Supper - Issue 5

ISSUE 5

Michael Caines

On old ventures, new beginnings and why chefs are like swans

Colin Peter Field

Back behind the bar and ready to serve at The Ritz Paris

The Mezcal Boom

Why the popularity of tequila’s smoky cousin is set to continue

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CONTENTS

Setting

SPECIALS

Entrée 009

Starters

What’s in a Name?

The Butcher

SIPPING Cocktails 045

Beast & Butterflies

Appetizers 017

M Social Singapore

Trends and concepts impacting the world of

Single Thread

global hotel F&B

Single Thread Farms, Healdsburg The Blue Bar

Painting The Roses Red

091

Purple Bar, London

Sir Savigny, Berlin 046

Old Cuban

092

Regency Bar & Grill, NYC 048

Aviator

094

Eau De Vie, Melbourne 050

The Berkeley, London Hotel du Vin Bistro

060

SERVICE

Drinks The Gin Parlour

Hotel du Vin, Brighton

Agave You my Heart Main Course Standing Solo

022

Le Roch Restaurant & Bar

We learn there’s more to Michael Caines

Le Roch Hotel & Spa, Paris

than cooking as we speak to the celebrated

Pascale

chef about his new ventures

QT Melbourne Deák St Kitchen 028

Ormer Mayfair

Legendary bartender Colin Peter Field on

Flemings Mayfair, London

why a small bar needs big personalities

Anouk

062

A View From Planet F&B

036

The Vine Less Travelled

110

Message in a Bottle

114

066 070 074

SIDES

080 Events 127

Amastan Paris L’Unico

100

Latin Spirit 104

The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest For Whom the Bar Tolls

096

The InterContinental New York Barclay, NYC

084

Petits Fours 132 The Washing Up

Kameha Grand, Zurich

Alec Howard, co-founder of consultancy

122

Afroditi Krassa

Planet, explains why compelling F&B concepts are best left to the professionals

SPREAD High Voltage

051

The Refuge by Volta, The Principal Manchester

005

Setting

“There are probably a handful of bartenders in the world that express themselves through their cocktails.�

Colin Peter Field on the difference between being a bartender and working behind a bar.

DESIGNER. POTTER. RESEARCHER. maham anjum

www.mahamanjum.co.uk

ENTRée

Are You Being Served?

T

here’s a new name in town and it’s aiming to be the most

staff, sommeliers, bartenders or even management has the

grand Budapest hotel of all: The Ritz-Carlton. I visited

ability to shape an entire meal or evening cocktail. With this in

recently and the stay was a thought-provoking one. Not

mind, why do so many hotel groups still assume that what works

only because the eating and drinking spots delivered

in an all-day-dining space in Delhi will work in a lobby bar in

something enjoyably unexpected, but because it reminded me

London? How many travellers have groaned at being asked if

of the power of service to make or break an experience.

their meal is adequate before even lifting the fork? How many

The Ritz-Carlton is one of many hotel groups that in turn have

have expressed frustration to companions at having a not-quite-

many hotels and with any brand we come to develop certain

finished cocktail whisked away from under them for fear that an

expectations: At Waldorf Astoria there will be a Peacock Alley,

empty glass could be left to linger? And how many have grimaced

at Kempinski Hotels there will be a lady in red and the lobby of

inside at being told to have a nice day, muttered by someone

every Langham Hotel will be diffused with the same signature

whose gaze never fails to leave the screen or notepad in front of

scent, that crisp mix of ginger flower and green grass.

them? These are often the result of edicts issued to staff and yet,

These kinds of brand signifiers have their place. They often

when deployed with such rigidity, they usually serve as irritants,

provide comforting touchpoints for the global traveller and a

leaving guests feeling like a test-exercise in customer relations.

sense of consistency. They are as much a part of a hotel’s identity as its logo or uniforms.

What was so surprising therefore, was how surprised I was to find the cookie-cutter approach banished to the back room

Less reassuring however, is when this notion of commonality,

in Budapest. Many preach personalised service, but few truly

homogeny even, manifests itself in the service culture of these

practice it. So accustomed I’ve become to the generic patter and

kinds of international brands.

routine of the restaurant, that its absence was a delicious amuse-

Not long ago I met with Colin Field, now back conducting

bouche to be savoured and devoured. Instead of the perfunctory

his orchestra of bartenders from behind the counter of Bar

greetings and stilted recommendations, at Deák St. Kitchen

Hemingway at the Ritz Paris. He passionately opined his distaste

there was chat and personality. Having conveyed a preference

for restrictive brand service standards - standards that simply

of red wine, the delivery of a glass came complete with a short

wouldn’t work in his ever-popular establishment. He riled

demonstration in the art of artful decanting and an exchange of

against ‘guidelined’ greetings, forced smiles and consultants

Instagram handles with the sommelier.

who insist that there’s a precise interval at which guests must

In quietly observing the room through three courses, it was

be asked if they’d like another drink. He’s perennially thankful

interesting to note the diversity of service: a loved-up couple

that he’s had the freedom to adapt Bar Hemingway’s service

being left to their romantic tête-à-tête and saved the annoyance

principles organically to fit the character of his customer. It

of regular check-ups; a waitress sharing a boisterous joke with

stops, as he says, his staff thinking of guests as room numbers

a large group about a photo on the wall; and a bartender fixing

and reminds them that behind every order is an individual who

up a cocktail for an older American pair while earnestly offering

deserves to be treated individually.

a potted history of the city. More interesting, despite these

With the degree of emphasis placed on design, concept and

different approaches, each series of guests left with the same

the quality of the produce on the plate or in the glass, it’s often

look of satisfaction. Evidence, if ever it was needed, why one

forgotten that the quality of a guest’s interaction with waiting

service doesn’t fit all.

Harry McKinley | Editor

009

THE BRIGADE

Editorial

Advertising

Finance

Editor-in-Chief

Advertising Manager

Finance Director

Matt Turner

Rachel Chadwick

Amanda Giles

m.turner@mondiale.co.uk

r.chadwick@mondiale.co.uk

a.giles@mondiale.co.uk

Editor Harry McKinley

Marketing

h.mckinley@mondiale.co.uk

Group Credit Controller Lynette Levi l.levi@mondiale.co.uk

Editorial Assistant

Brand Director

Group Financial Controller

Kristofer Thomas

Amy Wright

Sarah Miller

k.thomas@mondiale.co.uk

a.wright@mondiale.co.uk

s.miller@mondiale.co.uk

Contributors

Design

Accounts Assistant Kerry Mountney k.mountney@mondiale.co.uk

Afroditi Krassa

Design

Angus Winchester

David Bell

Emilee Tombs

d.bell@mondiale.co.uk

Corporate

Holly Motion Lauren Ho Noga Tarnopolski

Production

Chairman

Meg Crawford

Dan Seaton

Damian Walsh

Nina Caplan

d.seaton@mondiale.co.uk

d.walsh@mondiale.co.uk

Tara Mastrelli

Photographers

Website designed and developed by 93ft.com Supper is printed by Buxton Press

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APPETISERS

The Delivery Driver Always Rings Twice

In three short years Deliveroo, the third party food delivery

atmosphere or a thoughtfully created restaurant design, but

service, has established itself in 84 cities worldwide,

what use is a multi-million pound renovation if seats are not

built a network of over 6,500 drivers and generated a

being filled? After all, what guest would feel comfortable or at

reported ÂŁ130m in 2016 alone. This service, along with

ease eating in an empty space?

similar resources including JustEat, Uber Eats and a host

However, for all the worrisome discussions this transition

of lesser imitators, has signalled a transition away from

has generated, it may not prove to be the killing blow to

the dining room and into the comfort of the living room.

the industry as has been suspected, but rather a catalyst for accelerated development.

No longer must potential guests venture to London’s Barrel

A change of this magnitude should function to force

& Stone at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel to enjoy its menu, for

restaurateurs and designers into imagining new and

example, as the contents can now be delivered straight to their

innovative designs, experiences and concepts in order to rival

door at a competitive price.

the immediate drain on their dining rooms, ushering the

By doing business with this wave of third party applications, hotel restaurants act out of a necessity to keep up with the

industry into a new era of refreshed competition and varied, experimental experiences.

times and the tech-driven millennial generation driving them,

With any generational shift there will be changes in

but they perhaps run the risk of losing the one thing they hold

consumption habits, but are hotel restaurants ready to act with

over these services: the experience.

purpose and provide justification for today’s diner to shift from

The living room cannot replicate a carefully considered

the sofa to the restaurant?

017

APPETISERS

Window Shopper

For a hotel looking to expand its revenue streams and garner

Shelter hotels sells the distinctive range of Mario Luca Giusti

brand exposure, a retail product element has become key.

glassware that graces the group’s tables, while CitizenM’s

From W Hotels & Resorts selling the beds, linens and pillows

eclectic CollectionM retail concept offers a ‘carry-on’ cocktail

featured in its guestrooms, to Haymarket by Scandic branded

kit for guests to enjoy the brand’s signature drinks at home

beard wax, hospitality projects are increasingly turning

or elsewhere.

to in-house retail spaces to sell products bearing their

Meanwhile, St Regis Hotels & Resorts has expanded on this

name, in the hope of guests raising awareness organically.

idea with its St. Regis cocktail recipe collection, The Bloody Mary Book: a catalogue of signature St Regis variations of the

Though many of these brands predominantly focus on trinkets, novelties and souvenirs, the hotel restaurant can provide an alternate route into the fusion of hospitality and retail.

The first thing that may spring to mind when considering hotel retail concepts could be the generic swathe of t-shirts

Forward thinking projects, including CitizenM and Mama

and mugs on sale in a Hard Rock Hotel gift shop, but by selling

Shelter, have explored this concept in order to sell tableware

products that form the foundation of an F&B experience, a

and glassware, and drinks and recipes from their respective

hotel can demonstrate the value in each individual piece, the

F&B programmes, offering guests the chance to take home the

thought behind their designs, and their positioning as a vital

basic elements that make up their dining experience.

design component in a complete project.

The online shop of the Philippe Starck designed Mama

018

drink, illustrated by artist Bil Donovan.

Celebrating over 50 years in the hospitality industry Inspired by the Malvern hills - the Malvern Collection marries quality and craftmanship with an elegant and timeless appeal for the table.

For more information or samples contact us: Email: hospitality@welch.co.uk Online: robertwelch.com Telephone: +44 (0)1386 840880

APPETISERS

Closing the Loop

Hot on the heels of 2016’s nose-to-tail trend, which saw

peel, and coffee oil extracted from used coffee. Utilising the

chefs incorporating leftover produce into new dishes,

by-products of many common bar staples, the concept has

mixologists are now set to follow suit.

expanded into finding uses for ingredients as wide ranging as tea bags and eggshells.

‘Closed-loop’ cocktails, made from ingredients thrown

“Say you squeeze a lemon, you’re taking the acidity, the

away and otherwise wasted, centres on the concept of

sweetness and some of the flavour and throwing away the bulk

‘upcycling’ substances that would traditionally end up in

of it,” explains Chetiyawardana. “Doing that is completely at

the bin. Through processes including fermentation and

odds with the way I would cook.”

enzymatic reduction, it significantly reduces waste and

Born from experiments conducted in Chetiyawardana’s own

introduces an element of sustainability to the practice.

ingredients lab, the closed-loop cocktail could potentially save

Championed by Ryan ‘Mr Lyan’ Chetiyawardana, the concept

money and raise awareness of the 600,000 tonnes of food that

sees lemon husks turned into falernum syrup for use in gin

the UK alone wastes each year.

sours, a martini comprised of lemon balm made from leftover

020

SERVICE

“I like the analogy of a swan: graceful and calm on the top, but paddling like mad underneath.�

Michael Caines on the life of a chef.

Standing Solo We learn there’s more to Michael Caines than cooking, as we speak to the celebrated chef about his new ventures, the evolving F&B industry and his decision to leave Gidleigh Park after two decades.

Words: Lauren Ho Photography: David Griffen

M

ichael Caines is in high spirits. Then again,

he still looks up to today – Caines witnessed its trajectory

he has a lot to be enthusiastic about. After

and claims he is the first chef to attempt such a venture

departing last year from Gidleigh Park, a

since Blanc’s offering 31 years ago. “Raymond is a dear

country house hotel in Devon, where he

friend and a wonderful mentor,” he says. “For me, the

served as head chef for 21 years, he is finally going solo. It’s

benchmark is Le Manoir. The fact that no one has really

been a gradual process, but characteristic for the Michelin-

tried to do it since, shows you how difficult it is. It’s a

starred chef, whose gentle inflection and measured

challenge that can’t be underestimated. That said, I am not

demeanour is indicative of a career shaped by carefully

recreating Le Manoir, I am setting up Lympstone Manor,

planned business decisions. “I’m not getting any younger,”

which is a hotel, restaurant and vineyard. It is a place for

he jokes. “There’s more to me than cooking and I wanted to

me to be creative, not just in the kitchen, but with the

be in control of my destiny. So I felt it was time to find my

interiors, the style of the house, the grounds, all of that

own country house.”

vision will be mine.”

That country house happens to be a Grade II listed

Our meeting though, takes place at a country house in

Georgian pile set on 28 acres of land overlooking the

an entirely different location. We are sitting in the ornate

estuary in East Devon- a property Caines nearly dismissed

drawing room of Palé Hall, a grand Victorian property

after initially judging it from a black and white photograph.

cradled in the Dee Valley on the fringe of Snowdonia

“I thought it looked awful,” he exclaims. “But when I saw

National Park in North Wales. Owned by first time hoteliers,

it in person, I was speechless. I’ve lived in Exeter all my

Alan Harper, an ex chief executive; and his wife Angela, a

life; Exmouth was my stomping ground and I never knew

former head teacher, the 18-room retreat is an exquisite

this place existed.” Now renamed Lympstone Manor,

mishmash of antique furnishings arranged among original

construction is well under way to bring life to Caines’

details - from geometric floor tiles to decorative cornices,

masterplan for a 21-room food destination, complete

handsome wood panelling and a magnificent stained

with its own vineyard, set to open in the spring. Inspired

glass ceiling. It’s coming up to aperitif hour and the staff

by Raymond Blanc’s Oxfordshire retreat Le Manoir aux

are bustling about, preparing for the arrival of the guests

Quat’Saisons – a hotel he spent his early years in and one

that will soon start to meander through for a pre-dinner

SERVICE

024

SERVICE

Salmon with seasonal vegetables

cocktail. Caines, looking smart in his chef’s whites, has briefly popped

European fare centred on classic skills, using fresh, seasonal and local

out of the kitchen to talk shop, and considering this is the hotel’s

ingredients. On the menu are some of his greatest hits, including a

opening night, he appears largely unruffled. “I like the analogy of a

gracefully executed pan-fried scallop served with tapenade, aubergine,

swan,” he chuckles, when probed. “Graceful and calm on the top, but

tomato vinaigrette, tomato concassé and topped with basil; and delicious

paddling like mad underneath.”

roast wood pigeon presented with pea puree, fricassee of broad beans,

Remarkably, the entire property seems to be running like a well-oiled

peas and mushrooms with Madeira sauce. “I always draw an analogy to

machine. It’s something that can surely be put down to the Harpers’

music,” says Caines. “If you go to watch your favourite band or pop star

decision to bring Caines on board and tap into his industry know-how.

and they don’t sing some of their hits, you’re going to be disappointed.”

It’s a canny move that has worked to benefit both parties. “Palé Hall and

Mixed with Caines’ signature dishes are a series of offerings from

Lympstone Manor complement each other in terms of clientele,” says

Stevenson that have been scrupulously inspected by Caines and the

Caines. “It helps both our profiles, drawing in guests that have enjoyed

Harpers to ensure they fit the bill. “It’s important that the menus draw

what I did when I was at Gidleigh Park.”

from 25 years of experience,” explains Caines. “Gareth can also then

Caines’ proficiency certainly runs deep. From co-launching eight other properties – some under the ABode Hotels umbrella – as the director of F&B with hotelier Andrew Brownsword, opening a restaurant in Abu Dhabi and providing quality nosh to the Williams F1 Team’s

learn from that and understand that, from day one, he’s going to be cooking to a standard that we hope will make an impression.”

Of course, while the food is the main draw - and while it’s been said that Michelin inspectors do not make their judgements based on

motorhome facility, his expertise at Palé Hall is evident from the standard of the staff – many of them former Le Manoir employees – to the seamlessness of the service.

“My experience is reassuring to the Harpers, as they have invested so much into this hotel,” explains

design or interior - from a diner’s

“A restaurant’s interiors should be like an expensive handbag: functional, but at the same time as glamorous on the inside as it is on the outside”

Caines. “But I’ve been lucky. I have

perspective it can cloud or highlight the experience, often cementing the decision to return. There are two dining rooms in Palé Hall: The Henry Robertson Dining Room (named after the original owner of the house), an expansive space with lemon yellow wallpapered walls,

worked with a lot of great people over the years, with the right pedigree

ornate plaster ceilings and views of the vast green gardens outside, and

and attention to detail. Then there are talented people out there ready to

the Venice. Once the kitchen it is now a cosy nook that has been lifted

be given an opportunity, so we are planning on developing and creating

with sparkling chandeliers and intricate Zoffany wallpaper, depicting

our own team. If you are willing and you have personality, then we can

romantic scenes of the canal city. “I remember Gordon Ramsay once

give you the skills.”

said to me that a restaurant’s interiors should be like an expensive

Indeed, one of Caines’ key tasks was to employ a chef to head up the

handbag: functional, but at the same time as glamorous on the inside as

kitchen. A tricky business when the hotel’s foundation is partly based

it is on the outside.” It’s that function that is of most concern to Caines.

on one’s name and reputation. “You need someone who is able to buy

“Firstly, when you walk into a room it has to feel like an incredible

in and develop,” says Caines. “But also the kind of person that isn’t

space in which you want to dine,” he begins. “After that, you’re going

offended by the fact that they have to share the platform with me. It’s a

to be sitting at the table for two or three hours and things have to work;

good opportunity for them to make a name for themselves.”

the table has to be at the right level, lighting is also important. What

The answer is Gareth Stevenson, a determined young man who was

is the point of having a candle if it’s burnt out by the main lights? The

previously the head chef at one of the ABode properties Caines set

background music, the staff, whatever it might be, needs to be well

up in Chester. “He was keen from the start. He’s got a lot of passion

balanced.” And while he ultimately believes that the choice of crockery

and talent and he deserves an opportunity to show that,” says Caines.

or glassware should be an extension of an overall mood or concept, he

“Importantly, he understands my relationship with the Harpers. He is a

also thinks that what you put on the plate is more important.

good chef with some good ideas, which we’ll nurture.”

The food itself is based on Caines’ cooking philosophy: modern

Having worked across a series of different ventures, Caines is at the perfect vantage point to reveal the unique characteristics and differences

025

SERVICE

Banana parfait

between standalone restaurants and those in hotels. “You become

“Overall, hotels have recognised that F&B is a key part of what their

part of an experience in a hotel,” he explains. “Even if your restaurant

offer should be. Even places like Holiday Inn acknowledge that they

might be the draw, you’re not necessarily the main memory that people

can’t really open unless they’ve got a Pizza Express next door. I think

will depart with. They will leave with a sense of place, because of the

hotels now see F&B as value. They don’t necessarily get rid of that space

location, and then the house itself and the drama of the interior you

now, instead they try and nurture it.”

create. The feel and welcome you give the guest, the attention to detail

skills he takes pride in developing. And although composed, he is

assembling a standout menu that will give guests a different experience

notably thrilled about the new chapter in his life. But with so much

over two or three days is challenging - not to mention running a kitchen

going on, you can’t help but wonder how he stays focused. “Sometimes

that is permanently open - he still believes managing a standalone

to move forward, you’ve got to let go,” he discloses. “I also go running,

restaurant is more testing. “If you’re doing a concept as a standalone,

which helps. I trail run. So for the last couple of days, I ran up and down

you have to take your qualities and mould it to fit the market in which

this hill,” he says, half jokingly, pointing behind him. On a more serious

it sits. You will need to compete with the market and also contend with

note, he continues, “I think with Palé Hall, Kentisbury Grange [the other

rivalries on the high street. So I think, from that perspective, it’s harder

existing property in his portfolio] and Lympstone Manor, I’ve found a

work if I’m honest.”

sense of calm in my life. For a long time, I wondered where I’d end up.

Now with 30 or so years of experience under his belt, Caines can

026

Caines clearly has a sharp entrepreneurial sense and keen business

in the room, all of that matters.” And while Caines does admit that

I’d be quite happy if I didn’t move from Lympstone Manor for the rest of

officially be considered an old-timer. Over the years he has witnessed

my life, with that amazing view to admire, and then retreated to Wales

shifts in the industry and talks confidently about how the sector

every now and then to be here at Palé Hall. I could do a lot worse, so I’m

has evolved. “The change has been very positive,” he says, nodding.

happy and I’m really looking forward to the future.”

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SERVICE

For Whom the Bar Tolls With the Ritz Paris having reopened following several years of refurbishment, legendary bartender Colin Peter Field is back behind the counter at Bar Hemingway and continues to prove why this small space needs a big personality at the helm.

Words: Harry McKinley

F

ew figures past or present have seen so many bars lay claim to

celebrated cocktails. None the less, there’s a character to the room

their patronage than Ernest Hemingway. His name is arguably

that captures the eye and the imagination. Black and white images

as synonymous with drinking holes, of various repute, as for his

of Hemingway adorn the walls and dotted on surfaces are various

literary accomplishments. There is, perhaps, a natural synergy

pieces of paraphernalia: a typewriter here, a metal bust there. Field,

between his perceived rambunctiousness and raffish charm, and the world of the saloon. But for all of the establishments that hope to gain

understandably, seems utterly at home.

“This hasn’t been touched at all since ‘97, when we made it bigger,”

a dash of notoriety by riding on his inimitable reputation, one stands

he says, gesturing at the space around us. The hotel at large has recently

apart as the real deal: Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris. It was here

undergone a lengthy and expensive refurbishment, opening in the

that Hemingway would regularly pull up a seat and get lost in lengthy

summer of 2016 after four years shuttered from the public. The fact the

conversation with his closest friend, film actor Gary Cooper.

bar has escaped any tinkering seems a source of satisfaction for Field.

He wasn’t alone among notable names in finding the space a refuge,

When he talks about the bar, he does so with knowledge and affection,

of course. Cole Porter would reportedly spend all day in the bar, whilst

rolling off anecdotes about its history, clearly learnt throughout the

F. Scott Fitzgerald had a favourite seat. It was, for a select group of the

years and deployed regularly.

period, the centre of Paris life. For many today, it still is.

But just as Bar Hemingway continues to be a draw for locals and

“The only way to make this bar work is to not follow the rules,” he says. “There was an incredible man, Bernard ‘Bertin’ Azimont, who

passers-through alike, its connection to formidable personalities also

became head bartender here. Up until the early 70s he would approach

continues. Head bartender Colin Peter Field has been with the bar since

guests and ask if they would like a dry martini. If they said no, they were

its reopening in 1994, winning the accolade of World’s Best Bartender

left dry. He had a waiter that would come up ten minutes later and ask

from various sources in the years since. He’s also been credited with the

what he could make them, but if they wanted Bertin it was a dry martini

invention of several enduring cocktails and for precipitating numerous

or nothing.”

shifts in the field of mixology that have reverberated industry wide.

Today of course, the notion of the famed bartender is accepted.

It’s early evening when me meet at the bar. Still closed, it lacks

Field himself belongs to that exclusive group and, with little conceit, is

some of the electricity that will later be present once the doors have

alluding to the importance of the personality behind the drinks. “This

been flung open, the chatter of guests ebbs through the compact space

went on until Bertin retired in 1974. It took possibly two to three years,

and the bartenders have started the work of serving up the venue’s

but once a bartender leaves the place immediately falls to ruin,” he

029

SERVICE

Photography: Vincent Leroux

continues. “Even here people will often say that they’re not coming in on

it was in defining the service style that Field and the hotel at large most

my days off. Regardless, by 1976 or 1977 this place was over. It was dead.”

came to odds.

It’s just one chapter in a bar that has an important and evolving

“Some hotel companies pride themselves on brainwashing and

legacy. It was in 1979, in an effort to reinvigorate the image following

lobotomising their personnel, but then employees no longer look at

Azimont’s departure, that it was renamed Bar Hemingway. It did the

guests like customers. To them the guest becomes merely a room

trick for a few years, with the Hemingway family regular guests, but it

number, never a person, and the objective is often simply to keep

wasn’t long before popularity once more dipped and in the early 80s

smiling. For many years I was in direct conflict with those kinds of

the bar was closed. It would be a decade in the wilderness for the once

brand standards. We had consultants who would bestow the importance

unstoppable spot, until Field was offered the opportunity to resurrect it

of asking a guest if they’d like another drink when they were two thirds

in 1994.

of the way through their current. I’d ask them why and their brain

A surprise to some, even at the hotel, it was an instant hit. “None of

obviously you’re going to ask, because the drink is going to come in ten

block. They said it was luck. Then three weeks later when it was still full,

minutes time. In France, or elsewhere in Europe, the counter is never

they said it was a new phenomenon,” Field explains. “Three months

more than three or four metres away, so you don’t have to ask that,”

later it was still full and we had newspapers saying it was the best kept

Field says, seemingly flummoxed by the absurdity of catch-all rules. “I

secret in Paris. By 1996 they were saying it was the best bar in France

once challenged this kind of thinking in a meeting and got a call from

and then in 1997 Forbes proclaimed us the best bar in the world.” It was

the GM after telling me to stop giving them a hard time.”

then that the bar was expanded into the space we see today. But to what does Field attribute the rapid recognition? Unsurprisingly, personality.

“When I look back at the things I did I should have been fired 20

This forthright vein may paint Field as the rebellious type, but he’s actually possessed of a healthy respect for the hierarchy that exists within hotels like the Ritz. It is, he says, “the difference between

times,” he says with a laugh. “But like Bertin, it’s personality. With a bar

professionalism and amateurism.” Indeed rigour is something he credits

and a hotel, the architecture and design only counts for the first visit.

to the success of the bar, even if he understands why some bartenders

Once the guest has satisfied their curiosity they’ll only come back if the

find the complex management structure stifling. “A good bartender is a

personnel did their job.”

wolf on the floor. This is what management always want: the wolves on

What constitutes ‘doing their job’ is a subjective idea of course. And

030

would freeze. If your counter is 50 metres away in Texas or somewhere,

the top brass at the Ritz would believe that I was absolutely chock-a-

the floor but the sheep in the meeting room. That’s where a bartender

DIAMANT We produce in Germany. hotel.seltmann.com

SERVICE

must take deep breaths and be humble. It’s not always easy for

to for aperitifs before dinner. It’s a quaint story, but it belies a much

bartenders to adapt to a management situation, where everything is said

deeper connection. He describes thinking of the bar as a ‘magical world’

calmly and without any emotion. In the bar we’re emotional,” he says,

from an early age. Not the cocktails or the alcohol, per se, but the

shifting forward in his seat to add an air of gravitas. “It’s the way of the

dynamic interaction between people. This romantic view captured him

world. But even on the ground, in the bar, it’s important to be able to sit

from his teenage years and never let go, and perhaps never has let go.

down, think dispassionately and know the difference between the star

At 19 he sold his collection of flies and his bicycle, raising the

cocktails and the dead dogs. If someone presents me with a product, for

princely sum of £80. Not a fortune, even by the standards of the time,

example, or I want to present a product, it’s about three questions: What

but enough to finance a week in Paris during which he would find an

will this product give to my bar? Am I going to make money with this

apartment and a job. He was successful, and three days in he’d secured

product? Will this give me client satisfaction greater than I have right

employment and board at a three star hotel on the rue La Fayette. He

now or even publicity? Now, if I can answer those three questions, no

worked there for a year, all the while fine-tuning his patchy A Level

manager in the world is going to say I can’t have it. So learning to think

French and avoiding the English ‘like a vampire avoids priests’.

like a professional is vital and that means structure.”

Averse as he is to rigid policies that he doesn’t feel befit a venue like

His parents were unable to finance his Paris sojourn – although after 30 years he’s now very much resident - and so it was through grit and

Bar Hemingway, Field is a stickler for those he feels do. “We’re very

determination that he was able to save and pay his own way through

friendly in our way,” he says. “But I’m particular. A cocktail must take

hotel school. “So in the daytime I was studying and in the evening I

45 seconds; the glass must be at -18.3 Celsius; the garnish must take 15

was working at a different hotel, the Hotel Scribe,” he recalls. “But the

seconds; the glass must be on the table within one and a half minutes;

paradox is that you go to hotel school to be the assistant head bartender

the almonds on the table must be warm; there must be somewhere to

of the Scribe, which I already was. So my schoolteachers would give me

put the olive pips; and I want to see full glasses of water with ice. I want

my notes so I didn’t have to take any, as my passing was a foregone

to see all of those things, but with a smile and a cool approach. If I don’t

conclusion. I just wanted to be able to say that I’d gone to hotel school.

I go mad.”

If you haven’t in this profession you

He rattles off these requirements so

don’t garner very much respect from

rapidly, it’s difficult at first to keep track.

young people.”

We imagine, with such fastidiousness in his approach to cocktail making, he’s as particular a customer as he is a bartender.

At the suggestion he recalls a recent experience when drinking in another hotel with a well-known artist chum.

Having finished his martini before his

Without descending into cliché, Field

“A good bartender is a wolf on the floor. This is what management always want: the wolves on the floor but the sheep in the meeting room.”

and encouraging the next generation of service professional. He has been instrumental in defining standards for the industry, creating what is now called the Meilleur Ouvrier de France for

companion, the bartender whisks it away

bartenders, a degree from the Sorbonne

asking if he’d like another. As ‘etiquette

University. He also teaches in Montreux,

dictates’ he’s loathe to order another

Switzerland, and is president of the jury

martini until they’re both ready, and so challenges the bartender: “I ask

of the Meilleur Apprenti de France. “All of my colleagues are Meilleur

if he’s just thrown me out.” Cue manager called by the bartender and

Apprenti de France, which means they’re in the top 20 of the country,”

the offer of a cleared tab. It was an experience that Field understandably

he says. “Some are in the top four.”

found uncomfortable. The intention ultimately, wasn’t to cause a

As if on cue, the colleagues of which Field speaks are beginning to

scene, but service – not just good, but appropriate – is something he’s

arrive for their shift. One is beckoned to the table, her scarf still half

passionate about. “People in Europe do not enjoy being left in front of an

around her neck and only one arm freed from her winter coat. “This

empty table,” he says. “At Bar Hemingway I don’t go up to people like

is Pauline,” he says, with a kind of pride usually reserved for the

that and ask them if they want another drink. I’ll ask if there’s anything

introduction of a person’s offspring. “She’s our Miss Air France if you

I can do and it seems to me extremely evident what I’m saying, but I

will: impeccable presentation and impeccable English. Her only fault is

want guests to relax and take it easy. This is not New York and this is not

that she speaks English with an American accent. So annoying. She’s

a bar where if you want to stay you have to pay,” he says, firmly. “We’ve

one of my saviours, though. If she weren’t here I would probably have

really adapted the standards of this bar and it works for my clients.”

drowned by now. I won’t say anymore in case it goes to her head.”

Field’s relationship with his clients - many of whom are regulars that

As Pauline departs Field uses the opportunity to segue into praise for

appear three times a week or more – goes beyond jovial tête-à-tête or

his team. Despite his reputation and the pull he personally provides for

remembering how they like their martini, he will often join them for

guests, he’s quick to establish that Bar Hemingway is far from a one-

lunch or dinner and some have been known to go for meals or attend

man show. “Nobody is perfect and I’m the least perfect of all,” he says.

casual soirees at his home. He has, by all accounts, thrown himself into

“I’ve got a team that is somewhere between the Magnificent Seven and

his work and the distinction between Field behind the bar and in front is

the Dirty Dozen. Each one of us has a very large number of faults but the

often blurred. It’s clear he has found himself in the field he was born for.

good parts in one balance out the faults in another.”

He’s always known he wanted to be a bartender. At age 17 he transformed his bedroom into a bar – a place he could invite girls over

032

now dedicates his efforts to giving back

But whilst he’s happy to delegate the likes of administration, there’s no doubting that Field is the inventive mind behind the bar. He was

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SERVICE

Phtotography: Vincent Leroux

the first to bring the use of surgical tweezers to the art of mixology,

professionals like Ago Perrone, Walter Pintus, Simone and Alex, Federico

had pioneered raspberry vodka long before the likes of Absolut began

Morosi and Walter Nisi on the Orient Express.”

producing a version, and even the now ubiquitous cucumber water was

be long before queues have begun to form outside Bar Hemingway’s

Petraske first served it at Milk and Honey in New York City. “We’re not

doors in readiness for opening. But in short time we’ve spent in his

giving out the recipe for the Clean Dirty Martini we’ve just created,” he

company, we feel as though we’ve got the cut of the man. He’s exacting:

says with a laugh. “I think we’ve been too generous with information.”

a Negroni is served in a tumbler, never an Old Fashioned glass; people

He’s also credited with the invention of the Picasso Martini, the

034

We’re over time. Field is nonchalantly late for a meeting and it won’t

first popularised at Bar Hemingway despite the widely held belief Sasha

who drink Long Island Iced Teas are idiots; and he has an aversion to

Highland Cream Cocktail and the Serendipity. But when it comes to new

unnecessary spectacle. As he says, “Flair isn’t flinging bottles around.

creations he believes in simplicity. “Two or three ingredients max. The

Flair is style.” He drinks a Dry Martini, but doesn’t appreciate having

base of the cocktail is the star. So you never put two base alcohols in. It’s

to wait an age for it to be made. He riles against the term mixologist:

like putting Mohammed Ali and Joe Bugner in the same room. They’ll

“It’s like Tom Cruise saying he’s a star for a living.” He gets his sense of

start screaming at each other. Then what you do on the right you have to

patter and showmanship from his father who once said to him, “There’s

do on the left. If you’re putting in Cointreau, which is orange and sweet,

no use having the goods on the wall and hoping someone will come

you have to put in acidic citrus on the other side. You must always look

and buy them, you have to sell.” But perhaps the most important thing

for a perfect balance.”

to acknowledge about Field is that his meticulousness – like the best

All of this talk of cocktails has, inevitably, brought us full circle.

cocktails – is perfectly balanced with charisma and charm, and also that

For Field, personality, not necessity, is the mother of invention. “I’ll

this meticulousness isn’t self indulgent, but employed in the interests of

often ask bartenders if they’re artists. There are probably a handful

his guests. He seeks, at all times, to deliver the best possible experience.

of bartenders in the world that express themselves through their

It is for that reason that there are queues outside Bar Hemingway to

cocktails. One of the greatest artists in the bar world is Alex Kratena. He

begin with, and why a seat at a table inside is a prize to be appreciated.

and Simone [Caporale] are a great team. They have something to say

He may be an Englishman - born to a South African father and German

and something to communicate through their work. There are a lot of

mother - who lives in France but, to him, “hospitality is universal.”

unqualified bartenders out there talking very loudly about the profession

And, as he says of Bar Hemingway, “What more are we but a small bar

with their three to four years experience. It does a great disservice to the

with a big reputation?”

Creating Hospitality

AMARAH

The sense of origin!

Villeroy & Boch S.Ă .r.l.

Hotel & Restaurant 330, rue de Rollingergrund 2441 Luxembourg Tel.: + (352) 46 82 11 Fax: + (352) 46 90 22 E-mail: info.hr@villeroy-boch.com www.villeroy-boch.com/hotel

VLH_15381_AZ_Amarah_HotelierME_236x275_LY1.indd 1

25.09.15 10:51

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Consultation:

A View From Planet F&B Alec Howard, co-founder of Planet, explains why compelling F&B concepts are often best left to the professionals.

Words: Emilee Tombs

F

or some years, hotel F&B spaces were little more than an afterthought: rooms in which hotel guests came to claim their complimentary breakfast; rarely given much thought, except at top tier destinations. Yet in the last ten or so years the world of food

and beverage - both in and out of the hotels - has changed immeasurably and, today, the eating and drinking concepts we find inside are often more popular than the overall hotels in which they reside.

Boutique hotels may have been the catalyst for this shift, particularly at groups such as Ace Hotel, which has created a destination restaurant with London’s Hoi Polloi, and Edition, with Berners Tavern as just two examples. Yet it’s often the larger hotel groups that have the budget to really splash out on the F&B experience and celebrity chefs. The lines are continually blurring, with well-known restaurants such as Nobu operating many of its outposts from hotels: from the InterContinental in Hong Kong to the Four Seasons Lanai, and even a hotel-restaurant merge in Las Vegas.

Many of the world’s best chefs and bartenders have done stints in hotels, from Nathan Outlaw to Raymond Blanc; David Chang and the award-winning Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan.

“The gap between pitch perfect F&B and what most hotels are doing

036

Qbic London City

is widening into a yawning chasm,” says Alec Howard,

well, having recently created a pop-up restaurant and

co-founder of Planet, a consultancy that creates and

butcher shop at Park Hyatt in Zurich, called Hung’ER.

reworks F&B concepts for some of the world’s best

“Our brief was to look at the space in its current

regarded hotel groups. “Without a compelling story

market and create a new concept that was respectful

you’ve got nothing, and some hotels really need help

of the restaurant’s original success. With Hung’ER we

with that.”

told a completely different story based on butchery

Along with Simone Breiner, Howard set up Planet in 2010 with the mission to transform the way hotels think about, and act upon, their F&B spaces. Having originally

and local craft. It was less formal and more urban,” explains Howard.

Launched by the hotel team in partnership with a local

met at an earlier agency, the duo combines Howard’s

butcher, and championing Swiss meat and nose-to-tail

experience as a Michelin-starred chef and Breiner’s

eating, it proved a hit with hotel guests and locals alike.

concept and operations credentials to provide specialist

Backed up by a well-defined social media strategy, it

and much-in-demand F&B skills.

illustrates how hotels are working in association with

Supported by a small team, Howard and Breiner create, detail and originate everything from a bijou café

agencies such as Planet to drive creative thinking.

“It can be hard for non-F&B specialists to get it right.

to a hotel’s entire F&B provision, with a focus on how

The landscape changes so quickly and you only need to

tomorrow’s guest will eat, drink and socialise. “It’s about

be off on three or four of the important details for it not

creating that narrative for the external guest and then

to work. We see so many examples where an enormous

relentlessly following up on all the details,” says Howard.

amount of money is spent on fit-out and back-of-house

With a broad range of projects across Europe, the Middle

design but there’s no soul. Rather than an engaging

East and Southwest Asia, their perspective draws on a

experience you end up with rooms and furniture”.

Getting it right relies upon being aware of trends in the industry and watching how smaller, early-adopter

“Without a compelling story you’ve got nothing, and some hotels really need help with that.”

communities operate in big cities, in order to translate these trends into successful concepts in-house From watching the way that street food and pop-up restaurants take off, to what guests and non-guests want from F&B more generally, agencies such as Planet demonstrate that eating and drinking provides

wide range of markets, challenges and opportunities.

emotional experiences and that great F&B concepts will

“Our perspective is that changing lifestyles with a desire

not only animate and bring a space to life, but encourage

for relaxed authenticity heralds a new era in food and

customer loyalty. “It has been proven by global brands

drink appreciation, an era that requires hotel brands,

that you can secure loyalty through great F&B and

owners and operators to think differently and behave

the people on the corporate accounts are now making

in new ways,” says Howard. “Ace probably set the

choices based on this,” says Howard.

benchmark in terms of captivating F&B, and now it’s

and bars being opened inside hotels, there’s a genuine

up with rock solid execution. In terms of F&B, often

need for support from consultancies, who often come in

the real opportunity lies with the outside guest. Busy

to revamp existing or failing propositions.

concepts create life, energy and soul, bringing a hotel space to life in a way that is engaging and ‘real’.”

Of course, it’s not just the chef and the menu that

038

With an increasing number of destination restaurants

about changing mindsets, being bold and backing that

At the Andaz Delhi in Aerocity, Planet has two concepts: Anamia, a reimagining of a modern European food hall inspired by the Indian landscape; and the

attracts customers today, but the design. That goes for

Hong Kong Club, a Cantonese dim sum lounge. At Qbic

everything from the menus to the signage; the interiors

in London City, Planet took a more hands-on approach.

and the tableware, because although it’s sometimes

“The Qbic brand has a small but very important F&B

a source of disdain, today’s restaurateur often has

component which we were called in to look at and to

to consider the ability to impress ‘Instagrammers’

assess what worked and what didn’t.” As it was already

and social media influencers. Planet know this all too

an operating space, Planet didn’t have much room for

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manoeuver with the design, so instead concentrated

perspective and drive, from the initial abstraction

on the brand and how the concept worked within it,

though to launch. “Shamiana was so much more than

writing the menus, and creating a seasonal British

an F&B concept,” he says. “It was about restoring

café using produce sourced as locally as possible.

and updating an institution, and giving it back to the

“Qbic has a challenging location to the back of Brick

people of South Bombay. It is a great story involving

Lane and it competes with a lot of other restaurants

so much love and loyalty towards both the Taj and

and pop-ups, so we really had our work cut out,”

Shamiana, it has been a real privilege to have played

says Howard.

a part.”

At the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, Planet was

Partnering with the right F&B provider can lead

brought onboard to revive Shamiana, a much-loved

to an increase in profits for the F&B department and

and once iconic 24-hour coffee shop originally

can ultimately drive up occupancy levels, yet one of

launched in the 1970s. “It was the most famous place

the industry’s most significant points of debate is

in Bombay. Anyone you talk to still has a fondness for

the ability of large hotel groups to create progressive

the Taj Mahal Palace and Shamiana.”

concepts singlehandedly.

Planet’s role was to work with the hotel team to

But with the help of those who have made F&B

tell the story in a way that is relevant today, as well

their sole focus, who look to trends and seek to turn

as bringing the venue to life through the food and

the traditional hotel F&B business model on its head,

drink. The agency also consulted on the menus, a

hotel owners and operators can increasingly get feet

key element in defining the narrative. Howard is

through their doors, even if they haven’t booked a

quick to point out that this was very much delivered

room for the night.

Shamiana, Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai

by the highly-skilled and experienced team at the hotel, however Planet provided a crucial global

www.planet-fb.com

039

Creamy grains, nettles and Finnish caviar

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Hotel Montefiore

Thorsten Schmidt Words: Noga Tarnopolsky

L

ast November celebrated Danish chef Thorsten

“I brought the way we approach making food and thinking

Schmidt spent a week in Tel Aviv. The motive,

about food in the northern countries,” Schmidt says,

however, was not principally to escape Copenhagen’s

describing, for example, one plate he conjured up: “We

frigid clime. He came, he says “on an intense

took fresh dates, fresh off the trees. I’ve never seen

workshop” for a week-long chef’s residency at the Hotel

anything like that. Until now I’ve only known dates that

Montefiore, a Tel Aviv institution inhabiting an entire

can be up to a year old. We grilled them and hay-smoked

villa on the city’s narrow Montefiore Street.. It is the top

them and we got a slightly liquorice thing going on. The

property run by the Israeli F&B powerhouse R2M, owned by

Israeli hay was totally different: spiky, like a medieval

Ruti and Mati Broudo.

weapon. The owner loved it so much he said ‘this is going

Israel, only a four-hour flight from many European capitals, finds itself at the forefront of a trend in short

on the menu forever.’”

Steinberg says that Schmidt’s visit, like other

residencies for chefs, which Schmidt describes in terms

reinvigorating exchanges, “opens your eyes to what

that would be familiar to an academic attending a

is directly in front of you, and that is the big leap of

professional conference.

conscience: to see your own environment from a different

Recently back from similar mini working sabbaticals in

perspective. Thorsten,” he adds, laughing, “came and held

Paris, London, New York and Tokyo, Schmidt says, “I do it

the cheese this way and that, and now we’re figuring out

because I’m a curious guy and I like to meet other people

how to bring it into the menu.”

and explore new cultures, but I always return with new knowledge that I put into place in my own kitchen.”

Schmidt’s latest experiment in such cross-insemination took place at the Montefiore within the framework of American Express’ Round Tables initiative, cooking alongside Chef Uri Steinberg.

He may have to fight for those cheeses, as Schmidt says the greatest revelation of his Israeli séjour was “The cheeses! Amazing.” He plans on buying 200 kilos of a three-year-old Galilean pecorino for Malling & Schmidt.

These flash exchanges among chefs are fast becoming a feature of fine regional restaurants. Assaf Granit, a celebrity

041

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Lobster and rose hip with poached egg yolk and fermented flower juice

chef and one of three owners of the Mahane Yehuda group of restaurants

born in Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda market and now flourishing in the

that includes - in London, Palomar and Barbary - often offers brief

UK and in the United States.

clinics on Israeli cuisine at foreign eateries, and even more frequently

Montefiore General Manager Moran Mamluk describes her

hosts visiting chefs in Jerusalem. “Of course, exposure to new raw

establishment as “a restaurant with 12 rooms,” which aptly

materials and new markets is important to keep any cook thinking, but

encapsulates a petite hotel with a plush, airy dining room and elegant

no less important is the opportunity to learn lesser-known cooking

lodgings confined to the upper floors.

traditions that with some luck you can bring back into your own cooking.”

Schmidt is one of two principals at Malling & Schmidt, has previously

Cosmopolitanism rules at the Montefiore, a popular evening meeting place for Tel Avivis. Guests walk into a black hardwood bar backlit in gold, that discretely opens up to a dining room inspired by a Parisian

collaborated with the likes of Ruth’s Hotel in Skagen and is one of

salon, reminiscent of Indochina, in which white walls rise some four-

the driving forces in Nordic gastronomy. Referring to the boom in

metres high and are accentuated by lacquer-black molding and tall but

Scandinavian cuisine, Schmidt says he found that “Israel is more or

sparse bright green palm fronds. For inveterate travellers, the Broudos

less where we were in 2002, just before the Nordic kitchen became

installed the Franco-Asian-fused-with-Mediterranean ethos that

something the world talked about. I feel like they’re on the verge of

echoes in the kitchen. In summer the mainstay dish is a cold tomato

becoming really big but just need to fully connect to their own products

broth holding four, tiny, perfect crab wontons.

as opposed to looking abroad.”

Tel Aviv, a city sprawling blithely along the Mediterranean, is in

Like any scholar-in-residence, Schmidt prepared for his Middle Eastern sojourn by reading a pile of books. “I studied what is in the

many ways always on the cusp. Israel’s business capital offers free WiFi

Israeli kitchen and the people. I was looking for the ‘Who are we? What

city-wide, mid-November temperatures hovering at about 27°C and a

are our tastes? Where do we start?’”

throbbing nightlife. But for some time it has seemed to lack a distinctive

“Israelis truly share food,” he added with some aspiration. “In

gastronomic identity. Despite an excellent array of restaurants and a

Denmark, someone will politely ask ‘do you have one more plate?’ but

reputation as the leading global city for vegan food, Tel Aviv has yet to

Israelis really know how to eat together.”

make the leap into food-destination territory (Michelin does not operate in the city) and it has been left out of the ‘new Israeli cuisine’ revolution

042

www.hotelmontefiore.co.il

Specials

“People want to discover those little hotels that can provide super tailored and personal service. It’s essentially back to basics.”

Zied Sanhaji, founder of Amastan Paris, on the continued popularity of the boutique hotel.

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STARTERS xxx

The Butcher Sir Savigny, Berlin

When The Butcher opened in Amsterdam in 2012 it proved a disruptive force in the city’s hospitality scene, blossoming into a popular group of restaurants and a food truck, with The Butcher on Wheels.

for the discerning carnivore – all feature.

Created by Tel Aviv studio Baranowitz + Kronenberg, the design takes its cues from the sharp utilitarianism associated with butchers of a more

It’s a wonder therefore that it’s taken so long for the upscale burger

literal variety, but the visual cues are subverted. Comfortable stools are

concept to find footing outside of The Netherlands. But with the opening

reminiscent of sturdy wooden chopping blocks, austere metal surfaces

of a new site at the Sir Savigny boutique hotel in Berlin, and upcoming

serve as tabletops and practical, butcher shop-inspired aprons are

openings slated for Ibiza and Milan, The Butcher is gradually going global.

spattered with ketchup at worst.

Developed by Yossi Eliyahoo, founder of The Entourage Group, the

Speaking of the open kitchen - flanked by bar seating - that provides

idea is an appealingly simple one: quality produce meets craftsmanship

the focal point for the space, BK explain, “It’s a state of the art kitchen

in a carefully cultivated, design-centric brand. It is, as he says, ‘haute

that ‘radiates’ state of the art patties. It serves as a social terminal where

fast food.’

Berliners can connect and exchange while having a bloody delicious

In the design, Berlin stays true to the existing identity established and

burger experience.”

fine-tuned in Amsterdam. White tiles, classic illustrations, industrial materials and the now familiar cow – hanging in the window as talisman

www.designhotels.com

IN A BITE Covers: 75 • Owner / Operator: The Entourage Group • Interior Design: Baranowitz + Kronenberg • Executive Chef: Hari Shetty • General Manager: Johnny Kamel • Head Chef: Steffen Friedrich • Head Bartender: Bernardo Cardeñas • Glassware: Nachtmann • Cutlery: Mepra

045

STARTERS xxx

xxx

Beast & Butterflies M Social Singapore

In a competitive market, Beast & Butterflies carves its own path as a

featuring 40, each displaying a different image, from doughnuts to

dynamic drinking, dining and social space through a combination of

seascapes. The bar area features video projections and tabletop TV screens.

technology, concept and confident design.

Just as the design is unrestrained in its mix of references, the cuisine is

Philippe Starck’s democratic sensibilities manifest in an expansive,

described as ‘borderless’, and blends Asian and Western influences. Playful

multi-purpose space with scope to work, play and relax. A casual area -

and adventurous in style, the menu features such must-try-that dishes as

complete with pool table - flows seamlessly into a dining area with mixed

lobster porridge, duck ‘crispies’ and oyster shots.

table seating and sofas. At the far end of this corridor of cool, benches

The hotel as whole sees front of house staff decked out in Uniqlo apparel,

provide an opportunity for groups to assemble over cocktails, whilst bar

the first hospitality collaboration of its kind for the Japanese fashion brand.

stools and high tables spring from the boldly pattern tiled floor adjacent to the drinks counter.

Throughout, a tapestry of discordant patterns, materials and objects

Speaking of the project, Starck says, “M Social will be the vibrant place in Singapore where elegance and creativity meet to offer a unique experience to our global smart tribe.”

convey a sense of energy. Families of lava lamps jostle for tabletop space alongside books and iPads find purpose as decorative objects: one wall

www.msocial.com.sg

IN A BITE Developer: Novel Developments Pte Ltd • Interior Design: Philippe Starck (Intl. concept designer), Ong & Ong Pte Ltd (local interior design) Architecture: Axis Architects Planners Pte Ltd • Executive Chef: Bryce Li • Covers: 80 lounge, 30 communal, 65 bar, 20 outdoor • Glassware: Riedel, Bodum Sound Consultant: Concept Systems Technologies • Kitchen Consultant: Fabristeel

046

Enjoy a sip

of Italian tradition.

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Quality, knowledge, tradition, and ideas. These are the values that make the Lucano Group one of the major Italian liqueur producers. And just like every great story, this one also has its roots in history. Over one hundred years ago, a secret recipe owned by Sir Pasquale Vena spawned Amaro Lucano. Today the Group is known internationally and continues the tradition of Italian spirits throughout the world.

Discover all of its products on lucano1894.com

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02/12/16 18:19

STARTERS xxx

Photography: Garrett Rowland

Single Thread Single Thread Farms, Healdsburg

Single Thread was billed by the American press as the country’s most

serving vessels and vases are from Nagatani-en - a producer of Japanese

hotly anticipated restaurant and, for those in the industry, the column

clay pottery since 1832 – and a custom coffee and tea service has been

inches generated since its recent opening only serve to highlight that it

created by Takashi Endo, a Kanagawa-based ceramic artist.

has delivered on its early promise.

Symbolism, precision and detail are key to giving the dining space a

Combining restaurant, inn and farm, the project is the brainchild of

sense of faithfulness to the Asian inspiration and a connection to the

husband and wife (chef and farmer) team, Kyle and Katina Connaughton.

surrounding land: 12 screens represent the months of the year and are

Kyle has previously served in some of the world’s most influential kitchens,

woven with patterns depicting the DNA of seasonal vegetables, and meat

including at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck. It was while in Japan,

knives feature handles made from wood from the farm.

however, working with chef Michael Bras in Hokkaido that he most refined

An ambitious project, Single Thread elevates the now omnipresent farm-

the clean, ingredient-focussed style of cooking present at Single Thread.

to-table concept and his reinvigorated interested in an F&B ideal that was,

The 52-cover dining room, designed by AvroKO, draws heavily from

perhaps, in danger of going stale.

Japanese tradition, featuring a layered colour palette of greys and neutrals; a mix of rich natural materials; and styled with an eye to the East. Donabe

www.singlethreadfarms.com

IN A BITE Co Executive Chef: Kyle Connaughton • Head Farmers: Katina Connaughton, Vince Rothermund • Interior Design: AvroKO • Architecture: Alan B. Cohen • Owner / Developer: Tony Greenberg, UPVentures • Tableware: Nagatani-en • Glassware: Zalto, SUS Gallery • Cutlery: Bloodroot Blades • Laquerware: Kihachi Kobo

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STARTERS xxx

Blue Bar The Berkeley, London

The Berkley’s Blue Bar holds iconic status among the hotel bars of the

greater expression of colour deployed on the bar front, whilst the cream

British capital, and indeed among the hotel bars of the world. Originally

marble counter has been retained.

designed by David Collins, when the bar opened in 2000 it saw original

The most notable change is in the expansion of the space. A new glass

features by Sir Edwin Lutyens restored and the creation of a bespoke colour

pavilion affords room for additional seating, part of an updated frontage to

for the space, Lutyens Blue.

the building that sees a redeveloped lobby and entry façade. Slimmer doors

For its recent refurbishment there seemed no better name to continue the evolution of the bar’s design legacy than Robert Angell, protégé of David Collins and formidable contemporary talent.

The ‘new’ Blue Bar is less a reimagining of the original and more a soft shift in vision. Fresh furniture, designed by Angell and handmade by Ben

to the bar are intended to evoke a greater sense of intimacy and discretion.

A revised menu sees cocktails grouped by colour depending on potency, with green for low alcohol mixes; yellow for champagne cocktails; red for the heavy hitters; and blue for - what else? - innovative signature cocktails such the Smoke & Mirrors and Frozen in Time.

Whistler, has been introduced, along with more brazen flashes of deep red and black and silver accents. Wood panelling has been restored and a

www.the-berkeley.co.uk

IN A BITE Head Bartender: Andrea Melis • Interior Design: Robert Angell (redesign), David Collins (original) • Architecture: Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners Owner: Maybourne Group • Covers: 75 • Table Plates and Dishes: William Edwards • Glassware: John Jenkins, Riedel

050

Violet Grand Marnier and Milk Chocolate Sponge Cake

Pistachio Macarons

SPREAD Plates: Rustico

Volta Session Pale 4.2% in collaboration with First Chop Brewery

Heavens!

Jameson Irish Whiskey, cherry, almond, lemon, red wine

Chocolate and Confit Orange Cupcake with blood orange and white chocolate macaron

PiĂąa Royale champagne, pineapple, coconut ice, anise

High VOLTAge

Regal Nectar Chivas Regal Scotch, chamomile, rum, chocolate, cardamom

Dog vs Bee FEW White Whiskey, honey, vermouth, bitters

Oysters, Wood Fired

Tuna Tartare, Avocado, Passion Fruit

Raspberry and Pistachio Macaron

Manchester Tart

Gloucester Old Spot Pork Belly, Chimichurri

Radicchio and Orange Salad, Pomegranate, Orange Blossom

Winter Berry Entremet with Raspberry Mirror Glaze

Baby Squid, Ink, Lime

The Refuge by Volta at The Principal, is Manchester’s boldest new F&B destination.

Brave by design and daring by nature, The Refuge by Volta reimagines the traditional restaurant and bar as a mixed-use social space, incorporating the geometric prints of artist Mark Jermyn on the menus – here providing a confident backdrop to the venue’s food and drink offer.

Location: The Refuge by Volta, The Principal, Manchester Photography: Sven Eselgroth Graphic Prints: Mark Jermyn www.refugemcr.co.uk

Smoked Feta, Beetroot, Hazelnut, Dil

Salt Cod Croquettes, Parsley Aioli

Star Anise and Earl Grey Madeleines

Eccles Cakes with Crumbly Lancashire Cheese

Plates: Utopia Teacup and Saucer: ACME

FLATWARE • STEAK KNIVES • HOLLOWARE • CHAFERS • BUFFETWARE

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STARTERS xxx

Hotel du Vin Bistro Hotel du Vin, Brighton

As Shelley Reiner, director of Suited Interior Design says, “Hotel du Vin

to their surroundings, key materials are local and there are nods to the

Bistro was traditionally a Parisian style bistro with tobacco stained walls,

city’s coastal connection. “The aged oak hardwood flooring and walls are

festoons of dried flowers, wine bottles and downy aged banquettes, with all

taken from the Brighton boardwalk, metals are of a rusted and forged

locations sharing the same décor.” Now, while still drawing from the French

nature to reflect the effect on metal of a salt air environment and colours

influence, the concept has been reinterpreted with a contemporary feel and

are taken from the seaside location, namely soft blues, whites and ocean

with each Hotel du Vin benefitting from a bespoke, location-specific design.

greens,” says Reiner. “The artwork also relates specifically to the history

Suited were brought onboard to steer the change in approach, with

of an ocean-bathing and a ship-docking city. There are black and white

the first of the new breed of bistro unveiled in Brighton. Here the studio

X-ray photos of vintage bathing suits for example, and a triptych of

recognised the connection between ‘bistronomy’ food movements in

contemporary captain portraits featuring Jack Sparrow and Captain Kirk

France and Brighton, which see bistro principles meet gastronomy for a

from Star Trek.”

more vibrant, experimental and informal take on the classic model.

True to the hotel’s commitment to create F&B destinations that speak

www.hotelduvin.com/brighton

IN A BITE Executive Chef: Guillaume Rambaud • Sommelier: Robin Roux • Interior Design: Suited Interior Design • Covers: 120 • Tableware and Cutlery: Heritage • Glassware: Riedel

060

TIGERHOTEL ANNIVERSARY 1996-2016

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07/12/2016 18:37:17

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Le Roch Restaurant & Bar Le Roch Hotel & Spa, Paris

Words: Harry McKinley

W

ith an abundance of concepts grounded in

“I wanted restaurant guests to feel as though they’ve

French tradition but progressive in style and

been invited to a Parisian friend’s home,” Lavoine says. “We

attitude, Paris is increasingly re-establishing

decided to use deep colours, such as navy blue - the Bleu

itself as a centre for dynamic hotel F&B.

Sarah that I created - and green for the seats, punctuated with

Le Roch is one new destination leading the charge,

lighter hues such as baby pink. The materials are rich and

possessed of a striking interior, a clear gastronomic

solid: glass, velvet, marble and wood. They convey an intimacy

perspective and an insouciant atmosphere that readily lends

that we usually crave when we’re far away. We also created a

itself to long lunches and social dinners.

glass ceiling to invite natural daylight into the restaurant and

Part of Design Hotels and located in Paris’s smallest arrondissement (the 1st), Le Roch is part of a wider movement

brighten the space.”

Often an air of ease belies the consideration needed

in the city that sees boutique properties blooming as vibrant

to achieve it and, although Lavoine describes the public

neighbourhood destinations. Though each have their own

spaces of Le Roch as ‘simple’, it’s a simplicity that grows in

merits and define themselves through their unique identities,

complexity the more it’s studied. Like many boutique hotels

there are undeniably threads of commonality: namely in the

that sit within classic, repurposed Parisian buildings, space

design-savvy, food-aware, well-travelled audience they seek

is at a premium and the ground floor has to wear multiple

to tap. Le Roch, of course, has a pair of aces in its well-known

hats: functioning as lobby, lounge, restaurant, bar and the

interior designer and celebrated chef.

main access point to the hotel’s compact city-garden. This

Sarah Lavoine was responsible for the look and feel of the hotel, with a bar restaurant that manages to combine her signature Parisian chic with a subtly playful personality. It’s

‘multifunctionality’ can quickly go awry to the eye when not handled adroitly, but when it is, the experience is seamless.

“It’s really subtle,” says Lavoine on the transition from one

grownup, certainly, but in the combination of colour, pattern

vignette to the other. “We didn’t want to work on creating

and object – from the bulbous pendant lights to the theatrical

opposing atmospheres because our idea was to be consistent

foliage – there is an implicit invitation to uncross one’s legs

all along. Colours stay in the same palette, with black as

and relax.

the main component. Guests can come and stay for a while,

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sipping a coffee as they read a book in the library and then decide to have something to eat later without the impression they are going somewhere else.”

Although part of the same space - and with so much attention sapped (deservedly) by the restaurant proper it’s easy to forget that the lounge is still a vital component in Le Roch’s F&B package. After all, what is a couch without a cappuccino or a side chair without a Sidecar?

“More than a lobby what we designed is a private library,” says Lavoine. “It features comfortable couches covered with velvet and a chimney with a live fire to cast its light on curated books and pieces of home decor. We wanted the guests to feel welcome, and at ease as soon as they enter the hotel.” Indeed, sitting as it does adjacent to the bar counter, the lobby lounge provides a popular spot for guests to linger, apart from the more formal seating accommodating diners.

Already a busy destination for the lunch horde and a fashionable venue for supper, the kitchen is where Le Roch’s second ace is played in the form of Chef Arnaud Faye. Already holding an impressive reputation thanks to his collection of Michelin stars – he currently serves as executive chef at Château de la Chèvre d’Or – at Le Roch he is responsible for creating the menus, which are then delivered by the hotel’s onsite chef, Rémy Bererd.

The menu centres on fresh, seasonal and local produce, and features light dishes that caress - as opposed to challenge - the palate. Starters like butternut squash velouté and scallop carpaccio pre-empt the likes of roasted bream or venison for main. Even desserts err on the side of delicate: think Granny Smith apples with caramelised muesli and maple syrup ice cream. In other words, enough for a satisfyingly sweet finish, but not the kind of close to a meal that requires popping the belt open a notch.

Everything is presented with beautifully Insta-friendly panache. Plates are modern, crisp and understated – a backdrop to the lead act. Cutlery from Hepp feels suitably substantial and shines gold, whilst Riedel glassware feels Photography: Francis Amiand

suitably insubstantial, light as air and paper-thin.

That the venue is now one of several hot tickets in town when it comes to hotel dining doesn’t seem to be splitting Le Roch’s audience. Sarah Lavoine’s boutique is located within jumping distance on the same street and one gets the impression that the typical Le Roch visitor stops by regularly: they are the epitome of the design-savvy, well-travelled audience mentioned previously, and that Le Roch’s siren call has drawn them in is evidence of its quality as well as its credibility.

IN A BITE Executive Chef: Arnaud Faye • Interior Design: Sarah Lavoine Glassware: Riedel • Cutlery: Hepp

064

www.leroch-hotel.com

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Rib Eye Beef with Béarnaise Sauce

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Pascale Bar & Grill QT Hotel, Melbourne

Words: Meg Crawford

W

hen QT Hotels & Resorts started its Australian

directors of chaos are a mine of local information and a unique

chain on the Gold Coast in 2011 it ripped a hole in

welcome to a distinct property.

conservative accommodation, making way for a new breed of hotel as appealing to cool creatives

To get to Pascale the directors of chaos usher patrons up a flight of stairs in which the walls are constructed from the spines

as to the more conservative white-collar crew. With six art-

of preloved Phillip K Dick novels. There Pascale opens out to a

meets-luxury hotels already under the belt in Australia, QT Hotels

spacious room with the bar on one side, the restaurant on the other

(operated by Event Hospitality & Entertainment) only expanded

and the open kitchen facing both. With a capacity of 120, Pascale is

the stable with a Melbourne outpost in September 2016.

large, but the careful lighting and design ensure intimacy.

The ambitious project, which is on the former site of Russell

Stylistically as well as in terms of cuisine, Pascale borrows

Street’s Greater Union cinema in the heart of the CBD, is

French and European bistro influences and, as is customary at

comprised of six key elements: the hotel, Hot Sauce, a hip Korean,

QT Hotels, the attention to detail is fastidious. Nic Graham, the

hawker-style, late night dining den tucked away in a lane off

mastermind behind the look and feel of the other QT Hotels - and

Russell Street; the Cake Shop, which is run by executive pastry

collaborator on everything from Christian Louboutin shop fits

chef and Alain Ducasse export Youssef Aderdour; Tanto, a retailer

to Telstra’s executive restaurant - directed interior design. Art

of hand-crafted, premium Japanese knives; the Rooftop, a laid-

curator Amanda Love carefully collected the objet d’art and curios

back bar with an expansive outdoor deck overlooking the city

adorning nearly every surface.

skyline; and Pascale Bar & Grill. As one of the chief jewels in the

It’s obvious that extravagant detail rules at Pascale. For instance,

complex’s chic crown, Pascale is set to challenge Melbourne’s

the Josper grill and charcoal oven were designed bespoke and wait

attitude towards hotel dining, which has traditionally been

staff have hair and make up professionally done on the company

avoided like the plague.

tab before they hit the floor. It all pays off as Pascale walks a very

True to its idiosyncratic formula, QT Melbourne sets the bar

clever line: the experience is one of seamless service and offbeat

high when it comes to F&B. It starts the moment guests are

luxury, yet it’s ostentatious (think Christian Lacroix) without

greeted at the door by one of the hotel’s so-called ‘directors of

being vulgar.

chaos’. No ordinary concierge here, the directors of chaos are

The ‘pastry cube’ is a Pascale highlight. The room is a working

more akin to Tim Burton creations in black and white uniforms

kitchen for Aderdour and his team, visible through the cube’s

with a steampunk nod, designed by theatrical costumier Janet

circular windows. It’s also a display case for the Pascale’s pastry

Hine. While playful, fun and exceedingly well groomed, the

and dessert fantasies, such as edible stoves constructed out of

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Gratinated Fruits of the Moment

couverture chocolate with a metallic sheen and tiny saucepans on the

wanting to reduce entertainment costs and time is precious. Also, people

hobs filled with caramel and raspberry sauces. At Pascale, dessert is

don’t want to be sitting in a café for two hours with their laptops. QT has

theatre and decadent as it is delicious.

bigger tables, a quiet environment and a very different vibe. The music and

Pascale’s open kitchen is another design coup, providing patrons with

light are right and appropriate for meetings.”

an opportunity to observe head-chef Paul Easson and crew at work.

Gallien, whose impressive CV includes a masters in hospitality, event

Unlike other open kitchens, Pascale’s isn’t overly noisy and doesn’t

management for Pernod Ricard and venue management of Gowings Bar

intrude on the dining experience. Easson, previously of Rockpool Bar

and Grill at QT Sydney, was drawn to the QT concept from the outset, albeit

& Grill fame, has only ever worked in open kitchens and is a fan of the

with one reservation. “I wasn’t quite sure about the concept of restaurants

arrangement. “I thoroughly enjoy the environment,” he says. “The

in hotels,” she admits. “But once I was talked through it, I felt like I was

energy feeds the room, which impacts on the restaurant in a really

going to be part of a wave of change in hospitality.”

positive way. It’s great to see where the food is going and seeing if

Gallien’s confidence in QT has fortunately borne out and she’s duly

people are enjoying the experience. It bridges the gap between the

proud of Pascale and QT Melbourne as a whole. “It’s a very cool product.

kitchen and customer.”

It has the beauty of being a five-star hotel, but people can just come in

Pascale is a trendsetter in other ways. Bucking the hotel standard,

for a meal, a drink or a meeting and they’ll feel that they’re in a beautiful,

whereby brekkie is a tired buffet, Pascale gives the most important meal

creative and well-designed environment. On the other hand, if you are

of the day the serious attention it deserves with an à la carte menu.

staying here, you don’t have to go out as you have everything within. You

“Breakfast is the new lunch,” restaurant manager Marie Gallien says. “We

can have a coffee in the Cake Shop, then breakfast in Pascale; an afternoon

saw this with QT Sydney. There’s been enormous potential with outside

drink on the Rooftop, Hot Sauce for dinner and then finish the journey in

people coming in for meetings, presentations and product launches.

Pascale Bar. Customers feel like they don’t have to leave the hotel.”

People are wanting to have early starts. Coffee, breakfast, no alcohol and they’re done and dusted within an hour and a half. Companies are

www.qthotelsandresorts.com/melbourne

IN A BITE Covers: 120 • Operator: Event Hospitality and Entertainment • Creative Food Director: Robert Marchetti • Executive Chef: Paul Easson • Interior Design: Nic Graham • Tableware: Dudson, Robert Gordon • Glassware: Plumm • Menu Design: Fabio Ongarato • Uniform Design: Janet Hine • Decoration: Studio Twocan

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Deák St. Kitchen The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest

Words: Harry McKinley

W

hen The Ritz-Carlton opened its doors

It’s also a destination that aims to change minds.

in Budapest in 2016, it quickly set out to

Hungarians aren’t typically known to dip their toes into

establish itself as one of city’s foremost

the hotel sphere when it comes to eating and drinking out,

luxury hotels. Housed within a protected

assuming a level of fussiness and formality that doesn’t

historic building on Elizabeth Square it benefits from

appeal to their straightforward sensibilities, broadly

views of St. Stephen’s Basilica and a location in the heart

speaking. For every local assumption or negative notion on

of the Hungarian capital’s cultural and shopping district.

hotel dining, Deák St. Kitchen provides a counterpoint.

The new kid on the block, The Ritz-Carlton not only

“In the brief, the hotel wanted to achieve a very

sets itself apart through its thoroughly modern view on

accessible dining offer that would draw passing patrons

luxury, but in its connection to the location. Budapest

in from the street, as opposed to feeling exclusive to

flows through the concept, design and service as the

guests,” explains Gabrielle Vergottini of B3 Designers, the

Danube flows through the city itself. Nowhere is this

studio tasked with originating the concept and bringing

more evident than in the F&B spaces.

the restaurant to life. “The result was to be a modern,

Deák St. Kitchen is the hotel’s sole destination restaurant, conceived and developed specifically for The

more approachable interpretation of luxury dining.”

Part of creating that sense of approachability, whilst

Ritz-Carlton Budapest. Far from an opulent dining room

also delivering a distinctive experience for Ritz-Carlton

intended to capture well-heeled tourists or snare the

guests, was to draw heavily from the surroundings.

city’s resident industrialists, it is an informal destination

B3 Designers worked with a local curator to source

that riffs off Hungarian tradition and provides a space fit

photography and artwork that connects to Hungary’s

for relaxed dining and jocund occasions alike.

history and grounds the hotel in the city. Hand drawn

The restaurant is, in many ways, an effective example

maps of different wine regions from Hungary are nestled

of shifting guest appetites: starched tablecloths,

in deep leather menu covers. In the mix of materials

intimidating maître d’s and full dinner suits are out;

used there is a nod to the robust and honest style

casually arranged tabletops, service with a smile and

associated with the country: “Walnut, marble, velvets

smart casual is in. As Claudia Venturini, director of

and rose gold finishes create an elegant and timeless

marketing, confirms, steering away from classic fine

material palette,” says Vergottini. “These features are

dining was a conscious choice on the part of Ritz-

juxtaposed against more casual, rustic materials like the

Carlton - a brand keen to keep up with the times and

Hungarian point reclaimed flooring, illustrated chalk on

provide F&B destinations that appeal to the modern

the walls and mottled glazing.”

traveller and local urbanite alike.

Also responsible for the restaurant’s branding, B3

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Designers opted for an unpretentious style, the logo inspired by the

are vintage and were sourced individually. The bar also holds six

labeling of wine bottles. Branding materials include textured butcher-

different types of wine glasses, including a glass for the Hungarian

like paper, wooden clipboards with heavy metallic clips and embossed

Furmint grape variety, developed specially by Riedel.

leather menus. These elements all instinctively connect to present a

The cellars of the hotel currently hold around 176 different wines,

concept that feels three-dimensional and consistent - from the broad

although as the restaurant beds-in the aim is to increase this further.

strokes to the Villeroy & Boch tableware and vintage decanters.

“We’d like to upgrade to a maximum of around 225 wines,” explains

Of course if the branding and design paints a picture, it is the food and wine that ultimately tells the story. Enter Daniel Varga, Deák St.

Varga, “but regularly changing and with a very proactive wine cart.”

On the cuisine front, the food menu also doesn’t stray too regularly

Kitchen’s 26-year old sommelier and one of its front-of-house stars.

beyond Hungary’s borders. Staples like goulash and spätzle all make

“People come here and realise very quickly we’re a wine-focussed

an appearance, while the star – on a menu that is predominantly

restaurant,” he says. “We offer unique and very rare vintages, with an

meat-centric - is arguably the Mangalica steak: the Mangalica being a

emphasis on Hungarian.”

variety of Hungarian pig noted for its coat of long wooly hair. For those

Varga, who comes from a family of winemakers and also produces his own, is understandably keen to promote often underappreciated local varieties, but he also insists it’s an important point of difference

unfamiliar, photos of the breed hang on the walls, attracting bemused looks from non-Hungarian diners.

To repeat an overused description, Deák St. Kitchen manages to

between Deák St. Kitchen and other restaurants in the city. “I want

capture a sense of authenticity. In the synergy between design and

to show the incredible wines we have in Hungary that visitors may

delivery it provides a space that offers a sense of location, without

not be familiar with, but also regional wines that will be interesting

relying on gimmick; its touchpoints are natural enough so as not to

to Hungarian people. 40% of our wine offer is local. We have a Tokaai

be off-putting to a neighbourhood crowd; and, most importantly, it

dessert wine for example, a 1993 vintage, which was an extremely good

demonstrates an awareness of the changing tide of hotel dining habits,

year. But we also keep the offer evolving, so every day I open a new

playing little off the Ritz-Carlton name and instead positioning itself as

wine, decant it into a carafe and it goes on the bar. Everyday it’s two

a fully fleshed-out brand in its own right.

extra red wines and two extra white wines by the glass.”

Such is the commitment to wine, that all of the restaurant’s decanters

www.deakstkitchen.com

IN A BITE Operator: The Ritz-Carlton LLC • Owner: Al Habtoor Group • Interior Design: B3 Designers • Executive Chef: Felipe Arango • Chef de Cuisine: Robert Sugar • Tableware: Villeroy & Boch, Rosenthal, Cra’ster • Glassware: Riedel, Nachtmann, Libbey • Cutlery: Villeroy & Boch • Uniforms: Handon

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Roast rabbit, pancetta, spring peas, morels, herb gnocchi

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Ormer Mayfair Flemings Mayfair, London

Words: Harry McKinley

U

pon opening it took Shaun Rankin just

monochrome tiling. Velvet banquettes threaded with

four months to gain a Michelin star for his

gold complement distressed leather chairs in a dining

restaurant Ormer in St Helier. It further

room that feels serious but never solemn.

cemented his reputation as one of the

leading lights in British cuisine.

Unlike in Jersey, at Ormer Mayfair the nearest sea could hardly be called near, but there are subtle

Taking the Ormer name from the Jersey shores

references to the ocean in seashell light shades and

and supplanting it into the heart of Central London,

the restaurant’s reception desk is coated in gold fish

Rankin has partnered with Flemings Mayfair to

scales that catch the light.

open an urban offshoot of his celebrated ‘home

Though the design manages to avoid any

restaurant’. It is part of an overall refurbishment of

semblance of pastiche, there’s a rewardingly

the hotel that has also seen the launch of a tea room

nostalgic attitude to the space. It is reminiscent of

and cocktail bar.

the golden age of entertaining: the kind of spot an

Flemings Mayfair’s facelift sees the hotel

F. Scott Fitzgerald character might frequent when

capitalising on its history but embracing

they’ve given up on their wilder predilections.

contemporary principles, most notably for the

That being said, there is a ‘naughty table’, as it’s

restaurant and bar in the introduction of a private

affectionately nicknamed by staff: a round table that

entrance that allows visitors to bypass the lobby and

can be hidden by a red velvet curtain for those who

head straight for their tables.

wish not to be pried upon. For those who want to host

The design, by Tony Filmer of Tully Filmer Interior Design, embraces tradition with a 1930s inspiration.

Evoking a bygone glamour that feels at once

entirely separately there are two private dining rooms that hold up to 12 and 20 respectively.

The name Ormer perhaps resonates more with

nostalgic and timely, aged oak wood panelling lines

Channel Islanders than most. A Mediterranean sea

the walls and the floor is realised in a geometric,

snail, it may not seem the obvious inspiration for a

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MAIN COURSE

restaurant moniker, but it is considered a prized delicacy and

Although the dishes embody a timelessness befitting the

‘ormering’ a favourite – though now regulated – pastime

surroundings, there are flourishes that represent the evolving

across the islands.

tastes of guests. The menu features dedicated vegetarian and

Despite the name, the menu is decidedly ormer free and

vegan sections that acknowledge what is one of the fastest

instead the emphasis is on rich fare that mixes creativity with

growing ‘food movements’, if not lifestyle choices, of recent

classicism. There’s an intentioned diversity to the options

years. It may seem an inconsequential touch, but is a relative

and formats available. Guests can plumb for the eight-course

rarity in dining destinations with a tightly curated offer.

tasting menu or dive into the à la carte section. Here Rankin

The attention applied to cultivating a menu that is multilayered and accommodating underpins Rankin’s ability as a

The attention applied to cultivating a menu that is multi-layered and accommodating underpins Rankin’s ability as a chef to be inclusive, even within the context of fine dining. serves up some of his most well known signatures, such as Jersey lobster ravioli in a crab and tomato bisque. Scallops

076

chef to be inclusive, even within the context of fine dining.

It’s a guest-centric approach that is likely to garner him, and the restaurant, admirers.

Food presentation is artful but not pedantically so.

Tableware is low-key in design, with plates from L’Objet, Bernardaud, JL Coquet and Fürstenberg. Cutlery is from Arthur Price, the noted British firm and holder of a royal warrant.

On the wine front Ormer holds another reputable talent, in

that have been hand-plucked from the seabed are plated with

the form of sommelier Andreas Rosendal. Having previously

barbequed leeks, herbs and lemon parsley vinaigrette. A dish

devised the wine lists of Brasserie Chavot, Sat Bains and The

of Iberico pork with charred calamari, chorizo chutney and

Greenhouse, here he has curated a collection that holds a few

puréed Asian pear sees meat arrive in a weathered silver dish,

finds and a few surprises. A magnum of 2009 Classic Cuvée

while the remaining components are styled with precision on

from English estate Nyetimber can be enjoyed by the glass

an accompanying plate.

from the sparkling wine and champagne trolley, which also

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MAIN COURSE

In the interaction between restaurant, bar and room there is a confident narrative: a relaxed and appealing journey for the guest from dinner through to cocktails and even nightcap.

the mood already established with its period design and lively references. Drawings of distinguished figures – like James Joyce and Agatha Christie –peer down from the walls.

It was reportedly a hangout for spies in the 1930s and, with its plush seating, stocked vintage drinks trolley and background jazz, visitors experience an escapist reverie that feels the height of concept success – delivering on idea and

features Italian prosecco and a sherry-based sparkling wine from Spain.

Continuing the celebration of home vintages, Ormer holds the last 80 bottles of 2013 Pinot Noir from English estate Gusbourne left in the world. Made available by the glass,

execution seamlessly.

In-room, Flemings Mayfair provides guests with an honesty gin bar, not rupturing the feeling of classic F&B style so painstakingly cultivated in the hotel’s key social spaces.

In Ormer Mayfair, Rankin has unequivocally presented a

it features notes of raspberry, rose petals and red cherry.

proposition apart from his Jersey mainstay, but in finding

Glassware is from Riedel and Waterford.

a relationship with the DNA of Flemings Mayfair and in

In the interaction between restaurant, bar and room there is a confident narrative: a relaxed and appealing journey for

conjunction with a thoughtful and resonant design, he proves that the Ormer name doesn’t need sea to have legs.

the guest from dinner through to cocktails and even nightcap.

Manetta’s Bar, which connects directly to Ormer, continues

www.ormermayfair.com

IN A BITE Executive Chef: Shaun Rankin • Head Sommelier: Andreas Rosendal • Head Bartender: Marco Matesi • Interior Design: Tully Filmer Interior Design • Tableware: L’Objet, Bernardaud, JL Coquet, Fürstenberg • Glassware: Riedel, Waterford • Cutlery: Arthur Price • Buffet: Villeroy & Boch, Zieher • Menu Design: Amadeo Design • Uniform Design: Lynn Mackie

078

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Anouk Amastan Paris

Words: Harry McKinley

E

“

very hotel on this planet will be a home away from home, but we try to actually make one.” So says Zied Sanhaji, the founder of Amastan Paris, a boutique hotel in the city’s 8th arrondissement.

It’s a part of the French capital one doesn’t immediately

associate with notions of ‘cool’. Unlike the east of the city where novel concepts are de rigueur and the local residents are the usual salad of urban creative types, the 8th has a reputation amongst Parisians as a traditional, even dormant, neighbourhood populated by classic landmarks, pricey bistros and where torrents of tourists regularly stream down the main boulevards, cameras in hand. It is why - sandwiched as it is amongst upscale art galleries, embassies and just around the corner from the likes of Le Bristol - Amastan stands apart, not just in concept and design, but in attitude.

“I didn’t think of our audience as being segmented by very old school demographics,” says Sanhaji. “I’m more interested in psychographics than demographics, as I think it’s much more relevant to how we consume today. So

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Photography: Adrien Durand

081

Amastan is for the people that have the means of spending considerably more than what our room costs, but just do not want to have that cliché

Evoking an air of homeliness was a key aspect of the design – by Juan

luxury experience anymore. The sophisticated traveller has known

Pablo Naranjo and Jean Christophe Orthlieb of NOCC - and, without

the boutique hotel since the late 90s. They have known the big hotel

being too blatant, each area of the space signifies a different ‘room’:

groups trying to catch up with that wagon ten years later. They’re not

living room at the front with comfortable lounge seating; dining room at

looking for a cookie cutter lifestyle anymore, they’re seeking authentic

the back with a social table around which groups can gather to eat and

experiences in smaller spaces. We’re no longer in a dynamic where we

drink; and the outdoor space which is intentionally not over-manicured.

want five restaurants designed by Starck. Perhaps it’s a niche, but people

“It’s really the house of a young Parisian guy,” says Sanhaji. “Perhaps

want to discover those little hotels that can provide super tailored and

someone who is a little bit tired of travelling and wants to welcome his

personal service. It’s essentially back to basics.”

friends and share his living space. So you have these assortments of

At Amastan a bijou lobby area, devoid of clutter and with crisp white

vases, books, plants and marbles. They’re on display in a way that feels

walls, leads into the hotel’s only F&B space. It’s only public space aside

completely natural and not staged as though in a gallery. I think if we

from the aforementioned lobby for that matter.

had been too particular, it would feel pretentious.”

A long, relatively narrow stretch, it houses carefully curated pockets

“Overall we didn’t want it to be too designed,” continues Sanhaji.

of seating and, at one end, a communal table in hombre marble, bar

“So it isn’t just a beautiful picture, guests can impose their habits upon

and doors onto a courtyard garden. The visual and feel is modern, with

it and if someone wants to drag a chair over from one area to another,

vaguely Deco influences in the lines of some of the furnishings. There

they do. The design allows us to customise the interaction with the guest

are also nods to the traditionally French with dyed Versaille parquet,

to a level that is personal, and so there is a feedback loop between the

a statement decorative tapestry and, in the garden, an informal air

service and the environment.”

reminiscent of a Parisian home. There’s also undeniably a sense of the global nomad, in the clusters of collected objects dotted around and in

082

the library wall that speaks to a resident of international tastes.

Particularly deft is the way in which the environment evolves throughout the day, often a challenge in comparatively compact spaces.

MAIN COURSE

In the morning the bar counter plays host to a wholesome breakfast

Now taking on the identity of Anouk, neon lights spring into life,

offer of local cheeses, fresh breads, granola and healthy juices. By

music plays and the service style evolves with staff dressed in relaxed

lunchtime and into evening the menu focuses instead on small plates

uniforms. “It has to be a rupture, but an easily accepted one,” says

that pull together elements of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and

Sanhaji. “Parisians don’t typically go to hotel bars on the weekends, or

European cuisine. There are brunch classics such as smashed avocado

at night during the week, and a lot of the traditional hotels in Paris tend

with poached egg, topped with a trail of za’atar; beetroot with crumbled

to be pretty introverted. But in the evening, looking in at Anouk, it’s

cheese and flat breads; and a salad of charred salmon with mango.

just a bar.”

The food menu, like the dining space, is small but considered.

Ultimately Amastan Paris is not intended to be the launch of a new

Ultimately the space functions as a bar with a high quality food offering

hotel brand that can potentially be expanded into other cities worldwide.

as opposed to a restaurant, something Sanhaji describes as being driven

Despite the trials faced by developing a multifunctional F&B destination

by “both an economic rationale and client satisfaction.” Tableware

within a small space, however, Sanhaji is adamant that the concept and

channels minimalist modernity with plates by Piet Boon for Serax and

approach is part of the brand’s DNA. “We will always stay within small-

cutlery from Cutipol.

capacity hotels, as that’s just what I think people need. It means we

At night a selection of craft cocktails are served and it is then that the space takes on a new attitude: the door to the lobby is closed and

can’t always do too much, but it means we can keep it fairly simple and work with the best across the board.”

curtains at the front of the space are parted to reveal an entrance that leads directly onto the street.

www.amastanparis.com

IN A BITE Owner: Amastan Paris • Interior Design: NOCC • Architecture: SLA • Covers: 30 inside, 20 garden • Tableware: Piet Boon for Serax • Cutlery: Cutipol Glassware: Schott Zwiesel, RCR Crystal • Menu Design: Campbell-Rey

083

L’Unico Kameha Grand, Zurich

Words: Harry McKinley

P

onder Zurich and you’ll likely conjure images of fine

The hospitality jewel in the district’s crown, Kameha

watches, chocolate shops and highly punctual trains.

Grand eschews typical clean-cut styling and instead opts

For all of its pristine charm, it’s rarely associated with

for a more-is-more approach. Designed by Marcel Wanders,

the rowdy abandon of a destination like Barcelona

the public spaces are an Alice in Wonderland-like blend of

or the sharp design credentials of the Nordic cities. A place

pattern and eccentric fittings. The conference rooms feature

small in scale but big in stature, its hotel stock tends to have

walls intended to look like blocks of chocolate and buffet

a somewhat corporate bent, targeting the swathes of suited

items are served from Zieher plinths that glow a sci-fi red.

financiers for whom Zurich is a regular stop.

Of course just because a hotel is in the business of catering to businessmen and women doesn’t preclude it

style L’Unico. In the latter brightly coloured patterned tiles

from offering something more than magnolia conference

surround the space and form the tops of tables, while an

suites and an all-day-dining restaurant that makes the big

enormous sculptural ‘plate’ clings upturned to the roof.

bucks in late night club sandwiches. It’s a point Kameha Grand is keen to make.

On the outskirts of the city a new neighbourhood of

Chef Norman Fischer – previously only responsible for You – has recently expanded his responsibilities and now helms the restaurant, overseeing a menu that sticks to the

glass and steel is rising from the ground. A mixed-use

staples, with pasta the star. Made on site, the kitchen team

area of office space and residential, it obviously bears

can be seen feeding the recently prepared sheets through

little resemblance to the postcard-perfect city centre. But

pasta presses and various varieties are stored in great glass

Glattpark, in the municipality of Opfikon, isn’t intended as a

drawers to be admired by diners.

tourist destination. Mere minutes drive from the airport, the

084

In addition to a bar, the hotel features two signature restaurants: the fine dining You and the more casual, Italian

The hotel’s primary all-day-dining space, L’Unico is at

focus is fundamentally corporate, in the vein of La Défense,

the heart of the hotel’s informal dining operations. In the

Canary Wharf or Frankfurt. It is the home of the European

morning a banquet breakfast fills the counters that form

headquarters of Kraft Foods, for example: not a draw for

the border to the open kitchen – although for those in

sightseers to be sure, but a veritable hive of activity for

a hurry or with a boardroom to be in, a takeaway option

those sporting a company card and sensible shoes.

is available. On Sundays the restaurant plays host to an

MAIN COURSE

Ravioli

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MAIN COURSE

extravagant brunch, complete with live cooking stations, bubbly and

only shows off the many vintages available, but which helps to divide

oysters. Weekday afternoons and the pace is designed to make lunch a

the sizable space. In total there are 550, ensuring no guest will be left

speedy affair, for those on the clock from the nearby offices.

wanting, regardless of preference.

It is in the evenings that L’Unico finally has a chance to breathe,

Such a collection is less surprising when recognising the sheer value

appealing to staying guests who now have time to loiter, and residents

of F&B to Kameha Grand’s business: a roughly 50 / 50 split of F&B to

of the newly populated apartments that line the streets around the hotel.

rooms according to Restaurant Manager Tom Bittersohl. So important

In stark contrast to You, at L’Unico the emphasis is on ease. There’s a

is the provision of food and drink that back-of-house Kameha Grand

quaintness to the service style and presentation, with hills of furled pasta

houses vast working kitchens that would be the envy of most hotel

strips residing in simple white bowls – the kind of homely tableware that

chefs, with entire rooms dedicated solely to the likes of bread making or

wouldn’t be out of place in any Italian mama’s country kitchen.

vegetable prep.

This being Kameha Grand – a bastion of bold design – there are

Here, however, it is events dining and conference and banqueting,

nods to the unconventionality of the overall surroundings. Glasses by

more than restaurants, that most provides returns. While a space like

Stözle are emblazoned with the hotel’s logo and candleholders bear its

L’Unico is essential to the hotel, as Bittersohl says, “We can host the

strapline: life is grand.

same number of covers in two days of an event as we do in a month at

Catering both to large groups and the inevitable traveller who wants to pull up a chair and dine solo, seating is a mix of small standalone

the restaurant.”

So successful is the well-oiled events dining machine, that the hotel

tables, larger communal varieties and booths in auburn leather.

is toying with the idea of establishing itself as a provider of outside

Oversized pepper grinders sit among the seating pods, serving as both

catering. It’s an approach that, if handled well, could deliver a model for

statement decorative pieces and practical objects – as evidenced by the

other hotels to emulate, proving that hotel F&B is no longer confined to

waiters bustling to and fro with them in hand to recently served guests.

the hotel.

Integral to any Italian meal, of course, is wine, and at L’Unico the offer takes pride of place in the form of an impressive wine wall that not

www.kamehagrandzuerich.com

IN A BITE Executive Chef: Norman Fischer • Head Bartender: Katrin Singer • Covers: 150 • Interior Design: Marcel Wanders • Architecture: tecARCHITECTURE Developer: Mettler2Invest AG • Real Estate Owner: Turintra AG (a UBS Real Estate Fund) • Operator: Kameha Grand Glattpark Betriebsgesellschaft mbH

086

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MIDDLE EAST

Get Wellness Hilton London Bankside

I

n the midst of a bustling conference, lunch can provide

arrival snacks include granola bars and lemon and kiwi

a moment of much-needed respite. However, the heavy

spritzers, whilst the mid-morning break consists of raw

carbohydrates and calorie-intense desserts that often

vegetables with mint yogurt and apple, banana and soy

populate the conference menu can leave workers fatigued,

shakes. Cucumber water, packed with vitamins and minerals

unmotivated and unproductive.

A healthy, nutritious and balanced diet is, of course,

essential in maintaining one’s health, but how to provide

to keep blood pressure down, is also available throughout the day.

The brain boosting lunch menu, which can be personalised

this kind of hospitality to a group that spends much

depending on the group’s tastes, features options including

of the day seated and eating intermittently between

steamed white fish with olive oil and lemon dressing or

networking opportunities?

mackerel ceviche with green beans, almonds and chilli.

Enter Paul Bates, executive chef at Hilton London

In addition to the health-oriented menu, the hotel will

Bankside, who has created a brain boosting lunch and

also provide guests who opt for the package free access to

healthy snack menu aimed at increasing energy, maintaining

its state-of-the-art gym and pool, as well as personalised

a healthy weight and improving the immune system of the

training sessions.

hotel’s conference and business guests.

As part of Hilton London Bankside’s Wellness Package,

088

www3.hilton.com

SIPPING

“If someone comes in asking for pisco, cachaça or mezcal neat they are usually either a bartender; from Peru, Chile, Brazil or Mexico; working for the brand company; or all of the above.”

Mike Ryan, director of bars at Kimpton Hotels, on educating guests about Latin spirits.

41Mad Supper Mag FINAL_Layout 1 12/2/16 9:22 AM Page 1

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COCKTAILS xxx

Painting the Roses Red Purple Bar, Sanderson, London

Smith & Sinclair’s Painting the Roses Red consists of tequila, Campari, lime, clementine juice, agave, hibiscus and ginger ale, all topped with chili tincture.

The mixture is served with an edible playing card and a bespoke edible rose perfume.

The mixture pays tribute to Alice in Wonderland by giving the Tequila Sunrise a Queen of Hearts makeover.

Painting the Roses Red appeared as part of a joint pop-up concept between Sanderson Hotel in London and Smith & Sinclair in the former’s Purple Bar. Smith & Sinclair’s playful pop-up featured edible cocktails, drinks that change both colour and flavour, scented lollipops with alcoholic dib-dabs and infused vapours. Throughout Smith & Sinclair’s run at the hotel, the company employed the bar space’s whimsical furniture and rich jewel tones to create an interactive and sensuous mixology experience, serving up a cocktail menu that also included Summer Leftovers – comprising vodka, St-Germain, triple sec, lemon and Aperol – and Thyme for Tea, incorporating whisky, jasmine, Lillet, citrus and Prosecco. www.morganshotelgroup.com www.smithandsinclair.co.uk

COCKTAILS

Old Cuban The Regency Bar, Loews Regency New York

Marrying Blanquette de Limoux Antech with Diplomatico Blanco Rum, mint, lime and Angostura Bitters, The Regency Bar’s Old Cuban combines a diverse collection of classic ingredients for a balanced but lively kick. Served in a tall, slender cylindrical flute, the Old Cuban is comprised of high quality ingredients and is evocative of the classic, luxe approach for which the bar is known.

The Regency Bar is an extension of the Regency Bar & Grill’s elegant dining room, a destination noted for its enduring power breakfast.

A concise cocktail menu features selections by Beverage Director Andre Compeyre, including The Blake, which contains Citron Vodka, St. Germain, lemon, grapefruit juice and orange bitters; Orchata Especial, comprising Siete Tequila, Bacardi Superior Rum, agave syrup, rice milk and cinnamon; and Strawberry Gin, which mixes strawberry-infused Plymouth Gin, Aquafaba, Meyer Lemon Juice and rhubarb bitters. www.loewshotels.com

COCKTAILS

The Aviator Eau de Vie, Kirketon Hotel, Sydney

The Aviator is Eau de Vie’s take on the classic Aviation Cocktail, bringing together gin lashed with lemon, Maraschino and a house rhubarb and juniper puree, served with a recycled paper plane on a cloud of fairy floss.

A well-balanced drink with a spirited aesthetic, The Aviator captivates guests with its distinctive visual and acts as an offbeat talking point.

An independent bar housed within the Kirketon Hotel in Darlinghurst, Sydney, and part of the Speakeasy Group, Eau de Vie serves up imaginative drinks with a sense of humour.

Andy Griffiths, group head of mixology at Speakeasy Group, explains: “At Eau de Vie we pride ourselves on creating flavourful, well balanced drinks that not only taste amazing but have a clear visual story. The theatre associated with our serves is meant to draw people in and generate discusssion.

This results in the drinks being a social lubricant on multiple levels.” www.eaudevie.com.au

The Gin Parlour InterContinental New York Barclay

Words: Tara Mastrelli

A

lthough Midtown Manhattan is a saturated hotel

Hemingway set up a temporary residence to finish For

market, there are only a handful of true Grand

Whom The Bell Tolls; Vanderbilt had a private squash court

Dames in the mix. Recently the InterContinental

in his residence; and many of New York’s notable elite

New York Barclay unveiled an extensive 20-month

flowed in and out of its doors to take advantage of its long-

complete renovation that restored the hotel’s grandeur and welcomes guests with a design that manages to feel both novel and settled - as if it has been there all along.

Built in 1926 as part of Grand Central Terminal’s urban

To transition the hotel from a discreet residence into a 21st century hotel, significant meeting and event space was added. The property now boasts some 15,000 ft2 of meeting

design plan, The Barclay was one of four New York railroad

space, which includes three ballrooms and five meeting

hotels known as the Terminal City Project. The hotels were

rooms. It also changed the main entrance and ground floor

linked by underground passages that allowed guests to

into a flexible and fashionable space that can provide a

access train cars directly from the site to below ground.

variety of amenities for guests.

Originally designed by Cross and Cross (of the famous

Just off the main lobby, directly across from reception,

Tiffany and Co. on Fifth Ave.) the property was fashioned in

sits The Gin Parlour. Due to its position, the challenge was

the Federalist Style, an American derivative of the Georgian

making the scale work to create an inviting atmosphere

aesthetic conceived as a symbol of American independence

while still leaving the space open enough to allow solo

and pride.

travellers to feel part of something larger. “We wanted to

“Traditional is not in fashion,” says Christina Hart,

make it intimate and not overpowering - like your private

senior principal at HOK, and principal in charge of the Gin

sitting room,” says Hart. The 200-seat bar also had to

Parlour project. “But we are not a slick boutique and we’re

be flexible enough to function as the hotel’s three-meal

not trying to be something we’re not.”

restaurant, serving 125 covers for breakfast, 75 for lunch,

The design team diligently researched history to bring forward a plush mixture of Federalist design details such

and 150 for dinner.

The solution: an open space defined by its bright oval

as eagles, arrows, stars, badges and medals throughout,

shaped bar and lush seating enclaves. “If you walk in,

as well as the use of oval shapes, mirrors, and classical

you can see almost 75 percent of the space, which is

columns. Hart was proud to steer away from design trends

comforting as a solo traveller. It feels very approachable

and says she feels that “people are thirsting for more

and very comfortable.”

history.” And The Barclay is steeped in history. Ernest

096

held reputation as a discreet pied-a-terre.

The back bar is well lit and features more than 100

DRINKS

097

DRINKS

varieties of different gins, with multiple origins

jovial twist, served in a Schott Zwiesel wine

tuck away into The Club Lounge to entertain

and flavour profiles. Gins from Scotland and

glass and garnished with seasonal fruits.

clients or simply work in the sophisticated but

England rub elbows with those from Argentina

Berge’s passion for gin is contagious and

snug setting. The lounge feels like a private

and Spain; Caledonia Spirits made with honey

the overall strategy seems to be paying off:

library, complete with secluded seating, dark

in Vermont with gins infused with saffron and

gin is outpacing vodka sales, an anomaly in

panelling, and aviary-inspired prints, a nod to

fruits. “If there’s something unique, we grab

midtown Manhattan.

the birdcage that used to sit in the lobby in its

it,” says Beverage Director Orion Berge.

A dedicated tonic water menu allows guests

To add to the cozy sitting room feel,

1945 heyday. A glimpse into the extravagance

Hart’s team created moments that encourage

of the time: the birdcage housed guests’ birds

to explore flavours such as elderflower,

conversation and lingering. Behind striped

at no additional charge. At one point as many

liquorice and lemongrass, or try the house

curtains - pulled back and eliciting the feeling

as 200 birds were being held.

cold brewed tonic, infusing in plain view

of a luxury train car - rich velvets and leathers

on the counter. The bar also makes its own

mingle with nailhead details and dark wood.

Loughhead’s commitment to sustainability

vermouth on site. For guests looking to learn

Her favorite vignette is an intimate seating

shines: all of the salmon is smoked in-house

more, The Gin Parlour hosts an educational

scene complete with lush armchairs gathered

and local purveyors are used for everything

cocktail event every Tuesday with topics

round a fireplace and topped with an ornate

from produce and dairy to custom truffles and

ranging from a house made bitter class to a

gold eagle bowed mirror: perhaps one of the

hot New York pretzels.

signature Negroni tasting.

most overt nods to American heritage.

Hefty glassware was selected to evoke a more classic feel. The house G&T is given a

For the food, executive Chef Willis

Through a corridor just off the main bar, guests who have purchased a day pass can

www.intercontinentalnybarclay.com

IN A BITE Covers: Breakfast 125, Lunch, 75, Dinner 150, Bar 200 • Executive Chef: Willis Loughhead • Interior Design: HOK • Architecture: Stonehill & Taylor • Owner: 111 East 48th Holdings • Operator: InterContinental Hotels Group • Tableware: Degrenne Paris, Bernardaud, My Glass Studio • Glassware: Schott Zwiesel • Cutlery: Steelite • Buffet: Cra’ster

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Agave You My Heart Words: Holly Motion

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Appetites for tequila’s smoky cousin are growing at an unprecedented rate.

Dubbed the ‘Mezcal Boom’, bartenders are taking the classic Mexican spirit under their wings and into their shakers like never before.

N

aysayers argued it couldn’t be done, but the

they are two expressions of the Mexican terroir.” So

unthinkable has happened: a drink once associated

complementary, in fact, that Pernod Ricard is looking at

with cheap shots and monstrous hangovers has

releasing a mezcal in the near future. He says: “Mezcal could

managed to change consumer perceptions in some

surely be an option in the months to come to complement our

key markets and grow sales at an enviable rate.

Tequila is now seen by many as a quality drink to rival

Scotch and rum, one to be sipped by aficionados. Global sales

tequila offering and show another facet of the generosity and complexity of the Mexican ‘terroir’.”

Mezcal may be smaller but globally it is growing sales in the

have grown to an impressive 26 million cases a year. That

higher price brackets, just like tequila, and this trend looks set

makes tequila the world’s second fastest growing spirits

to continue, according to Altos’s communications manager

category - up 5% year-on-year according to expert number

Daniel Finkler. “We see agave spirits as one of Mexico’s most

crunchers at IWSR - and the higher priced variants are driving

precious jewels. There is still a long way to go for tequila and

the growth. Super-premium and ultra-premium segments are

mezcal, but also so much to discover,” he says.

growing at 16% and 7% respectively, while premium tequila

Ara Carvallo, Barra Mexico creative director, is slightly less

(sold at 20% higher than the average price) is still in growth at

bullish about mezcal’s chances of cracking the mainstream.

4% - a trend that IWSR expects to continue until 2020.

“Although mezcal is experiencing drastic growth, its volume

Mezcal - made from the ‘heart’ of the agave plant - is

base is still very small compared to the millions of cases that

considerably smaller but the popularity of tequila and the

represents the tequila category. The large majority of the mezcal

desire for authenticity among consumers and bartenders alike

brands found in Europe and the US are artisanally produced,

has desmonstrably left consumers demanding more. “The

which means that the mezcal category outside Mexico is mainly

historical stigma of tequila, that was learnt through lower-

premium. There are a few mezcals that are produced with

end mixtos and shots as young 20-somethings, has been

more industrial techniques, however these brands still tend to

replaced with a deeper understanding of the rich culture and

position themselves in the premium segment.”

authenticity of a spirit that comes from hundreds of years

Mezcal tends to appeal to a different palate than tequila and

of Mexican distilling tradition,” says Megan Hurtuk, Sazerac

mostly to different demographic groups. Mexico and the US

marketing manager.

account for 83% of total tequila volumes. For the most part

Pierre Aymeric-Du Cray, vice president International at

tequila in Mexico appeals to a slightly older demographic of

Altos tequila supplier Pernod Ricard Mexico adds: “Tequila

people aged 30 and above. Mezcal, on the other hand, appeals

has helped mezcal and vice versa. Mezcal is a very good

to a younger crowd and also the global mixology community,

complement for tequila. There’s a different method of

Barra Mexico’s Carvallo says.

production but I think they are complementary because

Tequila is typically associated with classic cocktails, such as

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the Margarita, and it’s booming. Aymeric-Du

any means and it’s not something that is

Cray says one in four cocktails sold in the US

welcomed by everyone. “A move away from

is a Margarita. That equates to 250,000 per

Mixto? Unfortunately this is not the case yet,”

hour. “This has helped growth and changed

Carvallo says. “The high end cocktail segment

the category drastically,” he says. “In Mexico,

across markets has moved to 100% agave,

margaritas are not that popular, it’s all about

sipped or in mixed drinks. Also in the US, for

the Paloma - 100,000 are served per hour.”

example, consumers are more educated about tequila and would rather go for a 100% agave.

Bartenders

However, in most markets, in the mainstream

Conversely, the mezcal category has been

list’. The general flavour profile of tequila

horeca channel, you will still see important

driven by the craft cocktail bartender. “Not only

and even more of mezcal allows us to create

volumes of mixto being consumed.”

do they appreciate the complex flavours and

amazingly flavourful cocktails. But it’s not

qualities of good mezcal, the bartenders of the

only the base spirits, it’s also the modifiers, for

60% of all tequilas sold around the world

craft cocktail movement dedicate themselves to

example, that have to complement the tequila

are consumed in shots by ‘party people’ in

education so that they can share that knowledge

or mezcal to create a nice mixed drink. Quality

emerging markets. Although this is quickly

with their guests,” says Misty Kalkofen of Del

products always help to create finer drinks, the

narrowing in line with the long-term growth

Maguey. “So it’s no surprise that frequently the

same as in the kitchen. Chefs want to use the

trend for 100% agave Tequilas.”

largest markets for mezcal in the US coincide

best available products.”

with those markets that host some of the best

In Hong Kong, Charly Kusaksizoglu, director

Future

cocktail programmes in the country, such as

of corporate projects at Lobster Bar and Grill,

There have been concerns about agave supply.

New York and California,” she adds.

at Island Shangri-la,says agave spirits are

Tequila and mezcal production is not quick

slowly growing in popularity in Asia but are

and there have been fears the category will

Asia. In Manhattan Bar, at Regent Singapore,

still not at the same levels as the US, Europe

struggle to meet increasing demand. Producers

Bar Manager Philip Bischoff says there many

or Australia. Having said that, the bar still

are tight-lipped on this but Del Maguey’s

smaller high quality mezcal brands available

stocks around 20 different types of tequila and

Kalkofen says she hopes the category will

that are not advertised on a large scale. “But

mezcal. Kusaksizoglu says: “We always try

grow in a sustainable manner and “one that

these niche brands are especially well known

to have boutique brands instead of the more

is beneficial to the families that have been

among bartenders and that’s why this category

typical ones. We try to create new drinks based

producing mezcal for generations”. She adds:

is growing among guests as well. Guests trust

on mezcal and tequila, that offer a unique taste

“My hope is that as the category continues to

their bartender.”

and flavour. Consumers are very keen for new

develop those within it, and especially the new

flavour profiles in drinks with these type of

brands that are just entering the market, will

24 tequilas on its menu, and it is constantly

spirits.” Four different drinks based on mezcal

grow in a responsible manner. Because the raw

growing. He adds: “We usually have one to

and tequila grace the bar’s new drinks menu.

material of mezcal can take anywhere from

The agave trend has even started to reach

Bischoff’s bar currently has 16 mezcals and

three tequila or mezcal drinks on the menu, but of course we always have plenty on our ‘shadow

seven to 35 years to mature (depending on the Mixto Shot

type of agave) a producer and brand must be

So, how about the mixto shot - the ‘salt, lime,

extremely conscientious in the management of

wince’ that most people think of when you say

natural resources in order for the category to

tequila? Manhattan Bar’s Bischoff says many

be sustainable. The product that is new to so

bars only offer 100% agave tequilas because

many of us is the legacy of many generations

it’s the best way to show people the “beauty

who have cultivated this craft, thus it is

of this spirit category”. But Bischoff believes

extremely important that the history, culture

there is still a demand for mixto shots. “There

and traditions of the families who make

are still bars that do list mixto tequilas and

mezcal be honoured and preserved.”

people still order them as a shot. They do

If this can happen, the agave spirits

the same with 100% agave ones as well as,

categories have every reason to be optimistic

ultimately, people in general are getting more

about the future. The biggest challenges of

educated and are developing more of a sense

silencing the critics, changing perceptions,

for quality spirits.”

winning over new consumers and driving

There has arguably been a move away from mixto but it has not disappeared by

102

Altos’s Finkler has the stats: “Approximately

value into the category are, for the most part, behind it.

Latin Spirit Words: Angus Winchester

From Mexican mixes to Chilean creations, the world of cocktail making has adopted a decidedly Latin flavour as the region’s traditional spirits find international footing.

“

T

will take ten minutes to brew, but the result is the highest and noblest product of the age. No man but one knows what is in it. I have a theory it is compounded of the shavings of cherubs’ wings, the glory of a tropical dawn, the red clouds of sunset, and

fragments of lost epics by dead masters.”

Thus, did Rudyard Kipling in 1899 write one of my favourite and most

eloquent descriptions of a cocktail I have ever found. However, it was not a gin or whisky based drink that he rhapsodized about but instead a Button Punch made with pisco. And while the cocktail may have slid slowly into oblivion, the spirit itself is very much front and centre in the mind of the modern mixologist. It also sits squarely in the middle of the Latin Spirits category, and while the nomenclature may be clumsy, the spirits within it are among the most elegant and desired of spirits currently.

Including rum, cachaça, pisco, tequila, mezcal (in all its forms and more of that later) and singani, combined with a growing range of Latin influenced liqueurs like Ancho Reyes, the Latin spirits category is thriving and driving connoisseurship and creativity among bartenders.

In fact, despite many spirits in the category being among the ‘newest’ of the spirit families, they are those currently most thrilling the bartenders making them hip sips and marvelous mixers. It’s not hard to see why as they hit just about every modern consumer ‘hot button’.

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Manhattan’s Lenox, Regent Singapore

“The unique flavours of mezcal, aged tequilas and cachaça are a detour from the familiar and a step into the wild.”

Authenticity

Small Batch

While tequila and rum may have their behemoth brands, all of the

Again, while bigger producers may exist, it’s the smaller labels that

other categories are generally populated by smaller, cooler companies.

excite. Tiny stills, a lack of huge warehouses and economies of scale

Many are often family owned and most focus on the bar to build their

mean that production is limited and thus a sense of discovery and a

brands. They rely on influential brand ambassadors who hand-sell

‘pride of ownership’ by bars exists. As the companies are much smaller

their product to enthusiastic bartenders by running category training

they are also more nimble, and spirit trends can flourish far more

and by telling the stories behind the labels. Unencumbered by pesky

quickly than the big boys can handle. New listings get blasted out on

legal teams in categories that are still being refined, every minutiae of

social media and are prized for their limited production and scarce

production is listed from the person who harvested the raw material to

distribution: ‘get it now or miss out!’

the person who distilled it, when they did and what they were wearing as they did so. Plus, as they are made in such small batches each run can be different - no dull consistency for these guys.

Taste With the exception of pisco - which many bartenders were astounded was not more popular with ‘civilians’ due to its fragrant and accessible

Local

nature - most Latin spirits are at the more challenging end of the

As the name suggests Latin spirits are very much tied to the region they

flavour spectrum. Bartenders love them for two reasons: firstly they

come from. Chile and Peru still fight over who gets to lay claim to pisco,

have a desire to show off their discerning palate. Secondly if - as many

but the rest are all heavily protected and increasingly terroir is being

claim - they are creating liquid masterpieces, then the unique flavours

pushed as a defining characteristic, particularly with agave spirits.

of mezcal, aged tequilas and cachaça are a detour from the familiar and

Plus, as many of the brands are small and family owned, they control

a step into the wild.

every aspect of production. Ivy Mix, of Brooklyn bar Leyenda, calls

The seemingly endless raw materials of mezcal (there are over 250

mezcal ‘the ultimate farm-to-table spirit’, as the family that grows and

varieties of agave plant) and its distinct production techniques mean

harvests the raw materials makes the spirit and sells it direct.

that it is quickly catching Tequila in many uber boîtes, both in cocktails and neat sipping. Cachaça has seen a huge boost since the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics double whammy, and bartenders are discovering the crazy woods that ageing Brazil’s national spirit in can bring to the party.

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Tippler’s Crippler, Regent Singapore

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Cocktail Recipes Lust for Life Boleo, Kimpton Gray Hotel, Chicago

Lennox Manhattan, Regent Singapore

Omerta Manhattan, Regent Singapore

Dark Magic The Edgbaston, Birmingham

1 oz Del Maguey Vida 1 oz Ramazzotti ¾ oz lemon juice ¾ oz vanilla syrup (1:1 sugar:water, vanilla bean scraped in and left to sit overnight)

30ml Alipus San Baltazar 15ml Koko Kanu 10ml Luxardo Espresso 20ml pineapple juice 15ml fresh lime juice 10ml house made grenadine 20ml egg white 3DS peach bitter

45ml Luxardo Angioletto 10ml Alipus San Baltazar Mezcal (or Islay Whisky) 25ml fresh lemon juice 15ml simple syrup 2 dashes Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters Egg white

30ml Del Maguey Vida 30ml ‘vermouth’ blend (Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, Carpano Punt E Mes and Byrrh Grand Quinquina) 5ml Mozart Black Liqueur 5ml Mr Black Liqueur 3 dashes Aphrodite Bitters

Dry shake

Shake, serve with ‘big ice’ in a juice glass and finish with a caramel chip and a lemon twist (no drop)

Stir, strain and serve in a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with Luxardo cherries and 70% chocolate

Shake, strain and serve

Served in Schott Zwiesel cocktail glass and finished with dark chocolate

So bartenders love the stuff, but what about consumers? Well the

agrees,“While people appreciate a good Pisco Sour at any time, mezcal is

aforementioned Ivy Mix has opened a bar that serves nothing but Latin

becoming increasingly popular because there are still many people that

spirits and it is both hugely popular and influential in New York City - a

relate a few bad moments to tequila.”

city known for its adoption of drinks movements. Kimpton Hotels have

So how are guests drinking these Latin beauties? Mike Ryan, director

recently opened a South American-inspired rooftop bar in Chicago called

of bars at Kimpton Hotels, sums it up nicely: “People are interested in

Boleo, that carries a vast array of different piscos and lots of fernets

these intriguing spirits but haven’t moved to drinking them alone yet.

(tipping the hat to Argentina where the Italian amaro is incredibly

If someone comes in asking for pisco, cachaça or mezcal neat they are

popular), as well as tequila, mezcal, bacanora, sotol, cachaça, rums of

usually either a bartender; from Peru, Chile, Brazil or Mexico; working

all stripes and styles, and even Mexican brandies. The hotel group’s new

for the brand company; or all of the above.”

“If someone comes in asking for pisco, cachaça or mezcal neat they are usually either a bartender; from Peru, Chile, Brazil or Mexico; working for the brand company; or all of the above.” property in San Diego will also be Mexican inspired.

Margaritas, and bartenders are using mezcal in cocktails as a gateway

the venerable (and previously somewhat staid) American Bar at the

to the spirit itself. With these spirits sometimes thought of as ‘too

Savoy, Erik Lorincz stocks not just the normal range but also several

much’ neat for many civilians, the Oaxaca Old Fashioned is on many

racilla and personally confirmed a growing consumer interest. The

bartenders’ recommendation list to initiate the novice, spurring a range

Edgbaston hotel and cocktail lounge in the UK stocks all the Latin spirit

of creative recipes around the globe.

categories as well as Ancho Reyes, Cedilla and Agavero. Rob Wood, of

108

Guests are generally sticking to Pisco Sours, Caipirinhas and

Of course it’s not just in the USA that the trend is flourishing. Even at

While the Latin spirits category is thriving among bartenders and

concept bar Smultronställe, notes that while he sees a growing interest

connoisseurs (with mezcal in all its various forms, designations and

in mezcal, the “stigma of tequila’s drunken heritage and youthful

experimentations being without a shadow of a doubt the hippest sip) it

indiscretion-inducing behaviour still hampers it.” It’s an association

remains to be seen if the general public will ever fall in love with them in

with which Philip Bischoff of Manhattan Bar, at the Regent Singapore,

the way that Kipling so obviously did.

Richard Brendon has partnered with Gleneagles to develop his new hand-crafted crystal collection, Fluted. Fluted draws inspiration from the decadent cocktail culture of the 1920’s, and fits perfectly in the American Bar at Gleneagles, which has been masterfully designed by David Collins Studio.

Like the cocktail glasses of the art deco era, the Fluted stemware is light and perfectly proportioned, while the tumblers are reassuringly weighty. Mouth-blown by master craftsmen in Bohemia, the collection takes its name from the fluted cuts that run the length of each piece. In Richard’s signature style, Fluted combines just the right amount of traditional and contemporary elements to create a progressive, yet timeless collection.

WWW.RICHARDBRENDON.COM

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The Vine Less Travelled When it comes to wine, how best to wrest Argentina and Chile apart and could it be that there’s more to these South American neighbours than the expected?

Words: Nina Caplan

T

he traveller is popularly supposed to be on a restless

wines; both are strongly defined in the public mind,

quest for novelty, but tell that to the hotel sommeliers

which can be a problem in itself and can also be unfair on

attempting to convince their patrons to try something

versatile, questing places that are trying to do something

a little different. It’s amazing how a drinker who

new, and are calling on the consumer to keep up. The two

thinks nothing of flitting across the world for a business

countries are very different from one another, but both

meeting or leisure will nonetheless cling conservatively to

currently have vitality, which sits ill with the drinker’s

the wine countries he or she knows well. No matter that the

tendency to latch onto a fact about a place and cling to

wine world has long found admirable terroir and technique

it grimly for eternity. According to this, Chile is bargain

in South Africa, Australia, South America or New Zealand;

basement: it’s cheap but not necessarily cheerful, the

the wary guest is liable to require persuasion, and it is down

kind of bottle you order when dining with a business

to a genuine, passionate and knowledgeable sommelier to

acquaintance and are hoping for an early night. As for

lure them out of their comfort zone.

Argentina – well, Argentina can be expensive, but it is

The two countries either side of the Andes are excellent examples of evolving wine regions that offer alternative

almost always Malbec.

Somewhere in the southern hemisphere, there’s an

pleasures to the unchanging comforts of Bordeaux or

Australian winemaker laughing wryly. These image

Burgundy - actually, these days even they move with

problems have both caused the Aussies endless trouble. It

the times, a little at least, but that is not the public’s

doesn’t matter how many beautiful, elegant wines they

perception. Both Argentina and Chile make some fantastic

craft, the perception of overblown fruit bombs - cheap

Persuading people to spend money on wine from a place they perceive as downmarket may be the hardest task a sommelier ever faces.

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at half the price - persists. They have done such a great job

a good Chilean wine instead of classic European,” insists Erik

of publicising grapes such as Syrah and Chardonnay to an

Simonics, sommelier at the Savoy Hotel in London. “Chile

uncertain public that they have blinded many consumers to the

is a beautiful country offering high quality wines for very

delicate Pinot Gris or elegant Nebbiolos that different parts of

affordable prices. What I really like about Chile is the diversity

the Land Down Under also produce.

and the range of wines they are able to produce there, from

Malbec – the Cahors grape known, in its native France, as

light, crispy aromatic white wines to premium red wines;

Côt – has proved such an enormous success for Argentina, so

as well as some interesting dessert, sparkling and old vine

wonderful a combination to their equally wonderful steaks,

wines.” Because of this variety, he says, he is able to offer

and so easily comprehensible to a wary public overloaded with

Chilean alternatives to European classics such as Sancerre,

wine information, that the country is now struggling to talk

Riesling or even Bordeaux, and customers are rarely, if ever,

about its many other successes. Not only is their aromatic

disappointed.

white grape, Torrontés, a surprisingly good, fruity match for

Richard Lockstone, general manager of the Newcastle

spicier Asian dishes, the cooler-climate areas are producing

upon Tyne Malmaison hotel, is in complete agreement. He

more and more really good Cabernet Franc.

hosts wine dinners where guests are given the opportunity

Nobody wants to be put in a box – particularly not a long,

to compare countries or varieties and finds they are very

thin country with more and more patches of excellent vines.

surprised at the quality of the Chilean wines. “I sourced a

“We have old Semillon vines everywhere,” says Santiago

beautiful coastal Sauvignon Blanc from Koyle and every time

Mayorga, the young winemaker of Nieto Senetiner in Mendoza,

a guest who is a big New Zealand Sauvignon fan asks for

“and the Chardonnay we make now is fresh, citrus and acidic,

advice, I recommend this and it suddenly becomes their new

much less the heavier American style.” He is exploring cooler

favourite,” he says. “You can give people a blind tasting of

sub-sites in Mendoza county – Tupungato, Lujan de Cuyo –

a Bordeaux blend from the home country versus a Bordeaux

and alternative grapes, including Petit Verdot and Bonarda.

blend from Chile and they will not get the latter country

And he is in good company, from the much-lauded Susana

right,” although they will appreciate what they are drinking.

Balbo, whose Signature White Blend includes Torrontés,

It is not the common perception of what a South American

Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon; to Bodega Atamisque, who are

country has to offer, which is particularly ironic since

making a really excellent Pinot Noir in Tupungato.

Carmenère, Chile’s signature grape, is actually from Bordeaux.

“Argentinian Cabernet Franc can be really outstanding,”

Most of it was pulled out in France when the phylloxera

says Gino Nardella, who has been chief sommelier of the

louse destroyed the vineyards. It is a pernickety variety that

Stafford Hotel in London for nearly 40 years. “But yes,

dislikes too much rain, and the Bordelais found other red

sometimes it can be a difficult sell, because they have a lot of

grapes, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, much

interesting patches with great microclimates and that’s a lot

more amenable to their climate. “In Bordeaux, it often

of information for a customer to take on board.” Nonetheless

doesn’t mature enough,” says Nardella, “and ends up being

he feels it is worth the effort to explain to people who may

very aggressive, lean and mean, whereas in Chile you find

have heard of Mendoza but won’t know any of the more recent

good Carmenère that is very chocolate, with eucalyptus and

developments. “Some of these areas are so exciting. In Rio

geranium. It’s great with a barbecued sirloin.” He holds high-

Negro, they are planting Pinot Noir. It’s a real challenge. It’s is

end wine dinners in the Stafford’s beautiful cellars (said to be

a cooler area and it’s right at the beginning of Patagonia, but

the oldest private cellars in London) and says he gets a very

they are doing great things with these international varietals.”

good response to Chilean wines, including Carmenère and Petit

Chile, meanwhile, is an even more complex problem,

Verdot, which remains a minor Bordeaux grape, but “needs

because its reputation for cheap and cheerful wines, while

a semi-arid microclimate,” says Gino – much more Chilean

justified – Chile does make plenty of entry-level wine and

than south-west French. As for Merlot, “they are making some

has given Australia a run for its money in this sector – is far

great versions in Chile,” he says: he particularly likes those

too narrow. Persuading people to spend money on wine from

by Lapostolles, a vineyard founded by the French owners of

a place they perceive as downmarket may be the hardest task

Grand Marnier. It seems Bordeaux should look to its laurels.

a sommelier ever faces. The solution is probably to stare the

The sommelier’s challenge is to persuade hotel guests to take

problem down, by discussing the fact that ‘cheaper’ doesn’t

one more little journey, away from their assumptions; however

necessarily mean ‘less good’. “I find it relatively easy to offer

once there they tend, like most travellers, not to look back.

Message in a Bottle More than just quality spirits that are expertly prepared, the secret behind great cocktails is often in the bottle.

Words: Lauren Ho

I

t goes without saying that bartending can be demanding work. The unsociable hours, physical demands and potential injuries - including long-term hearing problems - are just some of the occupational hazards that plague the profession. But as with many trades, only if

you are in the business, can you truly understand the intricacies and nuances behind each role.

And while those outside the trade might initially appreciate the creative appearance of a cocktail and even go as far as to admire the complexity of the flavours, the inner workings and practical aspects of a bar are rarely considered - all of which, frankly, are of little significance to most guests after a couple of tipples anyhow.

Behind the scenes though, in efficiently delivering that batch of perfectly concocted cocktails, whether in a crowded nightclub or in a plush hotel lounge, functionality is key. This not only pertains to the layout and flow of the actual bar, but also to the design and practicality of the drinks bottles, something Ryan Chetiyawardana – the master bartender behind Dandelyan in London’s Mondrian Hotel – says is not considered nearly enough.

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Logically, courting the trade seems like

bottle that has been thoughtfully designed

started with a philosophy that we would make

an obvious tactic for a drinks brand. Yet a

with the bartender in mind - while still

products that always put bartenders first,”

number of high profile companies, usually

exuding adequate allurement and practicality

explains Simon Ford, one of the co-founders of

best known for wooing the consumer with

for the all-important back bar. “The 86 Co.

The 86 Co.

their provocative bottle designs, are more

bottles stand out to me,” says Sal Agnello,

often than not a case of style over substance,

beverage manager at the Ace Hotel New

flavoursome well-rounded spirits, the idea

resulting in a cacophony of problems during a

Orleans. “As they were designed by bartenders

to design a bottle only came after receiving

shift. “Repetitive strain, joint issues, cuts and

for bartenders, everything from the bottle’s

mixed responses when looking for the perfect

bruises are just some of the physical injuries a

balance to its centre of gravity, pour spout,

existing container to house their produce.

Focused first on making a portfolio of

“Each stock bottle had certain attributes that the bartenders appreciated, but not one

“The more fluid the bartender can be in making drinks, the better they will be overall.”

single bottle had all of these design attributes together,” says Ford. And so, with the logic of ‘if you can’t find it, make it’, the team set out to create the ultimate bottle. “Bottles that are not efficiently designed can often distract the bartender,” says Jason Kosmas, one of

bartender can sustain,” says Chetiyawardana.

“And given some of the badly designed bottles

Launched by a trio of industry professionals,

the other co-founders of the company. “The more fluid the bartender can be in making

that have lead to these, a thoughtful design can

The 86 Co. comprises a series of four quality

drinks, the better they will be overall. There

certainly make a huge impact day-to-day.”

spirits – Fords Gin, Caña Brava Rum, Aylesbury

are physical dangers, accuracy issues, time

Duck Vodka and Tequila Cabeza – each

squandered and wasted booze with bottles that

of the booze, aesthetics and functionality is

produced by some of the best distillers globally

don’t take the user into account.”

easier said than done, but several companies

and packaged in an elegantly understated

seem to have cracked this, by not only

bottle that has been intelligently designed with

shape with a series of imperceptible features

delivering top-notch liquid, but also with a

the input of expert bartenders. “Our company

that come together to vastly improve the user’s

Finding the balance between the quality

116

scale and mid bottle grip are great.”

The result centres on a graceful ergonomic

the ingredients you don’t drink

DRINKS

experience: a long, easy-grip neck with two

wanted our bottles to be inspired by the time

rims – for comfort and speedy lifting from

from which the spirit originated, but above all

the well – has been designed to be held with

we wanted to make a bottle that any bartender

a full hand; it is shaped specifically to aid the

would love to use,” says Meijerink. Fashioned

consistent flow of liquid; it is topped with an

from clay and topped with a wax seal – both

easy-to-open cap for the smooth switching

customary forms of bottling genever in the

of bottles; and the opening snugly fits a speed

16th century when it began to emerge – it is

pourer, reducing waste. A scale imprint with

certainly distinctive, and in eschewing obvious

fluid ounce and litre measurements can be used

design pitfalls, successfully creates a cultured

for inventory control and batching cocktails

air of credibility.

while a ridge in the middle, centred by weight,

Of course, pleasing everyone is near to

was added after seeking the advice of a

impossible. For Matteo Malisan, bar manager

physiotherapist on how to reduce repetitive

at Seymour’s Parlour, the intimate watering

“Drinks brands are finally starting to consider the trade. And while it’s still somewhat confined to the craft cocktail world, larger, more established enterprises are starting to follow suit.” motion injuries. “Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

hole in London’s Zetter Townhouse Marylebone,

is the most obvious injury that affects the

the 86 Co. bottles are too long and heavy, while

wrist,” says Kosmas. “We later learned that

for Agnello in New Orleans, he feels a longer

holding the bottle in the middle reduces the

neck on the De Borgen bottle would work better

range of motion.”

for him. However, the point is that drinks

Meanwhile, the deliciously sensuous black

118

brands are finally starting to consider the trade.

tubular casing for Dutch gin brand De Borgen’s

And while it’s still somewhat confined to the

cask finished malt genever, is a suave answer

craft cocktail world, larger, more established

that tells the story of the company while

enterprises are starting to follow suit. For the

smartly incorporating the bartender’s needs.

recent reshape of its Superior, Black and Gold

Designed by Belgian studio Florin Kimpe

bottles, master rum company Bacardi sought

together with Dutch drinks maestro Lennart

the advice of New York-based Steve Schneider,

Deddens, its long list of specifics has resulted

principal bartender at Employees Only, a

in a user-friendly, work-efficient bottle with

cocktail lounge - as it happens - initiated by

a dignified presence and no ‘designer tricks’-

Kosmas and Dushan Zaric, the third founder of

as Sander Meijerink, the company’s export

The 86 Co. “I believe we had something to do

manager says. Simply, the neck of the bottle

with influencing the changes [Bacardi] made,”

has been devised to fit between the bartender’s

says Ford proudly. “Bartenders are the ones

fingers and the narrow body fits evenly into a

truly changing the way people drink. I am a fan

speed rail while allowing easy gripping access

of companies who think this way and I hope to

and a smooth, steady flow of liquid. “We

see even more brands take this approach.”

Tina Frey Designs tinafreydesigns.com

DRINKS

An Ace Card A staple of luxury hotels worldwide, Armand de Brignac’s enticing brand identity is only part of the story.

Words: Holly Motion

A

rmand de Brignac yields some interesting results

bottle. It is a powerful statement which immediately resonated

on Google. Tabloids frequently run stories about the

with consumers and continues to do so today.”

rich and famous dropping eye watering amounts on a round of Ace of Spades, as it is affectionately known by

some. The former US President Barack Obama reportedly had a

luxury and time constraints. Each bottle is finished by hand with

350-bottle tower of the bubbles at a fundraiser.

French pewter labels applied and the metal coating polished,

It’s fair to say it’s a favourite of the super wealthy - Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter liked it so much he bought the brand in November

which means one person can complete just 20 per hour.

There’s no doubt the brand is fashionable and has high profile

2014 - but few know the quality of the liquid behind the headlines

fans but it has also won round some of the more discerning

and hand finished pewter labelled bottles.

palates in the drinks world. The first assemblage of its Blanc de

Armand de Brignac is made by 11th generation Champagne

Noirs (A1) was named best Blanc de Noirs in the world by Fine

growers with over 250 years in the Montagne de Reims. Just

Champagne Magazine and the follow-on, the A2, released in

fourteen people touch a bottle of the liquid gold from pressing

November 2016, was given a 96 point rating from Decanter.

the fruit to the finished cuvées leaving the cellars in France. That

There are a lot of misconceptions about the brand, however,

goes some way to explaining why it’s got one of the highest price

and one of them is the size of the maison. “We are much smaller

tags around. It’s ‘high quality luxury’, CEO Sebastien Besson says:

than people may assume,” Besson asserts. “Due to our attention

“Everything we do is about the highest quality, the human touch

to detail and incredibly high standard of quality, our volumes

and creating the most luxurious consumer drinking experience

are guided by the quality of the output, rather than reaching

possible,” he says. “Our bottles purposefully look unlike anything

sales targets.”

on the market. It was the goal of the Cattier family winemakers

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A mere 100,000 bottles are produced annually - a drop in the champagne ocean compared to some of its rivals. Why? Well,

Today, the company produces five prestige cuvées in the range.

back in the early 2000s to break-through with this new tête de

Brut Gold (40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot

cuvee they had developed, to innovate the category and to draw

Meunier) is, for want of a better term, the entry product. The

attention to the exceptional quality of the champagnes inside the

100% Pinot Noir, Blanc de Noirs,sits at the top of the range. In

DRINKS

ON THE MENU: Saint James Relais & Châteaux, Paris Shangri-La, Paris Le Royal Monceau Raffles, Paris The Ritz, San Francisco The Peninsula, Los Angeles The Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles Fairmont Miramar, Santa Monica The Peninsula, New York The Regency, New York The St. Regis Hotel, New York The Four Seasons Hotel, Boston Waldorf Astoria, Chicago Faena Hotel, Miami Shangri-La, Toronto The Corinthia Hotel, London The Dolder Grand, Zurich The Dylan, Amsterdam Okura Hotel, Amsterdam Nobis Hotel, Stockholm Hotel Haven, Helsinki Waldorf Astoria, Berlin The Four Seasons Hotel, Munich The St Regis, Singapore Lotte Hotel, Seoul Banyan Tree, Seoul Saxon Hotel Villas & Spa, Johannesburg

between is the Demi Sec (40% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Meunier), the Rosé

So, what makes the liquid so sought after?

& Spa, Johannesburg. The list is an extensive one and represents the truly global appeal of

(50% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier and 10%

“We gently extract just the very first portion

Chardonnay) and the 100% Chardonnay Blanc

of the cuvée – not the full press from the

de Blancs.

grapes - to ensure only the very best juice with

distribution and demand in high end dining

The Demi Sec and Blanc de Noirs are new

the label.

Besson is understandably bullish: “Our

freshest flavour and highest acidity is ever

and top luxury hotels is growing, so we know

additions to the range, launched in 2015.

included in Armand de Brignac Champagnes,”

our consumer values exceptional food and wine

Besson explains: “Armand de Brignac defied

he says. “It is time consuming and a lot of very

experiences and staying in fine resorts around

traditions and norms when we decided to

good juice is left unused, but this additional

the world.”

create a prestige cuvée Demi Sec, with 5 to 6

level of scrutiny, we believe, is critical to

years of ageing and a dosage on the leaner side

reaching the very best.”

at 33 g/L.” And it’s reaped the rewards in a small space of time.

Armand de Brignac also appears at some of

In terms of the future, the CEO says, “With an incredibly talented winemaking team with a singular focus on producing only the very

the very best, five-star hotels across the globe:

best, and a group of passionate, generous and

26 to be precise. It can be found in Paris at

knowledgeable brand leaders in the regions, we

another product late last year. Les Petites

Saint James Relais & Châteaux and Shangri-

are extremely optimistic about what is to come

d’Armand de Brignac Gold Brut, joins the

La; in San Francisco at The Ritz; in Helsinki

for Champagne Armand de Brignac.”

family of Gold Brut formats, now ranging from

at Hotel Have; at The Dolder Grand in Zurich;

a tiddly 187ml through to the special order and

Banyan Tree in Seoul; and Saxon Hotel Villas

Not content with that, the company released

122

highly rare, 30-litre Midas.

www.armanddebrignac.com

DRINKS

Mezcal Blanco

Mezcal San Cosme Smoked for four days, the double-distilled Mezcal San Cosme is 100% extracted from the angustifolia Haw and baked in rock ovens lined with agave leaves and hearts for a unique kick. In its production, the brand worked with Cemosa, a hacienda based in Santiago MatatlĂĄn in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, which has been producing mezcal since 1875.

San Cosme was founded in 2011 by four friends and introduced formally to the market in the same year, featuring a bottle design by Mexican-based studio Savvy. It is now available in 14 European countries following the recent sharp increase in the spirit’s popularity.

The production includes an eight to 12 year maturation period for the harvested agave hearts, and a four-day baking process in a conical oven to convert the sugars into monosugars for the subsequent fermentation process. Following this, the hearts are mashed with a Piedra Taona and left to ferment for three days before being distilled in copper pot stills.

Throughout its production no artificial yeast is used and the harvest and spirit itself are registered with COMERCAM, which ensures quality and safety of consumption. www.sancosme.mx

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DRINKS

Espadín

Mezcal Atenco Mezcal Atenco Espadín is a 100% natural and organic handcrafted artisanal mezcal, using only mature agave grown for at least 8 years and fermented using mountain spring water.

First distilled by Don Rodolfo López Sosa in the village of San Juan del Río, the spirit is the product of a collaboration between Sosa and Berlin resident Diego Moreno.

San Juan del Río boasts a tradition of distilling artisanal mezcal dating back over a century, with the remote Oaxacan village - located 5,000 ft above sea level and featuring a mountainous terrain and warm climate - ideally suited for the cultivation and fermentation of agave.

124

Don Rodolfo is part of the third generation of Palenquero and has over 50 years of experience in the production of handcrafted mezcal, after being introduced to the process through the tutelage of his grandfather, himself a Maestro Mezcalero. Though Rodolfo began selling small amounts to the townspeople before meeting Moreno, their partnership results in a mezcal with an aroma of mild menthol and roasted pineapple, and additional notes of green peppercorn, rue and pirul evergreen, all tied together with an expected smokiness. www.mezcal-atenco.com

SIDES

“The borders are broken and the guest is the centre of the world.�

Nicolas Adnet, co-founder of Studio Marc Hertrich & Nicolas Adnet, discusses the multifunctional nature of modern hotel F&B spaces.

EVENT CALENDAR

126

Ambiente

GRIF

Imbibe Live

10th – 14th February 2017

10th – 12th April 2017

3rd – 4th July 2017

Frankfurt

Dubai

London

Prowein

To The Table Europe

Tales of the Cocktail

19th – 21st March 2017

25th – 27th April 2017

18th – 23rd July 2017

Düsseldorf

Lisbon

New Orleans

Hotelex

HOFEX

The Hotel Show

28th – 31st March 2017

8th – 11th May 2017

18th – 20th September 2017

Shanghai

Hong Kong

Dubai

41 Madison

NRA

Bar Convent Berlin

4th - 7th April

20th – 23rd May 2017

10th – 11th October 2017

New York City

Chicago

Berlin

SIDES

To The Table Asia 5th – 8th October 2016 Taipei Photography: Richard Pereira

H

eld at The Grand Hyatt, Taipei, To The Table Asia 2016 marked the

of support to F&B spaces. For all of their high-concept credentials can

last Asia leg of the prominent forum series until 2018, facilitating

independents really say the same?” opined Finnegan. Shooting back,

the launch of the first dedicated European event in April 2017 at

Robinson was quick to point out the slow reaction times of hotels. “When

The Ritz-Carlton Penha Longa, Portugal.

was the last time a large hotel group was really nimble enough to respond

With a focus not just on Asia but on how global shifts are affecting

the region’s hospitality sector, the forum’s seminar programme included practical discussion, lively debate and concept showcases.

to a shift in F&B in a timely way? They talk a good talk, but can they deliver?”

Whilst an audience show of hands at the beginning of proceedings saw

The first full programme day saw Supper Editor Harry McKinley join

independent restaurant groups garner the most votes, by the end of the

Camiel Weijenberg – founder and director of Weijenberg – onstage to

session that tide had turned and the split was much more even, with many

discuss the studio’s design philosophy and recent projects.

calling it for the hotel team.

“Good restaurant design is only part of the picture,” explained

To The Table Asia saw the same mix of networking opportunities across

Weijenberg, “but ultimately it’s vital to generate buzz and guest interest.

a busy programme, with Treasury Wine Estates once more onboard as

People attract people and the benefit of small spaces is that it’s often more

sponsor and Scottish Development International using the event as a

manageable to create a sense of popularity by filling tables.”

platform to showcase the nation’s rich produce at a farewell reception

A panel debate pitting hotel operators against independent restaurant

and dinner.

groups, saw industry experts working to convince the audience that their

With the seminar programme providing an opportunity for insight,

respective sector runs the best restaurants and provides the best model

fundamentally To the Table Asia brings together suppliers and high-level

for hotel F&B success.

buyers for one-on-one meetings that facilitate direct purchasing. On hand

Peter Finnegan, group director of F&B for Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts;

to procure for hospitality projects were representatives from key players in

and Nigel Moore, director of F&B Asia Pacific for FRHI Hotels and

the sector, including Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt International, Shangri-La

Resorts comprised ‘Team Hotel Operator’, while Gary Robinson, director

Hotels and Resorts, and Rosewood Hotel Group.

of restaurants at Condé Nast Restaurants; and Rohit Sachdev of Soho Hospitality represented ‘Team Independent”.

Suppliers from the likes of RAK Porcelain, Steelite International, Villeroy & Boch and Zieher once more declared the event to be one of the most

With Supper editor McKinley keeping the peace and riling up a good-

important on the global circuit in terms of return and positioning, vaunting

humoured audience, each representative had a few minutes to plead their

the opportunity for managed meeting time with senior decision makers as

case before the floor was opened up to debate – with zingers flying on

an important point of value.

both sides.

“Hotel operators provide all of the logistics and an unending supply

www.tothetableasia.com

127

EquipHotel 6th – 10th November 2016 Paris

T

aking place at Place de la Porte de Versailles, EquipHotel 2016

of classic and experimental gastronomy offerings.

provided a backdrop for the latest innovations, trends and business

Regarding the space, Adnet commented: “We tried to develop it in the

developments in the international hospitality sector. Welcoming

spirit of the studio. The atmosphere was composed with touches of both

105,511 hospitality and catering professionals, the show was

modernity and classicism… it’s a fantastic opportunity to transpose this

comprised of 1,600 exhibitors across 100,000m2 of exhibition space, and was attended by renowned chefs including Thierry Marx, Pierre Caillet, Xavier Pincemin, Alain Le Cossec and Marie Sauce, amongst others.

vision at a trade fair” The studio’s bar space followed suit, showcasing more striking monochrome along with minimalist framework and luxurious metallic

Running parallel to the exhibition space was EquipHotel’s Studio16

furnishings. The layout allowed visitors to flow through the space

strand, a selection of spaces designed by industry-leading figures that

without disrupting their journey through the show, an element vital to

showcased the latest trends and offered an immersive live element

its success in Hertrich’s mind. “It was very important for us is to find a

alongside operational product demonstrations. Featuring a Lobby space

good footprint and way of organising the space. What people see is the

designed by Jean-Philippe Nuel; an outdoor area by Christophe Gautrand

atmosphere, but underneath you have the floorplan, which is crucial

and Benjamin Deshoulières; a work environment titled ‘Let’s Work’ by

because good atmosphere cannot exist without a good layout.”

Julie Gauthron; a guestroom by Elizabeth Leriche with Guillaume Terver

Commenting on the experience of creating the spaces, a task Studio

& Christophe Delcourt; and restaurant and bar spaces designed by Marc

MHNA have undertaken thrice before at Equiphotel 2000, 2002 and 2004,

Hertrich & Nicolas Adnet of Studio MHNA, Studio16 provided visitors with

Hertrich concluded: “This year we decided to showcase our new vision

the chance to experience the latest trends in action. Adnet and Hertrich’s

of the hospitality world, complete with new experiences. We created our

‘Resto Des Chefs’ open kitchen concept was taken over each day by a

studio 25 years ago and now we have developed an element of maturity.

Michelin-starred chef, a manager and a sommelier, bringing the elegant

Our interest is not to find one solution, but to develop new knowledge for

space to life through a series of demonstrations and servings. Featuring

each new client.”

a sleek monochrome colour scheme and inspired by the dazzling art of French gardens, the restaurant space served visitors a revolving mixture

128

www.equiphotel.com

SIDES

Bar Convent Berlin 10th -11th October 2016 Berlin

Sleep 22nd – 23rd November 2016 London

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Bar Convent Berlin 2016 welcomed

Sleep – Europe’s leading hotel design and development event – has, for the

a 20% increase in exhibitors and a 15% increase in trade attendees,

first time in its 11-year history, revealed an F&B element to its programme.

featuring 317 exhibitors from 28 countries and more than 900 brands

Attended primarily by hotel designers and architects, the UBM organised

including leading spirit, champagne and soft drink names. Taking

trade show will now play host to a culinary strand, launched in the form

place at Station Berlin from 10-11 October, organisers confirmed

of Studio Appétit’s Room Service concept, exploring the world of hotel

2016 as its most successful year yet, having developed into one of the

F&B design, identity and experience through an innovative trade platform.

leading international trade fairs for the bar and beverages industry since its inception in 2006.

The concept has been created as an answer to Sleep 2016’s ‘Science of Tribes’ theme, which explored the new archetypes of consumer tribes

With the addition of a new hall to accommodate the growth

through a hospitality lens. The Room Service project focuses on culinary

of the event, BCB brought together names including Campari,

concepts for the hotel industry, and tailors an F&B encounter for each tribe,

Borco, Brown Forman, Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Bacardi,

with chocolate as its central element.

Jägermeister, Beam, Schweppes, Ilva di Saronno and Team Spirit,

Seeking to create a couture option for F&B that blends the culinary world,

and explored the trends set to dominate the industry through

design philosophy and brand identity, Room Service inquires how tribe

four demonstration bars, two taste forums and the show’s ever-

characteristics can be instilled in food and drink through experimental

popular Mixology Stage.

concepts, flavours, packaging and displays, with a partnership with Oialla

Elsewhere, exploring diverse subjects from the boom of beer

Chocolate providing a starting point.

gastronomy to coffee cocktails, the event’s parallel seminar

Positioning itself as a link between architect and chef, Room Service

programme gave attendees and exhibitors alike the chance to hear

creates a seamless costumer experience through working with both teams

leading industry figures contemplate the business practices and

to match conceptually and physically elements such as wallpaper and

creative ideas currently defining life behind the bar.

plates with food portions and flavours. Its agenda is not to add a new F&B

“BCB brings together that which belongs together — content for the bartender community and business for the beverage and spirits industry. The combination of these two elements is what makes BCB so successful,” summarises BCB Director, Petra Lassahn.

venue to the hotel but to create exciting and impactful concepts through the existing infrastructure.

Marrying each tribe with a specific culinary experience, the service outlines a selection of five chocolate bars featuring differing percentages, colours and measurements, paired with a corresponding category of

www.barconvent.com

consumer, creating a relationship between guest, environment and cuisine through design, taste and branding. www.thesleepevent.com

129

SIDES

Annual Hotel Conference

HX

12th – 13th October 2016 Manchester

13th -15th November 2016 New York City

Taking place at Hilton Manchester Deansgate, the Annual Hotel

Taking place at New York’s Javits Centre, HX 2016 brought together

Conference explored all aspects of hotel development, investment,

over 400 exhibitors and 10,000 hospitality decision-makers to explore

design and operation in a year that saw the Brexit vote and a change in

the hotel culinary experience. Comprised of 55 conference sessions over

the hospitality tide. As part of the second day’s panel sessions, Supper

three show floor theatres, a series of live features and demonstrations,

Editor Harry McKinley hosted and curated ‘Maligned to Refined’ which

and a showcase of the latest hotel F&B innovations, HX – formerly the

discussed the current changing face of hotel F&B.

International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Show – explored the trends,

Taking into consideration the rise of concept restaurants and street

technology and initiatives currently driving the industry.

food, the changing attitudes towards franchises, and the onset of the

The event saw the introduction of new features including HX: Cooks,

so-called restaurant revolution, McKinley – along with Des McDonald

a lively chef demo stage, and the return of popular strands including the

of Des McDonald Restaurants; Peter de la Perrelle of Tower Hotel

second annual Techpitch competition and the fourth annual tabletop

Management; and Anthony Worrall of Hilton Worldwide – explored

challenge, with winners including Zoottle for its No App Required

the pressing issues currently facing the hotel F&B industry, including

technology and Tina Delia Designs respectively.

de la Perrelle’s choice to involve non-traditional restaurants in his

Also on the floor was a build out of the 2016 Foodservice Pioneering

properties, Worrall’s thoughts on the widespread shift in consumer

Concept winner created by Foodesign Associates titled “ReFresh

perspectives, as well as their respective methods for staying afloat in

Eatery and Market”, which provided a fresh, healthy and made-to-

these transient times.

order alternative to fast-food options through the latest mobile-app

The panel concluded that hotels must be more nimble in how they

ordering platform.

approach F&B if they are to succeed. They must set aside some of the

HX also extended the visitor experience off the show floor with

cumbersome corporate mentality to compete with the high street,

tours of the city’s hospitality properties, including demonstrations of

and, whilst there’s still a place for brand standards, hotels can learn a

IHG’s new wellness brand, The Even Hotel, and a tour of the recently

lot from independent projects and need to focus on creating relevant,

renovated InterContinental New York Barclay, as well as a restaurant

authentic and location specific F&B concepts.

tour and dinner at Tao Group’s midtown Lavo Restaurant. HX will return to the Javits Centre from 12th to 14th November 2017.

www.theahc.co.uk

130

www.thehotelexperience.com

MEA 2017 Supper ad.qxp_Layout 1 31/08/2016 16:50 Page 2

The most prestigious and effective event for the hospitality food and beverage industry in the MEA region, where you can have private meetings, network and build relationships at the most senior level.

14–16 November 2017 Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort – Al Bandar Hotel, Muscat, Oman

www.tothetableforums.com For details on all TO THE TABLE events, please see:

Or contact Justin Wall: justin@tothetableforums.com

PETITS FOURS

On The Menu

Nicholas Lander Nicholas Lander’s new book, On The Menu, published by Unbound, asks a simple question: why does the menu not receive the same level of artistic attention as the rest of a restaurant’s design? Having penned the Financial Times’s restaurant column since 1989, and overseen London’s L’Escargot for much of the 1980s, Lander brings a combination of professional and journalistic insight to the book, which explores the lack of appreciation for menu design in an era when low printing costs, state of the art technology and an increased focus on design and experience should mean the opposite. www.nicklander.com www.unbound.com

132

PETITS FOURS

Blau

Spotless Martini

Blau is Aqua Monaco’s take on bottled sparkling water.

Refreshing and pure, Blau highlights the balanced mineral composition found throughout the brand’s products. Drawn from a spring deep beneath the plains around Munich, the liquid has been protected for centuries against human influence by layers of rock, resulting in a low sodium mineral water with similarly low nitrate levels. Distributed in elegant large bottles bearing a minimal design, the packaging reflects the purity of the water, whilst in the smaller long-neck bottles are ideal for bar or mini-bar.

Mr Lyan’s Spotless Martini is created with Mr Lyan’s own gin, mixed with crisp vermouth and combined with both olive and lemon peel distillates. Released as part of the bartender’s new collection of bottled cocktails, the Spotless Martini lives up to its name, offering clean, clear flavours and bar-quality packaging. Additional new Mr Lyan bottled cocktails include the Rainy Day Spritz, combining raspberry eau de vie with vermouth and bitter rhubarb liqueur, and Bonfire Old Fashioned, which incorporates whisky, cola bitters and rare lapsang souchong tea for a smoky core.

www.aquamonaco.com

www.mrlyan.com

Aqua Monaco

Mr Lyan

Festival

John Jenkins Festival is an elegant range from John Jenkins featuring drawn stemmed wine glasses, cocktail glasses and straightsided tumblers. Each item is cut and polished with a simple and stylish vertical line design created by the brand’s inhouse design department. The exclusive patterns adoring the range are intricate, delicate and distinctive, and bear the personality indicative of John Jenkins’ historic production line. Featuring a minimalist linear detailing motif, the series features a coupe glass along with a conical cocktail glass and spiral champagne flute. www.johnjenkins.co.uk

Jour

Nude Nude’s Jour collection comprises wine and water glasses, jugs and a decanter. Designed by Inga Sempe, the wine glasses feature a square shape that widens towards the brim, and a lip that is gently softened and turned outwards, providing a delicate contrast to the straight lines. Elsewhere, the longer white wine glass is bisected by a ridge that offers a subtle and playful character feature. Combining modern and mid-century aesthetic sensibilities, the range incorporates elements of traditional Ottoman tableware, resulting in a collection defined by geometric shapes and historic details. www.nudeglass.com

133

Strata

Tiki Glass

Heritage Collection’s Strata range offers tableware featuring a tactile matte finish with a subtle and earthy toned glaze. Consisting of a deep plate, rimmed dish, oval bowl and dip dish, each form offers an eye catching serving solution ideal for signature dishes. Channelling the best of British craft practices, Mantle, along with other new Strata products - including the volcanic Magma series, the distinctive upturned forms of Ora, and the classic designs of the Stoneware range - aims to cultivate a more informal and casual dining experience.

Libbey’s original Polynesian-inspired designs for the Tiki Glass provide an ideal vessel from which to serve rum-based cocktails, offering clearglass construction and vibrant customisable colour options to complement any beach-style bar scheme. Inspired by traditional Maori totems and featuring the faces of Polynesian gods, Libbey’s range offers distinctive glassware to cater for the growing wave of Tiki themed cocktail bars.

Served with garnishes of flaming torches, flower leis and bright colours, the Tiki Glass provides an exotic and playful bar component.

www.heritagesilverware.com

www.libbey.com

Perfect Serve

Leather Roll Kit: Copper

Designed by Stephan Hinz, the Perfect Serve collection consists of a martini glass, coupe, single, double small and standard long drink glasses as well as nosing, tasting and mixing glasses. Constructed from crystal, the range is scratch resistant, durable and dishwasher safe, and combines functionality and elegance for a family of balanced and ideally weighted glassware.

The mixing glass offers extra space for ice, making it easy to prepare several drinks at once with a 750ml capacity, and features the distinctive geometric influenced base designs present throughout the collection.

A premium hand crafted leather roll bag securely holds a suite of cohesive and classic cocktail strainers, a jigger, bar spoon and muddler. Bonzer’s Copper range is defined by its ergonomic designs and rich copper finishes. Strainers feature curved handles for ease of use and comfort in motion, with the set offering the Two-Ear Heritage Strainer, the Sprung Heritage Julep Strainer, the standard Heritage Julep Strainer and the Heritage Fine Strainer. The tools are designed to be robust, easy to clean, and to make cocktails simply and efficiently.

Heritage Collection

Spiegelau

www.spiegelau.com

134

Libbey

Bonzer

www.bonzer.co.uk

PETITS FOURS

Tank

Tom Dixon Tom Dixon’s Tank collection is a series of generously proportioned barware and decorative accessories designed to create sophisticated tabletop architecture. Comprised of an elegant decanter, jug, ice cream bowl and vase post, each object is ornamented with real liquid gold and colourants, hand-painted with the brand’s signature copper detailing, and defined by their minimal shapes. Inspired by simplicity, geometric forms, silhouettes and intuitive functionality, the Tank range is designed to offer a sophisticated drink ceremonial. The mouth-blown clear glass of the collection is finished with the same precision as cut crystal. www.tomdixon.net

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Utility Bib

The Uniform Studio The Uniform Studio is a Londonbased design studio producing bespoke uniforms for an international mix of hospitality clients. It launched its readyto-wear online shop in spring 2016, which features aprons, waistcoats, shirts and dresses in hard-wearing yet stylish fabrics.

The shop celebrates the beauty of workwear with a modern take on uniform essentials that can be purchased in denims, linens and durable cottons. The collection combines utility and beauty, providing a simple and accessible tool for ensuring a cohesive sense of aesthetics in any hotel F&B venue. www.theuniformstudio.com

Fiddle Satin Vintage

Charingworth by Studio William The latest tableware range from Charingworth, Fiddle Satin Vintage features reinterpretations of a classic pattern that dates back to the 1760s. Featuring an 18/0 stainless steel body with a vintage satin finish, Fiddle is hard-wearing and suitable for use in busy dining environments, both formal and informal. Designed by Studio William, the rustic finish harks back to the pattern’s French origins for a sophisticated, refined and subtle addition to the dining room, and Charingworth here modifies the design to bring it into the 21st century whilst retaining its historical charm. www.charingworth.com

Air

Zwiesel Kristallglas Created in collaboration with Swedish design duo Bernadotte & Kylberg, Zwiesel Kristallglas’s Air and Air Sense collections combine refined Scandinavian design with elegant functionality.

The slightly curved and near weightless forms of Air strike a sensual balance, and are suited to a spectrum of wine styles, whilst the mouthblown Air Sense range offers an integrated glass decantation sphere. Created with the element of airiness in mind, Air and Air Sense are distinguished by their filigree glass wall thickness. The Air series also features a specially tempered stem surface that increases the resilience and resistance of the glass. www.zwiesel-kristallglas.com

Origine

Christofle Ideal for contemporary eat-in kitchen concepts and tabletop display, Christofle’s Origine flatware ensemble is a 24-piece, six person set that includes forks, knives, and large and small spoons. Stored vertically in a wooden base, the components naturally find a place in the accompanying cylindrical steel container, providing a sleek interpretation of utensil storage. Available with an interior disc and white oak varnished wood, Origine is encased in mirror-polished stainless steel and with a selection of stainless steel flatware. The set has been designed by Design Studio Christofle, the brand’s in-house design team. www.christofle.com

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PETITS FOURS

Plateau Platter Tina Frey

Tina Frey’s Plateau Platter has been designed as a multipurpose tabletop piece, and is available in white or grey. Cast in solid foodsafe resin, the elevated platform can be used to attractively serve cheeses and charcuterie, or for use as a fruit bowl centrepiece.

The surface is designed with a slight concavity so that round objects will naturally gravitate to the centre of the plateau.

Clean, simple and channelling a considered minimalism, the Plateau Platter can be adapted to suit a variety of design schemes and environments. www.tinafreydesigns.com

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PETITS FOURS

Herbs and Parmesan Knife

Twist

Dick’s forged herb and Parmesan cheese knife form part of the 1905 Designer series. Combining essential blade characteristics including a rounded shape and curved cutting edge for easy pinch cuts, and a wide flat surface ideal for the claw grip, the knife is designed to perfectly cut herbs and hard cheeses with ease and comfort. With a blade length of 12cm, Dick brings together traditional craft, modern design sensibilities and quality materials. The well-proportioned steel rings are inseparably connected to the plastic, conforming to the highest hygienic demands as a result.

Taking inspiration from classic ceramic designs, the subtle embossing found on Dudson’s Twist collection adds a modern and sophisticated touch to a range of dining and bar environments. Offering greater choice and flexibility in beverage service, Twist combines elegance with reliability and product performance to meet the demands of a busy hospitality setting. Manufactured in the UK, Twist holds a lifetime edge chip warranty, and brings together the aesthetics of fine china with the strength of vitrified tableware.

Dick

Dudson

www.dudson.com www.dick.de

Diamant

Seltmann Weiden

138

Lacuna Zieher

Seitmann Weiden’s Diamant collection features subtle interplays between colours and textures, and serves as a base for a wide variety of design schemes. The range consists of warm and rich porcelain plates, saucers, cups, bowls, mugs, dishes and platters, as well as a selection of additional tableware accessories including a salt and pepper shaker, eggcup, gravy boat and tea strainer. Furthermore, each piece in the range can be customised to bear brand logos or property titles, providing a decorative, functional and personalised product.

Featuring perforated walls and irregularly spread openings in filigree borosilicate glass, the small bowls of the Lacuna series are distinctive and highly modern tableware solutions. Designed by Michael Schwarzmüller, Lacuna offers various possibilities for creative arrangements, and features numerous holes in different sizes to form a sophisticated presentation tool. The versatile glass cone offers the option to present components as a cloche, and can be used either resting horizontally stabilised by fork or spoon or standing upright fixed in miniatures or elegant silicon supports.

www.seltmann-weiden.com

www.zieher.com

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Soup Passion

Villeroy & Boch With the Japanese ramen and Vietnamese pho resurgence in full swing, Villeroy & Boch’s Soup Passion collection is comprised of bowls in two sizes with integrated rests for chopsticks or spoons, as well as a matching tray. Drawing influence from the soup culture of Asia, the bowls consist of two separate halves so that the soup or stew and bread accompaniments can be served separately. The Soup Passion collection is complemented by sturdy chopsticks and a ceramic soup spoon, whilst the tray facilitates easy carrying and allows for attractive presentation options. www.villeroy-boch.co.uk

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PETITS FOURS

Carrara

Turin and Rio

Vista Alegre’s Carrara collection is inspired by the eponymous supreme marble of Carrara, and incorporates a refined geometric approach, which creates the illusion that each piece is alterable and interchangeable.

Coline le Corre’s contemporary design features gold trimming on all pieces in the Carrara range, which includes charger, dinner, soup, dessert and rectangular plates, as well as large and small oval platters and salad bowls, alongside a cereal bowl, mug, tea pot, sugar pot, milk jug, tea and coffee cups & saucers.

Utopia’s Turin and Rio collections draw inspiration from the sophistication of Italy, and are crafted from polished 18/0 stainless steel. Turin offers a chic black finish for a contemporary twist on traditional dining, whilst Rio, with its stylish copper finish, provides an impression of luxury without breaking the bank. Each range consists of four key pieces: a table knife, fork, dessert spoon and tea spoon, each with a strikingly modern silhouette. Bringing together quality and affordability, the pieces have been handpicked by Utopia’s experienced sourcing team.

www.vistaalegre.com

www.utopia-tableware.com

Vibrance

Sesame Tealight Holder

Wedgwood’s Vibrance collection is a celebration of heritage inspired florals and elegant gold mica detailing. Finished with hand-gilded banding, this fine bone china range of mugs, teacups, plates, saucers and platters provides a distinctive and lively dining space option.

Characterised by a palette of royal blues and golds, Vibrance offers bold, stylish and functional designs. Bringing together modern lacquers and striking motifs, pays tribute to Wedgewood’s 250-year history.

Made from high-quality 18/10 stainless steel, the Sesame Tealight Holder

by Robert Welch disperses light playfully onto the tabletop to create a warm atmosphere for guests. Part of the Sesame range, this piece is available in two sizes with distinctive sesame seed shaped elliptical openings. Designed with a Scandinavian aesthetic in mind, the Sesame Tealight Holder comes in a mirror-polished finish, adding a smart touch to its distinctive design. Each Robert Welch product is designed in the UK, in-house by the Robert Welch design team. .

Vista Alegre

Wedgwood

Utopia

Robert Welch

www.wedgwood.co.uk www.robertwelch.com

141

ADVERTISING INDEX

41 Madison

090

Richard Brendon

109

Ambiente

145

Robert Welch

019

Armand De Brignac

148

Seltmann Weiden

031

Bib & Tucker

016

SICO

087

Bon Chef

099

Stรถlzle

De Borgen

093

Tea Forte

006

Elia

077

Tiger

061

Grif

143

Tina Frey Designs

119

Hackamore

103

To The Table - Europe

John Jenkins

011

To The Table - MEA

131 117

044

Jura

079

Urban Bar

Kalisher

065

Villeroy & Boch

035

Walco

059

LSA

142

014 & 015

012 & 013

Lucano

047

Waterford

004

Maham Anjum

008

Wedgwood

027

Maria Pascuala

095

WNK

069

NRA

139

Zieher 033

Oneida

049

GLOBAL RESTAURANT INVESTMENT FORUM

10-12 April 2017 Fairmont, The Palm, Dubai, ORGANISED BY

POWERED BY

FACILITATING INVESTMENT DECISION-MAKING WITHIN THE RESTAURANT SPACE The Global Restaurant Investment Forum (GRIF) facilitates investment decisionmaking within the restaurant space. The forum showcases the hottest restaurant concepts from around the globe and gives attendees a place of focus to connect with investors, owners, franchisors and senior hospitality professionals, assess the state of the hospitality industry and secure deals for the coming year.

GRIF is proud to once again be powered by Michelin in 2017, enriching the event with its extensive network and world class chefs.

GRIF 2017 will again host a celebration of the brightest and best of the industry at the 2017 Global Restaurant Awards through partnership with The Caterer. The Global Restaurant Awards are an opportunity for the industry leaders to get together and celebrate those organisations that have shown innovation, vision and leadership in their businesses and concepts.

Recognising the brands that have really engaged with their consumers through social media, technology, design or sustainability.

GLOBAL RESTAURANT AWARDS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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www.restaurant-invest.com | 161216 GRIF17 236x275.indd 1

#GRIF17, @GRIF_news | www.global-restaurant-awards.com 16/12/2016 10:36

THE WASHING UP

F&B: A Dirty Little Term Words: Afroditi Krassa

I

design restaurants. Whether they are located on the high

genuine innovation and category-defining thinking to our

street, in airports or in the middle of a disused car park,

sector? In a world where the very notion of a restaurant is

they are still ‘restaurants’: a post French Revolution word

being challenged, we need to go beyond a skin-deep approach.

to describe places to ‘restore’ yourself, physically and

In 20 years time, I am not even sure if restaurants as we

arguably mentally.

know them will still exist. I am pretty sure we will have

I was sat in a meeting with our very first hotel client when

dining experiences, but not restaurants as in: a room with

I came across the acronym F&B and, just like all acronyms, I

four walls, a floor and a ceiling. The current obsession with

totally ignored it. As a person who dreams up restaurant names

dining in unexpected environments - everything from flying

for a living, I have a healthy disrespect for words that are

zeppelins and subterranean bunkers to toilets - is a pretty

reduced to mere first letters. There is nothing cool, memorable

good indicator.

or beautiful about FMCG, FHA or even LOL. An exception is

After all, hotel F&B outlets are nothing but restaurants

IKEA, which, lets face it, is an acronym masquerading as an

that happen to be within a building that provides temporary

Ancient Greek word out of embarrassment.

accommodation for travellers and tourists by the night.

Our generation has witnessed the most phenomenal cultural

Actually, when you describe it like that, it sounds pretty sexy

shift in dining focused experiences; the last decade has been

and interesting. There are golden opportunities within the

nothing short of a cataclysm of creativity, experiments

context of a hotel: a unique location, a standalone building

and new ideas. I still remember my first visit to a British

and a wonderful mix of customers.

supermarket as a young student circa 1992. There was just

Hotels shouldn’t look to simply emulate the high street but

a single brand of olive oil on the shelf. So much has changed

challenge competing local restaurants through innovatively

since then that even the most die-hard ‘foodies’ - another

conceived, creatively planned and excellently operated

dirty word in my books - cannot keep up with the latest trends

restaurants. So perhaps if we think of eating and drinking

or openings.

experiences beyond the confines of two dirty little letters we

One thing is for sure though, hoteliers could spend all

might just end up with one less acronym in this world.

their time trying to re-invent the way they describe their restaurants (F&D anyone?) but is this truly going to bring

144

www.afroditi.com

the show 10 – 14. 2. 2017 Meeting point horeca.

Discuss innovative catering concepts, superior complete solutions and more. In the Dining area at the world’s most important consumer goods trade fair.

Information and tickets at ambiente.messefrankfurt.com Tel. +44 (0) 14 83 48 39 83 info@uk.messefrankfurt.com