always wanted to design a chair and it’s a great tribute to the industry that now it’s a restaurant. Which still has a lot of chairs of course.”
For Tihany the downside of a blossoming trade is the glut of those hopping on board who don’t ultimately add value. Amateurs he calls them, rather bluntly. It sounds direct, harsh even, but it doesn’t come from a place
of conceit or even judgment, but out of his deeply held conviction that design should first and foremost be good design. He categorises the pros and the not-so-pros by splitting them into two camps: those who work in two dimensions and those who work in three. The third key dimension is depth. It’s not enough to cut and paste the ideas of others, or even to merely deliver exactly what the client asks for, there has to be substance and a point of view.
“Let me use an analogy,” says Tihany. “I’m a portrait artist. I create a portrait of my client. It’s my point of view, but it’s still a portrait. Take a hotel chef, it’s important that when they walk into their space, they feel it’s like a custom suit. As though somebody took their measurements. Then from the guest side, the space should be level with the expectation of what they’re going to get. You don’t want to walk into a place that screams formality and elegance and get served a grilled cheese sandwich.”
Tihany’s most recent hotel project was the Four Seasons DIFC in Dubai, for which he designed the interiors. He describes it in terms of the market as “a flea on a camel’s back,
but a very noisy flea.” The main restaurant, Firebird Diner, is a collaboration with chef and restaurateur Michael Mina and is an elevated take on classic Americana. From its windows one can take in an impressive view of the Downtown skyline. The juxtaposition between American diner and the polished, monolithic buildings of the Middle Eastern cityscape just beyond the glass highlights another of Tihany’s dividers: the ability to balance authenticity and pastiche.
For Tihany authenticity is an overused word, or more to the point an overly misused word. For him there can be no ‘authentic’ French bistro in New York City. Authenticity is about the reality, not the looks. “Authentically Rome is the obscure trattoria where the mother painted the walls herself and where the brother is bringing the food. You can’t duplicate that. You can have a New York style trattoria, for example, but don’t call it authentic. However, I try to avoid pastiche as much as possible. When I was designing the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas the client wanted contemporary with only a whiff of Asian. I had to explain to them that the location, Las Vegas, was as important as their brand identity. Las Vegas is ground zero for ‘theme’. I wasn’t going to produce a replica of a Chinese temple, but I wanted to play up two words: Mandarin and Oriental. When people hear those they don’t imagine a cold, cerebral, Armani-ish hotel. I had to convince the brand to amp up their image otherwise people wouldn’t get it. So that’s authentic, because that’s Las Vegas. When we worked on the King David Hotel, the question was always, what is the essence of Jerusalem? Well, for someone who grew up there, it’s one thing. For someone who visits, it’s another. Good design is about taking both of those perspectives into account. You can deduce which buttons you need to push to make the guest feel as though they are experiencing something local.”
For all of this talk of hotel F&B design, the interesting thing is that we’re having the conversation while sat on an outdoor terrace. Essentially the Paris streets, obscured by hedgerow, are our backdrop. Interior design is playing little role in our current experience of the hotel or indeed of the meal we’re sharing. When we raise this with Tihany he’s pragmatic in addressing the overall role that design plays in hotel F&B. “I can’t be presumptuous and say that a restaurant begins and ends with the
“I was the first person to ever call themselves a restaurant designer, so I have to take credit for the lowsy invention”
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design. People don’t go to restaurants because they’re hungry. If they’re hungry they can open the fridge and make a sandwich,” he says. “We go to restaurants, number one, to be with other people. So that experience is helped by service, by the food and then by design. Even now though, design is playing a role because you’re sitting in a comfortable chair.”
This sense of perspective came when Tihany opened his own restaurant, Remi, in 1987. He describes the first five years of the restaurant as the most formative of his career. Every designer that worked for him had to work at least once in the restaurant to gain an understanding of operations and it was here that he learnt that the front of house was only as good as the back of house. “A lot of designers think of the restaurant - the front of house - as a showroom,” he explains, “and they don’t really understand what it takes to run a restaurant. It really is a marriage between the two spaces. It’s not just a flirt.”
His most formative project meanwhile was the Aureole Wine Tower in Las Vegas, which was the result of an unlikely inspiration. “I will never forget the first day I was taken to see the space. There’s a 50ft by 50ft hole in the ground and we are entering it at mid-level. I’m shown where the stairs are going to be and my gut
reaction is to say, ‘Why do you want to screw up an architectural marvel? You’re going to kill the space. The developer looks and me and says, ‘Well what would you do?’ Of course I had no idea but he gave me until 9am the next morning.”
A long night ensued as Tihany dredged his brain for inspiration that wasn’t forthcoming. Defeated, at 2.30am he turns on the television only to find Mission Impossible playing. “Tom Cruise is hanging in the middle of a white room and I realise, there it is. We’re going to do a skyscraper in the middle, all glass, put the wine inside it and have girls fly up and down getting the wine, like wine angels. So I sketch it at 3.30am and I have a meeting with him at 9am. I’m describing it to and he’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. He picks up his phone and I’m thinking, OK, security is on its way. But he connects to his assistant and says, ‘Sally, cancel the bloody stairs.’ Those are the moments. You either soar to the occasion or you get kicked out of an office.”
Listening to Tihany recount both his entry into the F&B design industry and discuss some of his notable projects serves as a reminder of the sheer breadth of his work. He has no plans to retire of course, but he is at the stage where he’s considering his legacy. Outside of his ‘day
job’ he’s on the boards of the Design Museum Holon in Tel Aviv and the Pratt Institute in New York; and he is the creative director of both the Culinary Institute of America and Costa Cruises. His studio, for which he remains fully hands on, is in the process of renovating the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi and continues to work on the design of the luxury Seabourn cruise vessels, collaborating with chef Thomas Keller.
“More importantly I’m always curious about the world and how it’s moving,” he says. “I’m waiting patiently for filament lamps to fade out. That and farm-to-table. Some trends really do swallow the whole mid-market. I don’t go for trends. Something trendy is already passé.”
As the waiters clear the table and we begin the steady shuffle to collect belongings before heading into the Paris sun, we return to the school reunion. Is it really so worrisome? From Milan to Studio 54 he has quite the tale to tell. But for Tihany his story is perhaps the other way around. Having spent his younger years dreaming of escape, rising he says, “Someone very wise told me a long time ago, you’ll never know where you’re going to unless you remember where you came from. That summarises it for me. Wherever you came from will always be relevant. Celebrate it and pass it on.”
Per Se, New York City
Villeroy & Boch S.à.r.l. Hotel & Restaurant 330, rue de Rollingergrund 2441 Luxembourg Tel.: + (352) 46 82 11 · Fax: + (352) 46 90 22 E-mail: [email protected]
www.villeroy-boch.com/hotel
Creating Hospitality
Professional Glassware Selection Always up to the job
VLH 16463 SUPPER_MAG_ 236x275cm_glassware.indd 1 23.05.16 15:56
Our first introduction to Pierre Koffman isn’t at a carefully arranged dinner table or coffee-ready bar. He’s chopping vegetables in preparation for lunch service at his eponymously titled
restaurant at The Berkeley Hotel, London.This year the 68-year chef old marks 50 years in the
business, but unlike many of his peers he hasn’t migrated to a comfortable job as the ‘face’ of a restaurant, enjoying long lunches from the guest side of the pass. No, the kitchen is still firmly his home.
Despite moving to London in 1970, Koffmann still has the easy, self-possesed demeanour of a Frenchman, not to mention the accent. Decades across the Channel and international repute haven’t pulled him too far from his upbringing in France’s sun kissed southwest.
When we do sit, there’s little formality. He reclines into a chair with a comfortable nonchalance. He embodies the spirit of someone relaxing on a beachside lounger in Saint-Tropez, not a busy chef less than an hour from a fully booked lunch sitting. It’s the kind of energy that puts others at ease. Whether those who work in his kitchen feel the same is another thing, but certainly on first impressions there’s a warmth amongst the staff at Koffmann’s, both front of house and back.
Food has always been a part of Koffmann’s life from an early age and he’s quick to recall how his mother would overfeed him and also time spent with his grandparents: farmers who had little interest in newfangled concepts. His grandmother would often cook over an open fire.
“At the time, in the 50s, food was very important,” he says. “It was after the war and so there were few of the luxuries of today: cinema, or TV. Everything was about time spent around the table and food. As soon as my grandparents had finished lunch they would say, ‘What do you want to have for dinner?’”
This relationship with food was merely a part of family life at the time, of course. It was only when Koffmann was in his teens that the prospect of a career in the industry presented itself. Even then it couldn’t be said it was a path he chased. He was ‘hopeless’ at school, he says, except for sport. The headmaster would push and encourage him, assuming potential, but in the end – whether beaten down or recognizing that that potential lay outside of academia – he gave up. “The headmaster used to say I could do better. Always, that I could do better. But then eventually he simply said, ‘perhaps Pierre would do better somewhere else’. And that was that,” Koffmann says, with a shrug.
Although problematic at the time, it pushed him onto a
Marking 50 years in the industry, we speak to celebrated chef Pierre Koffmann about hotel restaurants, pig’s trotters and why retirement didn’t suit him.
Koffmann’s Kitchen
Words: Harry McKinley
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journey with food. From a small town of 2,000 people where opportunities were scant, and not quite knowing what to do next, he applied for cookery school. Although he’d retained his love of food he made the decision because, ultimately, it was still a school. He didn’t feel ready to tackle the world head-on as a teenager. He wasn’t ‘a man yet’.
After three years at the school Koffmann embarked on his regional studies, moving around France to learn the various cuisines and techniques. It was a different time, when regional food was truly regional and knowledge of different food cultures could only be gleaned by heading to their source, absorbing the spirit of the place and learning from those around.
It was not a love of food that took him to London, however, but a love of rugby. “I wanted to see the French
against the English at Twickenham,” he says. “That was the most interesting game, the only one to win - to beat England. I’m sure it was the same for the Irish, the Scottish and the Welsh.”
That was 1970 and the plan, albeit a loose one, was to move to London for six months. Plenty of time to take in a game, continue working as a chef and then process paperwork to move on to Australia, or perhaps the USA. What he didn’t bank on was falling for the country he so desperately wanted to trounce on the field. “I came and I enjoyed it,” he says. “46 years and I’m still here.”
Those 46 years have proved fruitful for Koffmann. First head chef of the Roux brothers’ Waterside Inn in 1976, he would meet his late first wife who was the restaurant’s manager. He subsequently opened his own restaurant, La Tante Claire, which would go on to earn three Michelin stars. During this period he also worked with the likes of Marco Pierre White, Marcus Wareing and Gordon Ramsay, all of whom went on to stellar careers in the kitchen.
Yet he speaks of the time in an offhand manner. His accomplishments were not, as he says, ‘life changing’. As with most things work, Koffmann is unperturbed. When we bring up Michel Roux Jnr’s comment that Koffmann is a ‘chef’s chef’ he bats it away. It’s a nice thing to say, but invariably meaningless. “It’s lovely, but there is no exam to be a chef,” he says. “People like titles and statuettes but
they don’t really mean anything. Just as the best restaurant in the world can be the café next door if you enjoy the food, so a chef’s chef can be anyone.”
He may not enjoy titles or sycophantic praise, but it’s hard to argue that 50 years in the business hasn’t given Koffmann a distinct perspective on the evolution of the restaurant trade. He’s seen London, in particular, develop from a city were the food was ‘just terrible’ in the 1970s – all ‘smoked salmon and roast beef’ - to a gastronomic capital. He’s seen the world open up so that ingredients that would previously have been impossible or prohibitively expensive to obtain, are now available year round. And he’s seen his own profession transformed from an unfashionable trade to a career that can turn chefs into celebrities. He’s also seen the peaks and troughs of the hotel restaurant. “When I came to England the only restaurants that had good reputations were in hotels,” he says, “The Connaught and The Savoy for example. But then hotel restaurants disappeared and the best chefs opened their own places. It was a big change. Now the hotels are hiring the top chefs to attract people. In some ways it’s a full circle.”
Just like hotel restaurants, Koffmann has had his own blip, albeit a voluntary one. In 2003 he decided to bid au revoir to the kitchen. Fed up, tired and with an insurance policy that would provide him a comfortable retirement, he packed up his knives and unpacked his fishing rod. “I went all over the world for a year,” he says. “Then I came back to London and I was still in bed at 9 o’clock and waking at 9 o’clock. I would go for a cappuccino somewhere, think about where I could have lunch with some wine, go home to have a little siesta and in the evening see my girlfriend at the time. But I knew if I kept living that way in two years time I’d be dead. The problem with me is I know nothing and I don’t enjoy anything except cooking.”
Struggling with retirement and in an effort to fill his time with more than cappuccino and siestas, he took a consultancy job. The money was excellent but he found the role dull. Along the way he met Claire, now his wife. “You know women, they want to organise your life, so Claire found a job for me. It was a popup restaurant on top of Selfridges. It was supposed to be for a week.”
The restaurant went on to stay open for eight weeks during which Koffmann worked seven days a week from morning until midnight. He lost 12 kilos and shifted 3,200 of his signature pig’s trotters. “It was a bit like Frank Sinatra coming back from the dead,” he jokes.
When they finally announced that the popup was to close he was inundated with offers. Almost two-dozen people offered to finance the opening of his own restaurant. In
“People like titles and statuettes but they don’t really mean anything. Just as the best restaurant in the world can be the café next door if you enjoy the food”
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the end, he would head to The Berkeley. “That was in 2010 and was supposed to be for three years. It’s 2016 and I’m still there, so you can see I haven’t learnt anything.”
Koffmann’s restaurant, the aptly titled Koffmann’s, is really a labour of love. Not interested in paperwork, recruiting or bottom lines, his one condition for taking on the project was that he ‘just gets to cook’. This caveat not only means that he gets to spend time in the kitchen but that he has the freedom and time to coach and nurture new talent. He believes that his prominence comes with an obligation to pass on his knowledge to a younger generation and he’s particularly proud of those he has mentored. “I had a beautiful young man, Ben Murphy, who opened a restaurant a few months ago in Woodford and he’s very successful. That’s lovely for me.”
Behind that joy, there is something else lurking, however. Over the years the industry has evolved and one gets the impression that Koffmann doesn’t rate some of the changes. “Now the food is not the most important thing. You’ve got to have food, service and ambience in equal measure. That’s the recipe for success but it does mean the food can be a little lost,” he says. There’s also the issue of having a public profile, something Koffmann, ‘couldn’t care less about’. When pressed on what has been his greatest lesson he turns despondent.
“You think we learn something? I don’t think we learn anything.
People are very stupid. We always make the same mistakes. I think if I had to start again tomorrow I would make the same mistakes,” he says, but then with a flicker of good humour, “I’m getting grumpy aren’t I? Let me put it this way, even getting three Michelin stars wasn’t the highlight of my life. It was nice, but not a highlight. When the restaurant is full and I see the same people coming back, that’s what I enjoy. So I don’t like to go too deep. It’s the simple things.”
Koffmann may love the kitchen, but at 68 even he is weighing up what the next step in his life and career will be. Firstly, before retirement he has to stop telling journalists he finds life at home boring. It annoys his wife. That being said he stands by his earlier thought that it’s important to keep busy and find a purpose.
“In March my wife and I spent a month in Australia for the Melbourne Food Festival. I had ten days of cooking and it was wonderful. So I’m wondering if we should retire there. Perhaps have a large garden and sell what we grow at the Saturday market. Or maybe a food truck: something original, not a burger. But who knows when this be, eh?”
And so, with dreams of Down Under lingering in the air and talk of retirement quickly fading back into oblivion, Koffmann departs for the start of lunch service. Donning his apron again and rallying his team, something tells us it may take more than the promise of regular sun and a large garden to take Koffmann out of his kitchen.
Koffmann’s at The Berkeley, London
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Even on a weeknight the lobby bar at The London Edition has a healthy buzz. The music is upbeat, the post-work crowd boisterous and the cocktails suitably pithy. We’re sharing a Negroni with Alex Kratena, the
Czech Republic born, London-based bartender and global force in mixology.
He’s fresh off a plane from Oslo and is due on another early flight in the morning, not that the crippling schedule shows. Snapback on, drink in hand, he’s full of energy, waving to the occasional familiar face and openly excited to talk about his new projects.
Before that of course, there’s the matter of his old project. Formerly head bartender at Artesian at The Langham London, Kratena led the bar to international recognition. His creative approach and flair for the theatrical brought a new dimension to the notion of the hotel bar and saw him become a figurehead for the bartending industry at large.
Looking back to 2015 it seemed that everything was going swimmingly for Kratena, as Artesian scooped the top spot on the list of World’s 50 Best Bars for the fourth consecutive year. Just a few hours before the ceremony, however, Kratena and his creative partner Simone Caporale had handed in their notice. Nine of the bar staff would follow.
It was an audacious move that sent tremors through the industry and set tongues wagging. And whilst we’re keen to delve deeper into the bar’s success, Kratena’s work there and his views on the hotel bar scene, his departure is the elephant in the room that needs acknowledging before we can steer the conversation backwards. So, what happened?
“My team, Simone and my business partners came to a point where the whole thing started to slow us down,” says Kratena, “and we wanted to go faster. In order for that to happen we had to take ourselves out of it. Looking back I feel that there couldn’t have been a better time. We were lucky and we just nailed it.”
Luck, in all truth, had little do with it. Kratena’s talent had secured him a reputation that opened doors and which would eventually nurture a desire in him to tackle projects over which he had full control. It was his strength of vision that defined Artesian and saw him credited with reinventing the hotel bar.
“I never personally said that Artesian reinvented the hotel bar,” he says, with trademark modesty. “But I did feel that that room was meant to be a different breed of animal. I felt that the classic hotel bar with its strict door policy and dress code was outdated and boring. It was one of the last places someone would actually want to drink. The key to Artesian’s
Renowned bartender Alex Kratena on success, innovation and life after Artesian
Czech Please
Words: Harry McKinley
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success was the element of fun. It was exciting, experiential and we understood that no matter what you do at the table, with the food or with the drinks, it’s about how you make people feel. People would come in with £20 and for an hour they would feel like a millionaire.”
Kratena’s commitment to the guest is clear. He’s devoid of much of the self-aggrandizing chatter that can sometimes flow from bartenders of his stature. He takes his trade seriously, by which we mean he takes the enjoyment of others seriously. One thing he’s particularly attuned to is the changing nature of the customer. He notes that not only do they want great quality and to be entertained, but they also expect value. “These days it’s not only about the flamboyancy on the surface, everything needs to have a solid foundation,” he says. “Artesian was over the top. We wouldn’t do standard bottles of champagne, we would do magnums. We had the most dramatic interior. It was like a movie scene, where everything is a little too much in ‘real life’ but looks great on camera. That was our philosophy, but the important thing was that
there was a sense of purpose and that it never felt gimmicky. When I started at Artesian a place like that would have been a novelty, but today it’s what people expect. London in particular redefined what hotel bars could be and what they can be.”
It would be easy of course to wrap Artesian up as part of a collective bar movement or as part of a vanguard of hotel bars that sprouted because of shifting guest tastes. Something, ultimately, set Artesian apart. It was for many ‘the best’. Kratena is grateful for the recognition. As he says it ‘changed his life’. However he’s also quick to admit that it’s an idea he doesn’t really subscribe to. For him the best is always subjective, but he does have one tip: consistency.
“For me it’s simple things like keeping track of your regulars, which comes through consistent training. Print out pictures and put them on the noticeboard. If one waitress knows someone is vegan, why should it be so difficult for the whole team to know? Artesian was always consistent: open everyday 11 until late. The whole preconception about time and
schedules has changed. If someone comes in on a Tuesday morning and wants to crack open a bottle of champagne because they’ve just finished the most important project of their life, provide that for them.”
For a bartender noted for his captivating concoctions, Kratena gets bogged down surprisingly little in actual drinks talk. It could be that he’s simply bored of talking about spirits, but he openly likes to think of the big picture. Even when discussing cocktails the thrust is more on inspiration than specifics: how a drink was inspired by an Aesop handwash or how he famously designed much of the glassware used at Artesian. John Jenkins no less. The breakage bill was apparently painful.
“Albert Adriá told me once, if you want to be creative you need three things: money, money and money,” he jokes. “Not that I agree with that. I think you can achieve beauty and creativity through restraint.”
Before moving on to discuss Kratena’s latest project, we’re curious to find out what Kratena thinks of the machinations of the hotel F&B industry, now that he’s had some time apart
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from it to reflect. He takes a perceptibly larger gulp of his drink before weighing in. For a start, it’s unlikely he’d go back to a similar setup.“Where I think a lot of hotels are failing is that they cannot make timely decisions and hotel companies have no idea how to operate F&B. The ones who do it well – Mandarin Oriental, Sydell and Four Seasons for example – outsource. You have to think about the changing role of the hotel bar. A great bar is not just an incredible revenue stream, it’s something that puts the hotel on the map. What would the Regent in Singapore be without Manhattan Bar? What would The Langham be without Artesian? What would The Connaught be without Agostino Perrone at the bar? Just more luxury hotels. So the function of the bar has been elevated for a reason. You’re not selling a £25 drink, you’re selling the brand and, actually, you’re selling the rooms.”
Luckily for Kratena, bureaucracy and a complicated distribution of decision making powers – he prefers a holocracy these days – are issues he doesn’t have to navigate, with the launch of his own endeavour: P(OUR).
A not-for-profit project that aims to disseminate information to the industry and support worthwhile causes, P(OUR) is Kratena’s ‘love project’.
“With all of the changes in the industry we need to be responsible so we can maintain it long term. We want to expand everyone’s knowledge and unite the industry. Alcohol and cocktails are only a smart part. People can be mad about coffee or mad about water. Sometimes we forget to communicate and so we hope to establish a platform that gives everyone a space to share what they do.”
This ultimately manifests itself in an online platform through which all of the information P(OUR) collects is offered free of charge in the form of videos and podcasts. For an industry often dominated by corporate interests and brand secrecy, it’s a pioneering and egalitarian move.
Another strand is the P(OUR) symposium, which launched this year in tandem with Cocktails Spirits Paris. A series of presentations and seminars featuring a broad spectrum of industry innovators – from chefs to artisan
brewers – it aims to provide insight and inspiration with a purpose: to help the industry operate more sustainably and encourage those within it to work better and work smarter.
With his name attached to one behemoth of a project, the next question on everyone’s lips of course is when we can expect to see Kratena back behind the bar. Well, your guess is as good as his. Whilst the plan for a bar is absolutely on the agenda it all depends on finding the right space. This could be now or in five years time. After all, what’s the rush? The one thing he knows for certain is that it won’t be another Artesian.
With the ice melting at the bottom of our glasses and time getting on, the conversation winds down. As we bid goodbye any thoughts that Kratena might be headed for an early night before an early flight are quickly dashed, as he walks away and sidles in beside a recently arrived group of friends. We’re not surprised. As he said earlier, “For me, a bar is where all of the beautiful things happen. My night would rarely be as exciting if I just headed home.”
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“People want to find their own hidden gems, they want to be part of the local environment.” Karim Nielsen, CEO of Brøchner Hotels, on the philosophy behind new restaurant Väkst at SP34 Copenhagen.
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As the name suggests, The Restaurant at Amanemu Hotel shirks complication and channels a distinctly Japanese appreciation for refinement, simplicity and directness.
Located in the Ise-Shima National Park – three hours by train from Kyoto and four from Tokyo - it’s open only to guests of the resort’s 24 suites and four two-bedroom villas. Despite the captive audience, The Restaurant demonstrates a commitment to quality and concept.
The Kerry Hill Architects-led design makes full use of the surrounding scenery with large-scale windows framing pearl rafts and greenery. Banquette seating affords the dining area a structural flow whilst a low-key colour palette and natural materials ensure a coherent relationship between the restaurant space and the national park in which it sits.
Executive Chef Masanobu Inaba (also of the Conrad Tokyo) and his team of 12 oversee a menu that utilises locally grown produce and translates it into traditional Japanese cuisine with a twist. The region’s varied
microclimates ensure local suppliers are able to provide the resort with an array of fruit and vegetables, with the prefecture previously known as the ‘breadbasket of the Imperial Court’. Locally reared cattle supply Matsusaka Wagyu, a region-specific variety noted for its fine marbling.
Head bartender Shinichi Hagimori works with drinks supplier Yamajin Co. Ltd on the beverage offer, which combines Japanese craft beers with locally inspired cocktails.
Tableware is a mix of Japanese and Western brands. Plates from Yamaguchi Ceramics and glassware from Toyo Sasaki sit alongside cutlery from Sambonet, while the restaurant’s wooden tables are by Cassina. Echoing the ethos of understatement, practical but style conscious uniforms come from Japanese brand M’s Collection.
www.aman.com/resorts/amanemu
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The Restaurant Amanemu Hotel, Shima
IN A BITE Covers: 54 • Interior Design: Kerry Hill Architects • Operator: Amanresorts International • Executive Chef: Masanobu Inaba • Head Bartender: Shinichi Hagimori • Tableware: Yamaguchi Ceramics • Glassware: Toyo Sasaki • Cutlery: Sambonet • Suppliers: Yamajin Co. Ltd • Uniforms: M’s Collection
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Opened following a full renovation of boutique hotel Grace Santorini, Santoro has been billed as an ‘iconic view restaurant’, benefitting as it does from its clifftop position and an unobstructed outlook across the Aegan Sea and island coastline.
Led by executive chef Spyros Agious, the 50-cover restaurant features a menu influenced by the flavours and produce of the Cycladic islands and Greek village cooking. Already an internationally established name, Agious has previously held roles at The White Barn Inn, Le Gavroche and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s, while in Greece he nabbed the Young Talented Chef award for 2016.
The restaurant’s name is derived from the name of the island and the Latin word for gold, ‘oro’, in homage to Santorini’s spectacular golden sunset, and this propensity for tradition, storytelling and romance is echoed in the menu and design.
With interiors from Fifth Element Interiors (London) and SMK Interiors (Greece), the restaurant sticks close to classicism, with crisp white alcoves and sea-blue detailing. Guests can opt for either intimate covered seating or dine al fresco beside the hotel’s picture-perfect infinity pool.
The tableware continues Santoro’s white colour story, with plates and dishes from Schönwald, glassware from Spiegelau and cutlery from La Tavola.
Greek fashion label Zeus + Dione worked with Grace Santorini on the creation of bespoke staff uniforms, using local craftsmanship and tapping artisans across the country. The result conveys a simplicity and elegance that manages to speak to the restaurant’s customer whilst retaining the unostentatious charm of the hotel and its surroundings.
www.gracehotels.com/santorini
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Santoro Grace Santorini
IN A BITE Covers: 50 • Architecture: Divercity Architects, MplusM Architects • Operating Company: Grace Hotels (Libra Group) • Interior Design: Fifth Element Interiors, SMK Interiors • Tableware: Schönwald • Glassware: Spiegelau • Cutlery: La Tavola • Uniforms: Zeus + Dione
G E R M A N Y
„Skyline“ - The Original!
Visit us: Equiphotel Paris hall 7.2 booth H056 6.-10.11.2016
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W W W. Z I E H E R . C O M
“Rough!“ “Capiz“
“Classy“ & “Reef“
“Konkret!“ & “Vaganza“
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40 miles along the coast from Tel Aviv sits Elma Arts Complex, a member of Design Hotels and one of the region’s most ambitious creative hubs. An imposing example of post-war Brutalism set on the rim of Mount Carmel Ridge, it overlooks vast sloping forests and out across the Mediterranean Sea.
A near-forgotten architectural gem, its architect Ya’akov Rechter won the Israel Prize of Architecture for the building in 1971. After years in the wilderness, philanthropist and art collector Lily Elstein has seen the complex returned to its original majesty and transformed into a 95-room luxury hotel, gallery space and 450-seat concert hall close to prime wine country. The renovation was overseen by Amnon Rechter and Ranni Ziss, whilst Baranowitz + Kronenberg were responsible for the design of the hotel’s restaurant, Oratorio.
Capitalising on its location, Oratorio head chef Boaz Dror sources all of
the ingredients for his Mediterranean menu within a 20-mile radius of the site, whilst sommelier David Warner champions local wines, some of which originated from wineries within toasting distance of the hotel.
The 190-cover space features a sprawling bar, whilst restaurant seating features a mix of individual and communal tables, and counters with views onto the central atrium. Contemporary artworks from the complex’s collection dot most walls, while another is given over to a display of the comprehensive wine selection.
Service is relaxed and unfussy, with cured meats sitting flush to wooden boards and tin bowls holding homemade bread. Classic, functional cutlery comes from WMF, glassware from Schott Zwiesel, while serving dishes are provided by Schönwald.
www.elma-hotel.com/oratorio-restaurant | www.designhotels.com
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Oratorio Elma Arts Complex, Zichron Ya’akov
IN A BITE Owner: Lily Elstein • Operator: MusicArt • Collection: Design Hotels • Covers: 190 • Interior Design: Baranowitz + Kronenberg • Cutlery: WMF Tableware: Schönwald • Glassware: Schott Zwiesel
Passion for fine dining and professional buffet equipment. Visit us online on hepp.de
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The new all-day dining restaurant at the Dolder Grand in Zurich, Saltz features a sharp, impactful design from Rolf Sachs Studio. Drawing inspiration from the Swiss landscape, the 280m2, 102-cover restaurant combines neon lights depicting mountain peaks, salt, rock and soft felt to create artworks and custom furniture, which are paired with classic chair designs from Eero Saarinen and Jean Prouvé. Searing red and blue accents are offset with neutrals and wood features prominently throughout. A 500kg rock is suspended by red climbing rope in a creative flourish befitting a hotel that holds one of Switzerland’s largest private art collections.
Chef à la carte Patrick Hetz has drawn inspiration from the design in his menu, mixing Swiss and international elements in confident combinations that stand apart from current Zurich fare. From Japanese and Italian – such as yellowfin tuna sashimi with bloody dock and yuzu, and burrata with basil
and olive oil – to Middle Eastern and Thai - with a Lebanese mezze and red tofu curry – the menu leapfrogs from continent to continent, pulling varied inspirations together in a thoughtfully curated array of world tastes.
Plates and serving dishes are predominantly all-white, from Wedgwood’s Connaught range. Riedel glassware and cutlery from Sola and Victorinox complete the neat tabletop, with Craster providing the setup for buffet service.
Creating a distinctive visual vocabulary for Saltz, branding agency Source Associates AG designed the menus and developed the illustrative elements that grace the restaurant’s matchboxes, napkins and contact cards, with Italian company Maurel providing uniforms.
www.saltz.ch
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Saltz Dolder Grand, Zurich
IN A BITE Operator: Dolder Hotel AG • Architecture: Küchel Architects • Interior Design: Rolf Sachs Studio • Covers: 102 indoor, 80 terrace, 46 bar • Tableware: Wedgwood, Rochini • Glassware: Riedel • Cutlery: Sola, Victorinox • Buffet: Craster • Menus and logos: Source Associates AG • Uniforms: Maurel
Photography: Nico Schaerer
Dining Culture. Pleasure. Experience.Everything for the perfect sense experience.
WMF Professional | www.wmf-professional.de
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The latest venture from restaurateur Des McDonald, Rofuto sits atop the recently opened Park Regis Hotel, some 141ft in the sky and with 360-degree views of the surrounding city skyline.
With a Japanese concept spearheaded by McDonald, the space combines a 120-cover restaurant and 100-cover bar. The food menu riffs off modern Japanese staples and is divided into six sections: sushi and sashimi, tempura, robata grill, mains, sides and desserts. The bar features a bespoke cocktail menu and a varied sake offering unique to the city. Koshua aged sake from Shiraki Brewery in central Japan will be on offer, along with sake from Takashimizu Brewery in the country’s north. Rofuto’s wine offer showcases unusual varieties such as Pecorino, Gewürtztraminer and Pinot Blanc in the whites and had a particular focus on low alcohol, low tannin reds.
The restaurant’s interior, designed by Tibbatts Abel, transitions from industrial and light in the restaurant area to a warmer, lounge-like space at the bar. UK supplier Goodfellows provided the restaurant with its table and barwares, with menu design from local agency iDC.
Speaking of the opening and Birmingham’s growing hospitality industry, McDonald said, “I am delighted to be opening my first modern Japanese restaurant, with my partners at Park Regis Birmingham. I love rooftop spaces, having opened four successful restaurants on the roof of Selfridges in London. I fell in love with the unparalleled dramatic views from the 16th floor, Birmingham is a great, vibrant city and I’m excited to become part of its dynamic and diverse dining scene.”
www.rofuto.co.uk
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Rofuto Restaurant and Bar Park Regis Hotel, Birmingham
IN A BITE Operator: Park Regis in conjunction with Des McDonald Restaurants • Investment: £3 million • Covers: 120 restaurant, 100 bar • Head Chef: Pedro Miranda • Interior Design: Tibbatts Abel • Menu Design: iDC • Key Drinks Brands: Kirin Ichiban Beer, Suntory Whisky, Takashimizu Sake
Since 1996, Tiger has been a leading manufacturer of high quality buffet ware and multi-purpose trolleys headquartered in S. Korea with production sites both in Seoul Korea and Tianjin China.Designing Tiger products is a global affair that starts with our Italian designers and finishes with Korean dedication to quality.
Tiger believes that the products that we offer to the customers should be: • technologically advanced• elegantly designed• competitively priced
This philosophy is reflected in the company motto: “NO COMPROMISE IN QUALITY”.
Tiger uses the highest quality materials in the market today to meet or exceed all European and American food safety standards.
Tiger’s vision for the future is to bring value through quality in a larger range of table top product to become a reliable partner for the best hotels worldwide.
www.tigerhotel.co.krVisit us at Hotel Show Dubai
17-19 September 2016
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Halcyon House is an unusual proposition on the brash, family-centric Gold Coast: a luxurious yet understated hotel with just 20 rooms and few kid-friendly amenities. Owned by two Brisbane-based
sisters and their husbands, the property, which opened in 2015, is reflective of the Gold Coast’s emerging reputation as a holiday destination for sophisticated older Australians. Its restaurant, Paper Daisy, has quickly become the social heart not just of the hotel, but also of the town of Cabarita Beach and the surrounding residential areas, which have seen an influx of wealth in recent years.
Designer Anna Spiro has created a chic, breezy atmosphere at Halcyon House by favouring shades of cream and sky blue and using plenty of soft fabrics and light wood throughout the property. Paper Daisy is very much in keeping with this aesthetic: the 90-seat dining room has a touch of the Hamptons about it, thanks in part to the input of New York-based interior decorators John Derian and Madeline Weinrib.
The floor plan is compact enough to create a sense of intimacy, while several sets of double doors, which open onto a wrap-around verandah with scattered tables and glimpses of the beachfront, provide seamless indoor/outdoor flow. The hotel bar sits within the restaurant, encouraging guests to linger.
At the helm is head chef Ben Devlin, who most recently worked as chef de cuisine at the well-regarded Esquire in Brisbane and was previously part of René Redzepi’s team at Noma in Copenhagen. Devlin says he was attracted to the role because of the lack of comparable dining experiences in the vicinity of Cabarita Beach. “With Paper Daisy, we are hoping to do something that will be unique to our area,” he
says. “We also want the restaurant to be a good reflection of region – something that we can be proud to show to visitors.”
Spiro, Devlin and the hotel owners all agreed that Paper Daisy would only succeed – both financially and creatively – if it magnified the best aspects of its location. With the furniture in place, Spiro reached out to high-profile Brooklyn-based illustrator Wayne Pate, who contributed a selection of sophisticated yet whimsical prints themed around leisure. She complemented these contemporary works with antique seascapes that were collected from across Australia.
Using Spiro’s aesthetic as a starting point, Devlin has created a menu that he hopes will appeal to hotel guests and area residents alike. Unsurprisingly, fish and seafood feature prominently, as does produce from Halcyon House’s organic garden, including native bush foods, greens and herbs. Devlin is treading a middle path between the conservative menus found in traditional hotel restaurants and the eccentric pairings that dominate fine dining in 2016: his meals are both comforting and engaging, with a combination of familiar and unusual ingredients. A recent menu item, Australian clams (known as pippies) served with semolina pasta, lemon myrtle and native pepper, got the balance just right.
“We want to offer our guests an experience that is shaped by the area that we are in,” Devlin explains, “so it makes a lot of sense for the menu to be very seafood and vegetable driven, and for us to put a focus on the quality and sustainability of the ingredients that we use.”
With such detailed design and decoration in the dining
Paper DaisyHalcyon House, Cabarita Beach
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Salted raw fish with sour cream
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room – and robust flavours and ingredients on the plate – it makes sense that Devlin has chosen plain uniforms and aprons from Sydney company Fraser & Hughes and unobtrusive tableware, including Riedel glasses, “to minimise distractions.” The plates and bowls, made by Gold Coast ceramicist Marloe Morgan, are sturdy and generously sized, but the tones are muted and the finishes are often matte.
The Paper Daisy menu changes seasonally, which Devlin says is for the benefit of both staff and guests. “I have always had a preference to be as flexible as possible with menus, in the hope that you will always have the best dishes and the best produce, and that you will keep your staff constantly learning and growing,” he says.
But there are key continuative dishes, such as the catch of the day grilled in paper bark and served with onion, seaweed and beach plants – a wonderful evocation of Halcyon House’s beachfront setting. “Being part of a hotel has shown me the importance of both variety and consistency,” says Devlin. “We have frequently changing parts of the menu to keep long-staying or repeat guests feeling that there is a new reason to dine with us, as well as consistent dishes that give people a favourite to come back for.”
Although Paper Daisy is busiest in the evening, it also serves breakfast and lunch, and these menus each have a distinct focus. Breakfast taps in to Australia’s growing interest in wellness, offering wholesome takes on classic fare such as whole wheat crumpets with ricotta, roast fruit
and honeycomb, alongside in-vogue items like coconut and chia with honey, mint and strawberries. A condensed version of the dinner menu is offered at lunchtime, and there are additional light options such as green fried rice with prawns and a chilli and ginger pickle salad.
While Halcyon House has positioned itself in the top tier of Australian luxury accommodation through its room pricing, Paper Daisy is affordable enough to appeal to diners who may be staying in less swish accommodation nearby. For hotel guests, the restaurant offers 24-hour room service, and breakfast is included in the room rate.
Early reviews of the food at Paper Daisy have been glowing, and occupancy rates at the new hotel are high. But Devlin and his team know that in order for the restaurant to succeed in the long term, it will need to attract and retain diners who live in nearby towns. For this, Devlin hopes to create an atmosphere that is both upscale and inviting.
“Relaxed formality is a good way to think of the style we are hoping to give,” he says. “We want to be a business that is minding the finer details of our guest experience, and providing something that is of the absolute highest quality from every aspect. But it is also important to us that people feel warm and welcome. It is very much in the DNA of Halcyon House to be friendly, accommodating and deliver intuitive service. The restaurant should be a reflection of that.”
www. halcyonhouse.com.au
IN A BITE Covers: 90 • Interior Design: Anna Spiro • Architecture: Virginia Kerridge • Owners: Elisa Bickle, Siobhan Bickle • Tableware: Marloe Morgan Ceramics • Supplier: Delta Hospitality Supplies • Glassware: Riedel • Uniforms: Fraser & Hughes • Cooking Equipment: Pujadas • Cooking Units: Waldorf • Refrigeration: Skope
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Portugal’s Algarve was once seen as something of a mixed bag. Areas like Praia de Rocha, in the southern section of Portimao, garnered a reputation for hard partying, karaoke bars and cafs with plastic seats. But in recent years the
region has undergone an image overhaul internationally, putting its best foot forward as the home to idyllic villages, world-class resorts and as the country’s culinary heart. The Algarve now holds roughly half of Portugal’s Michelin stars. Vila Vita Parc is one resort appealing to an affluent and sophisticated demographic, with its eight restaurants, six bars and underground wine cellar. Comprised of 170 rooms and villas over a sprawling 22,000m2 clifftop site, it embodies both old Portugal and new. Its most prestigious restaurant, the two Michelin star Ocean – one of only three two star restaurants in the country - has recently undergone a complete refurbishment, with a slick new design intended to better reflect and showcase the work of executive chef Hans Neuner. “Now was the time for a deep change,” says Vila Vita Parc’s managing director Kurt Gillig. “In the past the restaurant didn’t reflect the evolution and style of Hans. So when you have a contemporary style, the cutlery, tabletop, ornaments and
OceanVila Vita Parc, Algarve
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the overall aesthetic have to reflect that to create a full experience. It’s a mirror of the work the team is doing.”Having worked in three Michelin Star restaurants and having visited more than 50 around the world, Gillig understands the constant attention required to firstly obtain, and then retain, the accolade. Stars aren’t simply a recognition of the quality and scope of the restaurant,
they’re an important asset in appealing to visitors and gaining exposure to a global audience. “Gaining a second star put us on the radar of an important culinary customer and that has an impact, not just on the restaurant, but on the property and the destination,” he says. “It’s important for the hotel business and for the region to have Ocean here. It’s why it’s fully booked everyday.” Of the resort’s business, approximately 40% is derived from its F&B operations. So with such a large stake invested
in its ability to draw in guests, not just to sleep but to eat, it’s understandable why a hefty dose of importance is levied upon the diamond in its dining crown. Ocean’s refurbishment isn’t simply a facelift but a complete reimaging of the space. There’s talk that the aim is an ever-elusive third star. Mention that, however, and one gets the impression there’s a fear of jinxing the whole thing if it’s said aloud. Regardless of intention, the new-look restaurant is a remarkable feat of design. Contemporary, assertive and imbued with a distinct personality, its impact is immediate and lasting. As much a part of the ‘decoration’ as the precious African coral that nestles in shelving along the main wall, the view isn’t so much a backdrop as a focal point. Floor-to-ceiling windows showcase the ocean from which the restaurant derives it name: a captivating slice of horizon compelling guests to pull up a seat and stare. These can be fully opened to allow the sea breeze to billow in. Despite the complexity and detail of the interior design, no agency was used and the refurbishment was an in-house endeavour. A short gangway leads guests into the restaurant, hanging crystals from Murano lining either side. From
“It’s important for the hotel business and for the region to have Ocean here. It’s why it’s fully booked everyday.”
Photography: Paulo Barata
Design and craftsmanship. Fine cutlery for the global F&B industry. [email protected] +44 (0)1433 650220 davidmellordesign.co.uk
Sheffield, England
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Italian glass specialist Barovier & Toso – one of the oldest family businesses in the world – they’re intended to reflect the omnipresent blue of the sea and sky, and the golden sands of the Algarve itself. In the restaurant proper, seating is widely dispersed, with a 30-cover capacity. A 300-year old piece of solid oak forms
the chef’s table, accommodating six guests and overlooking the kitchen. The crafted wooden flooring and silk carpets are from Fashion for Floors; custom-designed tables, chairs and banquettes from Boffi Fratelli and Baxter and Maxalto; and large bronze circular ceiling lamps that hover just overhead from Henke. The overall impression is dramatic but thoughtfully so. There’s little theatrics for theatrics’ sake. Each detail, from
the grandiose to the subtle, feels considered and purposeful – even if the purpose is simply to add an additional visual dimension. This balance is ultimately a reflection of chef Hans Neuner’s culinary approach. His tasting menu features the now almost essential array of foams, broths, gels and artfully carved vegetables. But no element is the awkward guest at the party. Every component is there for a reason and fully at home. “My philosophy is to bring the product to the plate in the most genuine way possible,” says Neuner. Nonetheless in their presentation each dish provides the all-important Instagram moment. The menu itself is a complex one. Seasonal and local, many of the ingredients come from the resort’s own farm. “We grow much of our produce on site so I have control over what is going into my dishes,” says Neuner. “This year we will add a few thousand square metres to our garden and increase the number and diversity of products.” The emphasis is on a lighter, more modern interpretation of Portuguese cuisine. Langoustine is teamed with cabbage, and beef with grapefruit. Specially created serving dishes –
Photography: Vasco Celio
We grow much of our produce on site so I have control over what is going into my dishes
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from JL Coquet and Fürstenberg – add an artful element. Sticks holding crispy morsels jut from white porcelain fashioned into coral shapes; bulbous spherical bowls hold precisely placed seafood; and intricately styled combinations of meat and veg sit in vast expanses of space on oversized plates. Cutlery from Sambonet is religiously whisked away and replaced between each course. With the resort holding one of the largest private collections on the Iberian peninsula, wine is also a key element of the Ocean experience. A specially created wine room at the restaurant holds 560 carefully selected vintages. Handpicked and paired by sommelier Nelson Marreiros, they are available by the glass thanks to the revolutionary Coravin extraction method. Guests can enjoy rare vintages, such as the 2001 Château Mouton Rothschild (Bordeaux) or the Casa Ferreirinha Barca Velha (Douro), in glassware from Zalto and decanters from Riedel – should they decide that ‘by the glass’ just won’t cut it. Thanks to its creativity, cuisine and reputation Ocean has ultimately
proved a pull for staying and non-staying guests alike, with a roughly 50 / 50 split. With the refurbishment complete and a bold stage to call his own, chef Hans Neuner admits that it takes a combination of factors to create a successful restaurant and deliver an experience that will impress. “It’s a perfect balance of good company, good produce, good products and setting. At Ocean we bring all of these together – the unique atmosphere of the dining room with the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop, where the kitchen and dining area are seamlessly integrated. The good company, of course, is up to the customers,” he says with a laugh. So what of that third star? Time will tell if the new look and menu will deliver but Gillig still, coyly, has his eye on the prize. “Design is fine, but it’s important that the restaurant delivers an experience. With Michelin Stars comes attention and with 1.6million visitors to the Algarve every year, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t interested in tapping that potential.”
www.restauranteocean.com
Photography: Vasco Celio
IN A BITE Covers: 30 • Operator: Vila Vita Hotels • Executive Chef: Hans Neuner • Tableware: JL Coquet, Fürstenberg • Glassware: Zalto, Riedel • Cutlery: Sambonet • Decorative Crystal: Barovier & Toso • Flooring and Carpets: Fashion for Floors • Tables and Chairs: Boffi Fratelli, Baxter and Maxalto • Lighting: Henke
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DIA_13785 T10 BF (236x275mm).indd 1 19/11/2015 14:13
For all of its virtues as a destination – not least the hoopla surrounding its swathe of Michelin star restaurants – Copenhagen’s hotel offerings, in contrast, are curiously not up to scratch. Sure,
there is the usual sprinkling of bog-standard chains and of course there is d’Angleterre, the city’s legendary grande dame, but individual, affordable boutique accommodation is woefully lacking and, unlike in other international cities, hanging out at a hotel for leisure is virtually unheard of.
One game changer though, is on a mission to bring the city’s hospitality landscape up to par with its global counterparts. “We are very static in the Danish hotel industry,” says Karim Nielsen, CEO of Brøchner Hotels. “But I am trying to change this.” Indeed, when Hotel SP34 opened its doors in 2014, it marked a significant shift for the industry. Located in the city’s thrumming Latin Quarter, surrounded by colourful boutiques and lively cafés, the 118-room property with its easy-going lobby bar and slick, design-led aesthetics, adopts the current trend for the modern traveller seeking a unique, local experience. “Our main objective is to create a place both for locals and guests,” explains Nielsen. “People want to find their own hidden gems, they want to be part of the local environment.”
And while the lobby isn’t heaving with hipsters tapping away at the obligatory laptop just yet, the buzzing bar is evidence enough that Nielsen is on the
right path. “We have Denmark’s largest port wine selection, so Copenhageners are coming here to use the bar, which is a really small step in the right direction,” says Nielsen.
Enticing revellers into a bar is one thing, but successfully sustaining a restaurant – in a city not shy of culinary offerings and where, it is still unusual to eat at a hotel restaurant – is a whole new ball game. So after a couple of attempts, one of which included a Spanish eatery, Nielsen wisely sought reinforcement from Cofoco, Copenhagen’s leading restaurant group. “Cofoco has a really good development department,” he justifies. “They are very good at bringing people in and they never have empty restaurants.” For Cofoco, it is a collaboration that has been a long time coming: “For a while now, we have been looking for a project to do in cooperation with Brøchner Hotels,” says Christian Lytje, CEO of Cofoco. “When we got the chance, we didn’t hesitate for a moment. The experience Brøchner wishes to provide for its guests is very much in line with how we think at Cofoco.”
Widely credited with transforming the city’s local dining scene, Cofoco’s modus operandi is to provide high quality food at affordable prices in distinct, design-led venues. “10-15 years ago, the Danish dining scene did not really offer anything in the middle price range,” explains Lytje. “We decided ‘value for money’ had to be integrated in all of our projects.” Now with 14
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Dishes: Bröste, Serax Glassware: Libbey (Duratuff)
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restaurants – that run the gamut from Italian to Peruvian – under its belt, the brand, riding on the success of its New Nordic restaurant Höst, decided a sister venue at Hotel SP34 would be the answer to tempt both locals and visitors alike.
Called Väkst - the Danish word for ‘growth’ – the new concept is based on summer garden party vibes and fresh, rustic Nordic dishes where vegetables take centre stage. This is further underlined by the interior, where charming outdoor string lights illuminate a space that, furnished with an abundance of verdant pot plants, unexpectedly features a greenhouse at its heart. “It was about designing a restaurant that creates an atmosphere that compliments and enhances the experience of the food we serve,” explains Lytje.
In the kitchen, chef Jonas Christensen, who is also behind the food at Höst, serves up a lighter, less challenging menu than at its sister restaurant, but still with the same fresh, clean Nordic taste. With vegetables as the main focus, expect meat dishes such as the pork cheeks to be the sideshow to a substantial plate of greens. “For us, it’s the vegetable that has to be the main and then the meat is like the side,” notes Christensen. “Vegetables are good for you. And then we use a kilo of butter,” he jokes. Certainly, the
rich, creamy mussel sauce that accompanies the spaghetti-like strands of squid makes for a rounded balance, emphasising Cofoco’s ethos to cater to everyone’s appetite. “The reason I started at Cofoco, was because I wanted to make food for everybody,” affirms Christensen, who comes from a Michelin star background. “Cofoco makes excellent food accessible to everyone at a fair price.”
Undoubtedly, not straying from its winning formula has once again proved fruitful, as judging by the constant flow of diners, it seems Väkst is another victory for the restaurant group. Whether this has impacted the hospitality landscape and the local mentality towards hotel restaurants is still to be seen, but for now, the collaboration between Brøchner Hotels and Cofoco was a shrewd move. “We are working hard on it,” says Nielsen emphatically. “Although we are a little bit alone on the scene because there are no new hotels that are doing nice bars or restaurants.” But with a number of new properties in the pipeline and with plans to continue driving the F&B arm of the brand, Nielsen has at least kick started his one-man mission to up Copenhagen’s hospitality game. Watch this space.
www.hostvakst.dk/vakst
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IN A BITE Covers: 90 • Executive Chef: Jonas Christensen • Head Bartender: Henriette Thorsen • Architect: Cofoco with Genbyg • Tableware: Bröste, Serax • Glassware: Libbey, Luigi Bormioli • Cutlery: Kay Bojeson
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On the corner of a quiet street in the 7th arrondissement sits Le Cinq Codet. From the outside it is attractive but unassuming; the Art Deco façade offering only a hint of the design-led hotel that occupies the building.
Of course the neighbourhood is known as one of the most prestigious in the city, and indeed France. Government ministries, foreign embassies and art institutions are clustered within its quaint streets and the general pace is more languid than in the traffic-heavy, tourist-rich districts that lie within walking distance.
Yet Le Cinq Codet is not a grand hotel, in the traditional sense. The ornate Baroque buildings of Les Invalides sitting at the top of the street only serve to emphasize its relative modernity and the comparative austerity of the exterior.
An interior from Jean-Philippe Nuel (Agence Nuel), is equally contemporary, not just in style but in approach.
Recognising that guests just don’t engage with spaces in as narrow or linear a way as they used to, multifunction is key. It’s something boutiques often do better than larger hotels. Limited space means the need to develop areas that can operate on multiple levels and cater to a range of needs.
The restaurant at Le Cinq Codet is a prime example. It’s not simply a restaurant; it’s a bar, a lounge, a terrace, a place to grab breakfast, a place to grab coffee and a place to fire up a laptop and work through the day’s emails. For guests it is the public heart of the hotel: a social, work and relaxation space.
“The F&B spaces have been designed as a global space of living,” says Jean-Philippe Nuel. “In the same room, several typologies of spaces answer to different but complementary F&B needs.”
The 30-cover interior features classic seating areas for dinner, relaxed chairs by a nifty digital ‘fireplace’, bar stools and a breakfast room - or ‘show kitchen’ - with a central island from which the chef may liaise with guests during morning service. A central courtyard with outdoor tables and chairs, and cushioned communal seating holds another 30.
Restaurant Le Cinq CodetHotel Le Cinq Codet, Paris
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Visually the restaurant draws from the same inspiration as the rest of the hotel. It’s undeniably of the present, but notes of Art Deco linger throughout in the use of angular lines; in the curve of the chairs; and in the motifs that adorn carpets and cushions.
“The premises itself really informed the look and feel,” says Nuel. “The hotel was a rehabilitation project in a building full of technical constraints. We had to separate the public areas into two parts, which is why the lobby is completely separated from the F&B spaces. So we particularly worked on the patio as a natural link between the lobby and the F&B area. Visually we thought about the building - industrial Thirties - but also its surroundings: the secluded, residential and exclusive 7th arrondissement. These two characteristics guided the design, which was directly inspired by loft spaces and then the combination of art and industrial.”
Although less than two years old, the hotel has seen a steady ramping up of its F&B offer, with the introduction of a new seasonal menu and a focus on attracting a diverse audience of non-staying guest. “Breakfast represents 20% of the turnover of the space,” says Elodie Pawlik, commercial manager at the hotel. “But the general restaurant and bar is 80%. The F&B offer is very important to Le Cinq Codet and we’ve partnered with some big names in gastronomy, such as Griffon, Le Bourdonnec, Petrossian and Ladurée.”
Not relying on guests to simply come to them, the hotel is taking steps to pull customers through the doors by developing events and an overall persona that appeals as much to corporate clients as casual
diners. “Our patio is popular for its intimacy and discretion and the restaurant is a perfect place for informal business,” says Pawlik. “So we try to attract outside customers from both the 7th district and also other parts of the capital. We organise many business meals, cocktail parties, seminars and press conferences. We also offer evening cocktails and workshops every first Thursday of the month.”
The new concise, one page dinner menu from executive chef Ricardo Lucio keeps it relatively straightforward. A selection of pastas, sandwiches and salads sit alongside hotel staples such as a burger and cheeseboard. A catch of the day is one nod towards seasonality, while for slightly more substantial dining there’s steak, foie gras and Baltic wild smoked salmon. Petrossian caviar comes with a glass of Grey Goose vodka.
While the menu makes use of artisan producers and features a few rare products, dinner is ultimately a relaxed occasion. Tables are simply set with stiff white napkins, Rosenthal glassware and Sambonet cutlery.
Like many large cities, hotel F&B in Paris is increasingly diversifying and the boutique sector is an especially creative one. From the avant garde to the traditional, there’s a wealth of options available to both locals and travellers. Through its combination of design, location and product, Le Cinq Codet manages to maintain an offer than appeals, and with its seasonal menu is now able to continue to provide a sense of ‘newness’ and sustain the momentum generated from its much-vaunted launch.
www.le5codet.com
IN A BITE Covers: 30 inside, 30 outside • Interior Design: Agence Nuel • Executive Chef: Ricardo Lucio • Head Bartender: Carl Barre • Glassware: Rosenthal • Cutlery: Sambonet
maldonsalt.co.uk
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In 1942, Don Loper created the now-iconic Martinique Banana Leaf wallpaper for the Beverly Hills Hotel and at this 215-room hotel and its two wings of condos, the House of Versace channels the same tropical aesthetic. In many ways Giardino is the restaurant
equivalent of Jennifer Lopez’s iconic plunging dress from the brand.The Italian fashion label is rarely associated with minimalism or
restraint when it comes to colour, pattern or personality. And when it comes to destinations that display an appetite for ‘more is more’ interiors and conventional gold-plated interpretations of luxury, Dubai is front and centre. But for those whose tastes veer towards simple, low-key and humble the bold jade-and-white wallcovering - the same as the shirts and ties worn by the servers – of the maximalist Giardino may prove surprisingly appealing.
Dubai Creek, where the hotel is situated, is an area of an ever-developing city that is primarily still under construction. It’s yet to flourish into the picturesque, leafy, saltwater-side neighbourhood it is forecasted to become, with Palazzo Versace’s own landscaped enclave at the centre of what’s labelled the Dubai Culture Village – with plans for a mixed-use district of Arabic architecture and traditional-style souks.
The huge 16th-century-inspired ‘palazzo’ is a many-floored behemoth amid dual carriageways. Walk into the hotel’s soothing main lobby though and it’s a refined display of craftsmanship. Above, three tons of Czech crystals sparkle from a chandelier, and below, a million and a half mosaic tiles were hand-placed to create the magnificent signature Medusa flooring. Handcrafted mosaics
GiardinoPalazzo Versace, Dubai
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throughout the hotel are designed in conjunction with the renowned Italian mosaic company Fantini Mosaici.
Amid a forest of buildings and cranes, Giardino at Palazzo Versace is a sanctuary of fresh potted plants and frond-emblazoned interiors; what Dubai lacks at the moment is green spaces, and it is just what diners may crave. As the Italian name suggests, the ground-floor restaurant is themed around a garden. It’s an uplifting scene full of style and easy-on-the-eye tableaux. Planters and dinky palm trees allow the space to be versatile and adjustable, depending on the size of bookings that filter through. For most of the year, bar three months when it’s simply too hot and humid, the front windows are folded back entirely so that the space feels airy and Giardino spills out to the family-friendly pool area.
House of Versace has matched placemats and candleholders to the bold fabric wall panels. The latter interior-design feature is especially welcome during the boisterous brunches. Brunch on Fridays in Dubai is an institution and the ex-pat community often indulges in long over the top, all day lunches. DJs spin dance music tracks and the atmosphere is spirited. Thankfully interiors here absorb some of the sounds of that conviviality without detracting from the atmosphere. Attempt to spend time at other five-star rendezvous when a brunch is in full swing and, however upscale the address, it can be deafening.
Since Versace as a brand is often associated with flamboyance, indulgence and ostentation, it seems fitting that the food here could
be described in similar terms. Executive chef Fabrice Lasnon prioritises freshness and flavour and, despite the staggering array, also a simplicity of execution. The menu features a mix of Italian, Levant and international favourites. From glassware to plates and cutlery, tableware is a collaboration between Versace and Rosenthal.
It is becoming more and more popular for hotel restaurants to claim their concept is based on a food market-style layout, but hosting a substantial buffet, as in the case of the Friday brunch, isn’t a new idea. What makes it imaginative and relevant is displaying the fresh ingredients artistically and enticingly, and offering interactive cooked-to-order experiences. Diners enjoy having their chosen dishes prepped and served in front of them, with what used to be behind the scenes now part of the theatre of eating out. Lunch is an à la carte choice of Italian classics – burrata, heirloom tomatoes, Mediterranean sea bass, fregola pasta – but for dinner, the action is brought to the foreground. Sushi and sashimi are conjured in front of guests, with Arabic grills and Asian night market delights such as Pecking duck whipped up to order.
As Donatella Versace says: “I think glamour all the time. I wake up in the morning, and I’m already thinking glamour.” No doubt the designer would want to provide a thrill to the eye morning, noon and night and Giardino is Versace all over. Quite literally.
www.palazzoversace.ae
IN A BITE Developer: Enshaa Group – joint venture • Covers: 222 indoors, 72 outdoors • Executive Chef: Fabrice Lasnon • Interior Design: Donatella Versace • Tableware: Rosenthal meets Versace • Uniforms: House of Versace
“As mixology has become more established, credible, creative and widespread, so the number of signature cocktails has increased.” Angus Winchester on the modern cocktails set to stand the test of time.
SIPPING
COCKTAILS
The work of Damian Kwiatkowski and Riccardo Vecchio, Asia is part of the recently unveiled ‘Around the World’ cocktail menu, featuring seven cocktails for seven continents. The menu is presented via individual scented cards, intended to draw the guest to their desired cocktail through their ‘instinctive senses’.
Asia is served in one of three different coloured traditional Chinese cups - all of which hold dried flowers in their lids – and the colour of the cup will be determined by the bartender according to what qualities radiate from the drinker. The black cup will be served to those who exude power; yellow will be given to cheerful guests; or red for those who give emanate energy and passion.
Star of Bombay Gin is shaken with Antolia cherry bitters, a touch of violet liqueur and a dash of homemade oolong tea syrup. This mix is stirred with grapefruit zest.
www.roccofortehotels.com
Asia The Donovan BarBrown’s Hotel, London
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A reimagined take on the classic British club, Hendricks Bar fuses European and Middle Eastern influences in a rich and dramatic space.
With a focus on gin cocktails and speciality whiskies, a ‘gin and tonic’ trolley circles the cigar bar, featuring classic staples and a range of homemade infusions.
Devised by Bar Manager Marco Corallo, the signature Fallen Garden features Tanqueray No. TEN, homemade rose liqueur, clarified pink grapefruit juice, homemade lavender bitters and yuzu. The blend is shaken, double strained, served over a single block of ice and garnished with dried rosebuds.
www.fourseasons.com/dubaijb
The Fallen Garden Hendricks BarFour Seasons Dubai at Jumeirah Beach
SPIRITENHANCER
COCKTAILS
Located off Prague’s popular Wenceslas Square, the Art Deco Be Bop Bar forms part of the lobby of the Radisson Blu Alcron and has become a signature spot for creative mixology in the city.
From the golf-centric ‘Be on the Green’ to the quintessentially Czech ‘Be Bohemian’ – made with local herbal liqueur Bechervoka – the cocktail menu flits between wit, theatricality and classicism.
The ‘Be Healthy’ strikes a balance between all three, conveying its medicinal theme through tongue in cheek presentation. Made with bourbon, Campari, honey and cranberry juice, it comes with a syringe of sweet cherry juice to complete.
www.radissonblu.com
Be Healthy Be Bop BarRadisson Blu Alcron, Prague
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ENJOY OUR SINGLE MALT RESPONSIBLY. ROYAL BRACKLA AND ITS TRADE DRESS ARE TRADEMARKS.
The distillery at Brackla was founded in 1812 by Captain William Fraser. As its calibre gained acclaim in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, King William IV, having developed a taste for fine liquor, granted Brackla whisky a Royal Warrant in 1833 – the first time a whisky had been so honoured.
HONOURED WITH A ROYAL WARRANT
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Blakes is where a stylised version of the East meets West London. Credited as one of the first boutique hotels in the world, it is synonymous with designer and hotelier Anouska Hempel, a celebrity clientele and its eclectic design.
With 44 rooms, and a private mews house with its own separate entrance, the hotel sits somewhere in the middle of the boutique category - neither particularly large or particularly small. Nonetheless, for its scale its F&B offer has always punched above its weight. A popular Kensington and Chelsea hangout spot, its bar and restaurant have long provided a base for local creative types, well-heeled ‘yummy mummies’ and familiar-faced businessmen to eat, drink and mingle.
Following a refurbishment, the hotel’s F&B spaces have been completely reimagined with a lower lounge bar and club, and a new restaurant and cocktail bar on entry level, expanded into the space previously occupied by suite 007.
As with the other F&B spaces, the design of the restaurant bar was undertaken by Hempel herself. Staying true to expectation the interior is rich but refined. Dark walls provide a base for gold detailing, high stools congregate around a marble bar and Asian detailing presents itself in plant pots holding tall stretches of splayed green leaves that jostle for attention. Zalto glasses hang in open display and a shelved back bar is suspended just above the preparation counter.The restaurant as a whole can hold 60-covers but the bar by itself is a
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Words: Harry McKinley
Restaurant BarBlakes Hotel, London
much more intimate space, with room for just eight people on stools, a corner booth and a few standard Biedermeier tables hugging the wall. Windows look out onto the outdoor patio with its black-framed gazebo.
“We’re able to contain the size and volume so quality can be managed, from the welcome and service to the drinks,” says Daniele Pampagnin, director of operations.
At the moment the hotel’s business is split roughly down the middle between beds and F&B, and yet when it comes to the restaurant bar its audience is almost entirely outside guests. “Perhaps 95%,” says Pampagnin. “We’ve got hotel guests of course, but Blakes has always been a lifestyle destination. I think we have the balance right. Sometimes a massive hotel won’t concentrate on F&B because it’s driven by room revenue, but for the guest the offer is just a room. Then there are hotels driven by F&B, but if I’m a hotel guest I don’t want to step into somewhere that is too busy and too crowded. Here, thanks to the garden, the bar and the roof terrace, we have a perfect equilibrium between the amount of hotel guests you can have in the house and people from outside.”
With such a predominant proportion of guests non-staying, part of the logic of the new restaurant bar is not just a shift in design but a shift in ambience. The space is intended to be welcoming and a little less formal in approach than may have been expected from the hotel. For Pampagnin this means people feeling free to make themselves at home. “No one is going to ask you to leave if you want to come in jeans,” he says. “Blakes has always been seen as dark, sexy and quite mysterious. I think we’re trying to change a
little bit, to make it more relaxed. We don’t expect anyone to feel as though they have to dress in a £5000 suit to walk into Blakes anymore.”
Another F&B evolution is the relationship between the restaurant bar and the rooms. The alcohol minibar has been ‘deleted’, with rooms now only holding a stock of water and soft drinks. If guests fancy a tipple they simply ring down to the bar and a cocktail will be hurried their way, with the same preparation time as if they were perched facing the barman. “It’s about telling one story throughout the hotel,” says Pampagnin. “After calling, the guest will receive their drink within five or ten minutes - same speed and service. We can do it because it’s a fairly small hotel, but it heightens that element of bespoke and personal attention to the guest.”
The cocktail menu, devised by bar manager Giuliano Bini, is equally narrative driven. Each mix comes with own tale and the menu is Anouska Hempel inspired with its plethora of Asian ingredients and flavours. The Chai Tea Martini was created by Bini for a glamorous Indian wedding and immediately made it onto the menu during development. It features saffron gin, Junmai Daiginjo Akashi Tea, chai tea and rice syrup; apple and lemon juice; egg white and Peychaud’s Bitters. The Direct, meanwhile, was fashioned in honour of Pampagnin and features Campari in ode to his Italian heritage, along with Monkey 47 Sloe Gin, Chartreuse Green, maraschino and Fernet-Branca. “We couldn’t very well call it the Director of Operations, so we settled on The Direct,” says Bini.
www.blakeshotels.comwww.designhotels.com
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IN A BITE Covers: 60 • Head Bartender: Giuliano Bini • Head Chef: Peter Del Campo • Interior Design: Anouska Hempel • Owner: Navid Mirtorabi • Operator: Blakes Management • Tableware: Wonky Ware • Glassware: Zalto • Suppliers: Passione Vino
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A Modern Classic
One of the best parts of my career is creating training modules and presentations to roll out at bar shows and bartender education sessions around the world. I’m generally given a free hand, or am trusted to come
up with interesting and educational topics. I want to help inspire bartenders to be creative and raise their standards, or to teach them valid practical lessons.
I’ve found the key to this is to research heavily, to choose wisely and to have a structure that creates a flow and a credible dialogue. I never intend my words to be slavishly followed and am pleased when attendees form arguments or raise points that I hadn’t considered. I love it when a discussion creates ripples throughout the world of bartending, or at very least the attendees.
I bring this up because I recently gave a talk entitled The Seven Wonders of the Modern Cocktail World, in which I attempted to show that in the time I have been involved with the world of cocktails and bartending there have been only seven drinks that have been created and are destined to be (or already are) cocktails that all bartenders will need to know in the future. Inevitably, it ruffled some feathers and started some rather intense conversations.
We explore what it takes to design a cocktail that will stand the test of time and highlight seven modern classics destined for longevity.
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Words: Angus Winchester
My theory was this: 90 years ago the list of ‘must know’ or ‘classic’ cocktails was very different to 40 years ago, and in turn is different to now. At the turn of the 20th century, drinks like Clover Clubs, Cobblers, Sazeracs and Silver Fizzes were the bartenders’ staples. Skip forward 50 years and Mojitos, Margaritas, Mai Tais and Bloody Mary’s were on everyone’s lips.
Yet which drinks have been created in the last 25 years that will stand the test of time (I chose the beginning of my bartending career as a realistic start date) and be added to the roll-call of great cocktails?
As mixology has become more established, credible, creative and widespread, so the number of signature cocktails has increased, and surely there are many great new cocktails out there. Or are there? The key - other than being a dedicated and well-travelled bartender who has drunk a fair amount of new cocktails - was a series of criteria I used to decide what made for a Modern Classic.
Firstly the drink had to have a practical side: it must use ingredients that are relatively common globally or can be substituted fairly easily. Although you might love your new drink that uses Australian finger Limes, I fear you may find it hard for other bartenders around the globe to recreate it.
Secondly, it must also work with any decent brand within a category and not be based on just one, utilising the specific flavour notes that exist in singular product. You might be keen to
harmonize with the delicate hints of peach in Nolet’s Gin, but if a bar doesn’t stock Nolet’s and the drink doesn’t work without it, then it won’t be adopted widely.
Thirdly, of a practical nature, it must have a name that is easy to say and ‘call’ in a bar, and is amusing or memorable. There are very few classic cocktails that have more than four words in their name, and remember, brevity is the soul of wit. Try to stay away from the modern mixological malady of puns, as well as any part of the human body that is normally covered with underwear. If in doubt, think about shouting it in a bar when the music suddenly cuts out, or getting your grandfather to order it for you.
Fourthly, it must taste great, often meaning that the exact proportions can be varied successfully to accommodate a range of palates. This generally means that stirred drinks are out. We, as alcoholics with bartending problems, may adore ‘see throughs’ but your average punter struggles with them, whereas any drink with ‘citrus and sweetener’ can be modified and tinkered with to suit most tastes. Fifthly (and this one may cause some furrowed brows)
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“As mixology has become more established, credible, creative and widespread, so the number of signature cocktails has increased”
Espresso Martini
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modern classics can also come to pass due to innovation – either in new or irregular combinations of flavour combinations and ingredients or in new techniques being used to create those flavours. Salvatore Calabrese’s Breakfast Martini with marmalade as a key ingredient, or Dick Bradsell’s espresso-based beauty show this perfectly, yet still conform to rule one.
Sixthly, it must be popular, by which I mean not just drinkers must love it but other bartenders must love it and - although they did not create it - are willing to showcase it, and thus it starts to show up around the world on cocktail menus. Too many drinks have been lost by bartenders keeping recipes secret, and it is a feather in any bartender’s cap when colleagues in other bars like a drink so much they drop their pride and ask for the recipe.
This leads to the final criterion I used to select the drinks: they must inspire bartenders to copy or tweak the recipe in much the same way that the great classics have done with twisted Negronis, Manhattans and Old Fashioneds.
Thus, with those ideas in mind, I give you the Seven Wonders of the World:
The BrambleThe CosmopolitanThe Tommy’s MargaritaThe PenicillinThe Green Basil SmashThe Espresso MartiniThe Breakfast Martini
I chose seven because I honestly believe that there are fewer than 10 drinks that have been invented in the last 25 years that will stand the test of time and fulfil my outlined criteria.
One of the downsides of modern bartending is new bartenders desperately clinging to the idea that totally new drinks are the key to guest satisfaction. I have sampled thousands of ‘new’ drinks that, tasty though they may be, are relatively forgettable and, according to the ‘market’, are unworthy of the title Modern Classic.
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Spiced Gin Atta Boy, Darnley’s View Gin
When is a gin not a gin? Alas it doesn’t command a slick, ready-made comedy punchline. There are plenty that think it strikes at the heart of a dilemma for the gin
category. As more and more distillers enter the market, there is a growing body of people who feel that the category needs to be more clearly defined. It presents a challenge because, on the one hand, gin lovers welcome the plethora of quality craft gins that are creating diversity and regional characteristics to rival that of single malt whisky. On the other, there are fears that the gin category is losing its identity in a tsunami of new releases that are not gin at all, but flavoured vodka and pimped up grain neutral spirits.
The issue started to raise its head a couple of years ago, when bemused and befuddled spirits competition judges were confronted by scores of gin samples that stretched their taste buds to the limit. In broad terms, the spirits divided into two distinctive camps. In the blue corner were the gin equivalents of the dinner jacket and black tie crowd: clean, crisp, classical, sharp and sassy - the ice and a slice brigade with juniper to the fore.In the red corner were a motley crew of cartoon characters, bright and colourful
concoctions ranging from relatively well produced Disney style gins, to the more outlandish representatives, which are the spirits equivalent of garish Japanese animé. They’re all gin, the judges were told, but not necessarily as you know it.
So what to make of it all? Is this growing wave of widely flavoured gins a good thing or a bad thing? The good news for gin is that it’s making waves. It’s innovative, exciting, experimental and just a little bit out of control. The bad news for gin is that it’s making waves. It’s innovative, exciting, experimental and just a little bit out of control.
Fast forward to 2016, and the issue of when is a gin not a gin is as potent as ever. Gins are springing up on a weekly basis, made by a slew of new distilleries across the world. They’re bringing a range of styles and flavours that is seemingly endless, all of which is potentially good for the gin category, but there is a caveat. Some producers are playing footloose and fancy free with the rules, and are giving cause for concern as they produce spirits drinks that have been dismissed as flavoured vodkas and spirit infusions, and not gin at all.
Patrick Zuidam, who produces a premium gin among a
The Ginaissance
Gin is thriving, but as more and more producers enter the market, there’s confusion as to what gin should and can be. So where is the category
heading and what does this mean for hotel bars?
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Words: Dominic Roskrow
huge array of other spirit and liqueur products at his Dutch distillery - and is a judge on various international awards panels - is clearly fed up. “It’s getting ridiculous,” he says. “Judging in international gin competitions is becoming a difficult task. I think that some producers go overboard in their creativity or in looking for their niche in the market and they create drinks that have very little relevance to gins. A lot of gins lack balance, harmony, and the taste of juniper.
“An award winning gin is about balance, harmony, crisp clear distillation, clean stills and learning how to distil before bottling products. There is a level of frustration that comes from judging poorly made products marketed as gins.”
So how did this chasm between classical gin and modern gin come about? It stems from the loose definitions of gin within the European Union, and from the different rules governing gin production in different territories.
In Europe there are three definitions of gin. Standard Gin requires that the gin must be made with
a base spirit distilled to 96% ABV. There is a requirement
for a predominantly juniper-flavoured taste but you can add any botanicals you want and they can be infused - not redistilled in to the mix. So they are effectively added. This is a very loose definition.
To use this term Distilled Gin at least some of the botanicals have been included in the pot still distillation, though you may still add other botanicals and flavourings, as well as colourings.
Finally London Dry Gin is based on a 96% base spirit and all the botanicals must be distilled in a proper still.
According to gin expert David T Smith of Summer Fruit Cup, this is where the problem lies. “These definitions are not fit for purpose,” he says. “They talk about a flavour predominantly based on juniper, but what does that mean? You and I might take it to mean 90% or 95% of the flavour, but clearly others do not and there lies the problem. Where is the line? And how do you police it? It’s very subjective. Even a more established and mainstream gin such as Beefeater has a distinctive citrusy taste.”
The industry is split as to whether a tightening of definitions would be a good thing or not. It’s a bit like the current handball rule in football: the subjective nature of interpretation is undesirable, but the alternatives could be a whole lot worse.
Emma Hooper, brand manager at Darnley’s View Gin, sums up the issue well. “We think some rules could be
beneficial but only if they are there to guide and are made with the consumer in mind,“ she says. “They shouldn’t hamper creativity or innovation.”
Carl Reevey, of Bruichladdich, which makes The Botanist Gin, agrees. “Gin is being repositioned as a premium drink not least because it is relatively expensive to make,” he says. “Let’s face it, vodka is boring. Lots of folk now drink gin, and mostly with tonic, ice and a slice. That sounds a bit dull, but it seems to be true. Then there are loads of aspirational gin drinks, from cocktails through foraged serves to the glorious Martini. It’s all very interesting and sometimes exciting, but these are still minority sports. It’s a bit like cricket: great fun if you know what you are doing.”
Does all of this lead to the conclusion that with its broad array of flavours, gin can offer the drinker the same sort of regional flavour diversity that single malt whisky offers? The industry is split.
Gillrays Steakhouse & Bar is housed within the London Marriott Hotel County Hall and has offered more than 100 gins in the past, but that number now stands at 40, with the emphasis on high quality.
Head bar tender Sam Luis Mitchell says that we are witnessing a modern day craze for gin. “Anyone and everyone is drinking gin now,” he says. “A few months ago a gin distiller told me there was a new gin on the market every week. I would say the more choice, the more people are willing to try them. With gin such as Tarquin’s making a robust London dry then a juniper heavy navy strength, or Cotswolds using lavender and black peppercorn, and Half Hitch using hay, tea and bergamot, there are lots of different ‘flavours’. I find when I do gin tasting guests always say they never knew there were so many different flavours of gin.
“Gin is just neutral spirit with juniper as the main botanical. The rest is up to the distiller. Going back to the 18th century when one in three houses were making gin, they were putting all sorts in it so I think it’s good to have flexibility as a nod to the past, plus it brings creativity and innovation to the end product.”
At London’s Mandarin Oriental, bar manager Sebastian Löffler doesn’t see comparisons with single malt whisky as valid, but is still excited by the category.
“The regulations outside of Plymouth Gin and the style of London Dry are pretty lax. Gin can be, and is, made all over the world. In fact, some of the most popular gins are made outside the United Kingdom. About 10 to 15 years ago when vodka was at its peak, the same happened with that category; an abundance of flavours, variations and styles. But today that market has more or less gone. I don’t see the gin market ever reaching the levels of the single malt industry, at least not in reference to flavour profiles or geographical appellations.
“I don’t necessarily see the loose definitions as a bad thing, as mentioned above, it gives an opportunity for distillers to create different styles across the globe within
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“Anyone and everyone is drinking gin now... the more choice, the more people are willing to try them”
The Botanist Gin, Bruichladdich
the category. I believe that it is the ‘reasonableness’ of the distiller as well as the merchant to inform the guest what they are choosing. If it is not a gin per se, it should not be listed or sold as such.”
What both bar managers agree on is that while the quality of the gin is paramount, so are the ingredients you serve it with, as well as the ‘theatre’ of bespoke service. “This is very important,” says Löffler. “You cannot make a good gin and tonic with bad ingredients, but you can make a bad G&T with good ingredients. Ice is important in any drink that requires it because it helps maintain temperature and dilution. The mixer is equally important, as when it comes to tonic in particular, there is an abundance of not-so-great options. In our bar, we use only Fever-Tree. For me, this is a very good tonic that really helps bring out the botanicals of most gins.
“As for the garnish, this is very personal. Wedge, peel, citrus, herb, it all depends on the gin. I like the garnishes to bring out more of the botanicals or to contrast them, this is when the garnish works the best – when it adds to the drink.”
Mitchell agrees. “People are expecting more from their
drinks now,” he says. “Theatre is a must when making cocktails or serving a gin and tonic. In Gillray’s we have a cocktail called Two Penny Whist and we use Langleys No8, Kamm & Sons and Carpano Antica Formula. We smoke it with juniper, coriander seeds and pour on the table. This produces a strong smell of juniper in the room and a visual effect of the smoke coming out of the bottle. The idea was to make the room smell like an old gin distillery if the drink was ordered.”
So is the gin craze here to stay, and will it thrive despite the potential hurdles? The consensus from those on the front line is that it will go from strength to strength and, in the long term, a range of quality gins will survive and thrive.
Desmond Payn, master distiller for Beefeater Gin - part of Pernod Ricard - sums it up.
“Experimentation and innovation continue to be the cornerstone of everything we do,” he says. “The global ‘Ginaissance’ continues to excite the category and its effect on sales will be long lasting, with an underlying interest in new, high end gins. With recent performances in mind we seen no reason to predict anything other than continued positive growth over the next 12 months.”
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Darnley’s Delight, Darnley’s View Gin
A new dining
experience
nudeglass.com simple is beautifulnudeglass
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Established this year by leading figures of the bartending world Alex Kratena, Ryan Chetiyawardana, Jim Meehan, Simone Caporale, Monica Berg, Joerg Meyer and Xavier Padovan, P(OUR) is a not-for-profit foundation devoted
to exploring new ideas, sharing information and exchanging inspiration.
An annual symposium brings together bartenders, baristas, sommeliers, brewers, winemakers, distillers and drinks manufacturers, as well as people of other disciplines, to discuss the past, present and future of drink.
The inaugural symposium was this year organized by Liquid Liquid and held in conjunction with Cocktails Spirits Paris.
Across two days industry professionals descended on Maison Rouge for a series of talks and discussions highlighting innovations in the food and drinks industry. Between presentations, pioneering product and produce brands – from coffee and tea to beer and spirits - introduced their wares, offering samples to an eager crowd.
Opening proceedings, illustrator Alec Doherty spoke on the importance of inventive product design, talking through his work with London-based artisan brewers Partizan. “For a long time art and branding was used to sell a substandard product,” he said, “but with the rise of artisan labels and craft beers, packaging can still be used as a thoughtful medium to say something authentic about the brand.”
Following a poignant tribute to Dick Bradsell, bartender Nick Strangeway discussed the cocktail revolution and the evolution of the industry. Scrawling the words in black marker pen across waiting flip boards so there could be no mistake, he pushed home the notion that ‘modern bartenders are boring’. Too bogged down in the industry and insular, he suggested that modern bartenders, “find something other than bartending to be interested in and talk about. Having a broad variety of interests and references will aid in creativity.”
Other key speakers on day one included Tracy Ging, who currently leads the Volcafe Genuine Origin project and is co-
founder of The Coffeewoman, an interdisciplinary project blending digital and real life conversations to advance the role of female coffee professionals worldwide. She spoke on the importance of sourcing, selection and sustainability.
Bar operator, educator and author of The PDT Cocktail Book, Jim Meehan also delivered a rousing address on ‘serving ourselves and each other’, in which he focused on the need for bartenders to adopt a healthy mental approach to an industry that can sometimes prove detrimental to those who work within it.
Day two saw Ben Reade and Sashana Souza Zanella of the Edinburgh food studio take to the stage. On the agenda: entrepreneurship, working collaboratively and the way in which we interact with food and the culture that surrounds it. “It’s important to understand the processes of food and drink,” said Reade. “Not just the end result but the stages of how it’s made. It helps to form a much deeper connection with what’s on the plate or in the glass.”
Speaking on the Power of Intention, Corrado Bogni, head concierge of The Connaught hotel pulled from his years of experience, telling a few stories of how he’s had to go ‘above and beyond’ to deliver for a guest. The moral ultimately being that commitment and enthusiasm are as important for an established name as for a beginner.
Further speakers on day two included chef Douglas McMaster, who spoke on the ‘waste free’ movement and how to operate with sustainability at the heart; and founder of Crucial Detail, Martin Kastner who discussed his product innovations in the field of fine dining.
Closing out the symposium, award-winning bartender Monica Berg announced that proceeds from the event would be used to support communities in the Amazon, helping them to use local ingredients to develop marketable and sustainable products.
www.pourdrink.org
P(OUR) Symposium19 – 20 June, Paris
Photography: Addie Chinn
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Jameson has unveiled a new structure to its family of Irish whiskeys, including introducing a new super-premium series and revitalising the brand identity. Made up of a range of heritage whiskeys, the Makers Series and the Deconstructed Series, the portfolio is intended to showcase the brand’s heritage whilst positioning it as a modern, youthful label.
Speaking at the global unveiling at Jameson’s distillery in Midleton, Co. Cork, Global Brand Director Dan Lunberg said, “What has driven that success of Jameson is the brand’s approachability. Its personality is open and inviting and its taste very accessible: smooth and versatile. It has a price point which is in the premium end but, again, accessible. A few years ago we could see that we were getting to a tipping point. We have a group of loyal consumers, but the more we talked to them the more we realised they wanted to know more about Jameson and were curious to try new things and experiment. So we decided to offer a range that gives them the story of the past. Let’s have the makers tell their stories.”The Maker’s Series is composed of three distinct whiskeys, each celebrating the people behind Jameson and their crafts. The Distiller’s Safe celebrates the role of Jameson’s Head Distiller, Brian Nation, and is a showcase of the original copper pot still distillate. The Cooper’s Croze highlights the role of Jameson’s Head Cooper, Ger Buckley, and explores the influence that maturation in casks has on whiskey. Finally the Blender’s Dog celebrates the role of Jameson Head Blender, Billy Leighton and is a tribute to the fine art of blending.
“If you take the Jameson consumer base, it’s probably people that haven’t been whiskey drinkers but have found a way in and begun to appreciate the category,” says Leighton. “Jameson is a very good entry point to appreciate Irish whiskey. But as well as wanting to know how it’s made, customers want to know a bit more about the craft and even the personalities behind it. That’s what the Maker’s Series was created to showcase.” As for the best way to use Blender’s Dog, Leighton suggests adopting a purist’s approach and opting simply for a splash of water.
Speaking of Jameson’s continued popularity with bartenders, Lunberg notes, “Bartenders adopted a brand in Jameson. We were lucky enough that they decided we were a friend. Now is our opportunity to return the favour by giving them products that they can do interesting things with. So if you take something like Black Barrel, it’s designed to be a strong cocktail whiskey. It has a flavour profile that allows bartenders to make the kind of cocktails they want. In the end we’re always trying to build something that will last and that will be as timeless as we can make it. We have a incredible brand that carries so much equity and so many stories, and we’re now trying to take that brand and put those ideas in a very different world, which is super-premium whisky.”
www.jamesonwhiskey.com
A New Family Jameson
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Artist and industrial designer Arik Levy has once again teamed with Hennessy on a limited edition case and bottle design to mark 250-years of the brand.
Having previously designed the Hennessy X.O. Methusalem in 2012, he this time turns his hand to the commemorative Hennessy 8 cognac, devising a 60kg carafe and real oak case.
Fashioned from hand-blown Baccarat crystal, the eight rings of the bottle represent eight generations of master blenders and are inspired by the tasting flacons of old. A copper silk ribbon is applied by hand and sealed with an H.The surrounding oak case, with copper inlay, uses many
of the raw materials associated with cognac making and each of the 25 wooden layers corresponds to 10 years of Henessy’s history.
Taking three years to develop, Levy’s design is available internationally in limited quantities.
The blend itself is an equally complicated creation, featuring a fusion of eight eau-de-vie, seven of which were created by seventh generation master blender Yann Fillioux and one by Renaud Fillioux, his nephew to whom he handed the master blender baton this year.
www.henessy.com
Arik Levy Hennessy 8
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Photography courtesy of Hennessy
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A favourite with bartenders, the previously discontinued Beefeater Crown Jewel has been revived for the on-trade market. With an intense aromatic palate and unequalled strength (50% ABV), it is produced in small batches and available in limited quantities. In addition to Beefeater’s nine classic botanicals it features the addition of grapefruit for a crisp note of citrus. To promote the spirit’s popular place within mixology, Beefeater have unveiled a series of signature cocktails from leading bartenders, such as the Sceptre Martini from Alessandro Palazzi of the Dukes Bar, at Dukes Hotel London, and Sebastian Hamilton-Mudge, Beefeater Global Brand Ambassador. Crown Jewel is already available to guests at the likes of Claridge’s and W London. Beefeater’s Master Distiller Desmond Payne comments: “Launched before the super premium gin boom, Beefeater Crown Jewel was ahead of its time. It is hugely popular within circles of gin connoisseurs for good reason: the velvety smooth gin shows superior, refined spirit notes with a delicate citrus aroma and – most significantly – a higher ABV of 50% that helps flavours hold together. These attributes won Beefeater Crown Jewel legions of fans before its discontinuation and we hope to once again excite gin enthusiasts with the limited edition relaunch.”
www.beefeaterdistillery.com
Crown Jewel Beefeater
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Marqués de Cáceres Verdejo comes from the winery’s own vineyards in Rueda, Spain. The 2015 vintage reveals the distinctive character of a magnificent terroir of moderate yields and leaves a mark with a very personal style. A charming bouquet of mineral notes, herbs, and citrus fruits leads on to deliciously balanced and vibrant flavours of green apples, grapefruit and passionfruit in the mouth to finish, with good length and a refreshing aftertaste. Serve at 6-8°C.
www.marquesdecaceres.com
Verdejo Marqués de Cáceres
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“There is a slightly subversive and assertive quality in serving an unbranded spirit. It is a statement of confidence in your choices.” Joe Doucet on the subversive nature of glass decanters.
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Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Seattle Photography: Hubert Kang
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In 2014 a hospitality study by UCC Coffee UK & Ireland found that over a third of customers were unhappy with the coffee provided to them by their hotel. The study showed that the UK customer specifically, had become much more discerning when it came to their morning
brew, and that 30% of those surveyed said that a poor hotel coffee offering would deter them from staying at the hotel again. It was a study that would have global implications and be used internationally as a sign of sea change in the sector.
Perhaps this reflects that the coffee offer has historically been seen as a by-product of the room rate, but fast-forward to 2016 and it’s clear that - much like the quality of food - consumers care more about their caffeine fix than ever before.
Guests today are interested in provenance. They not only want to know where the beans used to make their espresso come from, but also how they arrived, where they were roasted and what type of machine has been employed to brew them. This is something that has resonated with hotels both major and boutique; they’ve become granular and there’s a coffee revolution afoot.
One of the first companies to react to the survey results was Fairmont, who announced its one-of-a-kind artisanal partnership with H.C. Valentine Coffee Company, an award-winning micro-roasting company based in Birmingham, Alabama.
“Our goal is to deliver a premium experience with a personalised touch. Offering an exclusive micro-roasting brew ensures that promise is honoured in each batch of fresh coffee brewed on-property,” says Brett Patterson, vice president of food & beverage at Fairmont.
“H.C. Valentine Coffee Company is the right choice for our hotels because it provides guests with a quality artisanal coffee experience that will enhance their stay.”
Aligning with Fairmont’s emphasis on sustainability and locally
inspired experiences, H.C. Valentine is committed to finding farmers who honour sustainable growing practices in order to produce the finest taste characteristics for their growing regions.
The brand works with organizations such as World Coffee Research to protect and grow the supply chain of high-quality Arabica coffees through collaborative agricultural research and development, which is something that has become increasingly important to consumers.
“It is exciting to partner with Fairmont,” H.C. Valentine’s product development manager David Strahl said when the partnership was first announced.
“It seemed like a natural fit for us to offer our coffees on a large-scale level that has never been done before, and we are honoured to share a unique proprietary coffee blend, featuring specialty-grade beans that are sight-roasted by origin in small batches, and then blended to develop deeply complex and intense flavour profiles, with Fairmont guests.”
Since 2014 many more hotel brands have joined the throng, going ever further to provide the perfect cup to their customers and even non-guests, as in the case of fashionable boutiques Ace. The hipster bolthole of choice has built separate cafes into many of their sites, partnering individually with local roasters in order to give a more authentic, localised coffee experience.
In London’s Shoreditch the Bulldog Edition at the Ace is located between the lobby and the restaurant and has become a popular drop-in spot for East London’s creative set, who turn up daily to work from corner tables - a steady flow of flat whites from venerated East End roaster Square Mile Coffee gracing their makeshift desks.
“Our hotels are very much orientated to the community,” says Khuong Phan, food and beverage specialist for the brand. “As often as possible we like to partner with local artisans to offer our guests thoughtful and localised experiences.”
Words: Emilee Jane Tombs
Coffee CultureFrom boutique brands like The Ace to vast global players such as the Fairmont Group, hotels throughout the world are impassioned by coffee. We look at the brands leading the charge when it comes to a cup of Joe.
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Square Mile, founded by World Barista Champion James Hoffmann and World Cup Tasters Champion Anette Moldvaer, makes sense at the Ace, not only because of their proximity to the hotel, but because a partnership of this kind allows the Ace to provide professional-level barista training courtesy of the relationship between the two brands.
“The Square Mile team provide us with much more than just an extremely high-quality product,” says Phan, “their team provides our baristas a great deal of care and training and it’s been great collaborating with them.”
In the US the Ace group of hotels works with Stumptown Coffee Roasters, who they say bring near-obsessive detail to the process of making coffee, which is something that their customers are increasingly seeking out.
In Chicago the James Hotel has chosen to work with Sparrow, an independent roaster that only provides coffee to a small coterie of forward-thinking restaurants in the city.
“We were looking for a coffee that offered more than just your morning jolt,” says Jacob Schwimmer, food and beverage director at The James Hotel Chicago.
“[Sparrow] were able to design a custom blend that matched well with many of our menu items, including our dry-aged steak. That was a sign that they took their craft seriously and further solidified our reason for partnering with them.”
Some hotels even encourage field trips to the roasting sites in order to fully involve the staff in the process and encourage them to become coffee aficionados themselves.
“We are currently looking to get our teams out to the West Loop roastery,” says Schwimmer, “we want them to see how the custom blends are created and we ensure that our staff are involved in monthly training that covers everything from making the perfect espresso, servicing the equipment and speciality brewing techniques.”
This movement isn’t limited to the boutique hotel groups; increasingly large chains around the world are realising that their customers want more from their morning shot, and are taking measures to ensure their needs are met.
In 2014 London’s Dorchester completed substantial renovation works that included the addition of a standalone café, Parcafé, that
serves East London roaster Alchemy’s speciality blends on a state of the art La Marzocco FB/80.“The world’s top luxury hotels set a new standard in everything they do,” says Rosanna Fishbourne, area director of communications for Dorchester Collection, “and there is a certain level of expectation from guests and neighbourhood clients. The Dorchester’s employees are not simply staff, they are craftsman in their fields, and as such we take care to have them trained by some of the capital’s finest baristas. Parcafé is in the enviable position of offering visitors the coffee making precision expected from a specialist coffee shop, combined with the excellent hospitality ethic for which The Dorchester is renowned.”
With coffee at it most popular and with so many speciality vendors popping up it’s important that hotels align themselves with a quality product that is distinctive and not available everywhere. Partnership such as this enhances a guest’s experience, caters to a growing customer interest in product and provenance, and allows the hotel to say something about its own identity and brand through the brands it associates with.
Parcafé at The Dorchester, London
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Anew wave of in-room innovators are reimagining the possibilities and adapting to the changing minibar mindset. By anticipating the needs, personality and feelings of guests they’re winning the market in this detail-obsessed space
through nostalgic, creative and comforting experiences. Darren Pound, the Chief Experience Officer at The Camby
in Scottsdale, Arizona is exploring new ways to further this customisation by creating bespoke minibar personalities. “We’re looking into providing guests with a fully stocked fridge full of snacks that would be included in the cost of our premium rooms,” he says. “Guests will choose between a selection of minibar ‘personas’, each with a set menu that perfectly suits their diet, personality, or mood.”
DIY Cocktails
The hotel minibar: that lurking presence testing the balance between cravings, cost and convenience. Like a siren song it lures guests towards vices difficult to resist. Since the minibar’s creation in 1974 at the Hong Kong Hilton, this song has been hypnotising weary travelers into paying $12 for a can of nuts under the pretense of ‘ease.’ For the modern traveler, however, the siren song is increasingly falling on deaf ears. Minibars were envisioned as a convenience for guests but if that is no longer enough to drive sales, then what will keep this long-standing concept relevant?
DRINKS
Words: Emily Elyse Miller
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Rethinking the Minibar:
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Le Grand Pigalle, Paris
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Ace Hotel, New Orleans Photography: Simon Watson
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Ace Hotel New OrleansCan the entire personality of a room be defined by the minibar? By thinking of this concept as an opportunity, a stale space can be brought to life. The pay-per-what-you-use cocktail menu in the new Ace Hotel New Orleans does just that, with 90% of guests purchasing items from the minibar – a colourful Smeg fridge - across 245 rooms.
“All of our minibars have robust offerings, including many local and regional products. The minibar at Ace New Orleans’ is the only one in the group set up like an in-room cocktail bar, complete with a cocktail shaker, cutting board, glassware, cocktail recipe guide and even mini-sized bitters,” says Olivier Rassinoux, the brand’s global F&B director. “The most popular is the Sazerac, a true New Orleans original. All of the recipes in the mixing guide are classics.”
The concept is designed to embrace the local drinking culture and playfully encourage guests to join in. As Rassinoux says, “New Orleans celebrates the cocktail like no other city in the world, and in homage of that spirit we wanted to offer an amenity that would allow guests to become their own craft bartenders. An added bonus: you can leave the hotel with your drink in hand — as long as it’s in a plastic cup — since New Orleans allows alcoholic beverages to be consumed on its sidewalks.” The fridge includes East Imperial Burma Tonic (created to replicate flavour profiles from the 19th century; this is what people were mixing with gin and lime to prevent scurvy back in the day), Big Easy Bucha (a locally produced kombucha), a variety of local micro brew beers, a selection of bourbons in different sizes, and whole fresh lemons and limes, putting the process of mixology back into the hands of the guest.
Grand Pigalle ParisThe Grand Pigalle hotel in the 9th-arrondissement of Paris provides bottled cocktails ready and waiting for guests with hand-written labels reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. One of the hotel’s founders, Pierre-Charles Cros, tells us, “We wanted to extend our concept of ‘bed & beverage’ to the rooms by offering home-made cocktails in every minibar. It was a quite a challenge creating pre-made cocktails. We worked on specific recipes and developed delicious bottled cocktails that allow our guests to start or end the evening in their room.” The concept was created by a trio of hotel owners who also launched Experimental Cocktail Club, one of the most lauded cocktail groups in Paris. The carefully designed bottles are only available to hotel guests.
Arguably guests want to be charmed and feel as though they’ve stumbled upon a lesser-known discovery. It is perhaps why there’s a 50% minibar usage rate across the hotel’s 37 rooms.
The exclusivity of the bottled Negroni (Campari, red Vermouth, gin Citadelle ) and Le Meilleur (Cognac Pierre Ferrand, fino cherry Valdespino, Verjus, sugar syrup) is Instagram fuel and an enticing purchase for cocktail lovers.
Four Seasons SingaporeLoyalty is engendered by properties that demonstrate attention to detail. The DIY Singapore Sling and Martini cocktail kits at the 250-room Four Seasons Singapore are a thoughtful amenity helping to achieve a 60% rate of usage from guests. “We wanted to create a differentiated experience for our guests when they check-in at our hotel in the evening. With these DIY kits, they have the opportunity to unwind and have some fun. At the same time, our guests will learn about the innovative cocktail program we have at our bar, One-Ninety,” says director of F&B and culinary operations, Mr. Giovanni Speciale. “Guests love the innovative amenities, especially since it incorporates local elements and gives them a hands-on experience.”
Hotel Saint. CeciliaHotel Saint Cecilia in Austin, Texas uses local and exclusive options in their minibar to perk interest. Bar manager, Nan Sireno tells us, “We have offered the Bloody Mary bar as in-room option since the original opening team conceptualised it in 2009. It has evolved over the past couple years into a more expansive offering, with locally sourced produce and quail eggs that we pickle in-house. A full Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar are now also offered as part of our special monthly Soul Sunday Brunches. The concept is meant to quench the soul after a late night out or to relish the day before going back to reality.” A popular amenity attracting notable guests during the South by Southwest festival, a tray for two to four guests is $75 and equals 4-6 generous pours of vodka and plenty of accoutrements.
“Arguably guests want to be charmed and feel as though they’ve stumbled upon a lesser-known discovery”
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Tales of the Cocktail20th – 24th July 2016New Orleans
To The Table MEA6th – 8th September 2016Abu Dhabi
The Hotel Show17th – 19th September 2016Dubai
Design Junction22nd - 25th September 2016London
EVENT CALENDAR
41 Madison27th – 30th September 2016New York
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Annual Hotel Conference12th - 13th October 2016Manchester
EquipHotel6th – 10th November 2016Paris
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To The Table MEA, the premier food and beverage decision makers forum, will return this September for another year of high quality product exhibitions, meetings, panels and receptions. Taking place at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, the event will see high profile decision makers from across the industry converge on the luxury hotel for two days of networking, buying and selling. This year, the forum will feature discussions on subjects including innovation in restaurant design, which elements come together to form the best restaurants in the MEA market, and the value of human and capital relationships in F&B success. Oliver Jackson, Executive Chef at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi, will give a demonstration and tour of Pearls by Michael Caines, the host venue’s restaurant. Speakers include: James Wierzelewski, Corporate Vice President Food & Beverage Operations, Rotana; Stuart Nielsen, Vice President Food & Beverage MEAI, FRHI Hotels & Resorts; Naim Maadad, CEO, Gates Hospitality; and Stefan Breg, Director of Food & Beverage EMEA, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Suppliers will be given the opportunity to showcase their products to some of the most important buyers in the industry and given the chance to network over a series of carefully curated events. This year, Supper continues its partnership with the event as global media partner.
www.tothetableemea.com
To The Table MEAAbu Dhabi6-8 September 2016
NRA 2016 saw members of the foodservice sector convene in Chicago to experience the latest products and industry. Restaurant owners, product exhibitors and decision makers met to network, view the latest gastronomy innovations and learn of the changing nature of the business. Highlights included displays of technological advancements, including a quick and efficient sushi cutter and roller from Suzumo International; an automated, robotic fry cook designed and manufactured by Middleby, Pitco and Rethink Robotics; and a vending machine style salad dispenser from Casabots, that allows guests to customise their salads with minimal effort. Also on show were a series of forward thinking food and drink products, such as Pappami’s flavoured edible plates and cutlery, Ariake USA’s grown up ramen range, organic healthy ice cream from Brio! Ice Cream, and edible bugs as marketing tools from Terminix. Speakers and panel guests including Restaurant: Impossible’s Chef Robert Irvine and Bar Rescue’s Jon Taffer gave insight into the broadcast dimension of the industry, whilst The Fast Casual Industry Council Meeting brought together key executives serving up the most disruptive and profitable concepts in the growing fast casual segment. This year’s show was attended by representatives from all 50 of the top 50 restaurants in the world, 98 of the top 100 restaurant brands, and was ultimately the most attended show in the event’s history. show.restaurant.org
NRA 2016Chicago21-24 May 2016
Photography: Richard Pereira
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At a June press conference in Paris the organising team and panel of experts and influencers laid out the plan for this year’s EquipHotel, the leading France-based trade show for HORECA professionals.
With 46million tourist visitors to Paris, of which 42% are international, exhibition director Corinne Menegaux was quick to emphasise the importance of the hospitality sector to the city and highlight the growing number of international exhibitors expected at the EquipHotel event in 2016.
This year, the event has been staged in such a way as to create a clear purchase pathway, facilitating an organised flow of visitors and making it easier for buyers to purchase during the show.
Also discussed was Studio 16. For the first time, a team of experts (architects, designers and establishment owners) have taken over more than 3,000m2 of space, split vertically across multiple levels, to create a unique establishment, offering insight into new trends and their applications, as well as showcasing how these are levers for revenue development.
Billed as an ‘experience as well as a concept’, Studio 16 features the likes of Jean-Philippe Nuel, who has developed an innovative lobby concept. Speaking at the conference, Nuel explained how the hotel bar could be used
as the centre of a new welcome format, taking over from the reception desk as guests’ first point of contact.
Designer Sylvie Amar, responsible for Studio 16’s Glass Gallery, took a product perspective, highlighting how glassware designers should begin thinking about their products as more than something to drink from, and as important tools for bartenders. Overall Studio 16 will showcase concepts for outdoor, lobby, room and F&B spaces. The press conference also served to highlight several key hotel projects in the city, with attendees visiting recently opened boutique Le Grand Pigalle; Mama Shelter, the Philippe Starck hotel championing egalitarian design; and Maison Souquet, a 5-star renovation project in the Pigalle district. Last year’s EquipHotel was attended by 111,000 trade visitors, with this year expected to exceed this amount.
www.equiphotel.com
Supper readers can use the below code for free entry to the event: IUK01
EquipHotel6 – 10 November, Paris
Studio 16 lobby space design Photography: Studio Jean-Philippe Nuel
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Held for the first time in 2007, Bar Convent Berlin has grown from 16 exhibitors to approximately 280, and will welcome around 10,000 trade visitors to this year’s event. Taking place from 11-12 October and located at Station Berlin, BCB will feature lectures, tastings, master-classes and podium discussions with opinion leaders from across the global bar and beverage scene. At this year’s event, the United Kingdom will be named the country of honour, and visitors from the UK will be able to enjoy a range of spirits and craft beers alongside a special supporting programme. Overall 10% of the exhibitors will originate from the UK, and will feature alongside a comprehensive selection of international brands and drinks-led organisations. This year’s programme includes prominent names such Beam Suntory, Bitburger, Borco-Marken-Import Matthiesen, Campari Deutschland, Diageo Germany, Diversa Spezialitäten, Pernod Ricard Deutschland, Schweppes Deutschland, Mast-Jägermeister, MBG International Premium Brands, Ratsherrn, SAB Miller as well as Schwarze and Schlichte Markenvertrie This tenth edition of Bar Convent Berlin will add an extra hall of exhibitors, highlighting the expansion of the festival, and demonstrating the growth of the international drinks industry at large.
www.barconvent.com
Bar Convent BerlinBerlin11-12 October 2016
At a London press conference Ambiente, the global consumer goods platform, has announced elements of its 2017 programme, including the news that Great Britain will be named Ambiente partner country. Taking place from 10 – 14 February 2017, the show focuses on tableware, kitchenware, household goods, drinks and dinnerware, as well as furnishings. UK exhibitor products will be showcased in an extensive ‘partner country presentation’ curated and designed by Scottish designer Janice Kirkpatrick, co-founder of Graven, a design studio specialising in visual and environmental brands. In addition to the presentation, there will once again be a café in the style of the partner country and, on the Monday of the fair, a traditional theme day. The Great Britain Day is being organised by UK exhibitors and will itself feature a variety of events and presentations designed to showcase the nation. “I am excited to design the Ambiente UK partner exhibition, after designing ‘Self-Service’ in 1998”, comments Kirkpatrick. Asked about her concept for the partner country presentation, she notes, “Glasgow in Scotland, in the UK and in Europe – in all its dimensions – is the perspective through which I work. Globalisation makes ‘local’ valuable because it is unique. I will search for exceptional micro-local and national products and ingredients to create the 2017 exhibition.” At Ambiente 2016, 4,367 exhibitors from 96 countries took part and presented their work to 137,000 visitors. www.ambiente.messefrankfurt.com
Ambiente Frankfurt10-14 February, 2017
Photography: Gili Shani
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CampNude
Nude has revealed its new glassware range Camp, designed by New York City-based Joe Doucet. Understated in approach, the range sees the renowned designer and artist instill a sense of character and originality into matching bottom heavy refined glasses and an expertly cut, hipflask inspired, decanter. “I was contacted by Nude’s creative director Gaye Cevikel and given a list of typologies to consider creating designs for. I gravitated to a decanter set as it’s something rather antiquated that needs some thought to make its way back into a contemporary setting,” says Doucet. “I wanted to create a decanter collection that was an obvious update on the classically ornate decanters of the 18th and 19th centuries. Unlike wine, one doesn’t need to decant whiskies or scotches other than to make a statement and Camp is irreverent and contemporary.”
With the eventual contents imagined as an emulation of the warmth of a campfire, both the decanter and glasses rest upon integrated brass X coasters, reminiscent of burning logs. Speaking on the combination of practical function and form, Doucet says, “Firstly, one has to hold and pour from the decanter which limits width and depth.
Secondly, one should not spill when doing so and that informs the neck angle and length. But lastly, the overall impression of the collection is just as important. One should delight in both the use and display of the decanter and glasses.”
With a clear and simple aesthetic, the Camp range rejects obstructive branding and opts instead for tasteful mystery, offering the user an elegant option from which to serve drinks. As Doucet says, “Brands and branding have come to dominate decisions about which spirits to drink and serve. A decanter is a clear rejection of that, as one has to appreciate the quality of the spirit rather than associate it with a price-point. There is a slightly subversive and assertive quality in serving an unbranded spirit. It is a statement of confidence in your choices and I believe that somewhat elevates the experience, versus pouring from a labeled bottle.”
Initially presented at Salone 16, Camp sits alongside Alba as new Nude collections from Doucet and both series continue the brand’s commitment to timeless simplicity.
www.nudeglass.com
PETITS FOURS
Mythical Creatures by Kit Kemp, Firmdale Hotels
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BespokeWedgwood
Since the 18th century, and a commission from Catherine the Great of Russia to design and produce a 994 piece banqueting set, WWRD (Waterford, Wedgewood, Royal Doulton) has been a leader in the hospitality industry. Specialising in the development of bespoke tableware designs, Wedgwood products continue to grace the most exclusive dining tables in the world, including those of 5-star hotels and Michelin starred restaurants.
The British brand has developed an esteemed list of clients on its home soil, including The Savoy, The Langham and Firmdale Hotels, plus a slew of international names such as St Regis Abu Dhabi and the Hotel Gstaad Palace.
“Queen Catherine wanted something unique and, to this day, many high end hotels and restaurants have the same requirement,” comments Tim Harper, head of hospitality at the company.
Outlining Wedgwood’s creative process, Tim explains that development can take between four to six months and always starts with a brief from the customer. “Perhaps the main dining room is being refurbished or the old china is looking tired. It may even be a brand new hotel. Either way, we discuss ideas often, and our main designer will be a part of those initial meetings. If you look at London as an example - which probably has the highest density of 5 Star hotels anywhere in the world - most establishments want something different from those around them. Take Park Lane: The Dorchester wants something different to the Intercontinental, Grosvenor House something apart from Four Seasons. Hotels spend millions on creating their differing ambiences and that includes the china.”
Once the basic concept is agreed upon, the designers and technicians begin the work of interpreting the design, usually based on a dinner plate, cup and saucer, on to all of the other items in the range. The latest technology has sped this process up to the point where prototypes can be produced in days rather than weeks. After approval by the customer, fired proofs are produced and signed-off, followed by manufacturing and final delivery.
There are obviously many factors to take into account in the process, from interior design and colourways to the requirements of the head chef, which may differ greatly from the initial ideas. “Our product is the blank canvas for the chef’s art and many of them don’t want too much decoration interfering with the way the food is displayed,” says Harper. “We’ve been known to complete the process from initial meeting to delivery in 3 months, but this is rare and relies on getting it right first time with no alterations from both sides,”
Thereafter, WWRD carry an agreed par-stock of product and decals, enabling it to keep the establishment regularly serviced depending on their requirements.
With an illustrious brand story, afternoon tea at The Savoy is only a recent chapter in a lineage that stretches back to Catherine the Great’s Frog Service - on permanent display in St. Petersburg’s Summer Palace – and which will continue with each new commission and collaboration.
www.wedgwood.com
PETITS FOURS
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PETITS FOURS
Genesis by AffinityVilleroy & Boch
The Genesis by Affinity range from Villeroy & Boch insists that colour is the new white and focuses on bringing vibrancy to the table. The multifunctional series of pots, cups, plates and platters takes inspiration from the latest interior design trends, offering original colour schemes and providing distinctive dining options for a wide range of F&B environments. Robustly made and dedicated to bringing expressive tones of red, blue and yellow to the restaurant space, Genesis provides a functional alternative to minimalism.
www.pro.villeroy-boch.com
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PETITS FOURS
Refreshment Barrels Frilich
With a capacity of five or eight litres, Frilich’s Refreshment Barrels are available either as a complete presentation solution or are customisable depending on need.
Bases come in a variety of options – from wood in white or ‘natural’ to black and stainless steel – and all include a cooling pack. Additionally an infusion tube that can be placed inside the jar provides an opportunity to provide multiple flavoured beverages.
www.frilich.de
Deluxe ChaferElia International
Manufactured to an exceptional standard in polished, heavy gauge 18/10 stainless steel Elia International’s chafing dishes are available in stainless, brass or chrome finish.
Durable and designed with practicality and function in mind, the deluxe range of chafing dishes is intended to bring a heightened elegance to buffet service and professional food presentation.
Elia International has been supplying the on-trade sector for 25 years, with a sharp focus on product development.
www.elia.co.uk
SequenceHepp
Featuring 40 pieces, Sequence is a modular buffet concept intended to provide an alternative to rigid square serving options. The system is available in various dimensions and material combinations, such as wood, porcelain, stainless steel, fabric, Corian and plastic.
Trapezoid serving dishes can be combined with ‘frames’ to ensure symmetry, with these frames also providing a presentation platform for food products. From ice buckets to lined breadbaskets, versatility and innovation is at the core of Sequence.
www.hepp.de
Multi-Chef InductionRosetto
An alternative to fuel burners, Rosetto assert that the precise warming technology of the Multi-Chef Induction Set heats food ‘better and faster’. The set also allows chefs and serving staff to control temperatures over time to preserve food quality, reducing waste and ensuring a more consistent quality.
Sets feature patented magnetic systems to hold chafers in place and, by eliminating the need for canned fuel, lower costs for the user and can heat continuously for nine hours.
www.rosseto.com
LaCimbali S30 is the new superautomatic machine created to offer up to 24 different recipes. The grouphead design guarantees maximum reliability and consistent beverage quality, while the new milk circuit delivers hot and cold frothed milk directly to the cup.LaCimbali S30, the perfect way to satisfy every taste.
WIDE BEVERAGE MENU
BUILT-IN RELIABILITY
BI-DIRECTIONAL WIFI CONTROL
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DominoTiger
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the inception of Tiger, the South Korean manufacturer of high quality buffetware. Since its launch in 1996, Tiger has provided the hospitality industry with innovative designs and reliable service, becoming a key brand for the hotel F&B industry.
Having emerged as a subsidiary of Daijin Enterprise Co. after chairman and founder M Y Chang saw an opportunity in the hospitality business, Tiger has grown from a small workshop in South Korea, to a 20,000m2 factory in Tianjin, China, and eventually to a design centre in Italy. Over the past two decades, Tiger has expanded under the direction of Chang, and more recently his son, to ensure a consistently personal and familiar design voice.
Tiger believes that its products should be technologically advanced, elegantly designed and competitively priced, an attitude that has helped elevate it to its current position within the
industry - one that sees its urns, dispensers, roll-top dishes, hollowware and trolleys present in dining spaces the world over.
With distributors in North America, Europe and Asia, Tiger’s presence in the hospitality industry has now spread to over 50 countries and thousands of properties including developments by Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Jumeirah, Marriott and IHG.
Korean engineers now work with Italian designers and Chinese manufacturers to achieve a truly global product, instilled with the same values outlined in the brand’s longstanding motto, one that states simply ‘no compromise in quality.’
Tiger’s latest range of banqueting equipment, titled Domino, is a selection of eco-friendly, induction-heated buffet components. By switching to an induction-heated system, the same level of heat is achieved as that of traditional products, but with 70% less electricity used.
The Domino stackable carving station is
designed with a minimalist and modern sensibility, and incorporates a juice collecting carving board, and stackable base for easy storage. Notable for being the first dishwasher-proof carving station in the industry, the product brings together sleek design, optimal functionality and effortless storage and maintenance.
The Domino range embodies Tiger’s approach to both aesthetics and performance, with a sustainable approach to contemporary buffetware and dining room products, and a design appropriate for a wide variety of environments and design schemes. Now 20 years into production, and with a legacy of reliability and innovation, Tiger continues to create products without compromising quality, and with an increasing demand for their products and designs throughout the hospitality industry.
www.tigerhotel.co.kr
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OlympicStölzle Lausitz
Matt white and glossy black, glossy white and matt black - the new Olympic series of glasses from Stölzle Lausitz creates inspiring accents in bars and restaurants. As a counterpoint to matte or glossy outer surfaces, the brand brings gold, silver and bronze together for an element of drama.
Olympic features tumblers, cocktail glasses and champagne saucers – designed to reflect the latest interior and lifestyle trends.
www.stoelzle-lausitz.com
RoroRosenthal
When German architect Walter Gropius lost a bet to Philip Rosenthal he was tasked with designing a sty for Rosenthal’s pet pig Roro. Whilst the sty was never built, generations later Gropius’s illustrations have been translated by designer Ewelina Wisniowska into a motif for the aptly titled Roro range.
Variations of the pig illustration adorn multiple pieces, from plates and bowls to a teapot, which are designed to complement components from the Tac range.
www.rosenthal.de
Glass-Bead BlastingWMF Professional
There are currently more ways and means of surface-finishing cutlery than ever before. WMF Professional is meeting this sustained desire for out-of-the-ordinary flatware with a new, more delicate form of finishing: glass-bead blasting. Glass-bead blasted cutlery has a silky matt character, combined with a totally homogeneous surface.
Every cutlery collection from WMF Professional can be reinterpreted with this process and it also works on stainless steel hollowware, such as sugar bowls, trays and bread dishes.
www.wmf.com
Roots, MatrixZieher
Opposing in form and shape but utlimately complementary, the Roots and Matrix ranges add up to a harmonic overall composition.
The bowls of the Roots series reflect natural forms, whilst Matrix is geometrically constructed, using hexagons and conveying a cleaness of style. Produced using traditional sand casting, the pieces funtion both as practical serving dishes and also as decorative tabletop objects. Glass platters from the Fakir series can be placed atop to offer a variety of further serving options.
www.zieher.com
Restaurant
22-23 November 2016The Business Design Centre, London
The HotelDesign Event
22-23 November 2016The Business Design Centre, London
The HotelDesign Event
What do you see when you go to Sleep?Sleep 2016 presents and explores the most exciting products, technologies and ideas for the evolving values of hotel guests.
Comprising the exhibition, conference and installations including the ‘Science of Tribes’ Sleep Set competition, Sleep invites you to look again at hotel design.
Register now at www.thesleepevent.com using code SLP2
HOTEL & RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLACE
06-10 November 2016 / Paris / France
Get your free access badge on www.equiphotel.com IUK01CODE
From July 2016
EquipHotel Office / Promosalons UK [email protected] / Tel. (020) 8216 3104
Organised by
In partnership with
1,600 exhibitors (37 countries) / 30 activity sectors / 111,000 profesionals (133 countries)
pub_EH16_236x275_badge_gb.indd 1 07/04/2016 11:23
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Ice BallVeen
With the Veen Ice Ball, Veen reveals an innovative new method for introducing ice to whisky. Inspired by the ancient Japanese craft of hand-cutting ice and based on Nordic ice proficiency, the ice ball minimises spirit dilution and provides an optimal temperature for both flavours and aromas to flourish. The strikingly designed, cubic Veen Ice Ball produces a slow-melting sphere of ice to offer whisky lovers a visually appealing and long-lasting frozen accompaniment to their drink.
Of course, applying water changes a whisky’s flavour profile on a molecular level. Not any water – or ice – is ideal. Mineralised waters and ice taint the whisky with their own characteristics. VEEN Velvet and VEEN Effervescent offer smoothness, low mineral content and allow the drinker to detect even the subtlest of nuances in the spirit, without adding any characteristics of their own.
www.veenwaters.com
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Tilia ObsidianStudio William
As part of the brand’s 10-year anniversary, Studio William has released the limited edition Tilia Obsidian finish. The simple, clean flowing forms and angular notes of the series provide a durable, versatile option for tabletop, while the new finish provides a point of difference from more typical polished cutlery. Tilia Obsidian is made using the finest quality 18/10 Stainless Steel and coated in a hardwearing gunmetal grey PVD Titanium.
www.studiowilliam.com
ShineZieher
The stainless steel bowls of the Shine series are double walled and therefore have an isolating effect. This helps to avoid generating condensed water, even at elevated temperatures. Cold food stays cold and warm food stays warm for longer.
The inside of the bowls come in three variations: fine brushed stainless steel and two food-safe coatings in ivory and taupe. Shine is also available in three different sizes, with diameters of 16cm, 20cm and 24cm.
www.zieher.com
Gunmetal BlackCocktail Kingdom
Featuring a mix of barspoons, stirrers, jiggers and strainers, Cocktail Kingdom unveil a collection of practical, attractive barware in gunmetal black.
As a well-known manufacturer and distributor, Cocktail Kingdom has developed a reputation for developing pieces with a style-conscious sensibility.
The collection in gunmetal black has been developed in collaboration with leading industry names, from Nico de Soto to Don Lee, whilst items such as the Leopold Jigger are inspired by vintage barware of the 1930s.
www.cocktailkingdom.com
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W1 CoupeZalto
Zalto’s W1 Coupe is mouth blown and ideal for water, soft drinks and spirits. With a 370ml capacity, it is formed from Zalto’s signature ultra-fine glass, balancing tactility and fragility with practicality and function.
Founded in 2006 and having developed a profile as an industry leader, Zalto glassware is produced without the addition of lead oxide and is resistant to clouding. The company’s understated water glasses and tumblers are a natural accompaniment to superior stemware.
www.zaltoglas.at
Photography: Scott Gordon Bleicher
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UrkiolaGeorg Jensen
A strikingly modern collection of Art Deco inspired tableware, the Urkiola collection from Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola brings together minimalist design with scratch resistant, durable materials. Comprising five pitchers, three bowls, two vases, two candleholders and a tray, this stainless steel range comes in an elegant, warm rose gold, with a striped ribbing texture. Drawing inspiration from the brand’s history and legacy, the Urkiola series aims to bring strict, simple lines to Georg Jensen’s diverse product portfolio.
www.georgjensen.com
PETITS FOURS
facebook.com/BarConvent twitter.com/BarConventBER
Organised by
INTERNATIONAL BAR AND INTERNATIONAL BAR AND INTERNATIONAL BAR AND BEVERAGE TRADE SHOWBEVERAGE TRADE SHOWBEVERAGE TRADE SHOW
SAVE THE DATE!
11 & 12 OCTOBER 2016STATION BERLIN
WWW.BARCONVENT.COM
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RW2Robert Welch
RW2 cutlery has soft concave detailing on each handle and the design is an updated version of Robert Welch’s Alveston cutlery, first released in 1962. Spoons and forks are made using the highest quality 18/10 stainless steel. Knife blades are made from specially hardened stainless steel to provide the finest possible cutting edge. The collection is available in both Satin and Mirror finish and is dishwasher safe.
www.robertwelch.com
YayoiCookplay
Designed by Ana Roquero, Yayoi invites service with a focus on healthy eating and creativity. Four plates can be arranged freeform to inspire menus based on eating smaller quantities but with more varied dishes.
The Yayoi dining set helps chefs plan a complete meal by valuing the volume and capacity of different foods - carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, and protein.
Cookplay is supplied exclusively in the UK by Continental Chef Supplies.
www.cookplay.eu | www.chefs.net
Shabby ChicSchönwald
Schönwald asserts that the gastronomic landscape is reinventing itself: instead of perfection, the focus has now shifted to authenticity. With this ethos in mind, the Shabby Chic range has been developed to provide an alternative to sharp, ultra-minimal tabletop styles.
Available in eight different variations in shades of blue, grey or stone-look - both with and without ornamentation - Shabby Chic unfold its unique charm in combination with coarse linen, accessories in gleaming matte silver or rustic woods.
www.schoenwald.com
RocksBonna
Bonna’s practice of hand painting continues with new colour options in the brand’s Rocks series. With the same edge chip and warranty advantages of the ivory white collections, Rocks was developed to bring a warmth to Bonna’s offer and reflect the growing trend for more ‘personality rich’ tableware in the HORECA sector.
With a mottled visual, the Rocks collection features ‘underglaze hand painting’ to create depth of field between the solid ‘rock hard’ body and brilliant glaze.
www.bonna.com.tr
PETITS FOURS
142
41 Madison 115
Aberfeldy 014
AHC 145
Bar Convent 139
Bartech 109
Beluga Vodka 006 & 007
Bonna 055
Cimbali 129
Craigellachie 061
David Mellor 059
Dewars 077
Dick 140
EquipHotel 134
Hendrick’s 042
HEPP 047
Hoffmaster 121
Hotel Show Dubai 126
HX 143
Kilner 018
Maldon Salts 071
Marques de Caceres 035
MCIC 119
Merchant’s Heart 079
ADVERTISING INDEX
Narumi 004
Nude 095
Perrier Jouet 010 & 011
Robert Welch 017
Ron Barcelo 101
Rosseto 103
Royal Brackla 081
Sleep 133
Stolze 039
Studio William 148
Tanqueray No. Ten 063
The London Number One 008 & 009
Tiger Company 051
To The Table Asia 137
To The Table Europe 122
Vero Water 012
Victorinox 067
Villeroy & Boch 029
Walco 117
Wedgwood 021
WMF 049
Zieher 045
Steak and sizzle, we bring it all to the table.
Join us in the hospitality capital of the world for inspiration,innovation, and information. Just walking the show floor you’llfind eye-catching demos, inventive exhibits, lively conversations—or even your next best offering.
NOVEMBER 13-15, 2016 JACOB K. JAVITS CONVENTION CENTER NEW YORK CITY
REGISTER NOW for the largest hospitality show in North America.
www.thehotelexperience.us
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144
THE WASHING UP
They say third time’s a charm, and for issue three of Supper we spoke to three behemoths of the industry who have all benefi tted from charmed careers. Adam Tihany, Pierre Koffmann and Alex Kratena are fi gureheads of their respective crafts: one design, one food and one drink.
Individually they represent three distinct disciplines and yet each extoll the virtues of collaboration. It’s an ethos on which the global hotel F&B industry is built.
At Supper we welcome collaborative opportunities and are actively seeking to work with hotel F&B outlets, chefs, bartenders, suppliers, creative agencies and food stylists. For further details, please contact us.
I’d like to thank all of those involved in our third issue and, as always, we appreciate your feedback. Should you have any questions or suggestions feel free to drop me an email at [email protected].
Until our next Supper.
Harry McKinley | Editor
AHC
ANNUAL HOTEL CONFERENCE1 2 & 1 3 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6
H I LT O N M A N C H E S T E R D E A N S G A T E
Supper Editor, Harry McKinley will moderate “Maligned to Refined: The face of hotel F&B is changing, whether you are creating your own
concept or franchising a well-known brand, this session
will make sure you don’t get left behind in the bar and
restaurant revolution”. This session will take place on
Wednesday 13th Oct at 12.30pm.
An exclusive discounted independent hotelier rate is
available. Please contact Rowan Scahill on
[email protected] for further details.
Running for the 13th year and attracting over 800 delegates, The AHC is the leading event for the UK hotel industry.Join independent hoteliers, owners, operators and managers as well as investors, developers, designers, architects, consultants and tourism leaders for a day and a half of unrivalled practical knowledge designed to add real value to your business operations.
• The Programme – New for 2016 are a series of operational workshops on Technology, Digital and Revenue and Distribution. Traditional panel sessions, interviews and presentations covering F&B, Asset Management, Finance and Sales and Marketing also feature.
• AHC Social – an ambient zone with food and drinks served all day
• AHC Innovate – a zone that brings together technology, integrated guest services and emerging design in architecture and use of space that will shape the hotels of our future
• AHC Connect – Podium Bar and Meeting Areas – zones that tie in with the new and improved dedicated social media platform: AHC Connect. Delegates and sponsors can take a break, grab a bite to eat, meet up with peers and catch up with emails throughout the 2 days.
Performing in Transient Times
Learn. Network. Be Inspired.
We look forward to welcoming you to The AHC
@AnnualHotelConf #AHC2016
The Annual Hotel Conference
Join The Annual Hotel Conference Group
To register for the UK’s leading hotel conference, please visit
www.theahc.co.uk
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