Portfolio | July 2017

ISSUE

139

RB LEIPZIG

BESPOKE CHOCOLATES

Inside Red Bull’s football project

The luxury chocolate on the rise

THE LONDON TAILOR

THE NEW PHILANTHROPY

150 years of sartorial style

The donors behind the arts

THE A-Z OF BUYING (AND RUNNING) A SUPER YACHT The models, the essentials (including the hidden costs), plus beautiful routes for your new toy

JULY ISSUE 139

The business of life & living

Exclusive to Emirates First Class and Business Class

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OBAID HUMAID AL TAYER MANAGING PARTNER & GROUP EDITOR IAN FAIRSERVICE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR GINA JOHNSON GROUP EDITOR MARK EVANS marke@motivate.ae SENIOR ART DIRECTOR SARA RAFFAGHELLO sarar@motivate.ae DESIGNER RALPH MANCAO ralph@motivate.ae SUB-EDITOR SALIL KUMAR salil@motivate.ae EDITORIAL ASSISTANT LONDRESA FLORES londresa@motivate.ae GENERAL MANAGER – PRODUCTION SUNIL KUMAR sunil@motivate.ae PRODUCTION MANAGER R MURALI KRISHNAN muralik@motivate.ae PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR VENITA PINTO venita@motivate.ae CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER ANTHONY MILNE anthony@motivate.ae GROUP SALES MANAGER MICHAEL UNDERDOWN michael@motivate.ae SENIOR SALES MANAGER MICHELLE QUINN michelle.quinn@motivate.ae

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JULY ISSUE 139

CONTENTS UPFRONT

18

FACEBOOK

Can the tech giant’s stock keep rising?

LIVING

74

22

LA STYLE

An iconic Hollywood mansion with a modern twist

HOTEL

A haven on Sri Lanka’s southern coast

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WHAT TO PACK

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HONG KONG PROPERTY

Why the territory’s property market is reaching boiling point

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TOOLS OF TITANS

Tim Ferriss’ interviews with the world’s top performers

From Munich to Beijing, we’ve got you covered

84

FOOD & DRINK

An interview with the inventor of the cronut, Dominique Ansel

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EXHIBITION

Larry Fink’s Milan exhibition

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COLUMN

Why everything you know about success is wrong

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37,415 copies July - December 2016

JULY ISSUE 139

CONTENTS FEATURES

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SUPER YACHTS

An inside look at the world of the super yachts: the brands, the destinations and the ups and downs of life on the water

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RB LEIPZIG’S RISE AND RISE

Red Bull’s football experiment has paid off, but not without them making a few enemies along the way

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THE NEW PHILANTHROPY

How technology and a new breed of philanthropists have changed modern philanthropy

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LUXURY CHOCOLATES

How the humble cocoa bean has transformed itself into one of the most sought after delicacies in the world

66

FLOWER POWER

The flower industry is worth billions of dollars a year – we chart the past, present and future of this mammoth business

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HIVER IMPÉRIAL High Jewelry collection

High Jewelry Collection presented in Paris, French Riviera and London during Summer

UPFRONT

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JULY / AUTOMOBILE

ISSUE 139

Bespoke wings Fancy taking the world’s fastest animal out for a spin in the priciest production SUV ever made?

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JULY ISSUE 139

UPFRONT / AUTOMOBILE

Bentley will even create an image of your prized bird on your dashboard if you so desire

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entley surprised everyone when they moved away from tradition and released the Bentayga just under two years ago: it’s the only car from the British brand able to tame a desert dune, and it just happens to be the priciest production SUV in the world (the 2018 model will set you back just over $280,000 in the UAE).

Now desert heritage has tied up with British motoring thanks to the falconer’s kit that can be custom-made by artisans at Mulliner for the Bentayga: the customisable set features everything you need for a falconry session (there’s a fly fishing kit for

trout-catching fans too).

Bentley is standing firmly by its love for the handmade amid the ever-rising tide of automation, and they will even create an image of your prized bird on your dashboard if you so desire. The finicky marquetry artwork takes at least nine days to craft, and an average likeness uses more than 400 individual pieces of wood from seven varieties. Lacewood, for instance, is the perfect mimic of a rippled, wind-swept sand dune.

The falconry kits include a veneered drawer to store GPS tracking kits, a refreshment case for your coffee (it’s a morning sport), as well as a cork fabric boot protector to help keep the car clean.

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individual pieces of wood are used to craft the falcon artwork on the dashboard

You can even have your prized saker or peregrine ride upfront with you thanks to the magnetic perch that fits perfectly on the car’s central armrest (shotgun is well deserved considering top falcons are traded for hundreds of thousands of dollars).

Prices vary depending on customisation, but you’ll pay from $70,000 for the kit, or $100,000 with the falconry equipment and dashboard marquetry image (which is, quite frankly, the coolest bit). Pricey, yes, but let’s all agree that a falconry-ready Bentayga leaves the average Patrol or Land Cruiser well and truly in the dust.

Bentleymotors.com

HUGO BOSS UK LTD. Phone +44 (0)20 7554 5700 hugoboss.com

BOSS Stores 55 Brompton Road 122 New Bond Street 178-180 Regent Street 35-38 Sloane Square 78 Victoria Street Westfield White City Non-EU residents can shop Tax Free in store. Find more information at premiertaxfree.com

UPFRONT

Facebook futures Despite a rocky start, Facebook’s stock price has risen fast. Emma Woolacott examines where the price is likely to go

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little over five years ago, Facebook held its initial public offering – the biggest IPO in tech history, and one of the most controversial. In the weeks leading up to the event, analysts expressed deep concerns about the company’s valuation and business model. And when trading began, it was chaotic, delayed by half an hour because of technical problems within the Nasdaq exchange.

The perception remained that the company had been overvalued, and the day after the IPO, its stock closed below its offering price, at $34.03. The following day, the stock closed at $31, and it was more than a year until it traded above the first day’s closing price of $38.37.

It seemed the doom-mongers were right. However, despite these initially unpromising figures, it was those early investors who had the last laugh. Today, Facebook shares are trading at around $146 a share, an incredible 280 per cent rise.

But can the company keep this steady progress up over the

coming months and years? “When they did the IPO, I said I think that’s an extremely high price.

When you look at a tech share, it’s important to say whether there’s any substance behind the company,” says John Strand of Strand Consult. “But if you look at what happened to Facebook after the IPO and how it evolved and you compare to other tech companies and how they’ve evolved over the same period, there’s no doubt Facebook has been able to grow.”

Facebook had 900 million users at the time of the IPO; it now has nearly two billion, and recently reported revenue growth of 51 per cent yearon-year to $8.81 billion. Key to the company’s success now and over the next few years is mobile advertising – something of a weakness at the time of the IPO. These days, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Interactive Advertising Bureau, mobile ads account for more than half of total digital

JULY / TECHNOLOGY

ISSUE 139

Sheryl Sandberg, billionaire and chief operating officer of Facebook, has taken a lot of the credit for the company’s performance

ad revenue, making it crucial to Facebook’s business.

And the company is most definitely hoovering up its share.

During the first quarter of this year, mobile ads accounted for 85 per cent of the company’s advertising revenue, up from 82 per cent a year ago to around $6.68 billion.

“More businesses around the world are shifting to marketing on mobile,” said chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg at the company’s earnings call in May. “More than 70 million businesses are now using Facebook Pages around the world on a monthly basis, and more and more of them are becoming advertisers.

We also recently announced that over five million businesses are actively advertising on Facebook, including more than one million in emerging markets,” she added.

However, after the earnings call, the chief financial officer, David Wehner, warned that the company won’t be able to maintain this rate of ad revenue growth through the second half of the year. This is partly a conscious decision, with Facebook limiting the amount of advertising shown in news feeds with the aim of improving their quantity, rather than their quality.

However, Facebook shares fell 4.2 per cent at the warning. And analyst Richard Windsor of research firm Radio Free Mobile says he believes that limiting the number of ads will hit revenues harder than the company is predicting.

“Material slowdown in growth is what they’ve said and I don’t think this has been fully accounted for,” he says. He sees the company treading water to a degree while new products and services such as gaming, media consumption and search come online alongside the original social network service.

Some extra services are already appearing, and are being monetised only gradually. The Messenger messaging service was spun off in 2014, but it’s only recently that the company has started testing ads on it, along with bot functions allowing businesses to target consumers. It currently has 1.2 million users. Meanwhile, WhatsApp, which Facebook bought in 2014, still isn’t turning a profit. And while Instagram is growing fast – up from 600 million users in June 2016 to 700 million now – it is so far believed to be doing little more than breaking even. And other projects such as the company’s Oculus VR virtual reality system are even further from making a profit.

“I don’t think they’re in a situation yet to start generating meaningful revenues. I think without these extra services the targets for this year are too high,” says Windsor. “I would be looking for these services to start maturing in 2018, with monetisation picking up later in 2018. Then another three years of steady growth.” And, Strand says there’s some doubt as to whether VR will ever contribute much to the bottom line. “No

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JULY ISSUE 139

UPFRONT / TECHNOLOGY

Nasdaq on May 17, 2012, the day before Facebook’s IPO, which opened at $38 per share

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doubt it is an interesting path, but that’s not to say you can make money,” he says. “How much will be new revenue streams and how much cannibalising existing revenue streams?”

Part of Facebook’s problem is that when it comes to its core social network business, there’s only so much opportunity for more growth. “If you look at companies where revenue is based on advertising – print media, online media, platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Google – then it’s important to ask are these key platforms, are these companies capable of getting more customers onto their customer base?” says Strand.

“Will Facebook be able to keep on growing their customer base, keep on adding new products and keep on monetising?

They’re growing now in emerging markets, but how much profit are they making on these groups?” Not nearly as much, is the answer. While the company currently makes $16.56 in average advertising revenue per user, per year, in the US and Canada, it’s only making $4.14 in average advertising revenue worldwide.

New social network users are less lucrative than the old; and the US and Canadian markets may already be saturated, with twothirds of the population active users already.

And there’s another big shadow hovering over Facebook, in terms of regulation. Governments are becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of control over content posted on the site. During

One area that could hamper future growth is regulation: fake news and violent incidents streamed on Facebook Live have made governments nervous several high-profile political campaigns, from the UK’s Brexit vote to the US presidential election, so-called fake news has proliferated across Facebook, while hate speech has also been on the rise.

And concern about undesirable content has been ramped up even further in recent months following the streaming on Facebook Live of several shocking events, including suicide and even the murder of a baby. There are, frequently, calls from governments for proactive censorship – but on a scale that would simply be impossible, involving tens of thousands of moderators. As Windsor says, “Bodies are not the answer – and bodies don’t scale. Your wage bill is going to go through the roof.”

Fundamentally, eliminating undesirable content from Facebook is more or less

$4.14

The average amount of advertising revenue Facebook makes per user each year

impossible without shutting the site down altogether, or blocking it at a national level – something that no western nation is likely to be willing to do. Regulation is more of a thorn in Facebook’s side than a practical threat to its business model. “If the EU switched off Facebook, I think the electorate would get pretty annoyed,” Windsor says. Compromises, in other words, look likely.

And while the company may be set for stormy waters as regulatory issues are negotiated and new services come online, most observers still see a bright future for Facebook. “I think it’s setting up nicely for another period of growth,” says Windsor.

“I don’t care about Mark Zuckerberg – I care about the cash machine, Sheryl Sandberg.

I’m a fan of Sheryl’s.”

UPFRONT

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JULY / PROPERTY

ISSUE 139

Single family home

17 Bedrooms

22 Full baths

Swimming pool

Movie theatre

LA acres A historic LA mansion combines Hollyood glamour with a modern twist

L

os Angeles is a city with a history, from the silver screens of yesteryear to the various moguls and tycoons that once called it home.

And if ever a residence evoked memories of the golden years of Hollywood, Maison Du Soleil it is. Situated on three acres in the Holmby Hills area of the city, this was designed in the 1930s by the renowned architect Paul Williams. With 60 rooms, the house mixes classic architecture with contemporary touches. At more than 30,000 feet, it’s the perfect place to entertain – and with 17 bedrooms and 22 bathrooms, it has enough room for even the biggest of parties. Movie buffs can watch the classics in the 6,000-square-foot movie theatre, while a pool and bathhouse allows you to soak up the Californian sun.

Despite its size, this is a home – with enough personal touches and quirks to ensure a warm and inviting living space. Intimate yet grand, this is one of the finest homes on sale in California right now.

United States

PRICE $88 million

christiesrealestate.com

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UPFRONT

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JULY / PROPERTY MARKET

ISSUE 139

Hong Kong’s property problem Kate Farr and Rachel Read explore Hong Kong’s property market, one of the world’s most expensive

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olding the dubious distinction of being one of the world’s most expensive cities in which to live and own property, entering the Hong Kong market is challenging for even the most experienced of buyers. But although the city’s property bubble has long since been forecast to burst, the market continues to go from strength to strength, despite concerns about affordability, coupled with recent governmentled cooling measures.

While the Central business district has traditionally been the beating heart of commerce in Asia’s World City, there is an increasing trend amongst businesses faced with the city’s notoriously punishing commercial rents to diversify from these locations to keep costs competitive. “Causeway Bay, Central and Tsim Sha Tsui remain the focus for luxury retail brands, but there are many small-tomedium scale retail podiums and shopping malls being developed alongside new residential projects in decentralised areas such as Yuen Long, North Point and Tseung Kwan O,” says Tom Gaffney, managing director of CBRE

Hong Kong. “These residential developments will attract uppermiddle class consumers, and therefore affordable luxury brands, to the area.”

Although much has been made of Hong Kong’s recent slump in retail sales, Gaffney explains that, far from dragging the market down, it has created new opportunities within the commercial sector. “Increased vacancy on prime streets has pulled prime retail rents down by 30 per cent. More prudent tourist spending has caused a double-digit drop in sales at major shopping malls since 2014. On the one hand, luxury retailers have been suffering from weaker tourist consumer buying power, but on the other hand, this has created opportunities for international brands and mid-range retailers to expand in Hong Kong.” In fact, according to CBRE Research, Hong Kong had the world’s most new market entrants in 2015 and 2016, supporting the suggestion that, far from being in decline, Hong Kong’s retail market remains extremely buoyant.

Nigel Smith, managing director of commercial real estate firm Colliers International, holds

$3bn

Amount paid for a 460,000sqft car park in the centre of Hong Kong

a similar view. “With retail sales expected to be hitting the bottom, institutional investors have been actively pursuing retail properties in urban fringe and decentralised areas with potential value-add opportunities,” he says.

“Investment sentiment for office properties stayed robust, especially in core-CBD areas, following a recent record sales price for the Murray Road Car Park site,” adds Reeves Yan, Colliers’ executive director of capital markets and investment services.

This unassuming-sounding plot is now the most expensive piece of land ever sold in Hong Kong.

Bought by developer Henderson Land, who outbid eight other developers to seal the deal for $3 billion, this 460,000 square foot site sits in the heart of the Central CBD and is slated to become a landmark mixed-use retail and office building by 2022.

Early forecasts suggest that, once complete, Henderson will sell units at approximately $7,700 per square foot – far surpassing the current record of $5,100 at the existing 9 Queen’s Road Central site.

Meanwhile, on the residential side of the market, Hong Kong’s traditional upscale locations

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UPFRONT

“Prices are 16 times the average household median income, one of the worst ratios in the world”

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remain popular with homeowners, while once again, investors look further afield for improved returns.

“Prestigious locations like The Peak and South Side are dominated by wealthy family end users, where investors mainly focus on new hotspots like South Horizons or Kennedy Town – districts recently covered by MTR lines,” says Clara Chu, senior director of residential services at Colliers International.

“We rarely see investors buying prestigious locations for leasing, as the yields are lower than the smaller units in those hotspot areas, which can be easily rented out.”

And what of Hong Kong’s most visible external investors, once renowned for big-ticket property purchases? “Even gigantic PRC [mainland Chinese] investors who own residential properties in those prestigious areas treat them as a holiday house or leave them empty rather than leasing them out,” says Chu. “This is why the capital value and rent remain popular and stable in these prestigious locations among the wealthy end user.”

“The luxury market in general commands very low yields, as low as 1.5 per cent, as the investment play is mostly from a capital appreciation perspective,” agrees Stella Abraham, head of residential leasing and relocation services at Jones Lang LaSalle.

Despite prices that remain unaffordable for the majority, appetite for property continues to remain high across all residential market sectors. “Property prices have reached record high levels.

From an affordability perspective, prices are already at 16 times the average household median income level – one of the worst ratios in the world,” adds Abraham.

A number of government demand-side management measures have been rolled out in recent years in an attempt to

Panorama view of Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. The background is Kowloon West

address this issue and cool the overheated property market.

Applicable taxes now include a stamp duty of between 1.5 and 8.5 per cent for permanent residents and 15 per cent for non-permanent residents, along with a further 15 per cent buyer’s stamp duty for non-PRs; investors looking to flip homes for a quick profit are also subject to a 10 to 20 per cent duty if they have owned a property for less than 24 months.

Yet despite the implementation of these additional fees, Hong

JULY

Kong’s ever-keen buyers remain undeterred. “Since the demand side measures were implemented in 2009, prices have already close to doubled, suggesting that the measures had limited impact on the upward price trend,” says Abraham. “There are still many buyers willing to enter the market at this price point – once again, suggesting there is still a demandsupply imbalance in the market.”

The statistics back up this supposition, as she forecasts another record year, despite overall

stagnant salaries. “The overall market’s residential property prices have risen 7.1 per cent through the first four months of 2017. Given the still-upbeat sentiment, we expect prices to rise between 10 and 15 per cent for the full year.”

So with prices remaining buoyant, what are the options for would-be homeowners and investors looking to get the best value and choice at the upper end of the market? Adrian To, Swire Properties’ director of residential, suggests that diversification could

be the answer. “While properties in prime urban locations are constantly sought-after, there is a segment of buyers who look for unique properties found in nontraditional locations,” he says.

Although located in a rural coastal location that is considered far-flung by most Hong Kongers’ standards, Swire Properties’ new Whitesands development taps into this demand for higher-end properties in unusual settings. “Located in South Lantau, the buyers of these properties are willing to make a lifestyle investment,” To says. The low-density development of 28 detached houses launched in 2016, and with six homes already sold, is spearheading the trend for wealthy buyers frustrated by low supply in more established locations.

And what of those who are looking to purchase property strictly as an investment? Are there quick gains to be made for strategic purchasers? Ryan Jenkins, associate partner at wealth management advisory firm St James’ Place, advises a cautious approach. “We generally take a long-term view on investments and would not want to speculate on short-term price movements,” he says. “We suggest that any purchase decision should be considered on an individual basis, taking into account an investor’s financial position and objectives.

“Investors who are already highly exposed to local properties as a percentage of their asset base and who may employ substantial leverage, for example, mortgages, may be best advised to consider deleveraging and diversifying across other asset classes and geographic exposures to reduce risk.”

With the Hong Kong property scene looking unlikely to experience any dramatic changes in the near future, informed research, diversification and a long-term view seem like the way forward for anyone looking to dabble in this most dizzying of markets.

ISSUE 139

SHENZHEN PROPERTY Shenzhen, the Chinese city of nearly 12 million across the border from Hong Kong, has also seen a dramatic rise in prices in recent years. Prices rose more than 70 per cent in the past two years, partly due to the city’s reinvention as a Chinese ‘Silicon Valley’. With more than 90 per cent of the city’s population non-locals, many of them with high-paying jobs, the property market saw huge rises.

/ PROPERTY MARKET

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UPFRONT / SPEND

MOST WANTED

LAMBORGHINI SPEAKERS This 800-watt home speaker is based on the back end of a Lamborghini and includes fully working shock absorbers and a carbon fibre chassis. iXoost, from $22,335, ixoost.it

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INCONTRO COFFEE TABLE This stunning table by the Italian designer Francesco Perini is made from wenge wood and marble. With an almost hypnotic central design, Perini’s ‘creation’ would be a welcome addition to any home.

Gallery Fumi, $32,465, galleryfumi.com

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LEE BROOM British designer Lee Broom has teamed up with Wedgewood to produce these limited edition jasperware. We love the Bowl on Red Sphere, which is both subtle and striking.

JAEGER-LECOULTRE GEOPHYSIC WATCH

Lee Broom, from $9,678, leebroom.com

Jaeger-LeCoultre, from $16,687, jaeger-lecoultre.com

A stunning piece of horology from this iconic watch-maker, the Geophysic Universal Time is elegant and hard wearing.

HARROD’S NEW WELLNESS CLINIC After a long day’s shopping, there’s few things better than some pampering. Luckily, if you are in Harrod’s, you don’t have to go very far. Tucked away on the fourth floor is The Wellness Clinic, a 10,500-square-foot space dedicated to easing those post-shopping pains. It has 14 luxury treatment rooms, two personal training studios and a 111Cryo chamber, which apparently boosts recovery after a workout. There’s a range of facial experts and beauty therapists too, so you can get yourself looking fabulous in no time.

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UPFRONT

The sartorialists David G Taylor visits Hunstman, Saville Row tailors with a storied past

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ou’re probably more familiar with the British bespoke tailoring brand Huntsman than you’re even aware. Its plush Savile Row store was the backdrop for 2014’s British spy comedy Kingsman: The Secret Service, it popped up again in the video for Take That’s single Get Ready For It, and its work has long been seen on an impressive array of A-list actors from Freddie Fox, David Oyelowo and Brad Pitt, back to Hollywood greats such as Clark Gable, Lawrence Olivier and Marlene Dietrich.

Despite being labelled the “most expensive establishment on the Row” by The New York Times, it’s a brand that seems inescapable. Gregory Peck was a such fan of Huntsman that he wore the brand in his private life and on screen, even battling malevolent forces in a memorable tweed Huntsman overcoat for the 1976 horror film, The Omen.

“Not every tailor’s shop can boast a clientele or a story like Huntsman,” says style consultant Daniel Johnson. He should know.

Johnson honed his own sartorial

skills while training as a tailor on Savile Row and now helps cashrich, time-poor clients attain the edge that presenting well can bring in business, as in life. “Huntsman offers a story and a style of their very own, born of their traditional material, cut and design,” he says.

“If my clients request British heritage and exquisite tailoring,” says Johnson, “I’d recommend Huntsman immediately.”

Originally known as H Huntsman, the tailoring house made its name as a manufacturer of riding gaiters and breeches in 1849. The Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) bestowed the company with its first Royal Warrant and soon it was the destination for riding and country attire. Customers entering Huntsman’s 11 Savile Row store today could be forgiven for thinking not much has changed since the company relocated there in 1919. With its lounge area and a pair of mounted stag heads, the shop has the ambience of an English gentleman’s club, betrayed only by the hushed diligence of those working in an

The Huntsman store on Savile Row has been used in films and music videos

open-plan pattern-cutting studio.

As Huntsman legend goes, the taxidermy was left behind in the 1920s when a customer having a fitting popped out for lunch and got so drunk he never returned.

A scarlet hunting jacket is one of several vintage items displayed around the store, alongside framed photos of famous patrons such as actor Nicole Kidman, King George VI and Chinese model and superstar, Hu Bing.

Leading off the main room is the small fitting room famously

JULY / THE BUSINESS

“There’s something about the fit of a garment that’s been made just for you that’s exceptional” replicated for the Kingsman film. The blockbuster – starring Colin Firth and shot by KickAss director Matthew Vaughn – proved such a hit that a sequel is being released this September called Kingsman: The Golden Circle and, reportedly, a third film is in the pipeline. Creative director Campbell Carey even had cameo role, opening the fitting room

door to Samuel L Jackson. “It was an unforgettable couple of days on set at Warner Bros. studio in Watford,” Carey says.

“The entire Huntsman shop was recreated, piece by piece, in a giant warehouse.”

The Kingsman connection runs deeper than you might expect.

Belgian financier Pierre Lagrange, the executive producer of the

ISSUE 139

series, bought Huntsman in 2013.

Vaughn himself has been a devotee of the brand since his mother treated him to his first bespoke suit, aged 18. For a company that shuns paid advertising, the film series is a clever PR coup.

“Our mission at Huntsman is to make young people and today’s gentleman aware that bespoke is current, modern and young,” Lagrange tells Portfolio. “Kingsman did just that,” he says.

“It really highlighted to people you don’t have to be old to access bespoke suits.”

Under Lagrange, Huntsman has found a number of clever ways to catch the attention of potential customers of late, from its online video miniseries, Treasures from Chatsworth, produced by Sotheby’s, to becoming Huntsman’s prestigious appointment as new tailor-inresidence at the nearby five-star Brown’s Hotel.

“There is something about the fit of a garment that has been made just for you that is exceptional: a second skin,” says Lagrange, who admits it was “the style of Huntsman, the legacy, the elegance of what the tailors were doing”, that convinced him to buy the company.

“As a client of luxury, I don’t like to buy for the season, I buy things I can use again and again.

Huntsman is about style that lasts forever. Garments you want to wear today, tomorrow and in 50 years’ time,” he adds.

In today’s competitive marketplace, how does the brand attract new business without alienating its longstanding customers? “We don’t compromise,” Lagrange insists.

“Our young clientele come to Huntsman to have similar garments made [to those] that our older clientele loves us for.

What is new is the lighter and more adaptable fabrics, the accessories and the lining

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UPFRONT

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personalisation.” Huntsman’s special commission jacket and coat linings now further blur the line between art and fashion with bold images by the likes of René Magritte and Francis Bacon printed on silk.

“Its the ultimate luxury to be able to personalise your garment with something cherished by you,” says Lagrange. “Whether this is a piece of art or a speech someone very dear to you has made. Our clients value us for the fact that you can decipher our Huntsman silhouette but it’s not branded. The same goes for wearing your own art inside your jacket. It’s all about having a discreet, private luxury.”

Huntsman is working with contemporary artists too. It collaborated with Italian Beatrice

“Our young clientele have similar garments made to those our older clientele love us for” Caracciolo for this year’s Venice Biennale, replicating her semiabstract work Pine Needles on the linings of 11 limited-edition jackets to raise money for charity. The project follows a collaboration with American Ed Ruscha. A jacket lined with the artist’s 1987 painting Boy Meets Girl benefitted America’s Alzheimer’s Association to the tune of $26,000. Only six such jackets even exist; one of them given to American Gigolo actress Lauren Hutton who owns the original Ruscha painting, as well as several Huntsman jackets and tuxedos.

The recent appointment of Campbell Carey, creative director

$26k

Amount paid for a special Huntsman jacket at an auction

and head cutter, alongside co-head cutter Dario Carnera, has definitely breathed new life into the brand. Forward thinking has seen the reintroduction of a men’s ready-to-wear collection – boasting tailoring, shirting and accessories, plus an exclusive new range of tweeds inspired by those worn by Gregory Peck in the 1950s and ’60s. One of them, a reworking of 1952 Huntsman hound’s-tooth cloth, is the first cashmere tweed produced in-house in 50 years.

A more concerted effort to get the products seen by Huntsman’s truly international clientele has

JULY / THE BUSINESS

ISSUE 139

SAVILE ROW The home of British tailoring for centuries, Savile Row is synonymous for its suits. Tailors were initially attracted to the street due to the well-off residents that lived nearby: perfect customers for their menswear. Although none of the original tailors are still around, Henry Poole & Co, who moved onto the street in 1846, still have a presence. Henry Poole is credited with inventing the dinner jacket, when he made a smoking jacket for Edward VII in 1860. These days the street is home to many different tailors, some more traditional than others. Ozwald Boateng is one designer who has helped modernise Savile Row’s offering. As much a piece of sartorial history as a place to buy clothes, Savile Row is a must for any style-conscious man who happens to find himself in the English capital.

seen the expansion of its ‘trunk shows’ that now include regular visits to nine of Asia’s major cities, the East and West Coasts of the United States, Europe and the Middle East, allowing overseas clients access to the Huntsman bespoke team at least three to four times a year.

Last year, Huntsman also became the first Savile Row store to take up permanent residence in New York. Situated on West 57th Street, it’s so exclusive, it’s accessible only by appointment.

“When I bought the business,” Lagrange says, “I was surprised to see with our American clients

The interiors and exterior of Huntsman evoke a bygone glamour

(probably our longest standing clientele) that we could be doing a much better job by offering them the service of a pied-a-terre in New York.

“Our chairman is a real visionary. However, he recognises that the bespoke ethos at the heart of the business must be protected and nurtured. Having a team all pulling in one direction is very exciting. I’m sure prospective clients get a feel for that mojo, when stopping by the everbustling Huntsman these days.”

Loved by Cecil Beaton, David Bowie and Alexander McQueen, key to Huntsman’s appeal is its

uncompromising Britishness, says Carnera. “From the silhouette of our coats, to the cloths from which they are cut, all of our exclusive house cloths are produced in Britain,” he says.

“Our suiting fabrics are woven in Huddersfield in the north of England, our flannels are from the west of England and our tweeds are all from Islay in the western isles of Scotland. We will of course make a suit from, say, an Italian cloth if requested. But I think a British suit of clothes, made from British cloth, takes some beating.” huntsmansavilerow.com

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JULY ISSUE 139

UPFRONT / CLASSIC READ

Tools Of Titans

By Tim Ferriss

The morning routines of the rich and famous consist of exercise, meditation and lots of green tea

T

34

im Ferriss is something of a hero to a generation of entrepreneurs and tech executives. His 2007 book, The 4-Hour Week, put him on the map, showcasing a way of life that involved ‘miniretirements’, remote working and passive income. His follow up, The 4-Hour Body, was equally popular, revealing a series of ‘hacks’ to improve everything from strength to sleep. Now, there’s this, Tools Of Titans, a series of takeaways from his ultra-successful podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. On that, he deep dives into topics with his guests – all of whom are A-List: everyone from tech billionaire Peter Thiel to Tony Robbins to Arnold Schwarzenegger. This book is the best bits from the 200 interviews he has conducted and

the result is an actionable set of tools that anyone can use. For example, he talks in depth about morning routines and why they look like for the best of the best.

Answer? Lots of meditation, lots of workouts and lots of green tea.

The book is broken up into three sections: Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. Healthy features some of the world’s best athletes (everyone from strength trainers to champion surfers) talking about their habits and mindset.

From nootropics to ultramarathons, the health section is applicable to the couch potatoes and the reasonably active alike, and its position at the start of the book underlines its importance – in Ferriss’ mind at least – to lasting success.

The Wealthy section features a litany of tech icons, from

60

Number of downloads (in millions) of the Tim Ferriss Show

Kevin Rose to Chase Jarvis to Seth Godin. There’s also bonus chapters on how to create a realworld MBA, how to get 1,000 true fans and how to say ‘no’ when it matters the most. The third and final section focuses on wisdom, which looks at the mental and spiritual tools you can use to build success. We hear from the likes of Jamie Foxx, Sam Harris, Alain de Botton and General Stanley McChrystal, who talk about fear, the mental side of success and meditation.

Ferriss writes that “being busy is a form of laziness – lazy thinking and indiscriminate action”. For Ferriss, and the subjects featured in the book, action without a plan (and without measurement) leads nowhere.

This book could have easily been a ‘best of ’ compilation from Ferriss’ podcast, but it’s much more than that, largely thanks to Ferriss’ curation and the bonus content. While many books in the self-help genre are wishy-washy, Tools Of Titans is direct, clear and actionable, and filled with insight from some of the world’s top performers.

At 650 pages long, this is a book to dip in and out of rather than devour in one session, and there is enough here to satisfy the most curious of selfhelp aficionados, or even those looking to take the next step up the career ladder.

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ALL AT SEA

36

ALL AT SEA

ALL AT SEA

David Whelan investigates the world of super yachts

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ALL AT SEA

1.

THE SHOW

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It’s like a city at sea – a constellation of leisurely living spaces, entertainment zones that obfuscate the difference between the indoor and outdoors, and private rooms that extend as far as the eye can see.

The city has about one hundred and twenty-five addresses with a tent village around its outskirts. Beyond that is Monaco proper – but for once the principality is not the star of the show. September, you see, is for the Monaco Yacht Festival. Other festivals have more yachts – Cannes, for instance, hosted 600 yachts at its 2016 festival – but Monaco can lay claim to the largest of yachts. It’s a festival of super yachts, the varietal of private boats exceeding 30 metres in length. There are also mega yachts, which clock in at a minimum of 100 metres. The super yachts are packed into the harbour of Port Hercules but cannot all be fitted there; yet more are anchored out at sea, in their natural environment.

The festival, like the super yachts themselves, has been steadily growing. These are elegant ships, but at a certain point subtlety becomes a challenge. You can’t hide these boats; you can only accommodate them. In 2015, for instance, the festival added 12 berths for yachts that exceeded 80 metres in length.

The average yacht in 2016 clocked in at 45.77 metres, which the organisers helpfully point out was a 26 per cent increase from the previous year. Size matters here. Placed end to end, these yachts would stretch for 5.7 kilometres, a distance that would earn a bridge its place in a list of the world’s hundred longest such spans. A bridge, however, is an eminently practical way of thinking about such distances. India’s Mahatma Gandhi Setu bridge covers the same distance as this line of super yachts but accommodates 85,000 vehicles and 12,000 pedestrians daily. A super yacht at capacity will accommodate a couple dozen people. It is not a vehicle for getting you from point A to B – though it can surely do that – but for rethinking that journey.

ALL AT SEA

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ALL AT SEA

The average yacht size at the 2016 Monaco Yacht Festival was nearly 46 metres.

Size matters here

The sheer scale of Monaco’s production is such that the scene cannot readily be captured. When it is not out at sea, a small structure in a vast body of water, a super yacht is all you can see. To take in more than a hundred at once, then, is a challenge. The yachts in Monaco extend into the horizon, where, for all you know, there might be more. The scene is therefore often filmed by roving drones. In video compilations, this footage is set to resounding orchestral music. That, one imagines, is what life actually sounds like when you join the yachting classes: all swooning strings and blaring brass sections; your every move provoking swelling crescendos that would make Gustav Holst blush; your every step dictating the beat of the timpani.

To the extent that the whole festival is a city at sea, each yacht is also its own city-state. It comes replete with systems to support a small community and with appropriate quarters for staff that will keep your village at sea running smoothly. You didn’t really think you’d lubricate the engine or work in the kitchen of your super yacht, did you? The super yacht is a vehicle for specialists as opposed to hobbyists; you don’t pilot it around the bay for an afternoon and call yourself a sailor. Specialise in something else, like choosing which outdoor dining space to use. There is a certain frisson of excitement that comes with owning a craft that appears to have been drawn from the opening scene of The Bourne Identity or where a mutiny is a numerical possibility. To be clear, there is no record of such events occurring. The super yacht, however, inhabits a world in which all sorts of possibilities that most people would never dream of can be considered.

To consider buying a super yacht, then, is to engage with questions about luxury, leisure and mobility. That’s part of the excitement. You do many things on a regular, near-daily basis, but buying a super yacht is not one of them. You are in uncharted waters, still searching for the ship and crew that can navigate these currents. Let’s do something about that.

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2.

THE BOATS The Serene is about 134 metres long, which leaves ample room for just about any activity to live up to its name. The super yacht – call it a personal cruise ship if you prefer; nobody will put up a fight – is reported to include a climbing wall, movie theatre, nightclub, two hot tubs and a swimming pool. There’s more to the Serene, naturally. Space in this article, unlike on a super yacht, is finite, so suffice it to say that the Serene has a helipad, because helicopters are convenient and you can’t just pull your yacht into any dock and move on. Anyhow, it’s allegedly one of the 20 largest super yachts at sea, a ranking that is shrouded in secrecy because discretion is part of what you pay for when you buy a super yacht.

Here’s what we do know: the Serene was built in Italy by Fincantieri, which has a sister branch for building cruise ships, based on an exterior design by Espen Oeino and interior plans

by Reymond Langton Design. This arrangement is instructive and typical when building a super yacht. It’s a process somewhere between building a house and a private jet. It relates to the latter aspect insofar as you’re building a vehicle with propulsion and whatnot. Private planes, however, exist within prescribed shells.

Since a wider range of shapes will float than fly, exterior architecture is also a function of super yacht design. The placement of windows and the curvature of surfaces can be adjusted to achieve the perfect balance of elegance and aggression.

The Serene has a climbing wall, a nightclub, a cinema, two hot tubs and a swimming pool

Shipyards and designers can accommodate your requests.

That, in a sense, is what they’re there for. Each company or craftsperson, mind you, has a signature style. Much as consumers go to Bugatti, Bentley or Burberry to fulfil specific visions of luxury, they do the same in the super yacht space.

Perini Navi, for instance, specialises in yachts that combine modern cabins with the majesty of sails. Fincantieri, which built Serene, traffics in sensuous curves that might fuel your dreams of cruising along the Riviera. Arcadia Yachts, meanwhile, has a boxier house style with vertical bows that transmit a certain blunt aggression; these are yachts for the aspiring Bond villain – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Other builders, such as Benetti, Feadship, or Blohm+Voss exist somewhere on this continuum.

House style is a particular concern because some yacht builders, like Benetti, have existing super yacht models you can customise to expedite the design and delivery process. There’s still plenty of room for customisation – where exactly would you like that hot tub, sir? – but the basic outlines of the ship and its mechanics are already sketched in. You needn’t worry about running into someone with an iden-

tical yacht. Super yachts are sufficiently rare that such a problem is not commonplace. Rather, certain yachts share a lineage; they’re part of the same family tree, if you will. As with thoroughbreds, it’s the sort of kinship that, instead of devaluing each ship, only adds to their rich bloodline.

Whether or not one starts from scratch, though, there are still plenty of choices to be made in the super yacht space. This, in large part, is because there’s so much space for one to project these choices: room configurations, lifestyle preferences and materials. The super yacht M/Y Ability, for instance, makes copious use of animal prints in its interior spaces. This may not be to your taste – in fact it probably isn’t – but that’s sort of the point.

A super yacht is a freeing space to express such personal tastes.

The real question here is not whether you’d go with animal prints – again, you probably wouldn’t – but what your equivalent choice is. There are wilder choices to be made on super yachts, mind you. Some of the largest come with elevators. The 162.5-metre-long Eclipse includes lasers to detect and block paparazzi cameras. Rising Sun, another super yacht, includes a basketball court and wine cellar, because why not? There is basically nothing you cannot do at sea.

Each yacht designer has their own personal style, the same way Bugatti or Burberry have

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3.

THE BROKERS

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How many times in your life will you acquire a super yacht? Once, most likely. The prospect can be daunting, even if you have purchased one before. It’s too easy to become lost in a metaphorical sea of choices before your yacht even meets the water. So, it’s probably best to find some experts. Super yachts are, by their very nature, too big for you to go it alone.

The shipyard is the obvious place to start. They’ve done this before. If you’re building from the ground [or is that dry dock?] up, that’s where many of the decisions will get made. Thousands of components and sub-components go into a super yacht. You will feel strongly about some of them – Jacuzzi, anyone? Other components just have to work quietly in the background; so long as the power works and the ship goes in its intended direction, do the finer mechanical points really matter to the owner or their passengers? For everything to work, mind you, someone has to care about these invisible details. That’s a job for the experts.

Other, less obvious, forms of expertise may also come into play. Yacht brokers have a versatile role in this system. One normally thinks of brokers as being involved in the sale and purchase of finished yachts, which

they are indeed, but brokers can also be involved in the construction of new super yachts. The brokerage firm Edmiston, for instance, offers to assemble a dream team, manage bids and budgets, and oversee the production of a super yacht for prospective owners. They possess existing relationships with shipyards that can be leveraged to turn a vision for a yacht – a few curves and staterooms on paper – into a reality.

Brokerages, beyond project management in new construction, serve a remarkably versatile purpose. Most obviously, they negotiate an active secondary market for the sale and rental of existing yachts and super yachts. The aforementioned super yacht Serene was built for vodka magnate Yuri Shefler, leased to Bill Gates for a summer, and later sold to Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia in its first four years. Eager investors will happily note that its value appreciated in that time. Brokerages represent the various sides in these transactions, spotting opportunities for refitting yachts to new owners’ specifications. As with any other transaction, you could proceed without a broker, but in so doing you’d forego both expertise and built-in networks.

Many brokers also operate as a sort of concierge, ensuring your yacht is ready wherever you are

ALL AT SEA

4.

AT SEA

Helicopter pads and luxury interiors are standard in the world of the super yachts

The role of a super yacht broker, mind you, is not directly analogous to that of a real estate broker. Though a super yacht will likely make you wish you spent more time at sea, you are unlikely to spend every minute of your life aboard the craft. It will, however, require attention in your absence. Many yacht brokerages offer to oversee this process, making sure that your super yacht is ready whenever you are. The yacht brokerage Burgess, for instance, offers to oversee maintenance and compliance with maritime law and local regulations.

Other staff will surely be required. You didn’t really plan on navigating, maintaining the engine and enjoying the hot tub all at once, did you? The most important of these hires is a captain, who, in turn, helps to select much of the crew. The logic here is straightforward: the captain knows what matters in a first mate or engineer, so his or her expertise is to be relied upon. But brokerages and yacht management firms also play a part in this process.

Companies such as Luxury Yacht Group or Super Yacht Sales and Charter offer to assemble crews for the owners they represent. In a meaningful sense, a super yacht is incomplete without a crew; it is a largely theoretical concept without those who make it function at sea. A considerable human workforce goes into helping you be alone with the waves, and firms in this space can ensure those staffers are up to the task.

In a sense, the point of a super yacht is to go nowhere fast. If your only interest is getting from one place to the next, maritime travel ceased to be of interest in the mid-to-late 20th century. Some locations, however, hold a certain appeal for the super yachting classes. Greece, Croatia, the French Riviera, Cuba and the Seychelles all constitute popular destinations. All offer combinations of islands, inlets and beaches to explore. Correlation is not causation, but the waters really do seem more vibrantly blue wherever super yachts congregate.

An added consideration: there are only so many places where you can dock a super yacht. This is not a huge problem insofar as tender ships – or in the largest cases, heliports – allow for land access. That said, super yacht-friendly ports tend to symbolise alternate destinations. Port de Gustavia in St Barths and Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi stand out in this regard. The latter accommodates yachts as long as 150 metres. For good measure, there’s a Ferrari theme park nearby.

Travel to these destinations is the real point, however. Sea vistas and rock formations gently pass in the distance as you relax on an upper deck – but which one? Suddenly it makes sense that every other yacht is named after a synonym for serene: unperturbed, centred, tranquil. The only test of a good yacht name is if it’s improved with a velvety intonation, as if you were about to close your eyes and feel the breeze from the owner’s suite. Come to think of it, maybe that’s just what you need right now. It’s just you, hundreds of tonnes of ships, and the water. Where to next?

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ENERGY FLASH

ENERGY FLASH

Richard Buxton explores the controversial rise of RB Leipzig and examines how Red Bull has used sport to build its brand 44

ENERGY FLASH

I

t all star ted with Franz Beckenbauer.

The German football legend and Bayern Munich icon is unwittingly responsible for the rise of RB Leipzig, after he suggested to Red Bull’s co-founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, that he should set up the firm’s latest sporting tie-up in the German city of Leipzig.

Mateschitz followed Beckenbauer’s advice, and the team – founded in 2009 – has risen up the ranks faster than anyone predicted, and caused a heap of controversy along the way.

It wasn’t the first time the Austrian energy drink giant had looked to the city. Germany’s Football Association (DFB) had vetoed a proposed takeover of FC Sachsen Leipzig in 2006.

Mateschitz’s attempts to take his operations into the country’s footballing heartland also backfired as 1860 Munich, Fortuna Dusseldorf and FC St Pauli vehemently opposed Red Bull’s overtures. Focus shifted back to Leipzig and two of the city’s established clubs, but with Sachsen facing eventual liquidation and Lokomotive Leipzig’s dubious reputation with supporter disorder, the lesser-known SSV Markranstadt emerged as the forerunner. Situated 13km west of Leipzig, the club’s playing licence was reportedly bought for less than $400,000 by Red Bull; a small price to pay for Red Bull’s gateway into German football.

There were issues from the start. Attempts to incorporate the company’s branding into Leipzig’s name were stopped by DFB legislation, which ensured there would be no repeat of Red Bull’s marketing strategy in New York (the New York Red Bulls), Salsburg (FC Red Bull Salzburg) and Brazil (Red Bull Brasil). Red Bull got around this by incorporating its branding into the club crest and its nickname (The Red Bulls). Mateschitz’s initial goal was to reach the Bundesliga’s top tier within a decade. While it would be easy to compare their strategy to those of European nouveau riche clubs such as Manchester City and Paris St Germain, the strategy has been based on one taken from Major League Baseball. The ‘Moneyball’ philosophy is a statisticsbased model first used by the Oakland A’s baseball team in the early 2000s, one that eschewed big spending and looked to statistics instead.

Leipzig’s approach has also been reflected in a continued search for the best development talent, assisted by the likes of Gerard Houllier, who helped cultivate France’s 1998 World Cup team.

RB Leipzig’s sporting director, Ralf Rangnick, who has helped turn the club into a footballing force

RB Leipzig’s main coup, however, was the appointment of Ralf Rangnick. Under his direction, both as sporting director and interim manager for the 2015/16 campaign, the club has adopted a youth policy that targets players under 24. It explains why 24 is the current squad’s average age – the youngest in the Bundesliga. It is a policy with a few drawbacks, as the 58-year-old discovered in passing up the chance to sign a Jamie Vardy in 2012 due to the striker, who went on to feature in Leicester City’s remarkable Premier League title triumph, being one year outside of their age restrictions. The idea behind the rule is a simple one: players that offer a greater level of physical intensity through their youth and hunger are preferable to those offering seniority alone. Experience, the club believes, is better served from within its ranks rather than simply being parachuted in.

So far, the strategy is working. Witness the likes of Joshua Kimmich, now a staple of Bayern’s midfield, or Leipzig’s star player, Timo Werner. Not only did the striker become Europe’s highest-scoring player aged 21 and under since arriving from Stuttgart for $11.2 million – a club record – last summer, but he also became one of only five players in Bundesliga history to score 19 goals or higher in a league season. Another standout player has been Emil Forsberg: his 19 assists the highest across Europe’s top five leagues.

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ENERGY FLASH

Leipzig’s Marcel Sabitzer scores a goal against Eintracht Frankfurt

TIMELINE May 2009 RB Leipzig officially founded

July 2010 Relocated to Zentralstadion

46

May 2011 Promoted from NOFV-Oberliga Sud

Naby Keita is proof of the benefits of Red Bull’s global network as one of nine first-team players to arrive directly from Salzburg, the club’s unofficial feeder club, in a move not too dissimilar to the relationship between Watford, Udinese and Granada – all clubs owned by the Pozzo family.

“If you see what the club have been doing over the past few years, in the way that it came from the lower divisions to the first division, it was a sign that big things could happen,” says RBL’s Brazilian midfielder, Bernardo. “That it was a club who could at some point challenge the big teams and [challenge for the top],” he says. “But to do that in the first Bundesliga season was a big surprise to everyone.

Maybe [after] two or three seasons, people would expect that because the team has been doing well for years. It’s a young team but it went up five divisions in seven years. It’s a successful story.”

Strategic long-term thinking has also been key to RBL’s success, with their parent company’s commitment to youth further reflected by an investment of $73 million in a new training facility, which also houses the club’s youth academy.

Off the field, turnout for home games barely rose beyond the 7,500 mark during their first four seasons but did little to deter a 10-year lease being agreed for the Zentralstadion, East Germany’s only host venue at the 2006 World Cup. Rental rates were fixed to reflect the club’s onfield progress and since the 2013/14 campaign, attendances have risen sharply year on year with

an average figure of 41,454 for their maiden Bundesliga season – an increase of over 12,000 on the previous 12 months. Red Bull have also rebranded the stadium in their name as part of a sponsorship deal until 2040, which could surpass its club’s tenancy due to expansion plans that reflect their bold ambitions. A measured degree of realism has belatedly been factored into their grandiose plans, with initial talk of building a purpose-built 80,000-seat stadium – the second highest in the country – shelved as quickly as it was declared. Plans to increase the capacity to 57,000 have also been scaled back, despite receiving clearance from the local authority, to 50,000.

Even that incremental leap from the current figure of 42,959 carries uncertainties with the club’s expectancy of a return on their investment within two years leaving zero room for compromise.

Changes, albeit smaller-scale ones, are still set to be made to the stadium with its VIP section due to be increased by a further 500 seats this summer to satisfy demands for its Champions League foray next season.

Red Bull’s overall commitment to sport remains unquestionable. Salzburg, one of Leipzig’s sister clubs, have won the Austrian Bundesliga eight times in 12 seasons since their takeover, in contrast to three in 72 years in its original, non-branded guise. Salsburg’s ice hockey team has experienced a similar level of success through the company’s involvement since the turn of the new millennium,

ENERGY FLASH

RB Leipzig’s rise has been mired in controversy, with many German football fans seeing the club as upstarts

lifting six championships as well as being crowned Continental Cup winners in 2010. This summer, just 90 miles across from the Austrian border, Red Bull’s Munich team is celebrating successive German ice hockey titles. Further emphasis of the company’s youth strategy saw Sebastian Vettel recruited to help the company’s Formula 1 team win four successive Constructors’ Championships between 2010 and 2013.

Red Bull’s success with Leipzig has set the standard for a sustainable football business model, although other firms attempting to copy Red Bull have met with varying degrees of success. Evian’s stewardship of Thornon Gaillard, a French amateur club, began in the same summer that Leipzig was founded. They won promotion to Ligue 1 for the 2011/12 season where they secured a credible ninth-place finish, just ahead of Marseille. The following campaign saw them reach the Coupe de France final, losing 3-2 to Bordeaux after a lastminute goal. But parent company Danone’s withdrawal of backing just 12 months later, following a boardroom power struggle, saw the beginning of the end for the club, which subsequently suffered back-to-back relegations and was placed in receivership before folding in late 2016.

Red Bull’s attempts to further its sporting reach have been defeated. West Ham United allegedly turned down a bid worth $837.5 million from Red Bull in 2015 – a claim the company has strenuously denied. Earlier this year it was revealed the company were looking at taking over a team in the Dutch first division, a proposal that would fall afoul of legislation from the KNVB, the Dutch football association, due to its current involvement with two fellow UEFA member clubs.

That potential conflict of interest also threatens to cast a shadow over Leipzig’s record-breaking points tally as a newly promoted Bundesliga club, with European football’s governing body’s

rules permitting only one Red Bull-affiliated company to compete in the Champions League. By sheer virtue of their respective league finishes, Salzburg would be afforded the place in spite of the company’s notable shift in favouritism towards its German counterparts. This is unlikely, however, and RBL’s aim is to get out of the Champion’s League group stages.

RBL’s rise has, on one hand, been a revolution fashioned on diligence, but it has also been mired in controversy. In a country where a supporterbased ‘50+1’ ownership model remains king, critics claim their operation and structure, with voting memberships restricted to 17 members – many of them linked to Red Bull in one way or another – is an affront to that tradition.

But separating football’s church and state has become an increasingly difficult challenge for purists, with corporation-based hierarchies becoming increasingly popular. Bayer Leverkusen are run by the pharmaceutical company of the same name. Wolfsburg, which only held onto their place in next season’s Bundesliga through a relegation play-off, are owned by car manufacturing giant Volkswagen. Hoffenheim, Rangnick’s former club, were elevated from a village team into a Bundesliga tour de force thanks to the investment from Dietmar Hopp, the billionaire founder of multinational software company SAP. Many, including, Hannover 96’s majority shareholder Martin Kind, would like to see an end

July 2011 Enter DFB-Pokal (German Cup) for the first time

June 2012 Appoint Ralf Rangnick as sporting director

June 2013 Win promotion from Regionalliga Nordost

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ENERGY FLASH

May 2014 Promoted to 2. Bundesliga

September 2015 Support refugees during German migrant crisis

May 2016 Promoted to the Bundesliga just seven years after forming

May 2017 Qualify for Champions League as Bundesliga runner-up

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Schalke fans protest against RB Leipzig during their match

to the ‘50+1’ setup altogether. Yet most German football fans believe the 50+1 system keeps the country’s football leagues from spiralling into the profit-dominated circus the Premier League has become, where wages – and ticket prices – have spiralled out of control.

It’s due in part to that culture that RBL’s reputation is as bad as any club in the Bundesliga.

Fans of rival clubs regularly stage protests – some more innovative than others – whenever they face them. Many fans tend to boycott the matches or stand in total silence, but pockets of ugliness regularly surface. Distasteful banners, severed bull’s heads and even acts of violence towards players and fans alike have greeted them during their ascent through the country’s football pyramid.

Criticisms from their contemporaries have been particularly telling, not least from the country’s former footballing duopoly. Dortmund’s dislike for the club that usurped them in the Bundesliga after just one season has been regularly articulated by its CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, who dismissed Leipzig as existing purely “to push up the revenues for Red Bull and nothing else.”

Bayern have been far more vociferous, if at times contradictory. Watzke’s counterpart Uli Hoeness paid the greatest possible compliment to RBL at his club’s AGM last November, while they were coasting to a 4-1 win at Freiburg, telling his own shareholders that there was “a new enemy besides

Dortmund that we can attack,” just 22 days after he had described them as “a dangerous opponent.”

Days before his side won a nine-goal thriller at the Red Bull Arena, he claimed that the club’s highintensity approach would not see them pose a genuine threat to the Bavarians, who finished 10 points clear of them in this season’s title race. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern’s chairman, initially said that RBL’s emergence was “good for the Bundesliga” but derided their planned title assault, insisting he would never see it happen in his lifetime.

B a ye r n ’s h e a d c o a c h C a r l o Ancelotti was more diplomatic, hailing Leipzig as “a fantastic rival” as his side strode to their 27th domestic triumph. The Italian clearly saw ingredients in his closest challengers which had been lacking during his own spells at Chelsea and PSG. Money, he said, was not the sole driving force in Leipzig’s rise and that this was “just the start of a great era for them.” Beckenbauer, Bayern’s honorary president, forecast in 2015 that Leipzig were 35 years away from posing a genuine threat to Bayern’s mantle, while also hailing their – and Wolfsburg’s – business ethos as “models with a future.”

Mateschitz is far more impatient than that, declaring that he wants to see RBL celebrating their maiden Bundesliga title before his 80th birthday.

With the Austrian billionaire turning 73 in May, that has set a countdown clock for summer 2024 for the club to realise his bold ambition.

Leipzig’s owner wants them to win the German league by the summer of 2024

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GENERATION GIVE Lauren Razavi explores the changing world of philanthropy

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ast year brought tremendous change for the country of Myanmar. The people came together to cast their first meaningful political votes in more than 50 years. The subsequent election of Htin Kyaw in March of 2016 heralded the arrival of the first democratically chosen government after decades of brutal military junta rule. Yet amongst that profound change in identity, there was also stability. For the third year in succession, Myanmar was crowned by the CAF World Giving Index as the most generous country in the world.

For thousands of years innovators, artists and the downtrodden have relied on the patronage of supportive benefactors. From Ancient Rome to modern day New York, the tradition of philanthropy has endured. But just as the forums of the Eternal City gave way to the glitz of Times Square, the world of humanitarianism has transformed and continues to evolve today.

Throughout the ages mankind has always marvelled at displays of wealth. True to type, it’s usually bank-breaking mega-donations that make the headlines. Like Australian iron magnate Andrew Forrest and his wife Nicola, who hit the news when they wrote a $400 million cheque to combat cancer and an array of social challenges. Or Nike founder Phil Knight and the waves he caused with his decision to give $500 million to the University of Oregon to help fund a new scientific research centre.

Similarly, plenty of publicity is duly afforded to the incredible work of serial philanthropists such as George Soros. The Hungarian hedge fund mogul’s accumulated support totals over $12 billion and spans back 38 years. He has championed diverse causes ranging from scholarships for black South Africans during the darkest days of apartheid rule to backing the US’ medical marijuana movement.

But the pockets of the super-wealthy aren’t deep enough to solve all the world’s problems. The global face of philanthropy is influenced by much smaller acts of kindness too. Individually, they normally fly well below the radar but cumulatively, the impacts can be enormous. Across the UK, for example, the aggregated proceeds generated from bake sales were reported to have contributed some $238 million to charitable causes in 2015.

At a broader level, philanthropy doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Government policy holds substantial sway over the trends of giving, and the tremors are particularly noticeable when power shifts. In the US, the election of Donald Trump prompted a

Australian iron magnate Andrew Forrest (above) donated $400 million towards cancer research and other social issues. Myanmar (right) is the most generous country in the world when it comes to donating

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From Ancient Rome to modern day New York, the act of philanthropy has endured, albeit in different ways

Credit: Justin Vidamo

dramatic increase in support for non-profit causes that were perceived to be threatened by his presidency. The American Civil Liberties Union alone claims to have received over $7 million in the first five days following the vote.

It would be naive, of course, to expect a banker from Bolivia and a scientist from Singapore to have identical priorities. There can be stark differences in what philanthropy looks like from one country to the next. It’s true that all forms of generosity are aligned by a unifying theme of kindness, but the manner in which this kindness comes out is sensitive to societal heritages and cultural expectations.

A recent report compiled by Harvard’s Ash Center revealed that the 100 most influential philanthropists in China overwhelmingly consider state education to be the most important cause to donate to. By contrast the mounting environmental disaster besieging China’s metropolises was largely passed over, as environmental projects garnered only $4.7 million of the cumulative $3.8 billion that was given.

Meanwhile, the Middle East’s philanthropic profile has historically been characterised by religious giving, following the tenets of Islam. Zakat, one of the five fundamental pillars of the religion, obligates Muslims whose wealth exceeds a value during the course of one lunar year – the specific figure causes some debate amongst scholars – to surrender 2.5 per cent to community welfare initiatives. But as with countless other cultural distinctions, globalisation has begun to permeate the field of philanthropy, shifting attitudes and displacing conventions. “[Traditionally] philanthropists in the US are comfortable being open about their philan-

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“Writing a cheque doesn’t give you any pleasure, but a long-term relationship absolutely does”

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thropy, while philanthropists in other regions, especially the Middle East and Asia, are more private about their giving.” explains Ava Lala, director of international philanthropic consultancy Geneva Global. “However, we’re starting to see that change. In 2015, HRH Al Waleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia announced he was giving $32 billion of his personal fortune to charity. It was a signal that philanthropy in the Middle East is becoming more public and more strategic.”

As far as Europe goes, the United Kingdom sits atop the generosity rankings, with a notable leaning towards supporting the labours of its creatives.

Besides higher education and international aid, the arts and culture sector consistently receives the lion’s share of philanthropic support in the United Kingdom. Last year alone, 37 individual gifts of over one million pounds were made to the field.

However, many of these mammoth monetary jolts are cases of estates being posthumously bequeathed to large institutions. In reality, awarding mid-sized prizes to brilliant young talents is the traditional beating heart of cultural patronage in Britain.

Ana Inés Jabares-Pita was the winner of one such award in 2013, when her vision earned her the $10,300 jackpot of the biennial Linbury Prize for Stage-Design. There’s no doubt at all that the windfall was a powerful catalyst to kickstart JabaresPita’s young career. Even so, the funds were only a modest part of the overall award for her.

“While that money lasts you can feel relaxed and free to create, to design,” she says. “Although in the long term, what has been most important from the experience is that I have been able to learn from some of the best people in the industry.

The honour and prestige of winning the Linbury Prize has opened a lot of doors to me. Now I feel

in debt, and that is what makes me improve each day to return that favour to the audiences.”

Jabares-Pita initially arrived in London to embark on her studies at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, finding a leaflet for the prize outside the studio on her first day. What followed was two years of demanding work to assemble her application and prepare it for submission.

From hundreds of prospective candidates, Jabares-Pita was selected as the winner after a gauntlet of interviews and pitches. Her profile in the stage-design community has been boosted considerably due to the combination of accolades, networking opportunities and media exposure afforded to her by winning the Linbury Prize.

Jabares-Pita’s story is compelling evidence for the potential of philanthropy to add to far more than just bank balances.

The role of a philanthropist can be even more personal, depending on how close one wants to be to the core of their beneficiary’s project. The

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HRH Al Waleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, who announced in 2015 that he was giving $32 billion of his wealth away

human connection intrinsic to giving is paramount for sponsors who forge strong relationships with their donees. There are some sectors which foster greater bonds than others and the passion of the arts exemplifies this tendency in its purest form.

The prospective reward of cultivating and maintaining a strong link with patrons is difficult to overstate for artists. Philanthropists enjoy success and the chance to see the project they have nurtured flourish first hand holds its own sort of value.

“I think relationships are everything. That’s what’s satisfying as a donor,” explains Michael Oglesby, founder of the Bruntwood Prize, Europe’s largest playwriting competition which has enabled the production of eight plays since its inception.

“Writing a cheque doesn’t give you any pleasure, but a long-term relationship absolutely does.”

For many, the time to grow such a relationship simply doesn’t exist. Almost invariably those with the wealth to spread around suffer from time poverty, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are

willing to blindly throw their cash out to the breeze.

As the value of gifts increases, there is greater pressure on deciding exactly what is worth supporting. Time is a premium commodity to most these days as the distinction between work and life continues to be eroded. That’s where professional philanthropy matchmakers come in.

“In some senses we are like treasure hunters, seeking out those really special projects that you wouldn’t find by simply looking online,” says Sita Schutt, founder of Prospero World, a UK registered charity that identifies social causes and connects them with donors keen to make a difference. “A good philanthropist is careful and cares more seriously about the world than just writing cheques. How the money is invested should be part of the philanthropic journey, otherwise the philanthropy is stripped of its worth.”

It’s a model of browsing not too dissimilar to online dating. There are billions of people that you’ll never meet in life. Equally there are thousands of causes that would remain forever invisible without a service to make the introductions.

Of course, very little in this world is ever totally altruistic. Sure, it’s better to give than to receive, but why settle for one if you can have both?

Whether the main motivating factor or not, there are an assortment of appealing perks that come as a byproduct of flexing your philanthropic muscles.

Financially, there are a myriad of methods for philanthropists themselves to gain from their activities. Many countries, particularly in Europe and North America, offer tax relief on charitable giving for certain income brackets.

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are philanthropic vehicles that allow donors to easily obtain such breaks and account for three per cent of all charitable proceeds in the US, where the system was conceived in the 1930s.

Sometimes known as charity savings accounts, DAFs accept non-returnable deposits that immediately qualify the contributor for any relevant tax offsets, where the reward for cash-based philanthropy can entitle you to a deduction of up to 50 per cent of adjusted gross income. Much like a bank, that money is held in trust until you are approached with a cause that takes your fancy.

Once the right one comes along, you can pull the trigger and authorise a donation.

Philanthropic giving is a near surefire way to boost public profile and, by extension, that of any businesses and projects you’re associated with.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has

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raised $44.3 billion over 14 years. It’s an astounding number that obviously casts the couple in a resoundingly favourable light.

Even so, the impact of the financials pales in comparison to the buzz prompted in 2015 when Bill Gates visited one of the causes that the foundation funds and personally tested a machine that turns sewage slurry into pure drinking water. With potentially big implications for water scarcity in the developing world, the news spread quickly online and the Gates’ saw their public approval significantly boosted by their philanthropic engagement.

Philanthropists are accustomed to eliciting strong reactions from masses when they exert their influence to such effect. But increasingly the masses are finding ways to cause ripples of their own.

Crowdfunding sites raised a global total of $804 million last year, with the average individual pledge amounting to $94. This trend towards raising money relies on securing a high volume of low value gifts in order to meet objectives. In the UK, crowdsourcing in 2015 represented just 0.5 per cent of giving, but that figure is quickly climbing. Crowdfunding presents a potentially rich vein of untapped resources for seekers of philanthropic backing.

“My view is that any new vehicles that encourage philanthropy, on a small or large scale, are beneficial,” says Melanie Cassoff, managing director of the UK-based Freelands Foundation who provide capital and support for the arts. “Just as philanthropy in Victorian times was very different from today, it is natural that the model will evolve, and crowdfunding will help to keep philanthropy relevant and accessible to many in the digital age.”

As you might expect, an undercurrent of tension does flavour the rise of online crowdfunding. As an entity it’s still relatively new, and has only been substantially popularised over the last ten years with the arrival of websites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. Subsequently, these platforms have had to deal with their fair share of fraudulent accounts.

Despite an increasing level of sophistication in the policing of crowdfunding, charity ‘scampaigns’ continue to slip through the cracks. Predominantly these are in the guise of appeals to cover medical bills, often appropriating the pictures and plights of genuine patients. Whether crowdfunding matures into a truly viable option for philanthropic funding in the future hinges on the introduction of effective regulation.

Regardless, it’s unlikely that crowdfunding will ever fully replace more orthodox brands of giving because, once again, it’s not all about the cash.

Unless an option is available that integrates both personalities and purse strings, E-philanthropy will remain limited.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said he will donate 99 per cent of his Facebook shares to charity over the course of his lifetime

“It’s natural that the philanthropy model will evolve in this digital age”

As the generations march relentlessly on, so to do their ambitions and inspirations. More than ever, people are getting into philanthropy much earlier in their lives. What was once primarily the domain of the monied retiree has been disrupted by upstarts such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg who in 2015 announced he will donate 99 per cent of his Facebook shares over the course of his lifetime.

“There is a new crop of millennial and tech wealth that is shifting how philanthropy is done,” observes Lala. “They are much more hands-on, metrics-driven, and globally-aware than their older counterparts.”

For a group that has grown up alongside recycling and fair trade, philanthropy has been stitched into the very identity of a generation; the first be able to transcend borders at a thumb-swipe.

Charity has always been a collective trait that the human race can be proud of. Now, it’s veering from universal to uniform.

Philanthropy defies definition. The word itself comes from the ancient Greek words simply for an act of ‘loving mankind,’ and despite all of the numerous varieties of giving that exist in the world, they are all rooted in this core concept.

That same study that pinpointed Myanmar as humanity’s leading light for generosity also commends Iraq and Libya for being the two places where a stranger is most likely to offer a hand in times of crisis. The face of philanthropy continues to change and so do we. The unshakeable human desire to help? That never really does.

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David Whelan explores the world of luxury chocolate and discovers an industry that’s booming

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hocolate is the great equaliser – you can pick up a tasty, silky chocolate bar for under a dollar wherever you are in the world, and often even cheaper. And yet, sometimes a Mars Bar or a Hershey’s just won’t do. However, every so often – be it a special occasion, a business event or just to treat yourself – the quotidian over-the-counter sweet just cannot, or will not, cut it. Enter the luxury chocolate: the sort of cocoa that goes for multiple hundreds of dollars for a single bar, or into the thousands for a tray of truffles. These chocolates are no laughing matter, but the centre of an entire historiography all to themselves – beginning in the decadence of 18th century Europe and living on, today, through some of the most exclusive food artists alive. Here, for your delectation, we cover a few of our favourites.

Imagine the scene: you are standing outside St James’s Palace in London and a man, intoxicated and deliriously joyous, drops dead. Rushing over to help him, you discover that his mouth is covered in what appears to be melted chocolate – looking up, and casting your eyes across the gardens, you spot White’s Chocolate House. Now you understand. The man is not dead, but, rather, has collapsed from ecstasy – the year is 1740 and chocolate is the newest, and very best, drug. This is unsurprising. Since the moment cocoa beans were shipped to Europe in 1585 from the New World, chocolate became the height of luxury, the shiniest badge of decadence. Traditionally served in liquid form – the still beloved hot chocolate – historians believe it was popularised throughout the country by a Frenchman who squirrelled away a small chocolatier in Bishopsgate Street, right in the hub of the business district.

Rumours spread of the new food – with the wildest suggesting it was an aphrodisiac or a hangover cure. Others claimed it cured disease and prolonged life. Hot chocolate fast became the symbol of elite living. White’s, for example, still exists. Perhaps you are a member. But chocolate’s history runs a little deeper than just through the guts and veins of the historical aristocrat. Back in the cocoa bean’s natural habitat – Mesoamerica – chocolate, as a drink or ingredient, served as a special item in Mayan and Aztec rituals. Cocoa beans were presented by priests as offerings to the gods, while hot chocolate was served as a beverage during holy ceremonies – the only drink that could bring a human closer to the supernatural.

Each area subsequently conquered by the Aztecs were handed cocoa to grow – but then ordered to return their produce as a tribute.

Nowadays, the cocoa bean is primarily grown in western Africa – with the Cote d’Ivoire being the efficient piston of productivity. “The large manufacturers suppress the price but don’t share it out. Chocolate labour is hugely intensive.

Harvesting cocoa is similar to vanilla or saffron,” explains Jennifer Earle, a chocolate specialist.

“Often, the prices don’t reflect that. The smaller the maker, the more certain you can be that they will be paying their workers fairly.” These cocoa beans are grown to different qualities, with the cocoa beans you find in a standard Cadbury bar being one that has been harvested, fermented, dried and sorted all on farm. The beans we’re interested in, however – the ones that, through immense culinary wizardry, become the life-force of our favourite chocolates – are often processed by the chocolatiers themselves, at much smaller quantities in order to ensure the quality would be fit for a king or queen, while ensuring that

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the farmers get a much higher cut of the profits.

“There are a lot more people making chocolate from the bean,” says Earle. “While the equipment used to be very expensive, now it’s far more affordable and smaller. People who grow cocoa can now make chocolate. This is unprecedented and suggests the rise of luxury, artisanal chocolate.”

This is why it’s worth the money – even if they get to eye-watering levels. No other chocolate in the world will taste quite like these – these really melt in your mouth. “There’s been an explosion of beans,” says Earle. “Chocolate is far more complex flavour than wine or coffee.”

The crème brûlée truffle – Kee’s Chocolates Set up by Wall Street escapee Kee Ling Tong in 2002, the small chocolate shop in Midtown now has three branches across Manhattan. Specialising in truffles and macarons, Kee keeps to the strict guidelines that any chocolate bought must be consumed within a week. A true mark of quality, according to Earle. “The shorter the time the maker allows you to wait, the better the chocolate will be.”

“We don’t advertise.

Everything is by recommendation. We get a lot of repeat customers”

“Everything is handmade,” Kee informs us. “It is truly artisanal. We literally have no machines.

I’m in my shop in Midtown, seven days a week, making chocolate.” With more than 48 flavours on constant rotation, from yuzu to balsamic vinegar, Kee’s store has become a word of mouth sensation. “We don’t advertise,” says Kee. “Everything is by recommendation. And we get a lot of repeat customers. I tend to know what they want before they even speak.”

Kee’s most popular item is the crème brûlée truffle, which has got most regulars “super excited”. “We are the only place in the city that makes them with fresh custard,” Kee says, “and we layer it within beautiful, rich chocolate.” But, Kee is sure to point out, due to its freshness the truf-

fles must be consumed almost immediately.

“Chocolate is so absorbent,” explains Earle, “and porous – it takes on new flavours and releases its own. This is especially true of truffles.” So, if Kee’s vast array of delights sounds appealing, make sure you don’t hold on to them for too long. “Made fresh to be eaten fresh,” says Kee – and, despite the hard work that goes into each single truffle, they are priced supremely competitively, roughly only $3 per truffle. Sometimes luxury doesn’t need to be a synonym for expense.

Kee’s Chocolates have three branches in New York: in Soho, Midtown and Midtown West. Kee works in the Midtown West shop seven days a week.

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The Wispa Gold – Cadbury’s There is every chance your eyebrows rose at this one, considering that Cadbury’s Wispa Gold can be bought for a mere 55p in the United Kingdom. But the one we’re interested in is the special £961.48 kind – that thankfully went back into production in 2009 after a sustained online campaign by fans. Cadbury, ever the genius marketer, made only one. Priced at the bar’s exact weight in gold and covered in edible gold leaf, it is, according to Ross Farquhar, Wispa’s brand manager, “the most expensive bar of chocolate to go on sale ever”. While originally made in 1995, the original Wispa disappeared from shelves for a few years, until it was resurrected in support of the UK Lowe Syndrome Trust, alongside this one-of-a-kind bar – intended to be sold at Selfridges. It was, however, never bought.

Nowadays – 2017 – the bar sits in a special case in Cadbury World, Cadbury’s own museum to its chocolate, awaiting the highest bidder for the most exclusive bar in the world.

2014 Vintage Edition, The Three Year Aged Bars – To’ak Chocolate

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“I’m standing in the Ecuadorian forest, right now,” says To’Ak Chocolate co-founder Jerry Toth. “We started a forest preserve here 11 years ago, and we happened to find abandoned groves of cocoa in the forest. I didn’t even know what the trees were. But, over time, it’s become all I can think about.” To’ak Chocolate – based out of a house with no electricity on the western coast of Ecuador – was set up a decade ago by Toth, Carl Schweizer and local Ecuadorian cocoa grower Servio Pachard. Strictly adhering to the traditional Ecuadorian method of chocolate making, these bars are produced, packaged and eaten in ways that goes, according to Toth, “far and beyond what anyone else has experienced”.

They grow their own beans. Produce and ferment them. Package them. All by hand, with no electricity. “We roast the beans over an open fire

over a big wood pot,” says Toth, sounding deliriously happy just imagining it. “The care that goes into the beans, the extravagance of the packaging… we try to bring in the forest as much as possible.” Each chocolate bar comes in a Spanish Elmwood box – the same box they were made in – and contains a single roasted cocoa bean in the middle. “Like burgundy to the wine world,” Toth says. “That’s what our chocolate is. What this place is to the cocoa bean.”

This year, Ko’ak has released two new flagship bars – the Vintage 2014, which retails from $ 315 to $ 365 for a single bar. “These are the world’s first ever bars to be aged for this duration,” Toth explains. “Drawing from the science behind ageing both wine and whisky, we’ve applied these principles to ageing chocolate.

Dark chocolate (like wine) is rich with tannins and other polyphenols. These compounds, also called flavonoids, largely determine what we taste in a dark chocolate and how it feels in our mouth. Over time, these compounds are chemically altered through processes such as oxidation. Ageing dark chocolate can decrease astringency, which produces a more rounded flavour profile and reveals subtle flavour notes that had previously been overshadowed.”

“Ageing our chocolate in different types of wood vessels also plays an interesting role. Just as oak barrels account for 70 per cent of the flavour of whisky, the extractable compounds in the wood/barrels we use also influence the flavour profile of our chocolate – often in very unique, pleasing ways. We’ve just released two of our finest creations – one has been aged in Andean Alder wood, and the other edition was aged in a 50-year-old French oak cognac cask.” To the intrepid traveller, Ko’ak also offers the opportunity to make chocolate. “Anyone who comes and works with us has to make chocolate – it’s a right of passage,” says Toth. “It’s religious experience.”

Ko’ak Chocolate is available online from their store and in select boutique shops around the world.

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La Madeline au Truffle – Knipschildt Chocolatiers If a single bar is not exactly setting your taste buds ablaze, then we recommend trying these truffles.

Coming in at only 1.5oz a truffle, these ganache and French Perigord infused dark chocolate delights sell at $250 a piece. Part of an exclusive Valentine’s Day partnership with the sporty NYY Steak, these truffles are delivered by body-guard and locked within a safe deep beneath the restaurant. According to master chocolatier Fritz Knipschildt, these truffles are made “with a decadent 70 per cent Valrhona dark chocolate, heavy sugar, truffle oil and vanilla” before he drapes the gooey chocolate over the French Perigord, a rare mushroom found deep in the forest of the Perigord region. Usually, these subterranean diamonds go, alone, for $70 an oz. Combining the most kingly of all foods – the Earth’s truffle and the chocolatier’s truffle – these small, velvety treats take you on a journey through the rarest of tastes – both intoxicatingly sweet and subtly bitter. Due to the initial success of the original run, these lovebird truffles are made once a year, and can be pre-ordered by anyone at any point in the year directly from Knipschild. Due to the nature of the process, they must be ordered at least two weeks in advance and consumed within seven days – which seems perfect for that special occasion.

Fritz Knipschild, who moved to the United States from Denmark in 1996, founded his eponymous Chocolatier in 1999, which has since expanded to include the Chocopologie café in Norwalk, Connecticut. Other chocolates from Knipschildt can be ordered all year round, and do not dip in their quality – but none command the lustre and show-stopping appeal of La Madeline au Truffle.

La Madeline au Truffle can be ordered online from Knipschildt Chocolatiers.

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La Maison du Chocolat is considered to be the prime maker and seller of luxury chocolate in America, and throughout the world. Founded on principles of taste and decadence, coupled with a desire to make fantastic chocolate more accessible, the brand comes with a seal of quality. The founder – Robert Linxe – was born in France in 1929, and trained at the prestigious C.O.B.A. school in Switzerland, before founding the original branch

Fruition Chocolate – 3091 Route 28, Shokan, New York Akesson – 15B Blenheim Crescent, London Marou – 167-169 Calmette, Ho Chi Minh Chocolat Madagascar – Lot I V G 203, Antananarivo

in Paris. He has since gone on to train a huge roster of the most famous chocolatiers in the world, including Gilles Marchal and Geoffrey d’Anglejan.

The star of the show is simply the Coro Hatbox – a full-sized hatbox filled with 4.60lbs of rich, impossibly delicious chocolates. The Coro is not limited to one type, either, but buyers can take their pick from such delights as the boîte maisons, tamanacos, alcohol truffles, a Craquant Gift Box, a Twigs Collection Gift Box and a Covered Fruits Gift Box. The price of the whole package is $620, which, for the quality, variety and sheer amount, is a bargain for any discerning chocoholic.

The Coro Hatbox is available online from La Maison du Chocolat.

Best of the Rest “Some of my favourite – from tree to bar makers – come from Madagascar, Nicaragua and Vietnam,” says Earle. “There’s a real growing appreciation that ‘chocolate’ doesn’t have to taste ‘like chocolate’.

There are so many flavours out there.” Earle is keen to suggest her favourites: Fruition, in upstate New York, for their “interesting experiments”; Akesson, who has made plain chocolate “the most amazing experience” from his chocolatier in Notting Hill, London; Marou, in Vietnam, who are the epitome of the sustainable, social-conscious maker; and, Chocolat Madagascar, which is, according to Earle, “always extraordinary”.

But, there’s no reason to stop here – “everything is up to personal taste,” says Earle. “For me, I like a fruitier bean. But there are more amazing, luxurious chocolates out there than ever before – I recommend trying everything.”

FLOWER POWER Jamie Fullerton explores the global flower industry, worth more than $100 billion a year, and showing no signs of slowing down

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his month, in the elegantly imposing surroundings of Hampton Court Palace on the outskirts of London, a heaven for flower lovers and a hell for hay-fever sufferers will be declared open. The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, run by the Royal Horticultural Society, is the biggest flower show in the world and will see the palace grounds taken over by show gardens as the eye of the global floral industry falls on them.

For six days starting on July 4th, the show will be the focus of a global industry that quietly continues to turn heads like daffodils tipping towards the sun. Due to the wide variety of product styles that come under the ‘floral’ bracket – from garden plants to cut flowers to shrubs and foliage – and the globe-crossing trade networks built around them, reliable industry statistics are hard to come by. However, analysts are generally in agreement that it is an industry on the up.

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Rabobank, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company, says the industry is currently “flourishing” and estimates it to be worth $100 billion. The emergence of new exporters to the industry and mainstream adoption of floral products in supermarkets has helped share this view. And while it is a notoriously difficult industry to make predictions about, the general feeling among industry figures is that the long history of all things floral is in a sunny period.

Long before the age of online ordering and same day home flower delivery, the seeds of the floral industry were planted by the great ancient civilisations. The Egyptians are believed to have been experimenting with flower arrangements for table decoration and rituals as early as 2,500 BCE, as were the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Much later, in the 17th Century, flower arranging was popularised in Europe largely due to French influence, with this European influence in turn filtering through to America in the latter half of the century. Purple, magenta and blue flowers were on trend Stateside, while for periods of the Georgian era in the UK, smell came to be considered more important than beauty, and the rose became the big hitter it still is today.

The flounce and pomp of the British upper crust in the Victorian age, during which the British Empire straddled much of the globe, led to lavish floral trends and flower arranging developing as a skill. According to Caroline Marshall-Foster, owner editor of UK industry magazine The Florist and creator of The Good Florist Guide book, Britain’s first florist shop opened 110 years ago.

Then, after the Second World War, things started to move into what would become the commercial floral industry today, as sellers looked beyond their literal back gardens for products.

“There was great excitement in 1953 when we [The Florist magazine] published a list of overseas supplies people could buy,” says Marshall-Foster.

“Most of it was from the south of France; up until then it was all just bog standard stuff that could be grown in the UK.” The number of standalone florists in the UK rose to a peak of around 8,000, with the industry enjoying what Marshall-Foster calls a “halcyon period” in the 1980s.

Now, the global floral industry is worth around $100 billion, bolstered by emerging expor ters such as Kenya and Ethiopia, and emerging markets such as India and China.

Think of flowers, and the image of tulips gently swaying on the flat

fields of the Netherlands is a likely one to pop up (although in reality commercial-level greenhouses are more likely to be involved). Indeed, the country is the biggest exporter of cut flowers, exporting $3.5 billion-worth of cut flowers in 2016.

According to Rabobank’s World Floriculture Map 2016, it provided 43 per cent of the world’s imported supply. But it’s nearer the equator where things are gaining heat fastest, with regards to increasing export share.

Colombia, Ecuador and Kenya are the next four biggest cut flower exporters, exporting $1.3 billion, $803 million and $675 million-worth of cut flowers in 2016. In 2015 Colombia and Kenya had a 15 and 11 per cent share of the export market respectively, with Ecuador on nine per cent.

Ethiopia too has been rising fast in the sector, exporting $225 million-worth last year.

These market percentages were up when compared to the 2005 data, with the African countries showing the fastest growth over the 10-year period.

Ethiopia has emerged as a completely new exporter in the last decade, while Kenya has more than doubled its cut flower output. The emergence of these nations as powerful exporters was identified by Rabobank as the industry’s most striking trend.

Low staff costs and favourable growing conditions have helped the African countries carve their names into the exporter list. “They can grow at high altitudes, which improves the flowers,” says Cindy van Rijswick, author of Rabobank’s flower industry report. “Cheap production in Africa – usually helmed by foreign firms setting up businesses within the countries – has also stimulated consumption, especially in the big supermarkets.

It made them able to supply affordable flowers – that’s a change that’s been going on over the last couple of decades.”

There does tend to be a compromise on quality, though, when impor ting Afr ican cut flower s ahead of those from, say, Colombia or the Netherlands. “Kenya will never be as good as the Dutch – or Colombian,” says Marshall-Foster.

“Yes, Kenyan flowers are growing high up [with regard to altitude, which is good for flower-growing], but a rose grown in Holland will be number one, then probably Ecuador, then Colombia.

“China has ten times the population of Japan.

The potential to grow is huge”

FLOWER POWER

Five most popular flowers in the world

1. Rose

2. Carnation

3. Tulip

4. Daisy

5. Sunflower Tulip fields blossom near Magdeburg

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FLOWER POWER

Left: a tulip auction in The Netherlands in the 1970s and above, a worker picks flowers at a Colombian plantation

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“Holland doesn’t have altitude, but it does have state of the art greenhouses. Kenya is starting to grow up in the hills, but actually, they can never get the same altitudes that Colombia and Ecuador have.”

Van Rijswick says that although the African exporters’ rise has been impressive, she doesn’t expect their growth to continue to the point where they’re toppling Colombia or the Netherlands at the sharp end of the exporting league. “It’s been growing for many years but I do think that it’ll slow down a bit soon,” she says. “The grower market is quite mature. There has also been a sort of ‘counter-trend’ going on, with people looking at new ways to grow locally.”

This ‘grow local’ trend is small but increasingly significant. With sustainability and eco-friendliness an ever-growing priority for con-

sumers for all kinds of products, many floral sales points in the US and UK have been making a point of offering flowers grown locally, with no air miles. “Consumers are now willing to pay higher prices for flowers when they’re produced in a sustainable, often local way,” says van Rijswick.

Marshall-Foster says that the trend has limits, though, and won’t impinge on import figures much long-term. “This ‘British flower movement’ or, as they call it in the States, ‘slow grow’, is important – but the reality is that there will never be enough locally produced product to sustain the industry,” she says. “The quality is often not as good as those that are commercially grown. The production techniques used in big commercial greenhouses cannot, will not, and probably should not be replicated in a ‘home grown’ environment.”

FLOWER POWER

The US, Japan and Western Europe are currently the biggest markets for floral consumption, but cracking new markets has become a top priority for some of the world’s biggest flower producers.

Van Rijswick says that India and Mexico have both seen rises in flower consumption recently (demand for Indian flowers has risen too, with the country exporting around $71 million-worth of floral products in 2013-14). But it is the possibility of unlocking the flower-buying potential of China’s 1.35 billion population that really gets the boardrooms pumping. In October 2015, in a report on developing market trends for the German IPM Essen floral industry show, Dr Marianne Altmann focussed on the possibilities of exploiting the Chinese market.

She wrote that due to China’s increasing economic clout millions of Chinese are set to “move from poverty to the middle class and approach the West in their consuming behaviour. So China could – as the largest producer and exporter in Asia, especially for the Japanese market – predominantly import flowers, which represent exclusivity and luxury. Imported goods are a status symbol for the Chinese.

The demand from weddings, hotels and restaurants could develop as a lucrative niche.”

It’s a niche that many companies are already making inroads into.

The Dutch flower producing and exporting company FloraHolland, the biggest floral company in the world, has identified China as a top priority for its strategy for 2020. Around 4.8 per cent of European flower exports already go to China – Kenyan exporters make use of a direct flight between Nairobi and Shanghai.

According to a Colombian study China’s total cut flower imports grew 61 per cent from 2010 to 2014 – although with China having plentiful land space to grow its own, imports are thought to account for only around five per cent of sales there.

Colombia’s exporters in particular are working to increase that figure. India, another high-population country identified as an emerging floral consumer, taxes Colombian imports hugely, likely for protectionism purposes, but in contrast Chinese import taxes are relatively low.

That was one of the factors that led to the founding two years ago of Prime Flowers, a Colombian flower exporting firm owned by Colombia’s Unique Collection and Perfect Quality Roses flower producing firms. “The China import figures are still pretty small in terms of market data,” says the company’s general manager David Perez, talking in the trendy central Beijing office co-sharing space he runs his company from. “In Japan they import around $400 million-worth of fresh cut flowers per year, but here in China last year it was around $45 million.

“However, China has ten times the population of Japan. The potential to grow is huge, and I do think companies such as FloraHolland are right to focus on here. China could one day be the biggest flower consumer in the world.”

They key is effective online sales. China does not have a strong history of standalone florist shops and there is little infrastructure for supermarket floral sales. Instead, the ubiquitous Chinese app WeChat, which is used by practically every person in the country with a smartphone for anything from messaging to buying products, is the focus.

Perez points to the success of Flower Plus, a company that he says sells around two million flower bouquets in China per month, mainly through subscriptions on WeChat.

Online services are also instrumental in pushing new sales periods – a tactic that could arguably also be described as simply making up shopping holidays.

Recently flower sellers have attempted to bill May 20th as a day to give floral gifts to a loved one – the mandarin pronunciation of the date, “Wu er ling”, sounds a little bit like “Wo ai ni”, which means “I love you” – if you say it fast, at least. Clever stuff. There’s also a Valentine’s Day in China in August that offers similar opportunities.

“The ‘Wu er ling’ tie-in with flowers only started a few years ago,” says Perez. “We weren’t expecting many orders, but people bought a lot of roses.”

As well as amping up exports to emerging markets such as China, Mexico and Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia (which Perez marked out as having a increasingly affluent middle class that may offer big opportunities), there is big opportunity for growth in online floral sales in many regions.

Currently in most flower-buying nations online purchases account for roughly between five

“People are willing to pay higher prices for flowers that have been grown in a sustainable way”

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FLOWER POWER

and 20 per cent of overall sales – a significant cut, but not the digital takeover that has been seen in many retail sectors in the past decade. Companies such as Britain’s Interflora running slick, effective online sales platforms and pure online firms such as Freddie’s Flowers have increased this market share, but it seems that many customers still like to pick up and smell their flowers and other plants before buying them.

With new generations of customers flexing their credit cards, though, online sales are only set to increase – a move that is likely to have an effect on trends regarding floral styles. “Right now big, loose and blousey is hot and happening in the UK,” says Marshall-Foster. “But we have two emerging patterns: the big, lush look ‘straight from the garden’ and the single variety – buying just one flower in quantity. A lot of the latter trend has been led by the ‘digital disruptors’ [online flower sellers] because it’s economical for them to flog a single bunch or boxful of one variety, rather than to pick a collection and make a bouquet.”

Few analysts believe that supermarkets’ cut of the market share will get eaten into too much by pure online sellers, though. According to the American Florists’ Association (AFA) supermarkets currently enjoy a 36.7 per cent share of the cut flower sales market in the US, with florists having 35.6 per cent.

“My prediction is that by 2020 the distribution will be retail florists with 25 per cent, supermarkets with 35 per cent and e-commerce with 35 per cent,” says Peter Moran, vice president of the AFA. “The same customer who picks up a bunch of flowers for themselves at the supermarket while doing their grocery shopping will most likely still go to the florist when they need a special gift. Florists provide the personal attention and expertise that is hard to find today in this mass-produced world.”

Kathy Means, vice president of industry relations at Produce Marketing Association, which in 2016 released their Trends in MassMarket Floral industry report, adds that supermarkets are, if anything, likely to get a bigger market share.

With African exporters offering them low-cost floral offerings and flower stalls having the added bonus of making a supermarket look and smell more charming than a toilet cleaner aisle, many western supermarkets now offer sophisticated flower sales points with staff trained in the industry.

“I don’t think it’s a case of supermarkets getting bigger and pushing florists out, though,” says Means.

“It’s just that more customers are finding convenience there. We certainly expect that to grow.”

Van Rijswick is similarly optimistic about the health of the industry, with a caveat: there is always going to be a sense of unpredictability to an industry when it is so reliant on smooth import and export routes. She sighs when she mentions Brexit and US President Donald Trump’s increased focus on US industry protectionism. “It is a bit uncertain whether you can export your flowers to the market you want,” she says. She adds that Russia’s relations with Europe are a good example of such uncertainty affecting the industry. Russia is a big importer of flowers, but some European firms have started to target emerging markets such as China as potential replacements as exporting to Russia has become so shaky.

“We’ve seen this with Dutch flowers,” says van Rijswick. “Russia was a big import market, but if there are political issues going on sometimes flowers get stopped at the border.

They [customs officials] say they found some kind of insect in the flowers… they use these arguments but it’s really just politics. This can really harm the flower sector.”

All the analysts and industry figures I spoke for agreed that, border rows with unfriendly Russian customs officials notwithstanding, the global floral industry is still on the up. Evidence of this will be on spectacular show at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. If you’re heading along there, ask the flower sellers where each of their plants come from – you may get a few long, but intriguing, answers.

“By 2020, flower distribution will be florists 25 per cent, and the rest shared between ecommerce and supermarkets”

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The Victoria Park New Year Flower Market in Hong Kong. China’s 1.35 billion population is key for the growth of the flower industry

Barefoot luxury The Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle resort takes pride of place on Sri Lanka’s delightful southern coast

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ANANTARA PEACE HAVEN, TANGALLE

WHERE TO STAY

Sri Lanka

PRICE From $406 per night

tangalle.anantara.com

 CMB

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n recent years, Sri Lanka’s star has been on the rise. Often described as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean – a hidden gem abundant in natural riches – the teardrop-shaped island country is finally starting to be lapped by the waves of luxury.

Leading the sea change is the Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort, which opened its doors in December 2015. Set on a 21-acre former coconut plantation on the island’s southern coast, the sprawling property of 152 rooms and villas boasts unbeatable views over the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, the rough waters at the secluded beach directly below the resort render it unsuitable for swimming, but guests are able to walk along to the next bay.

This is a resort with all of the trimmings – spacious, well-equipped rooms with supersized bathrooms, a 25-metre infinity pool, an inviting spa offering Ayurvedic treatments, and a choice of six stylish restaurants and bars. The Italian fine-dining spot, Il Mare, has the best real estate, perched on a clifftop overlooking the dramatic swells below.

Cultural encounters are easily available to those who seek them out.

“Cultural encounters are easily available to those who seek them out”

For a glimpse into local life, an intrepid option is to jump on a tuk-tuk – the ubiquitous form of transport sometimes cheekily referred to as the Sri Lankan Ferrari – and discover Tangalle’s vibrant street markets, where vendors sell everything from bunches of bananas to hand-crafted hunting knives.

Anantara’s ‘experience gurus’ also offer guided excursions to nearby attractions, like the ancient Mulkirigala rock temple, the Udawalawe elephant sanctuary, or the Handunugoda tea estate, renowned for producing the elusive virgin white tea, untouched by human hands.

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FROM THE CONCIERGE

From Tangalle, the charismatic colonial town of Galle on the island’s southwestern tip is well worth the day trip. The settlement was founded in 1505 by the Portuguese, who started building a fortress to protect the trading port. When the Dutch came along a century later, they took on the job, making it bigger and stronger, until the arrival of the British in the late 18th century.

The fort remains today, and Galle is perhaps Sri Lanka’s closest semblance

of a tourist town, with a number of boutique guesthouses, art galleries, gift shops and cafes within its historic walls.

While it may be tempting to overlook Sri Lanka in favour of its famous Indian Ocean neighbour, the Maldives, this compact island nation contains all the right ingredients for a luxury getaway.

Pristine shores make for an idyllic flop and drop holiday, while national parks, bustling beach towns and eight Unesco World Heritage sites provide added spice for more adventurous travellers.

SEE

Wild elephants Udawalawe National Park is home to around 500 Asian elephants, and is considered one of the best places in the world to catch a glimpse of the gentle giants. Opentop safari jeeps take visitors through the 31,000-hectare nature reserve, which is also home to water buffalo, crocodiles, and even Sri Lanka’s national bird, the junglefowl.

EAT

Curry Sri Lankan curries are rich, fragrant and a staple of the local diet. Learn how to recreate the dish at one of Anantara’s Spice Spoons cooking classes, which includes a guided tour of the colourful fresh food markets in the area.

DO

Catch a wave Sri Lanka’s unspoilt southern coast is an ideal spot for beginner surfers.

Novices can take lessons with luxury surfing operator Tropicsurf, which is stationed at the resort.

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KHALIFA PORT FREE TRADE ZONE

THE FUTURE OF TRADE IS HERE A new Free Trade Zone is emerging.

The Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone in KIZAD spans 100 square kilometres of prime industrial real estate.

Representing 25% of the total land mass of KIZAD, the new Free Zone is in the heart of our integrated offering of industrial clusters at the doorstep of the technologically advanced Khalifa Port.

It is the most sought after industrial address in the UAE due to its highly competitive leasing rates, dedicated customer support and world-class multi-modal transport infrastructure that provides outstanding access to local, regional and international markets through its existing sea, air, road and future rail infrastructure.

Join the portfolio of investment sectors doing business in the largest industrial zone in the region, and now with access to Free Zone land, this is indeed the Future of Trade.

This is the Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone.

Part of

JULY LIVING / INVESTMENT

ISSUE 139

The Kelly bag A chance photograph of Grace Kelly turned what was once a saddle holder into the most iconic handbag in the world.

3

It takes 25 hours for one artisan to make a Kelly handbag 1

The padlock and keys are made of white or yellow gold

2

Four studs, made of three layers of leather, are affixed to the base of the bag, allowing it to stand upright

A

4

In the mid1990s, a Kelly bag cost $3,500. Today they can command up to $12,000

classic of its type, the Hermès Kelly bag is named after the time Grace Kelly held the bag up to shield herself from the paparazzi’s flashbulbs. The bag, first introduced in the late 1800s, was used to carry a saddle. In the 1930s, it was redesigned as a travel bag, called sac à dépêches. The design, somewhat stiff and boxy, was in contrast to the purses of the time, which almost looked like envelopes. The bag became iconic only in the 1950s, when Alfred Hitchcock allowed his costume designer on the film To Catch A Thief to purchase Hermès accessories. The star of the film, Grace Kelly, loved the bag so much she carried it all the time. Two years later, the pregnant star, then married to Monaco’s Prince Rainier III, was photographed by the paparazzi in that now iconic shot. The bag was renamed the Kelly bag in 1977, and despite Hermès producing 32 styles of handbags, the Kelly remains its top seller.

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What to pack ...for summer weather in Beijing and beyond

Average temp

26°c

Bali Malta Phuket Orlando

ALSO WEAR IN...

27°C 27°C 28°C 28°C

JULY

BEIJING

Chance of rain: 50%

WHAT TO SEE

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FORBIDDEN CITY One of China’s great sights, this spectacular palace was home to the Ming and Qing dynasties from 1420 to 1912. Comprising more than 980 buildings and set across 180 acres, it’s a sprawling testament to the power and history of the Chinese.

It was off limits for more than 500

years, which makes the entrance – across a 52-metre-wide moat – all the more intriguing. There are plenty of guides near the entrance, and we recommend using one; the place can be ‘forbiddingly’ big. While modern China may be open to the world, this harks back to a time when the kingdom was very much closed.

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ACCESSORIES 1 2

Borsalino grosgraintrimmed straw hat $345

Gucci aviator-style sunglasses $325

Valentino Backpack $1,064 3 4

Mulberry leather billfold wallet $252

81 1. Paul Smith polo shirt $318, matchesfashion.com 2. Citizens Of Humanity Davis light sage tapered cotton chinos $364, harveynichols.com 3. Massimo Alba shorts $230, mrporter.com 4. Y-3 Qasa tubular multi-strap sandal, black/white $320, neimanmarcus.com

LIVING / STYLE

What to pack ...for summer weather in Munich and beyond

Average temp

21°c

Copenhagen Helsinki Toronto Bogota

ALSO WEAR IN...

21°C 22°C 23°C 19°C

JULY

MUNICH

Chance of rain: 10%

WHAT TO SEE

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PINAKOTHEK DER MODERNE The largest modern art museum in Germany is home to four separate collections: 20th century art, a graphics collection, design and an architecture museum. The building itself is spectacular, four storeys centred on a large, light-filled atrium. Expect to see work from the

likes of Picasso and Warhol as well as Da Vinci and Cezanne. One of the highlights is the New Collection, which showcases everyday objects from years gone by including Apple Macs, Eames chairs and VW Beetles.

A place to lose yourself among some of the art and design greats of the past century.

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1. ALICE + OLIVIA Adrianna bird-print maxi dress $478, harveynichols.com 2. Dolce & Gabbana balconette swimsuit $532, matchesfashion.com 3. Soclodeo – Sandale en Cuir Vernis $1,058, eu.christianlouboutin.com 4. Gucci cat-eye gold-tone sunglasses $1,056, mrporter.com

ACCESSORIES 1

2

Jimmy Choo small satin clutch $840

Fendi leather iPhone case $481

3

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4

B&O Play AI Bluetooth speaker $337

LIVING / FOOD

Let them eat cake James Brennan meets the man behind the cronut, and explores the world of the pastry chef

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NEW YORK, USA

N

ecessity, so they say, is the mother of invention.

Pneumatic tyres, X-ray, plastic – they all fulfil specific needs. Prior to 2013, though, there was no pressing requirement for a deep-fried confection of croissant dough shaped like a doughnut, filled with cream, rolled in sugar and finished off with a glazed topping. But then French-born pastry chef Dominique Ansel invented the cronut and all that changed.

Within three days of its creation, more than a hundred people queued up outside Dominique Ansel’s New York bakery to buy the cronut. The $5 pastries began selling on the black market for up to $100. Then Time magazine heralded the cronut as one of the best inventions of 2013. And all because of one pastry chef ’s desire to create something new.

Something people didn’t know they didn’t need, but wanted anyway.

The impact of the cronut has spread far and wide. Ansel opened bakeries in Tokyo and, most recently, in London.

But now the pioneering James Beard Award-winning chef is about to change the game again. His first full-service restaurant ‘189 by Dominique Ansel’ will open in Los Angeles this autumn. The launch is hotly anticipated, not least by those curious to know if a pastry chef can cut it in the sometimes-unsavoury world of savoury restaurants. Indeed, why is one of the world’s most successful pastry chefs putting his reputation on the line by going full service?

 JFK

Dominique Ansel

“I actually started off in the kitchen at the age of 16 training as a savoury chef, before moving over to the pastry side of things,” explains Ansel. “I like all types of cuisines, not just desserts, and I love cooking savoury food so we’re really looking forward to LA. “What’s interesting is that with a bakery the interaction you have with guests is quite quick as many guests take their items to go or stop in for a short period of time, as opposed to a restaurant where guests are seated for an hour or two. So with a restaurant, it’ll be a way for us to not only get really creative on the whole menu, the design, the feel of the place, but also a way to control more of the customer experience.”

In recent years the Bake Off phenomenon has popularised the sweet science of the patissier. It is one

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“A great pastry chef understands that their work is both a science and an art, where precision is as important as creativity”

of the most skilled, precise and creative roles in any kitchen. High practitioners of the art such as Jordi Roca of El Cellar De Can Roca in Spain, or Salvatore Martone at Joel Robuchon, are known for their wild inventions. But still, surprisingly few pastry chefs are household names.

Ansel has been compared to the legendary French chef Antonin Carême, who in the early 19th country wowed Paris with his extravagantly decorative pièces montées, or confectionary centrepieces. Carême cooked for Napoleon, King George IV and the Rothschild banking family, and became one of the world’s first celebrity chefs.

It was Carême’s ambition to move beyond the patisserie that is said to have revolutionised French cooking.

He codified what he considered to be the four foundation sauces of French cuisine (béchamel, espagnole, velouté and allemande), and is now widely regarded as one of the godfathers of haute cuisine. But Carême’s genius was only realised through his ambition to become a head chef.

I wonder if there is something inherently inventive and innovative about

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The cronut

pastry chefs? Is there a special kind of desire and aspiration, perhaps, which drives them on? Are pastry chefs a breed apart, cut from a different cookie-dough to other chefs?

“I don’t like to pigeonhole a pastry chef ’s personality or character, because every chef, regardless of if they’re a savoury or a pastry chef, is different in their approach,” Ansel asserts. “In my opinion, a great pastry chef understands the combination and the balance of their work, that it’s both a science and an art, where being exact and being precise in measurements is just as important as being creative and telling a story through dessert.”

As Ansel prepares to start a new chapter in his career, I ask him if there is a frustrated head chef in every pastry chef? “No,” he says, pointedly. Then why is it so important for a pastry chef like Ansel to extend his creative boundaries?

“For us, it’s important to move forward, to push yourself and to continue to create,” he explains. “Creativity is something that you should enjoy and be inspired by – you can’t force someone who isn’t creative to enjoy it. We have a saying here: ‘Don’t let the creation kill the creativity,’ meaning don’t let creation stop you from continuing to create and innovate.”

Could it be a desire for appreciation that sparks such creativity and invention?

After all, pastry chefs don’t always enjoy the limelight that savoury chefs seem to hog. Ansel won’t be drawn on the idea: “Not all chefs work for recognition.

People do certainly appreciate the creations of pastry chefs these days though. But it’s not a competition, and a chef shouldn’t strive to do what they do just for the sake of recognition. It’s about

Ansel’s Tokyo bakery

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pushing forward and creating good food to share with people.”

Ansel’s bakeries are full of the kind of creations that have won him plaudits in New York, such as the DKA (Dominique’s Kougin Ammann) pastry and the cookie shot. But each location offers something unique. In London, Ansel takes advantage of fine local dairy produce and a diverse and open-minded clientele, and lets his imagination run wild.

As well as Banofee Paella (an upsidedown banoffee pie in a paella dish), there’s the Welsh Rarebit Croissant.

“It’s a lot of fun, with flaky butter layers and a centre filled with Guinness Worcestershire cheddar béchamel, whole grain mustard, and melted fontina on top. When it’s toasted up and warm, it’s absolutely delicious.”

So what can diners look forward to at Ansel’s first full-service place in Los Angeles? The restaurant’s name echoes the address of both its LA location (189 The Grove Drive) and the New York bakery’s address at 189 Spring Street.

“It was meant to be,” says Ansel, before adding: “It reminds us of our home.”

“There are a lot of firsts for us, as it’s the first time we’ll be creating a full restaurant with table service, a full bar and cocktail programme, and brunch service, so it’s definitely exciting for us.

It’ll also be our largest project in the world, spanning across two floors with the restaurant upstairs and our bakery component on the ground floor, with indoor and outdoor terrace seating, and beautiful open kitchens.”

But when it comes to the food, Ansel is careful not to give too much away: “It will be rooted in French technique but won’t just be limited to French flavours throughout,” he says. “The dishes will be really market driven, especially now that we have access to so much more fresh produce year-round, so I’m really looking forward to developing the menu with that in mind.”

Whether Ansel’s talents will transfer from the bakery to the restaurant remains to be seen. But don’t be surprised if you suddenly feel an overwhelming desire to eat a savoury Dominique Ansel dish you never knew you needed all along.

Poilâne in Paris

FIVE BAKERIES 1. Poilâne (Paris) Set up in 1932, this family-run bakery is renowned for its off-white crumb sourdough loaves. Other favourites include the apple turnovers (which often sell out) and slices of toast topped with melted goats’ cheese.

8 rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, poilane.com

2. Demel Konditorei (Vienna) Vienna is famous for its pastries and nowhere does it better than Demel. Renowned for its beautiful window displays, the cream cakes, scones and strudels are impossible to resist.

Kohlmarkt 14, 1010 Wien, demel.at

3. La Mallorquina (Madrid) One of Madrid’s oldest cafes, the huge window display is packed with local favourites including naplotanas, palmeras and torrijas (Spanish-French toast). Grab a pastry and a coffee to go or sit outside and watch the world go by.

Calle Mayor 2, 28103, Madrid

4. Dar Bistro (Beirut) An oasis of calm in the centre of Hamra, Dar Bistro offers a plethora of mouthwatering treats. Go for the chocolate walnut brownie and sit in the leafy courtyard. There’s a bookshop too if you need some literature to go with your calories.

Roma Street, Wardieh Hamra, Beirut

5. Café Frischhut (Munich) Try the schmalznudel, a Munich take on the funnel cake, and you won’t be disappointed.

The clientele are a mix of regulars and in-theknow tourists and with an espresso costing just €2, it’s a great place for a mid-morning pit-stop.

Prälat-Zistl-Str. 8, Munich

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The Beats and The Vanities A photo exhibition featuring two very different strands of American life

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n exhibition featuring work from renowned photographer Larry Fink’s books The Beats and The Vanities, this is one of the most compelling portraits of a side of America mere mortals don’t usually get to see. Comprising 125 original black and white photographs, Fink’s work manages to showcase two very different tribes.

In The Beats, he reveals the world of the poets, dropouts and dreamers who made up the Beat generation. Taken during a four-month-long trip through the US and Mexico, it’s as intimate a portrayal of beatnik culture as you will see.

The Vanities is a glimpse at a world most of us will never see – Hollywood royalty letting their hair down at

the Vanity Fair Oscar parties. Fink’s photographs are at once revealing and honest, showing the world’s most famous actors in a post-Oscar buzz.

Fink’s skill is understanding those he photographs and combining that understanding with an artistic flair that few photographers possess.

Armani/Silos until July 31, armanisilos.com

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Clockwise from opposite: Turk LeClair, a beatnik poet in Monterry, 1958; Cuba Gooding Jr and Raf Simmons at the 2002 Vanity Fair Oscars party; Naomi Watts and Lucy Liu at the 2000 party; Justin Portman and Natalia Vodianova at the 2007 party; beatniks in Ohio in 1958

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LIVING / COLUMN

Barking Up The Wrong Tree

By Eric Barker

I

t didn’t make any sense to him. Why would the computer do that? He eyed the clock.

He didn’t want to waste too much time on a single move, but this was really bothering him. It was 1997 and Gary Kasparov, the greatest chess master in the world, was playing against Deep Blue, an IBM supercomputer.

It wasn’t merely a friendly game of chess; this match had been blown up into an epic debate – which is smarter, man or machine?

Deep Blue was no slouch. Despite losing the overall match to Kasparov the previous year, it had won the first of the six games. And IBM’s team of engineers had spent the past year honing Deep Blue’s software.

At that moment, the machine had given Kasparov pause. It was the 44th move of the first game and Deep Blue had shifted its rook from D5 to D1.

Kasparov could not figure out why it would want to do that.

Could it have made an error?

That question was dangerous.

For Kasparov to assume his opponent screwed up every time he didn’t understand a move was lazy. It would be too easy to underestimate the machine because he had beaten it already.

He was the greatest chess master alive. If he couldn’t figure out what the computer was doing, nobody could. While Deep Blue had access to all of Kasparov’s previous matches, Kasparov had very little knowledge of what the machine could do. What if it was smarter than he thought?

What if instead of being able to think five or 10 moves ahead, it was capable of thinking 20 moves ahead? That 44th move didn’t end up affecting the game. Kasparov won anyway – but he was still visibly shaken. In the second game, Deep Blue made another inexplicable move. It should have advanced its queen, but instead it moved a pawn. This was good for Kasparov, but again it didn’t make any sense. After only a few more moves, it was visible to all watching that

the human champ couldn’t win, but he might be able to get a draw. Yet Kasparov extended his hand to Deep Blue’s human representative.

He gave up. In the remaining games Kasparov became defensive. Games three four, and five would all end in draws. And in game six, he made a rookie error. He should have known better. But Kasparov was intimidated. He lost the sixth game, and with it, the match. Machine had finally beaten man. But was it really a genius computer? Nope. In fact, the exact opposite was true. The inexplicable move in the first game was due to a software bug. IBM had programmed in a fail-safe for just this type of event. To prevent the machine from wasting too much time during a ‘hiccup’ it would make a totally random move. So that’s what it did.

Of course, Kasparov didn’t know this. He saw the move and figured Deep Blue knew what it was doing – and that he didn’t. He read the computer’s random move as genius. Normally Kasparov could look into the eyes of his opponent and try to read him.

But Deep Blue never flinched.

Deep Blue wasn’t even capable of flinching. It shook Kasparov’s confidence. Sometimes the mere appearance of confidence can be the difference between winning and losing. Successful people are confident. And the more successful people become, the more confident they are.

Studies show overconfidence increases productivity and causes you to choose more challenging tasks, which make you shine in the workplace. Overconfident people are more likely to be promoted than those who have accomplished more.

Kasparov didn’t understand why Deep Blue would move its rook, but he thought the machine must have had a good reason, and that made him feel he wasn’t in control.

Without that control, he lost his confidence and ultimately the match.

Studies show overconfidence increases productivity and causes you to choose more challenging tasks, which make you shine in the workplace

90 From Barking Up The Wrong Tree by Eric Barker © 2017. Reprinted courtesy of Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers