Brummell December 2014

December 2014

Lending a hand Sharing time and experience • Horology with a heart • Sowing the seeds of philanthropy Gifting accessories • Cuisine with altitude • London's hotel-restaurant renaissance • Ready-for-anything style

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Welcome to Brummell This issue explores the art of giving, looking at one of the positive outcomes of the credit crunch: a re-examination of values. What do you really want to achieve? Our columnist David Charters argues that those with a City career behind them will become the frst generation who will routinely expect to have not one career, but several.

‘We will be the frst who will retire from highly paid, full-time employment at close to our peak talent without fnancial pressure, generally in good health and, after a short break and pause for breath, a lot of energy,’ he predicts. ‘Our talent and focus will shift elsewhere, and we will focus far more on the things we did not do during our career – philanthropy and public service – either because there was so little time available for those in senior, high-pressure positions, or because other priorities crowded them out.’ The scope is limited only by imagination and ambition, he says.

One person whose ambition is certainly not lacking is Fiona Halton. Her conviction is that everyone has a philanthropic journey in them, but Brits are not very good at progressing on those journeys – yet. With that in mind, her aim is to unlock our potential for giving, and she explains in these pages how she intends to go about that.

We also talk to the CEO with City experience who has turned a loss-making philanthropic gesture into a social enterprise and given a generous proportion of the profts to charity. Karen Lynch’s company produces bottled water with the aim of disrupting the market – ‘If you can drink tap water, it’s better for the environment.’

Elsewhere, we round up upscale timepieces with charitable connections, and curate luxury accessories for gifting that will be warmly received.

We hope Brummell gives you enjoyment.

Joanne Glasbey, Editor

Contents • Brummell

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Cover illustration: Supermundane Show Media Brummell editorial 020 3222 0101 — Editor Joanne Glasbey Art Director Dominic Murray-Bell Managing Editor Lucy Teasdale Acting Chief Copy Editor Gill Wing Senior Designer Jo Murray-Bell Copy Editors Nicky Gyopari, Tanya Jackson, Katie Wyartt Editorial Assistant Jemima Wilson Picture Director Juliette Hedoin Deputy Picture Editor Jamie Spence Style Director Tamara Fulton Creative Director Ian Pendleton Managing Director Peter Howarth — Advertising & Events Director Duncan McRae duncan@fyingcoloursmarketing.com 07816 218059 — showmedialondon.com brummell@showmedialondon.com — Visit Brummell’s website for more tailor-made content: brummellmagazine.co.uk

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Foreword Far from feeling superfuous, you may fnd you’re more of an asset than ever after your City career, says columnist David Charters Money no object A unique vase by an artist who plays with perceptions about the possibilities of glass BEAUMONDE News A pop-up style store; Paul Smith goes high-tech; exotic jewellery; elegant luggage; James Bond’s double-cuff shirt; and a watch that is funding a restoration project Menswear As he opens a new store in the City, Jeremy Hackett explains why fashion’s at the bottom of his company’s agenda Motoring BMW’s Alpina division evolved from the humblest of settings – a shed – says driving enthusiast Simon de Burton Eyewear Optician Tom Davies’s custom-made glasses were a real eye-opener for Ken Kessler After the City Belu CEO Karen Lynch on using bottled water to refresh the philanthropic business sector

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FASHION Watches The exclusive timepieces that also do their bit for charities across the globe 64

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Colour reproduction by Fresh Media Group, groupfmg.com. Printed by Pureprint Group, pureprint.com Brummell is published by Show Media Ltd. All material © Show Media Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions.

The information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. £5 (where sold). Reader offers are the responsibility of the organisation making the offer – Show Media accepts no liability regarding offers.

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Jewellery The fnest high-jewellery rings, pendants and bracelets in rose and pink gold hues Men’s style Six pages of essentials to guarantee a quick getaway, whether it be for work or play FEATURES New philanthropists It’s charity work, but not as we know it – former Comic Relief co-director Fiona Halton on the City’s potential for giving Travel Why stick to skis when you can toboggan down a mountainside instead? The intrepid Ian Belcher experiences the thrill of the ride EPICURE News Rare-blend cognac limited editions; single-cask whiskies; rooftop restaurants; and the latest London dining venues Restaurants The hotels in the vanguard of the capital’s unstoppable culinary revolution Gourmet skiing When an Alpine adventure involves no fewer than three Michelin-starred chefs, discovers Chris Madigan, aprés-ski dining reaches unprecedented heights Need to know British sculptor David Williams-Ellis’s work is in demand from Mykonos to Milan

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Coming of age

Foreword • Brummell

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Those retiring from a career in the City can look forward to a new lease of life – as well as a chance to give back to society and celebrate some very different achievements

Words: David Charters Illustration: Brett Ryder

Life is good. When it is not good – for most of us, most of the time – it is still good. Bad things happen, of course – illness, accidents, divorce and bereavement may all be lurking around the corner – but, compared to the majority of people on planet earth in the early part of the 21st century, we are spoilt rotten.

The even better news is that our period of being spoilt is likely to last longer than that of any previous generation. If we make it through the culling years – into our late forties, ffties and early sixties, say – when, as one of my colleagues said recently, ‘The Big Guy starts to get our range’, we should have every prospect of living to a very great age indeed. There is even now a healthcare provider called One Hundred Years, whose state-of-the-art team and technology not only aim to help us become centenarians, but to get there in good enough shape to enjoy it.

So what are we going to do with all this extra time? Conventional wisdom says we will all work longer, both because of the pension defcit and because the next generation will be unable to afford the cost of ever more complicated and costly care for us in our dotage.

But the City should be different. Those with a full career behind them should not only be affuent enough to afford whatever care they need, but are likely to be far better provided for, with not only well-funded pensions but a solid capital base, which probably includes at least one piece of unmortgaged prime central London residential real estate as well as the place in France, the ski chalet and the cottage in the West Country. All those years spent accumulating those contents of the metaphorical trophy cabinets should fnally pay off.

As far as staying on longer at work is concerned, the City is also different: it is highly competitive and genuinely drains people. How many people over the age of 50 do you see on the average trading foor? The pressure of the next

Start a charity. Retrain as a teacher. Launch a campaign. Plant a forest.

Even stand for Parliament

generation of hungry, impatient, talented colleagues scrambling up the corporate ladder makes for a climate in which people of a certain age feel a degree of pressure to move on, not least in the knowledge that, when they do, everyone else will be mightily pleased and the powers that be will make it easy for them to do so, with their saddlebags stuffed full of loot.

But is this a good thing and, if so, how well equipped are we to make the transition? The brain is like a muscle. Neglect it, fail to use it and it will atrophy. Endless rounds of golf and holidays in the sun may sound like fun for a few months – a year, even, if you really need to decompress – but watch out: the 30 years that follow need to be flled with something rather more satisfying than working on your handicap.

What makes this challenge even greater is the fact that most of the things you strived for during your career – at least in a material sense – will have been achieved. You will have peaked at your particular level in the corporate machine, made your money, bought the things you sought, indulged in great travel and holidays, educated the kids… now what?

In some cases, the answer seems to be to go off the rails, indulging the dark side of our nature, having ‘mid-life crises’ where we desperately try to do all the things we wish we’d done earlier but never quite got round to: affairs, drugs, shallow hedonism. But there is a better answer. We will be the frst generation who will routinely expect to

have not one career, but several. We will be the frst who will retire from highly paid, full-time employment at close to our peak talent, without fnancial pressure, in generally good health and, after a short break and pause for breath, a lot of energy. Our talent and focus will shift elsewhere, and my forecast is that we will concentrate far more on the things we didn’t do during our career – philanthropy and public service – either because there was so little time available for them in senior, high-pressure positions, or because other priorities crowded them out.

One of the positive consequences of the credit crunch has been a re-examination of values. What do we want to achieve with our one, unrepeatable life? The old mantra of ‘He who dies with the most toys wins’ appears to have met its end.

This means that there is scope to think about entirely new areas of activity, which perhaps pay little or nothing, may be very time-consuming or only part-time, and to view them as tasks to be undertaken over years, maybe even a decade.

Start a charity. Take control of an existing one and utterly transform it. Retrain as a schoolteacher and start your own academy. Launch a campaign.

Plant a forest. Become a magistrate, a governor, a councillor, a prison visitor or a police and crime commissioner. Heaven forbid, you could even stand for Parliament. The scope is limited only by your own imagination and ambition.

The impact should be very far-reaching.

The enormous global talent magnet that is the City will release its most experienced people from lucrative but one-dimensional servitude and give them back to a society that can use them. It will not be a big rock in a pond, but thousands of rocks in thousands of ponds, and it will be exciting and energising. Bring it on. City seniors rule. l The Ego’s Nest by David Charters, the ffth novel in the series about City anti-hero Dave Hart, is published by Elliott & Thompson, £6.99

Brummell

Hanne Enemark’s experimentation with contradictions has resulted in a vase that plays with our perception of glass

Words: Joanne Glasbey

The go-to destination for the best original contemporary glass and ceramic decorative pieces in London has to be store-cum-gallery Vessel in Notting Hill. Its specially curated selection, from Scandinavian functional design (by the likes of Hackman, Stelton, Iittala, Orrefors and Arabia) to famboyant, collectable Italian glass (Venini, Salviati, Arcade) also features the cream of home-grown talent. It’s a depot of extravagant tableware, stemware, sleek cutlery, interesting candleholders and original one-off vases. One such piece is London-based designer Hanne Enemark’s crystalline vase. Fascinated by minerals and metals, she mimics their composition by manipulating the glass, thereby altering the viewer’s perception of it. Contrasting hard and soft, sharp and smooth, and heavy and light, she creates visual tension between the elements. £2,900; vesselgallery.com

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BR-X1

THE HYPERSONIC CHRONOGRAPH The BR-X1 is the perfect synthesis of Bell & Ross’s expertise in the world of aviation watches and master watchmaking: an instrument with an innovative design, produced in a limited edition of only 250 pieces. Lightweight and resistant, the grade 5 titanium case of the BR-X1 is protected by a high-tech ceramic bezel with a rubber strap. Ergonomic and innovative, the push buttons allow the chronograph functions to be used easily and efficiently. Sophisticated and reliable, the skeleton chronograph movement of the BR-X1 is truly exceptional and combines haute horlogerie finishes with extreme lightness.

Bell & Ross: UK +44 207 096 0878 | e-Boutique: www.bellross.com | Download the BR SCAN app to reveal exclusive content

Beaumonde Boots that were made for riding; a dive watch with the ocean at its heart; a distinctive shirt with a licence to kill

Enjoy the view ← From astonishing Andean volcanic craters with towering plugs of solidifed magma, to vast translucent icebergs shimmering on Iceland’s black-sand beaches, Richard Waite’s magnifcent landscapes are guaranteed to scratch the itchiest feet. Shot in a number of extreme wilderness locations across the globe over a nine-year period, the breathtaking works are the product on an ongoing relationship between the photographer and private-equity specialists Terra Firma. Featuring both widescreen panoramas of desert, mountain and outback, and detailed images of exquisite rock formations, the prints regularly grace the walls of the Terra Firma offces in London and China, and, as part of the frm’s 20th-anniversary celebrations, the pictures were recently on display in Mayfair’s Beetles + Huxley art gallery.

Prints from the exhibition as well as an accompanying 240-page book are available to buy. beetlesandhuxley.com

Jermyn Street jollity The home of high-end menswear, St James’s, is hosting a series of one-stop pop-up shops featuring independent British brands – perfect for last-minute Christmas gifts. 39c Jermyn Street will be taken over by emerging luxury names such as Fourth & Main, Marwood, Tusting, and Hamilton and Hare. And until 13 December, you can drop in for sparkling-wine ©Richard Waite

masterclasses and tastings with celebrated English-wine producer Nyetimber too. 15–23 December; 39c Jermyn Street, London SW1

Kick start ↑ While Belstaff’s legendary Trialmaster jacket – an exact replica of the 1948 racing garment worn by motorcycle champions Sammy Miller and Phil Reid – is still available to buy today, its footwear partner is less well known.

Trialmaster boots were introduced in 1955 to complement Belstaff’s gear. Available today in hand-waxed black or matt-brown leather, with a reinforced heel and instep panels and adjustable buckles, they evoke traditional British biker style. They’re built for adventure and well able to withstand whatever you throw at them, so they also make great weekend wear – even if you’re not planning on sitting astride 500cc of roaring engine. £450; belstaff.com

Feel the noise ↑ Paul Smith frst worked with sound experts Audio-Technica on a limitededition pair of headphones in 2009.

Five years later, they’ve teamed up again to produce another set, on which Sir Paul has stamped his mark, inscribing them with the words ‘More’ and ‘Noise’ in his own distinctive handwriting. Any Audio-Technica fan will know these aren’t simply a pair of headphones with a logo stuck on them; the 42mm dynamic drivers deliver crystal-clear sound across a wide audio spectrum, while the high-tech swivel mechanism and soft head and ear pads make them comfortable to wear all day.

The handy Paul Smith X Audio-Technica illustrated tote bag lets you carry them in style, too. £199; paulsmith.co.uk

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Beaumonde • News

Say yes to Dr No → The world frst met James Bond on screen in the opening scene of Dr No, when the inimitably suave Sean Connery was seen at the card table, wearing a Turnbull & Asser shirt. Now you, too, can dress like 007. Turnbull & Asser’s Dr No shirt, especially designed for the 1962 flm, has been reincarnated and is available online. It features a special cocktail cuff with a unique two-button turn-back detail – the perfect attire for ordering a Vesper at the bar. £175; turnbullandasser.co.uk

Charmed circle ↑ Tessa Packard’s jewellery may be British-designed and hand-fnished, but its inspirations hail from rather more exotic destinations. Her style sits at the intersection of classical and edgy, and her innovative take on the traditional is the result of a blending together of her passion for romantic fabrics, antique decorations and architecture. The No Smoke Without Flowers collection, which was inspired by the opium dens and courtesans of the 19th-century Orient, includes this yellow-gold Madam Pistil ring, set with square-cut amethysts, garnets and black sapphires in a beautiful and playful mix of alluring new and elegant classic. £11,000; also available bespoke in rose or white gold; tessapackard.com

Turnbull & Asser

Hide and sleek ← Alfred Dunhill coined the neologism ‘motorities’ for the accoutrements he created to make travelling a more pleasurable and practical experience.

For this season’s accessories collection, creative director John Ray has taken inspiration from the brand’s heritage in motoring to design the generously proportioned Boston leather bag.

Streamlined and elegant, it is crafted from a soft, fne-grained calfskin that will continue to improve with age.

The Motorities-era features are subtly referenced in aspects of the design, such as the padlock holder, which refects the facet shape of the interior lamps that Alfred Dunhill created for motor vehicles back in 1907. Available in tan and oxblood, the bag comes in holdall and weekend kit sizes, and is complemented by a range of small leather goods. dunhill.co.uk

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Beaumonde • News

In the run-up to Christmas, I enjoy hosting friends and business contacts.

So, when I’m in London, it’s great to have a place that feels like a home from home, such as The Connaught Hotel. What makes a bar great is its mixologist, and Agostino Perrone welcomes you in like a long-lost friend. The convivial bolt-hole has its own unique Dalmore malt, the Connaught Cask, and a whisky-andchocolate pairing menu that features a rare Dalmore Castle Leod 1995. An elegant vintage with favours of orange and mango, vanilla and honey, it pairs wonderfully with the mandarin and tonka-bean caramel chocolate.

Another great barman is Boris Ivan of Galvin at Windows. Some people are snobby about using malt in cocktails, but I think a mixologist’s craft is similar to my own, when I make subtle variations bringing together the assemblage of a single malt. At Galvin, I enjoy looking out across vibrant London, sipping a King Cepheus – Boris’s twist on the Rob Roy that uses aged vermouth and

Cointreau and whisky from the Dalmore Constellation Collection.

Over by St Paul’s, at Jamie Oliver’s steakhouse, Barbecoa, Mirka Kohutova really impressed me recently with her interpretation of The Dalmore (pictured).

Passionate about scotch, Mirka created The Real Red Stag using Dalmore 15 – which spends 12 years in bourbon casks before being divided into three different sherry casks for its fnal three years of maturation – and Bénédictine, raspberry syrup, lemon zest and bitters.

Like the fact that Barbecoa’s butcher and grills are open for all to see, it’s a cocktail with real honesty and simplicity.

It’s an approach that’s true of The Boundary in Shoreditch, too. It uses the best ingredients, well prepared but not overdressed. Similarly, when we held a tasting of The Dalmore 18 there, its clientele appreciated the unfussy luxury of the rich marmalade and spicy dark chocolate notes that come through with the extra ageing.

At the end of the night, the staff at The Churchill Bar on Portman Square will fnd you a Chesterfeld to sink into and help you match the right cigar with a single malt – and The Dalmore Cigar Malt is perfect. And that’s the moment to just take your time and relax. thedalmore.com; the-connaught.co.uk; galvinatwindows.com; barbecoa.com; theboundary.co.uk; london.churchill.hyatt.com

Sea change ↑ Omega’s connection with the ocean goes back to the frst dive watch it created, in the early Thirties, which preceded the 1948 launch of the Seamaster model. Now, inspired by this maritime legacy, it has created the Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M GoodPlanet GMT – a classically styled timepiece that pays tribute to the GoodPlanet Foundation and its work to protect the environment and

underwater ecosystems. It has a bold blue bi-directional rotating bezel with an orange-lacquered diving scale, and its GMT hand shows the time in two time zones simultaneously. In a rather ftting partnership, Omega has pledged a portion of the proceeds from its sales of the watch to fund mangrove-swamp restoration projects along the coast in Sulawesi, Indonesia. omegawatches.com

BRUMMELL PROMOTION

The good mixer

Dalmore’s master distiller Richard Paterson reveals London’s best whisky cocktails

A stirring rendition Barbecoa’s Mirka Kohutova serves Dalmore 15 with lemon zest, Bénédictine, raspberry syrup and bitters

Go on a bear hunt It’s hard to miss the collection of life-sized Paddingtons that have recently appeared across London to coincide with the launch of the bear’s new namesake flm. Devised by the NSPCC and sponsored by Barclaycard, the Paddington Trail features 50 statues created by artists, designers and celebrities.

The pieces will be auctioned online

by Christie’s from 10 December and 7 January, with all proceeds going to the children’s charity. nspcc.org.uk; christies.com

Menswear • Beaumonde

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Modern classics

Trad English outftter Hackett is as popular now as it was 25 years ago, with a new store in the City.

So what makes it so enduring?

Ed Reeve

Words: Josh Sims

‘We’ve been in the City for 25 years,’ says Jeremy Hackett,’ but the site we were in on Bishopsgate was owned by Alan Sugar – so we got fred.’

Hackett, founder of the company that carries his name, is not just one of the most dapper fgures in British menswear – he recently scooped a GQ Men of Style award (‘but then they don’t see me on a Sunday morning: it’s not all silk robe and monocle’) – but also one of the best humoured.

And perhaps he has good cause to be: Hackett, the brand, is going strong and the autumn/winter 2014 season sees not only collaborations with prestigious – and equally British – names such as Bill Amberg and Joseph Cheaney & Sons, but also the opening of larger, improved City premises on Broad Street.

‘The City is very different from our West End business,’ explains Hackett. ‘Shoppers here tend to buy in bulk, and tend to like a uniform, too.

They come in for a few blue suits and a stack of white shirts. They just want to be looked after properly, really. We have a brilliant personal tailor here, Frank. Ask for Frank – that’s my tip. People come in, and if he’s not there they say they’ll come back. Frank even manages to sell me things – and I’m a very picky customer.’

One, he might add, with a very particular eye, too. After all, his £97.7m-turnover company was founded in the Eighties on Jeremy Hackett’s ability to scoop up the best in what would now be called vintage clothing, but back then was just second-hand – albeit the kind of very well-made, bespoke-standard ‘pre-loved’ that outclassed what the high street had to offer and appealed to a generation of young fogies less able to afford the frst-hand tailoring of their fathers. Hackett’s own father was less impressed by his choice of career, telling him – unwittingly prophetically – that unless he pulled his socks up he’d end up working in a shop. Hackett recounts getting calls from little old ladies who wanted to offoad their late husband’s quality attire and ‘going through a lot of dead men’s wardrobes’.

But that was then. If, by Jeremy Hackett’s own admission, the company is a long way from fashion – ‘fashion goes straight over most guys’ heads’ – then it has become, abroad as well as at home, the embodiment of a specifc, unfussy, reliable, very English style, one that even plays at the border of stereotype: waxed jackets and cutaway collars, umbrellas and bowler hats – the

Dapper does it From top: Hackett’s A/W14 collection; on the catwalk; the brand’s new Broad Street shop

latter two items actually forming the brand’s logo, arranged, tongue in cheek, in a more sartorially inclined kind of skull-and-crossbones. Think blazers and tweeds, Fair Isle knits and corduroys – and that’s just the new season’s childrenswear.

‘I think we’ve probably romanced that English look a bit,’ admits Hackett, sponsor of not only the British Army polo team but also, much more in character, of the Sussex Spaniel Association (his own hounds are the David Gandys of canine advertising). ‘But otherwise, a plain grey suit is just a plain grey suit, with nothing much to get excited about. Yet, if that English look doesn’t really exist as it’s imagined, people certainly like it – extraordinarily so.’

‘I’d say the success of the company has been in keeping one step ahead but not three, and in evolving,’ adds Hackett. ‘Sometimes I look at what we were doing 10 years ago, expecting it to be similar to what we do now, but actually it’s very different. It’s moved with menswear. It’s less stiff and starchy and much softer and easier, but still with the right detail, ft and quality. And we’ve taken the customers with us. They’re the people who shopped with us 20 years ago, only older and richer – and sometimes quite a bit larger,’ he jokes.

The company is conscious of the need to bring in new customers, so it also aims to offer what Hackett calls ‘a stronger look’, by which he means a difference in lapel widths and silhouettes, not scare-the-horses styling. ‘The older customer can’t get into it, quite literally,’ he laughs. ‘It’s nothing drastic – Hackett is a brand that’s easy to understand, which is a large part of its appeal.

If we change, we take the customer along with us.

If we started doing what everyone else was doing, we’d lose our identity – and for us that’s about being classic without being old-fashioned. And that’s harder to do than it sounds.’ l hackett.com

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Beaumonde • Motoring The thinking man’s BMW From top: For build quality, practicality, economy, speed and affordability, the Alpina D4 Bi-Turbo is quite possibly the best car in the world

Dream team

A shed behind a typewriter factory was the unlikely starting point for a small frm that creates exceptional cars

Words: Simon de Burton

Fans of BMW will be aware of the German frm’s ‘M’ division, which creates souped-up versions of the marque’s standard models for drivers of a more sporting bent. The frst M (Motorsport) cars were born out of BMW’s successful racing programme of the Sixties and Seventies, with the original road-going M product being the futuristic-looking M1 of 1978, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Yet around 16 years earlier, an engineer called Burkard Bovensiepen had already realised the potential for making standard BMWs go faster when, working from a shed at the back of the family typewriter factory, he developed a tuning kit for the BMW 1500. Within three years, Bovensiepen had metaphorically thrown the typewriter out of the window in order to focus on developing performance parts for BMWs under the Alpina brand name.

It was an enterprise that was to prove so successful, drivers such as Derek Bell, James Hunt, Niki Lauda and Jackie Ickx began driving the cars and returned the small frm a raft of touring-car victories during the late Sixties and early Seventies.

Around the same time, BMW tasked Alpina with creating a version of its three-litre CSL coupé for touring-car racing, the result being the legendary lightweight that was nicknamed the ‘Batmobile’; as a homologation model, it was supplied with a rear wing packed away in the boot, ready for installation by the owner – using it on German roads was illegal.

As Alpina expanded, however, it became obvious that BMW enthusiasts would copy the tuning company’s ideas, buy the necessary bits and make similar cars themselves – which led Bovensiepen to alter his remit in 1983 and set about building and selling only completed cars under the Alpina name.

Alpina cars are more exclusive, more luxuriously trimmed and generally more bespoke than the BMW M

So successful was the idea that, as well as making cars that were faster than standard BMWs, Alpina made them more luxurious with customised interiors.

But, while the M cars are known to petrolheads around the world, the name Alpina has remained somewhat low-key – despite the fact Alpina has been in continuous production ever since and, several years ago, became an offcial subsidiary of BMW. The main differences between the two divisions are that Alpina cars are more exclusive, more luxuriously trimmed and generally more bespoke. Performancewise they’re about the same, although Alpina engines are built separately to the BMW and M engines.

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of Alpina, so it’s probably no coincidence that the company seems to be making moves to raise its profle as a maker of high-speed automobiles for the thinking BMW fan, which is a fair way to describe one of its latest products, the brilliant D4 Bi-Turbo.

A few weeks ago, at the launch event for the new Ultimate Driving Experience at Goodwood in BMW M cars, I was fortunate enough to drive an Alpina for the frst time, specifcally Alpina’s D4.

The ‘D’ in the title alludes to the fact that, unlike Alpina’s petrol-engined ‘B’ models, the D4 features a three-litre, six-cylinder diesel engine, which might not instantly appeal to old-school sporting drivers, who still believe higher-revving petrol engines to be the only way to go in a sports car.

Anyone of that ilk who drives a D4, however, will almost certainly be converted. Apart from being silky smooth and beautifully refned, the car’s engine produces an impressive 350 horsepower and, perhaps more importantly, offers a massive 700 Newton metres of torque (or pulling power) at a lowly 3,000rpm – which, in ‘real world’ driving, means rocket-like but unfussy overtaking and, on a rain-soaked Goodwood circuit, made the D4 by far the quickest and most controllable car on the track.

Perhaps even more remarkably, the engine gives 170mph potential while offering fuel economy of up to 50mpg. So is it surprising that the D4 has been hailed by at least one specialist motoring magazine as ‘possibly the best car in the world’ for those who want something that combines speed, practicality, economy, build quality and relative affordability?

It’s a sentiment I’d be inclined to agree with, especially considering the virtually bespoke nature of the D4 (and all other Alpinas), which extends from the cars’ hand-built engines with specially designed twin turbochargers, exhaust systems and electronics, to the luxurious interiors carrying unique Alpina Lavalina leather steering wheels, special instrument clusters and individual trim packages.

So if you’re in the market for a seriously rapid BMW and don’t want to go down the more obvious M route, consider an Alpina. l Sytner BMW is the UK’s sole Alpina importer. Prices start at £47,000 for the D3 saloon, with the D4 costing from £51,000; alpina-automobiles.com; sytner.co.uk; bmwalpina.co.uk

170 New Bond Street, London W1S 4RB 020 7290 6500

www.marcuswatches.com

Eyes right Optician Tom Davies offers the customer an experience that’s as forensic as it is fashion-friendly.

Result: eyewear that’s as correct as it is cool

Words: Ken Kessler

When Siegel and Shuster created Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent, they ftted him with glasses.

Not because the frames hid his face, but because glasses = nerd. And Superman certainly wasn’t that. ‘Four-eyes’, ‘geek’ and other epithets have been heaped upon those with impaired vision, but no longer. If those glasses are custom-made, they are the fnal part of the ensemble that starts with tailored shirts and handmade shoes.

But forget the fashion element for a moment: optician Tom Davies takes frames and lenses as seriously as each other. You’ll spend a few hours choosing the former from his selection and the same amount of time being tested for the latter.

His fagship store, just off Sloane Square, looks, at least initially, like any vendor of funky eyewear.

Head down into the basement, though, and you’ll feel as if you’ve entered ‘Bones’ McCoy’s medical

bay in Star Trek – there’s cutting-edge optician hardware everywhere. Time to fnd out what his people do to turn you into an eagle.

The experience begins with the frames. Davies assesses his clients much as a Savile Row tailor would. He doesn’t ask on which side you dress, but your skull will be examined with the intensity once exercised by phrenologists. He has a tray of charcoal-grey frames, differentiated by the grids imprinted on their clear lenses. These determine the criteria that ensure your glasses will ft like none you’ve worn before. The test/twist/tweak/ tighten regime that often accompanies off-theshelf frames is replaced by one of comfort akin to that of shoes individually formed for your feet.

Shape and material are down to you, with Davies counselling throughout the process. He is not averse to imposing his own tastes on the client – but then

he is the one with the expertise. Your frames will be the result of a procedure that addresses every part of your head that supports them and defnes how they will sit. Such dimensions include the space between your pupils, the required length of the glasses’ arms (which are known as temples), your eyebrow shape and where your cheekbones meet the frames. Armed with this information, Davies leads you down to his scientists’ lair.

His is the only private practice in the UK in possession of the sort of eye-testing equipment one would assume would be the sole preserve of hospitals and laboratories. The machinery comes from Zeiss, which also manufactures the lenses that are ftted into Davies’ frames.

Lest the thought terrify you, this is not like a visit to a dentist. It’s less intrusive than a haircut.

Aside from the freaky feeling of having eye drops

Eyewear • Beaumonde

27

20/20 visionary From left: Tom Davies’ opticians craft a pair of frames with mathematical precision; horn frames are polished to perfection

applied that will dilate your pupils – a sensation that will be familiar to habitués of 3D flms – there is naught to anticipate with dread. Aside from the mildly disconcerting puff of air required for a glaucoma test, the rest is ‘non-contact’, and the effect of the eye drops wears off after a few hours.

Nothing is left to chance, the tests telling the opticians everything there is to know about your eyes beyond determining your prescription, and alerting them to any potential concerns. A full examination will include testing with an ‘i-profler’, which analyses each eye to identify aberrations and to optimise lenses for colour contrast and night vision; the use of an auto retractor and corneal topographer to ensure the precise ft of contact lenses, if you haven’t yet learnt to appreciate glasses; and Fundus photography, by which an image of the retina is made, showing in high defnition the

optic disc, retinal vessels and central retina. Then there is the Humphrey visual-feld analyser, which performs a test that detects and monitors glaucoma and other non-optical health conditions; optical coherence tomography to analyse the retina for diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration, further determine the probability of glaucoma and monitor any loss of the retinal nerve fbre layer – it can also assess the anterior eye and measure corneal thickness; and, fnally, the Goldmann applanation tonometer, which measures intraocular pressure and acts as as yet another detector of glaucoma, one of the causes of sight loss.

An hour or two later, off I wandered. After a few weeks, I returned to collect a pair of glasses packaged like a tourbillon from Breguet – they were presented in a leather-covered box that also contained a special cream for their horn frames,

a cleaning cloth, a carry case and even a pair of cuffinks made of the material left over from the frames. The fnishing touch: ‘Tom Davies for Ken Kessler’ engraved on the temples.

Then, a miracle – the highest recommendation I can make: as one who has never had any joy with ‘transitional’ lenses, I was dumbfounded by the way these worked instantly. I even asked Davies if they were, in fact, single-vision types. He laughed.

‘No, you’ve been wearing transitionals and just didn’t know it!’ Later, driving at night, I’d fnd out that the lenses reduced oncoming-headlight glare. Later still, I’d frequently be asked about my new glasses and told how ‘cool’ they were. They ft better than any I’ve ever owned and I can read without changing to another pair. Now I just need a wardrobe that’s worthy of them. l tdtomdavies.com

Orville Wright taking first flight with brother Wilbur running alongside at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 17 December 1903.

Image credit: WSU/planepix.com

A feW SeleCt peOple HAve beeN gIveN pArt Of tHe WOrlD’S fIrSt AIrCrAft. preSIDeNtS, AStrONAUtS AND ANyONe WItH A bremONt WrIgHt flyer. the bremont Wright flyer is a tribute to the Wright brothers’ famous aircraft. It’s remarkable to look at. but what makes it even more remarkable is that it features actual material from that very first aircraft. the watch also features another first: our first proprietary movement, the bWC/01. the Wright flyer is available now in a limited edition. but it’s unlikely to be available for long.

After the City • Beaumonde

29

Liquid assets

She transformed a loss-making water company – now Belu’s CEO Karen Lynch is using it to boost the philanthropic business sector

Words: James Medd Photography: Trent McMinn

It’s an unusual ambition for a CEO, but Karen Lynch hopes to go out of business. ‘That would be lovely,’ she says. Belu, her company, produces bottled water with the aim of destroying, or at least disrupting, the market. ‘We mean it: if you can drink tap water, it’s better for the environment.’

So far, so Russell Brand, but Lynch is a businesswoman not a comedian, and pragmatic.

‘You must work with the market to make it happen,’ she says. ‘Campaigning won’t make this market disappear – too many livelihoods are dependent on it.’ And it’s working very nicely. Lynch took over Belu in 2010 from a background in publishing and fnance, and turned a failing philanthropic gesture into a social enterprise that this year turned over £4.7m and made a proft of £600,000. With this, it will easily surpass its minimum pledge of £100,000 per annum to WaterAid, the charity that receives all its post-reinvestment profts.

Meeting Lynch, it’s apparent that energy is her greatest asset, but another might be timing.

She left two industries at the right time – publishing in 2003, as digital threw it into disarray, and fnance just before the 2008 crash. At magazine specialist EMAP, she rose from selling advertising to general manager of the Active sector (Practical Photography, Bird Watching, etc) in 14 years, leaving when her marriage to WHSmith’s head of magazines created a confict of interest. An old colleague then lured her to Barclays to head up proposition development, tasked with shaping customers’ engagement with the bank’s products.

The combination of experiences gave her the capacity to take on Belu. ‘Publishing made my heart sing, but I learnt most from fnance,’ she says.

‘My years at Barclays were hard, but I defnitely developed a sense of purpose. I couldn’t run Belu if I hadn’t worked in such a complex business.’

Her move was inspired by a desire for what she calls ‘emotional reward’: ‘I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I knew I’d never fnd it unless I left Barclays.’ Her husband, then at Amazon, took a sabbatical and they sailed round the Caribbean.

After a stint at Audi, she saw the advertisement for the role at Belu. She was shocked by what she found on arrival: ‘It had lost £1.9m, but there was no plan to do anything.’ Hired as marketing director, she wrote a bullish proposal for saving the company. It involved ripping things up and starting again. To her surprise, the board went for

it, including the existing founder-CEO, who had to step down to make way for her.

Her frst move was to reduce margins by shifting the emphasis from consumer sales to wholesale, supplying hotels and restaurants. Belu also supplies businesses with water-coolers and in-house catering, and is sold in Sainsbury’s, where margins are lower but made up by the increase in consumer awareness. Recent innovations include a collaboration with Cobra Beer’s sales team to sell Belu into ethnic restaurants, and a glass bottle that’s 18 per cent lighter, saving 850,000kg of materials a year and allowing an extra pallet-load per lorry.

Belu also sells this bottle to its competitors – a quirk of a company the sole purpose of which is to do the environmentally right thing. While this offers opportunities, it also means everything comes with an extra layer of compliance. Staying carbon-neutral is vital, so water is sourced from different springs – Sainsbury’s, for example, uses Iceni Waters in Cambridgeshire to be near the supermarket’s distribution point, and there are others in Powys and Shropshire. Expansion plans will involve not export but franchising. Rather than

publishing annual reports, Belu issues an impact report that documents what it’s doing and why.

The job does, however, fulfl Lynch’s needs, including shaping a new business sector. ‘When I joined Belu, no one talked about social enterprise,’ she says. Now she fnds herself discussing it with government and trade organisations: ‘Along with Divine Chocolate and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, we’re one of the larger companies, so part of the dialogue, which is very exciting.’

There’s also a campaigning aspect to the job.

‘We have to tell people that Fiji water comes from Fiji and Evian from France,’ she explains. ‘Statistics prove we don’t think about things like that until we’re given a reason to, but then we change our behaviour.’ This runs into the self-destruct model of the business, the latest part of which is to work with restaurants on fltering their tap water using coconut husks. And after that? Lynch is already on the case. ‘The Belu model could apply in many categories,’ she says. ‘There are ideas around lots of products, but they haven’t had airtime yet, because we’re too busy.’ Count on it being sorted. l belu.org

Cometh the hour Exclusive timepieces are not merely covetable – these also raise crucial funding for causes from education to the environment

Photography: Andy Barter Words: Simon de Burton

Watches • Brummell

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Opposite, clockwise from bottom left: Hublot MP-06 Senna; Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Ocean Commitment; Chopard Elton John Chronograph This page, clockwise from bottom left: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak; Bremont Chivas Chronograph; SevenFriday P3

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Brummell • Watches

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Ocean Commitment ↑ The Fifty Fathoms of 1953 was designed for military use but became popular when Jacques Cousteau wore one in his flm The Silent World. The original measured around 41mm in diameter, but a smaller version, the Bathyscaphe, became available a few years later. The Bathyscaphe was reintroduced for 2013, joining the range of Fifty Fathoms models, which extends to tourbillon, chronograph and perpetual calendar versions. A special edition of 250 Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronograph Flyback watches highlights Blancpain’s role as a patron of marine environment charities. £12,500; blancpain.com

Bremont Chivas Chronograph ↑ British brand Bremont has created a limited edition of 12 Chivalry watches in conjunction with whisky house Chivas Regal. Featuring dials subtly embossed with the outline of the Chivas shield, the chronographs also incorporate oak taken from an aged whisky cask on the back and the facsimile signatures of James and John Chivas, who founded the frm in 1801. The frst two watches in the edition will be retained by Bremont and Chivas respectively.

The other 10 will be offered for sale through a series of online auctions during the coming months, with all the proceeds going to international charities. Place bids and track the auctions at chivas.com/bremont

SevenFriday P3 ↑ SevenFriday is a two-year-old, Zurich-based brand that is attracting attention with its distinctive, Chinese-made watches powered by Japanese mechanical movements. The M1 and M2 models feature chunky 47mm cases, left-side crowns – and no hands. Instead, they use three rotating discs to display the hours, minutes and seconds. A 100-piece limited edition of the more conventional P3 model was recently launched to beneft Prior’s Court school for autistic children in Berkshire. The watch features the same blue colouring on the dial and the strap as used on the Prior’s Court logo, with all the proceeds going to the school. £825; sevenfriday.com

Hublot MP-06 Senna ↑ The late F1 driver Ayrton Senna is still regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time, and his record of six wins at Monaco remains unbroken.

In 2007, Hublot launched the frst in a series of special editions dedicated to Senna to help raise funds for the Instituto Ayrton Senna, which provides education for underprivileged children. The Hublot MP-06 is the most complex Senna model to date and features a hand-wound tourbillon movement. Three versions are available – titanium, black PVD titanium and King Gold (pictured) – each in an edition of 41 pieces to mark Senna’s 41 Grand Prix wins. £114,400; marcuswatches.com

Chopard Elton John Chronograph ↑ Sir Elton John frst met Chopard’s co-president Caroline Scheufele at Cannes 14 years ago, and the pair quickly decided to join forces to boost the Elton John Aids Foundation. Since then, Elton’s White Tie & Tiara Ball, organised in conjunction with Chopard, has become a fxture on the social calendar. Sir Elton was also instrumental in the design of a Chopard watch range, proceeds of which go to the Foundation. While some models are jewel-encrusted and feature straps in pastel shades, the sober, rose-gold version pictured here is aimed at those who aren’t quite as famboyant as the Rocket Man. £15,000; chopard.com

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ↑ The Audemars Piguet Foundation was set up in 1992 to help safeguard the world’s forests and raise awareness about the environment. It sponsors more than 80 projects, and even provides electric cars and bicycles for staff at its headquarters in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux. The foundation is supported by the brand’s overall profts rather than special-edition watches, so effectively every sale benefts a project. The latest initiative aims to help the Brazilian farming community of Cerrado, which is under threat from giant export companies.

The watch shown is the Royal Oak Selfwinding in pink gold. £36,800; audemarspiguet.com

T H E J E N NA BAG

L K B E N N E T T. C O M #M YJENNA

Accessories • Brummell

Accessories special Elegance & style We’ve curated a sensuous selection of rose-gold jewellery – a fashionable direction for very wearable pieces that warm pale, wintry skin tones and fatter the wearer. Gold has historically been perceived as having health-giving qualities; some disbelievers might suggest otherwise, but these pieces are guaranteed to quicken the pulse and uplift the mood of the lucky recipient. And we’ve gone for the gold standard when selecting stylish menswear and accessories, suggesting dapper combinations for a weekend away – be that for business or for pleasure. Each example makes for a most acceptable gifting solution, too.

35

In the pink From delicate pendants to bold rings, everything’s coming up rose gold this season

Styling: Jess Diamond Photography: Laure & Sarah at Factory

Jewellery • Brummell

Opposite, from top: Rose gold and diamond HW logo wedding band, POA, HARRY WINSTON; (harrywinston.com); pink gold Perlée ring with diamond clovers,

£9,650, VAN CLEEF & ARPELS (vancleef-arpels.com). This page: Rose gold slinky necklace set with black diamonds, POA, THEO FENNELL (theofennell.com)

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Brummell • Jewellery

This page: Matt rose gold Arabesque ring, £2,425, POMELLATO (pomellato.com).

Opposite, from left: Pink gold and diamond Camélia Ajouré

pendant, £7,350, CHANEL (chanel.com); pink gold and diamond Hortensia pendant, £12,070, CHAUMET (chaumet.com)

Jewellery • Brummell

Opposite: Rose gold Aegean bracelet by Elsa Peretti, £6,500, TIFFANY & CO (tiffany.co.uk).

This page, from top: Earrings in rose gold from the Imperiale

collection, £1,770, CHOPARD (chopard.com); pink gold Bois de Rose bangle, £2,500, DIOR JOAILLERIE (dior.com)

41

Actor Michael Le says: ‘As my career has grown, my confdence has risen and I’m now brave enough to let my creativity fourish. To do that, you need to let go of your ego’

The new art of movement

Brummell promotion

43

Creative professionals of the 21st century have schedules that are more mobile and physical, faster and more varied than those of their predecessors. Hogan shoes are the choice of a man such as actor Michael Le – a performer in an artistic milieu where frst impressions count more than most, and the ever-shifting demands of his craft dictate that when it comes to comfort, there can be no compromise

In today’s constantly evolving society, the mechanics of doing business all over the world have changed beyond recognition. And it is the visionary modern businessman who is driving these changes. He is an entrepreneur; his creative spirit and his ever-changing work parameters mean there is no typical working day for him, and he refects the Hogan values of self-expression and aesthetic confdence. Gaining international recognition and notoriety for his innovative and forward-thinking approach within his chosen feld, he is a true pioneer. This manifests itself in a working day that is fast-paced and varied, taking place within a wide range of locations and circumstances. And he requires a wardrobe that can adapt to any situation.

Since it was created in 1986, Hogan has been at the very forefront of casual businesswear, championing an urban look that is clean, sharp,

refned and professional but relaxed. Today, the timeless values of quality and ingenuity remain at the heart of Hogan. With an innovative approach to design, use of the highest-quality materials and an outstanding attention to detail, Hogan is renowned for its modern styling that allows the wearer to be comfortable and yet ready to do business. It is the choice of men who prefer a cool, contemporary style, but who still want to pay homage to sartorial traditions.

Although he recognises and respects tradition and heritage, the visionary Hogan customer also challenges these values. This is refected in his personal style, with a look that is confdent and contemporary but gives a frm nod to tradition. And Hogan perfectly epitomises this attitude, matching classic cuts and materials with modern lines and styles that can meet the needs of this ambitious modern businessman and his progressive lifestyle.

Highlights from the Interactive N20 collection The combination of leather and suede gives the Interactive shoe a relaxed elegance. Designed for ultimate comfort, the sneaker boasts special cushioned workmanship on the side and an ultralight sole. The distinguished H logo underscores the clean lines of the upper.

In contrasting black and white, this version of the Interactive N20 is right on trend with the season’s palette. The two-toned leather and suede, along with the white sole and heel trim, create a sporty look that can also add a punch of style to a more formal ensemble.

The Hogan look is confident and contemporary but gives a firm nod to tradition

Made of felt and matching abrasivato leather, this sneaker uses the two materials to play on shiny and matte textures for a sophisticated yet urban style. The H logo on the side is paired with complementary coloured laces.

The sole is the height of comfort.

SUNSPEL.COM

Case in point A well-packed bag will ensure you’re prepared for a spontaneous trip wherever in the world it might take you

Photography: Andy Barter Styling: David Hawkins

Black tie Previous page, clockwise from top left: Leather Weekender bag, £1,275, TROUBADOUR; leather Mission tote bag, £545, TUMI; bow tie, £65, GIEVES & HAWKES; Ambre Cognac candle, £55, DIPTYQUE; leather wallet, £310, JM WESTON; calfskin smartphone case, £860, HERMÈS; enamel cuffinks, £215, DEAKIN & FRANCIS; snakeskin credit card wallet, £160, PAUL SMITH; patent leather shoes, £340, CANALI; Bleu de Chanel eau de parfum, £80 for 100ml, CHANEL; Marcella bib shirt, £325, ANDERSON & SHEPPARD; Private Tailoring tuxedo jacket, from £2,400, GIEVES & HAWKES

Ski trip Top row, from left: Padded bag, £365, and hiking boots, £505, both MONCLER; snakeskin wallet, £150, PAUL SMITH; 805 sunglasses, £380, THOM BROWNE at Mr Porter; leather bag, £1,199, SALVATORE FERRAGAMO Middle row, from left: Hooded jacket, £375, VICTORINOX; lambskin Jules gloves, £760, HERMÈS; cotton T-shirt, £55, SUNSPEL; waffe-knit jumper, £430, POLO RALPH LAUREN; sunglasses, £94, JUST CAVALLI at Harrods Bottom row, from left: Facial Fuel moisturiser, £29, and Post Shave Repair gel, £22, both KIEHL’S; Emblem eau de toilette, £61.50, MONTBLANC; calfskin Jimmy trainers, £550, HERMÈS; AS100VR Action Cam camera, £329, SONY; WW1 Argentium Ruthenium watch, £3,700, BELL & ROSS; jumper, £450, BALLY; padded jacket, £348, J.CREW

Country weekend

Top row, from left: Tweed Isambard briefcase, £395, CHERCHBI; lleather travel bag, £605, ZEGNA, with pen, £295, CARAN D’ACHE; billfold, £125, and iPhone case, £155, both

HARDY AMIES; card case, £120, ZEGNA. Middle row, from left: London Undercover umbrella, £115, HARDY AMIES; wool gloves, £75, POLO RALPH LAUREN; leather gloves, £95, DAKS;

toggle jumper, £188, J CREW; jumper, £545, Z ZEGNA; oilcloth cap, £85, POLO RALPH LAUREN. Bottom row, from left: Scarf, £110, HARDY AMIES; Keig eau de parfum, £50, CASTLE FORBES

at roullierwhite.com; Green Irish Tweed eau de parfum, £95, CREED at Selfridges; Dry Wood eau de parfum, £130, by RAMON MONEGAL; waxed jacket, £279, BARBOUR HERITAGE

Men’s style • Brummell

City break

Clockwise from top left: Leather backpack, £1,200, MULBERRY; RT twin-shell matt-fnish helmet, £185, BELL at CENTRAL BIKES; suede monk-strap shoes, £800, JM WESTON; cotton

shirt, £195, PAL ZILERI; calfskin briefcase, £615, and silk tie, £150, both DOLCE & GABBANA; leather gloves, £95, DAKS; rubber and leather trainers, £435, DOLCE & GABBANA;

waxed-cotton Marshfeld jacket, £595, BELSTAFF, with cotton shirt, £210, DOLCE & GABBANA; Colonia Leather eau de cologne, £140 for 100ml, ACQUA DI PARMA at HARRODS

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Brummell • Men’s style

Business travel

Clockwise from top left: Shoes, £450, BURBERRY; leather iPad Mini cover, £130, SHINOLA; carbon-fbre briefcase, £995, TUMI; wool-blend suit jacket,

£830 (for suit), PAUL SMITH LONDON; leather MacBook envelope, £210, SHINOLA; calfskin zip-up document holder, £1,190, HERMÈS;

849 ballpoint pen, £22, CARAN D’ACHE; Soho Collection glasses, £155, JOHN VARVATOS; Terre d’Hermès eau de toilette, £76 for 100ml, HERMÈS

FOR STOCKISTS DETAILS, SEE PAGE 70

Mission possible Fiona Halton believes there is philanthropic potential in all of us and that, by pooling our resources, we can effect positive change

Words: Charlotte Metcalf Illustration: Daniel Frost

Fiona Halton’s mission is to turn Britain into a nation of philanthropists. Many would scoff at her audacity, but her track record shows she has never been one to duck a challenge. In 1986, she set up the Great Investment Race, in which investment teams used their skills to raise more than £750,000 for charity. Thereafter, she was co-director of Comic Relief and part of the team that organised Red Nose Day. Then she founded TimeBank, which aims to make volunteering as easy as donating money. In 2000, she became chief executive of Pilotlight, which has helped hundreds of people in the City and beyond give their time and know-how to charities, often doubling their turnover within a year.

This year, Halton has moved on again, founding Philanthropy in Action and bringing the global network Social Venture Partners (SVP) to London as its frst initiative. Her frm conviction is that everyone has a philanthropic journey in them, but that Brits are not very good at taking the frst step.

Her aim is to help us on our way. I meet her at the new Rosewood Hotel, near her offce in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. ‘Just look at how many people did the Ice Bucket Challenge this year – we all want to do something positive,’ she enthuses.

While still at Pilotlight, she commissioned a report from Dr Beth Breeze at the University of Kent’s Centre for Philanthropy. ‘We found several barriers to giving,’ Halton says. ‘Some people said they didn’t believe they had anything to offer.

Others didn’t know where to give or were too busy. Some, having previously given money and had a bad experience such as lack of feedback on how their donation was spent, were worried charities aren’t managed well.’

Dr Breeze elaborates: ‘We’re seeing an end to the armchair philanthropist. Younger professionals these days view philanthropy as an ongoing activity

rather than a one-off transaction, and prefer it to be integrated into their lives. They want to roll up their sleeves and contribute their time, experience, knowledge and contacts as well as their money.

People in the City are keen to get involved, but are often time-poor, so they’re looking for a model that enables them to use their time effciently.’

For Halton, SVP was the solution. It was founded 17 years ago in Seattle by Paul Brainerd, three years after he sold his software company, Aldus Corporation, to Adobe. ‘He felt fortunate and wanted to make a difference, but didn’t want to do it alone, so he sent out an invitation requesting help. A hundred people responded, and SVP – a network of like-minded people dedicated to improving their community and pooling resources to do it – was born,’ she explains. Its website puts it simply: ‘It starts with one person. One person joins many people.

Together they will help build communities able to solve our most entrenched problems.’ From Seattle, the network has spread to Canada, Japan, Australia, China, Korea, India, Singapore and, now, thanks to Halton, the UK. The organisation has become the biggest philanthropic network across the world, with 3,000 members.

SVP’s ‘executive connector’, Paul Shoemaker, was recently endowed with ‘Superhero’ status

by ParentMap for being what the news magazine calls a Social Visionary. When I call him, he has just returned from SVP’s Audacious Philanthropy conference in Austin, Texas. I ask him why Americans are such proactive philanthropists.

‘It’s in our DNA,’ he says. ‘We’ve had enough economic growth and wealth creation to create a self-fulflling virtuous cycle – if you make a lot of money, it’s now seen as cool and right to give it away. Also, we’re more frustrated by our public sector than in some parts of the world – we don’t

New philanthropists • Brummell

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Brummell • New philanthropists

SVP really suits the City.

It’s like a funders’ fund, where you can participate in the very best ideas

wait for our government to fx things and are more likely to effect change in our own communities.’

He explains SVP’s success simply: ‘Our model fts with our globally connected world and the way we want to give – and that resonates even more now than when we started. I was recently in Asia, and it’s easy to be struck by how different things are there, but people everywhere want to build communities in shared ways, so, all of a sudden, you have ideas being generated that are common to Beijing, London, Dallas.

‘I’m a big fan of Fiona. She brings energy and chutzpah to SVP, as well as being well connected.’

Having formed her frst group of 10 this autumn, she hopes to have recruited 20 people by March and 100 by 2016. It costs £5,000 to become a member. Half of that sum is pooled in a charity fund, the other half goes towards making the group more strategic, which Halton describes as a ‘mini philanthropy course’. Indeed, it’s the chance to be educated in philanthropy many fnd attractive.

One member, entrepreneur and former City lawyer Jeremy Tobias-Tarsh, says: ‘I’m already a trustee of a grant-giving organisation, but SVP offers a more powerful platform for philanthropists, both through the experience we share together and the educational programme we design, which informs our giving and ensures it’s super-effective.

Most individual donors don’t want to contribute to a charity’s running costs, but we understand it’s crucial to cover those if the organisation is to sustain its work. We’re still at the exciting early stage where we’re searching for the aching need where we can deploy our collective intellectual and fnancial capital to make a difference.’

Tobias-Tarsh feels SVP can recapture the vanishing culture of giving in which he grew up.

‘I come from a liberal Jewish community and our house was always full of people fundraising for Shelter, Relate or Israel,’ he says. ‘My parents were professionals with a public-service ethos, but our lives are so hectic today and volunteering is so regulated, we fnd it hard to involve our kids in our charitable work. What really appealed about SVP was the chance to get involved as a family, and the commitment of the partners to bring through the next generation of philanthropists.’

One of the frst to join SVP in the UK was Sophie Kingsley, chair of Fine Cell Work, which teaches prisoners and ex-offenders how to sew and make money from their work. She worked as HR director for Barclays Capital before starting her own business, EI8HT, which she sold in 2008.

‘SVP is a win-win and a no brainer. Previously, I might have given, say, £5,000 to charity, but if you bring together 10 people, they can make a

huge difference,’ she says. ‘It really suits the City because the effect of SVP is like a funders’ fund, where you can participate in the very best ideas and get feedback about everything you do. All the skills you need to join SVP are intrinsic to banking; however, these attributes are harder to fnd in the charity sector and, thus, desperately needed.’

She continues: ‘Here in Britain, we may not have the culture they have in the United States of giving away money, but we do have a passion for social justice. Look at our history – take the Salvation Army, for instance – we need to get some of that inclination back. SVP is about fxing and addressing big social issues.’

Halton wants to be ‘the champion of the donor’.

In setting out to make it easier for people to give, she shows that she understands that, although they want their contribution to be meaningful, they might be modest about their ability to help.

SVP is egalitarian and functions like a choir, so members can sing their hearts out without having to risk exposure as the soloist. She also appreciates that philanthropy is much more than just a dreary matter of writing a cheque – it has to be fun. ‘The beauty of SVP is that it’s empowering, like going on an adventure with a group of like-minded souls who also want to make a difference,’ she says. l socialventurepartners.org

brummellmagazine.co.uk

The relaunched and refreshed Brummell website – brummellmagazine.co.uk – is an essential resource: your edited selection of the very best in style, culture, travel, watches, food, drink, technology and motoring. Featuring exclusive interviews, videos and reportage, it’s the indispensable daily update of the little black book for the City.

N O E L C O WA R D ’ S

DESIGN FOR LIVING

ACT TWO: SCENE I

is Leo’s flat in London. It is only a flat but very comfortably furnished.

Two French windows at the back open onto a small balcony, which, in turn, overlooks a square. It is several floors up, so only the tops of trees can be seen; these are brown and losing their leaves, as it is autumn. Down stage, on the Right, are double doors leading to the hall. Above these, a small door leads to the kitchen. On the Left, up stage, another door leads to the bedroom and bathroom.

There is a large picture of G I L D A , painted

by O T T O , hanging on the wall. The furniture may be left to the producer’s discrimination.

THE SCENE

N O E L C O WA R D C O I N E D T H E P H R A S E ‘DESIGN FOR LIVING’.

W W W. B A N D A P R O P E R T Y. C O . U K • L O N D O N

The long way down

For those who can control their toboggan, hurtling down the appropriately named Big Pintenfritz promises thrills, spills and stunning scenery

Words: Ian Belcher

Douglas McKinlay

Travel • Brummell

Sigmund Freud, this one’s for you: Alpine ski resorts share a rampant rivalry over who has the longest, hardest, most impressive toboggan ride.

It’s almost indecent. Val Thorens claims the greatest length in France – at 6km – but it really wouldn’t want to stand next to Germany’s Wallberg Mountain or Italy’s Monte Cavallo, both of which boast a majestic 9.6km of frm, crisp snow.

Yet they’re small fry compared to Austria’s Wildkogel to Bramberg run, which claims, slightly apologetically, to be ‘probably the world’s longest’.

It’s right to be cautious: it’s no match for the 15km snake writhing suggestively down the vertiginous mountains above the Swiss chocolate-box village of Grindelwald. Its name? Big Pintenfritz. Of course it is. If it wasn’t the ultimate toboggan ride, it would be a moustachioed adult-movie star.

Before you snort dismissively at the idea of sledging when you could be carving through fresh powder on your Dynastar Cham 97s or earning kudos and whiplash on the Cresta Run, remember this: tobogganing honours a lunatic British tradition dating back to the late 19th century, when thrill-seeking British Army offcers, having polished off the brandy, would climb mountains and slide back down on purloined hotel trays.

It has a reckless, devil-may-care charm.

You’d also be advised to look upwards.

Glowering above Grindelwald, like a gigantic

poker-faced judge of your high-altitude skill, is the north face of one of the most iconic mountains on earth: the Eiger. As you rise from the gloom of the valley foor, you’ll also see a splatter of dramatic peaks frescoed with glaciers: the Wetterhom, Shreckhom, Mönch and Jungfrau. And the cable car to the upper station is just the start. To reach the launch pad for Big Pintenfritz, you then face a two-hour hike to Mount Faulhorn, ascending 513m along what locals modestly dub ‘the most beautiful winter footpath in the Alps’.

En route, close to the ludicrously photogenic rhino-horn peak of the Waldspitz, I narrowly avoid being run over by two ruddy-cheeked Swiss teenagers, Christian and Michael, who appear to be riding a Victorian toy. It’s a velogemel: a wooden bike with skis for wheels and no brakes.

‘They were invented in Grindelwald,’ explains Christian, with a slightly patronising glance at my sledge. ‘They’re fast. So fast.’ Ah the folly of youth: they’ll still have to drag the damn things up the steep fnal scrabble to the top of the run.

Inspiration demands perspiration on Big Pintenfritz, and I’m soon peeling off steaming Stiff peaks Opposite and above: Big Pintenfritz is surrounded by some of Europe’s most impressive mountains, and looks down on the chocolate-box village of Grindelwald

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layers of clothing. I’m not alone. Approaching the 2,681m peak, I fnd out-of-breath tobogganers slumped next to their chariots, pretending to admire a 360° widescreen panorama of lakes, peaks and distant lowlands.

And the views are a mere taster. The main course lies a couple of hundred yards below, where Big Pintenfritz, named after the former owner of the Faulhorn’s Hotel – he frst conquered the run, on virgin snow, for a bet – dips, plummets and shimmies across a vast plain of the white stuff, before rocketing over a ridge. It curls sinuously around hillocks, accelerates along straights and is punctuated by mini-rises, promising low-level air like a Reliant Robin taking a humpback bridge.

It’s totally, utterly exhilarating. To begin with, I have little control, repeatedly wiping out. I lose my sunglasses, kneecap Brummell’s photographer and, on one memorable occasion, end up straddling the runner rather than the seat – a driving position not recommended for anyone planning to start a family.

It’s staccato progress: accelerate, curse, crash.

Dust down. Repeat. But then, just as another panorama starts to unfold, I accidentally discover the secret of control: fat feet gently kissing the ground, weight forward, function over style. The story of my life. Occasionally, Euro boy-racers scream past, nonchalantly touching their hands on the ground behind the sledge – showboating

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Brummell • Travel

Tobogganing honours a late 19th-century British tradition. It has a reckless, devil-may-care charm

The long run From top: The exhausting two-hour hike to the starting point; a welcome roadside refreshment point; the 15km Big Pintenfritz, running from Faulhorn to Grindelwald, is the longest toboggan ride in Europe

human rudders. I’m not being sucked into a contest, though. I’m already on a high-octane high, back end swinging out on corners, stomach wobbling in the breeze: a grown man gleefully rediscovering his childhood.

After 15 serene minutes, I lose concentration and then control, planting my nose in a straw bale outside a mountain hut. I look up to see Charlotte and Marcus from the town of Interlaken enjoying a mid-afternoon tipple. They kindly hand over the remaining third of a bottle of red plonk. ‘It should help,’ she tells me. ‘It’s special Swiss wine.’ It turns out to be ‘special’ in the way anti-freeze is special, but it adds a new dimension to Big Pintenfritz.

At the halfway point, at Restaurant Bussalp, where four out of fve customers sport blonde bushy moustaches, I refresh with a stein of the remarkably named Rugenbräu Lager Hell. It’s heavenly preparation for the upcoming stretch on a winding road, where the possibility of colliding head-on with a bus adds an extra frisson of excitement.

Recklessly ignoring the golden rule of Don’t Drink and Slide, I pull up for another beer at the roadside Weidli Bar. Bad move. Everything’s becoming a tad hazy. Roads suddenly sport ‘No Tobogganing’ signs. I’ve taken a wrong turn.

It’s getting dark, I’m slightly sozzled and I’ve somehow managed to leave a clearly marked trail.

As Grindelwald’s houses puddle the snow with orange light, I take a shortcut through someone’s back garden, bounce down some steps, narrowly missing a pedestrian, and deliver a glancing blow to a chalet drainpipe. After almost three hours, I take the chequered fag, metal runners sparking on the tarmac, behind Restaurant Challibar.

I’ve not troubled the record books. Avoid alcohol, of course, and put your foot down – or rather don’t put your foot down – and Big Pintenfritz is a thrilling 60-minute run. My gloriously amateur, increasingly chaotic descent is, however, a ftting tribute to those early British pioneers. To those majors and captains with their strong livers, double-barrelled panache and battered hotel trays, I salute you. l A two-day hiking and toboggan pass, which includes trains, cable cars and buses, costs £70. Toboggan hire costs from £10 a day; grindelwald.ch

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Epicure • Brummell

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Epicure – Wining & dining Brummell’s pages focused on the enjoyment of food and drink bring you up to date with carefully edited news about the most interesting culinary activity in town. We explore the revolution in London’s hotel-restaurant scene, with established grandes dames upping the stakes with celebrity chefs overseeing their kitchens, and upstart contemporary hotel launches thrilling with innovative takes on cuisine and design. The capital’s bars are thriving and feature inventive mixologists and drinks experts in avant-garde environments. It’s a great city in which to be a gastronome, gourmand, gourmet – or just plain hungry.

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Epicure • News

Global dining ↑ As any well-travelled gastronome knows, when in Copenhagen, one dines at Noma, or, if passing through Girona, El Celler de Can Roca. Hell, you may even be lucky enough to have eaten at both these culinary Meccas. In which case, there’s just another 999 restaurants to tick off your list of 1,001 dining venues to visit before you’re brown bread, which includes Delhi’s coolest kebab joint and a department store in Tokyo with bento boxes to die for. At 960 pages, it’s not going to slip into the suitcase easily, but for the gourmet armchair traveller, Jenny Linford’s guide is a feast.

1001 Restaurants You Must Experience Before You Die (£20)

Feather-light fancies ↑ Marshmallows have a long history, dating back some 4,000 years to Egypt; the confectionery became so popular it was reserved solely for the pharaohs and their families. Now, amazing artisan clouds of decadence are being offered to all by Murphy Williams at Cloud Nine Marshmallows, which creates luxurious treats made with the fnest natural ingredients. Her starting point is to think of puddings she relishes: ginger cake and custard, which became stem ginger and Madagascar vanilla marshmallows; or raspberries and lemon curd, where the latter’s sharp quality undercuts the confectionery’s inherent sweetness. These handmade gourmet delicacies, recently awarded a gold star from the Guild of Fine Food, are available online for purchase by both princes and the proletariat. cloudninemarshmallows.co.uk

Made to a measure Floral white wine or robust red?

Orange or peach? Crème brûlée or cheese? A culinary version of an online psychometric test set by Glenfddich’s malt master Brian Kinsman aims to identify which of 36 rare single-cask whiskies – all aged in different woods – suits you best. Based on your answers, you are offered a shortlist, with tasting notes to guide your fnal choice.

Each bespoke whisky comes in a personalised bottle and gift box. glenfddichgallery.com

Nostalgic nosh ↑ A cheesecake-favoured slice of New York’s Lower East Side, the largely Jewish neighbourhood where the likes of Walter Matthau and Irving Berlin grew up, comes to Goodge Street in the shape of Delancey & Co. Inspired by institutions such as Katz’s, the deli bar is the brainchild of Daniel Moosah, a former professional poker player.

‘It’s all food from my heritage,’ he says of the salt beef, smoked-salmon bagels, cholla rolls, sweet-and-sour gherkins, six types of cream cheese and chicken soup that will be on offer.

American beers and prosecco on tap should wash it all down nicely. delanceyandco.co.uk

News • Epicure

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Tall tales → London's highest rooftop gardens are opening atop the Walkie-Talkie building at 20 Fenchurch Street this January.

Featuring two restaurants, a bar and three event spaces for City folk to put to good use, the Sky Garden venue will be set across three foors, enveloped by gardens designed by award-winning landscape architects Gillespies. The Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill on level 37 will serve oysters, fsh and crustacea, plus seasonal game, meat and vegetarian dishes; while just one foor down, on level 36, the Darwin Brasserie will specialise in classic European cuisine. Grab a drink at the Sky Pod bar on level 35 to get the best views of the City by night, or hire out one of the event spaces for parties of 20 to 450 guests to host your own high-rise shindig. The Sky Garden opens on 5 January and bookings can be made from now. rhubarb.net/venues/sky-garden

Learning cuvée ↓ One of the best ways to beat those post-Christmas drab-January blues is by cooking up a feast and serving it with your new favourite, perfectly matched wine. Petersham Nurseries in Richmond – which has a well-regarded restaurant in its glasshouse – is the place to look to for inspiration. On the 10th, the expert team of Petersham Cellar sommeliers will walk you through its newest arrivals, both red and white, from Italy. Hone your knife skills on chicken and lamb, and fat and round fsh, with head chef Damian Clisby on the 15th, or, if you’d rather just go for a walk, discover the joys of foraging with chef Claudio Bincoletto on the 25th. All workshops, except the wine tasting, are followed by lunch and priced from £20 to £45. petershamnurseries.com

’Tis the season Just in time for a month of festive feasting, two new dining options: The Grill at the Dorchester (dorchestercollection.com) has been relaunched, with Alain Ducasse’s protégé Christophe Marleix creating the seasonal menus for its new culinary chapter. And in Covent Garden, The Ivy Market Grill (theivymarketgrill.com), dubbed ‘the little sister of The Ivy’, has recently opened, serving versions of famous Ivy dishes imbued with its distinct character.

Rare spirits ↑ When (or if) Napoléon rejected his wife, the French Empress clearly hadn’t brought a rare bottle of cognac into the boudoir. Nonetheless, in tribute to her, Courvoisier master blender Patrice Pinet has produced eight Lalique decanters of L’Esprit de Joséphine (£9,715). Blending rare mid-19th century cognacs, this masterpiece is just one of four limited editions, newly released from Courvoisier’s Paradis cellar. Heritage de Louis Renard is a sumptuous blend of cognacs laid down by the eponymous master blender (50 Baccarat decanters; £7,500 each). Reserve 1978 is a rarity: a single-vintage cognac (10 bottles; £1,100).

And Tribute Borderies is made exclusively from the eaux-de-vie of a single family of winemakers. Five demijohns, in 43 bottles, will be sold, at £51,600 each. courvoisier.com

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Brummell • Restaurants

Staying the course

There’s been a revolution in London hotel dining – and some of the newest openings are leading the charge

Words: Jane Fulcher

Hotel restaurants in London have completed a neat and rather satisfying loop. Back in the dark days when London had a justifable reputation as a terrible place to dine, hotel restaurants were a beacon of hope. Traditional, yes, but those at The Ritz, Claridge’s, The Goring, The Connaught and the like were a safe bet for a meal of both quality and sophistication.

Fast-forward to the dining revolution that the capital has undergone in the past 20 years, however, and while the stalwarts remained popular, they started to seem stuffy and were increasingly outpaced by more adventurous venues – that is, until those same hotels started to invite the big names to cook in their restaurants.

When Alain Ducasse opened his frst UK restaurant at The Dorchester in 2007, the critic for The Telegraph announced its launch with the words ‘God comes to town’. The following year saw Marcus Wareing open his self-titled establishment at The Berkeley, which won Harden’s London Restaurant of The Year in both 2008 and 2009. The Mandarin Oriental – a hotel now synonymous with big-name chefs – opened Bar Boulud in 2010, with Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner hot on its heels a year later. That same year, the fêted Bruno Loubet opened his namesake Bistrot at The Zetter Townhouse. In 2011, the AustrianAmerican celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck opened his frst European venture Cut, a paean to steak, next door to Ducasse’s, in The Dorchester’s younger, hipper sister hotel, 45 Park Lane.

Chefs with a galaxy of Michelin stars now seem a requirement rather than a luxury at London’s fnest establishments, which has heralded some of the best restaurants serving the most daring fare that London has ever tasted. Of recent openings, many of those that have drawn praise and attention have been in hotels – and most are as chic and cutting-edge in design as they are in cuisine.

Get past the lines of paparazzi at the Chiltern Firehouse and the substance beneath its hype is revealed. One of London’s fnest and most experimental chefs, Nuno Mendes, is at the helm here. He was previously head chef at Viajante at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green – another trailblazer for hotel dining. His prowess, combined with the international reputation and considerable network of hotelier André Balazs, means the restaurant has been thronged with celebrities from the very start. Happily, the food is worthy of the attention, with Mendes applying his trademark inventiveness to what looks at frst to be a fairly

Restaurants • Brummell

conservative, American-style hotel menu and creating something entirely original. The Firehouse Caesar Salad, for example, is made with crispy and delicious chicken skin, while an apple panna cotta comes with toasted meringue and a refreshing herb granita.

Equally glamorous but less of a celebrity haunt, Berners Tavern, in one of London’s most striking dining rooms, also packs a powerful culinary punch. With Jason Atherton as executive chef, it has turned traditional British cuisine into a dish of refned beauty. Fresh seafood comes straight from Colchester and Orkney, fsh from Cornwall, lamb from the salty Romney Marshes.

A more recent newcomer to the capital’s restaurant scene is Sea Containers at the Mondrian.

This frst Mondrian hotel outside the US promises to be as much a destination for Londoners and tourists alike as those in New York and Los Angeles.

Its riverside location next to Blackfriars Bridge has not always been an area associated with top-notch dining, but with the help of near-neighbours The Shard’s Shangri-La Hotel and its restaurants Hutong and Oblix, this looks set to change.

Drawing on the extensive experience of culinary director Seamus Mullen, Sea Containers has created a menu comprising a well thought-out combination of Mediterranean, Asian and Middle-Eastern favours that aims to please both international and local palates. Oven-roasted lamb meatballs are served with a soft but sharp sheep’s cheese and Moroccan spices, ceviche is punctuated with tangy yuzu, and charred eggplant is accompanied by mint labneh, dates, and black and white sesame. The restaurant is visually stunning, too, as is Dandelyan, the Mondrian’s Tom Dixon-designed bar – already a destination in its own right for views across the river and cocktails by the formidably talented Ryan Chetiyawardana.

The Beaumont comes with an impeccable London heritage, being the frst hotel from Corbin & King, whose previous ventures include The Wolseley and The Delaunay. This beautiful Art Deco hotel is located at the very north end of Mayfair, close to Bond Street tube station.

Its restaurant, The Colony Grill, like those of its sister venues, is full of old-school glamour and has become an instant classic. Traditional it might be, but not in the hushed, white-tablecloths-andsilverware way of old; instead, it retains the buzz and the cool of 21st-century London. It serves an excellent transatlantic menu, including exquisitely prepared classics such as grilled Dover sole, steaks and oysters. A particular draw is the elegant private-dining space, The Lotos Room, which is justifably popular for business lunches.

Victoria is fast reinventing itself as the place in which to stay, work and live – and nowhere is this more apparent than at Artist Residence. This handsome boutique hotel, housed in a 19th-century building designed by Thomas Cubitt, is full of character. Its restaurant, 64 Degrees, which places the chef at the very heart of the proceedings is especially quirky. Diners are encouraged to sit at bars adjacent to the kitchen and be served directly by those preparing small plates such as scallops, lemon grass and celery, potato knödel with cabbage and smoked butter, or beef stovies and

Of recent restaurant openings in the capital, many that have drawn praise have been in hotels

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Fine fare Opposite, from top: The imposing Berner’s Tavern; the Mondrian at the newly transformed Sea Containers This page, from top: Atmospheric Plum & Spilt Milk; high-end dining from Plum & Spilt Milk and Artist Residence

shallots. Table service is available away from the bar, too, for those who prefer it, meaning this venue is as suitable for a work lunch as a date or leisurely meal with friends.

It isn’t just brand-new hotels and restaurants that are getting with the programme either.

Claridge’s made waves with its high-profle Taste of Noma pop-up back in 2012, attracting the world’s most in-demand chef, René Redzepi, to its helm. And this year, it opened Fera, a restaurant from Michelin-starred Simon Rogan, which is beaten only by the Chiltern Firehouse in how diffcult it is to get a table.

Elsewhere, the traditional sophistication of Northall at The Corinthia, trendy Plum & Spilt Milk at the Great Northern Hotel at King’s Cross, the very British elegance of Marcus Wareing’s The Gilbert Scott at the St Pancras Renaissance and the New York-meets-London chic of Hoi Polloi at Shoreditch’s Ace Hotel continue the upward trend. Even the doyen of the London hotelrestaurant scene, Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, has recently had a facelift and relaunched simply as Marcus, with a striking contemporary dining room to set off its consistently superb menu.

The narrative arc of London’s restaurant renaissance is interesting. While leading hotels were slow on the uptake, after realising their audience wasn’t as captive as they thought, they’ve quickly transformed into leaders in the feld, creating welcome surprises as they outsmart each other to become the next hottest ticket. Indeed, with food this good, it’s easy to forget they have beds at all. l

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Brummell • Gourmet skiing

Haute cuisine

A favourite haunt of Alpine foodies is the setting for an event that sees three big-name chefs serving gastronomic delights at altitude

Words: Chris Madigan

It’s a dramatic day in the Italian Alps. Light glints off snowy peaks as a thick cloud rolls in over them, giving everything a scent of kirsch. Kirsch?

Yes, because these peaks are those of a whitetruffe-favoured whipped cream over which Heston Blumenthal is pouring a vapour created by passing warmed cherry liqueur over dry ice.

During a break from skiing, the chef has reinvented hot chocolate as a deconstructed Black Forest gâteau. This is just one of the culinary challenges he and his friends Marcus Wareing and Sat Bains have taken on during the Gourmet Mountain Experience in Courmayeur, during which guests get to spend three days on the slopes and enjoy gastronomic evening menus.

The seed of the idea was planted when he met Amin Momen of Momentum Ski, the tour operator that organises events such as the City Ski Championships. ‘We were in Sainte Foy – this amazing resort in France that only has a few lifts but loads of off-piste routes,’ Blumenthal says. ‘We’d skiied through the forest and had stopped for lunch. Our guide laid out one of his

Gourmet skiing • Brummell

Simon John Owen/red-photographic.com

Mountain highs Opposite from top: Blumenthal pours his Black Forest gâteau hot chocolate; and with, from left, Sat Bains and Marcus Wareing.

This page: Bains’s winning take on tiramisù; and scallops with truffes; Wareing at work

skis as a table and cut pieces of Beaufort cheese onto it, then pulled a bottle of wine from his rucksack. So simple, but wow – a wonderful setting, great friends and good produce.’

The idea of introducing world-famous British chefs into the equation, however, came to him in Courmayeur, which sits in the Aosta Valley under the watchful gaze of Monte Bianco (or Mont Blanc, as it’s known at the other end of the tunnel).

A favourite weekend ski destination for Italians (and time-poor Londoners – it’s only 90 minutes from Geneva airport), the resort also has a great reputation for food. Blumenthal was introduced to the town in 2007, when BBC Sport’s Ski Sunday invited celebrities to improve their slalom-racing skills here. He kept coming back. ‘I just loved the small, family-run mountain restaurants where you could get a simple pizza or pasta dish, or some roast meats, and great local wines.’

Another fan is Marcus Wareing (of Marcus in Knightsbridge, The Gilbert Scott at St Pancras and Tredwell’s, Covent Garden). ‘In March 2013, I was having a few days here with my son when I bumped into Heston, who was staying in the same hotel. We started talking about us cooking here, in some of the restaurants we both enjoyed eating in.

I don’t work away from London much. I wouldn’t say I’m a control freak, but I am disciplined with myself and my team, so I knew it’d be a challenge.’

They decided Blumenthal would host the trip, consulting with the mountain huts to create lunch menus from their specialities. There would be a gala dinner cooked by a local hotel chef on the frst night, followed by a tasting of grappas. Then the highlight: two dinners at altitude on consecutive nights, one prepared by Wareing and the second by another British multi-Michelin-starred chef.

The proprietor of Nottingham’s Sat Bains Restaurant With Rooms completed the trio and was the only one new to the Alpine environment, but he was as excited as the other two: ‘The frst time I walked into the Maison Vieille, I was really pleased I was doing my dinner there. At night, it’s reachable only by snowmobile, so you can be up there for hours as a group, chatting, laughing, drinking, dancing. The owner, Giacomo, wears an Afghan hat and there are photos of him swimming naked with horses! He’s a larger-than-life character.’

Coming from a chef who is called exactly that in most profles of him, it’s quite a statement.

Both Wareing and Bains are keen to stress that these were kitchen collaborations, not takeovers: ‘The idea was to serve food that wasn’t alien to the environment,’ says Bains. ‘So, to go with our ox-cheek dish, we asked Giacomo’s chefs to do the polenta their way. And when we had lunch here, he served slices of delicious, gamey air-dried chamois meat and I immediately said I wanted that served with drinks as people arrived.’

Down in the more modern kitchen of La Chaumière, Wareing serves cured fllets of trout

At night, it’s reachable only by snowmobile so you can be up there for hours, laughing, drinking, dancing

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from a river in the valley, accompanied by razor clams and fennel, with an artichoke and parsley chowder poured over. To accompany his lamb main course, he serves patate alla valdostana.

The ingredients may be the same as many an Alpine lunch – potato, fontina cheese, lardons, onion – but the effect is totally different, because he uses small potatoes, halved. ‘When you slice them, the dish reduces in size, so you feel you need a larger portion, but it’s too dense. You keep the individuality of favours and textures: potato, onion, cheese and the gravy from the lamb.’

The guests are a varied and intriguing group, and include a New England bakery owner, a Formula One world champion and a Notting Hill vintage-couture expert who dresses Hollywood stars. Most are keen skiers and, given the compact nature of Courmayeur, convivial little huddles of unrelated but like-minded folk tend to form, which means people fnd themselves chatting away with Blumenthal or Wareing on a chair lift.

This is one of the better resorts for non-skiers, as there is great walking to be had along marked trails, and plenty of fashion boutiques and foodie shops in town to nose around in.

Bains combines delicacy and detail with muscular ingredients in his cooking. At dinner that evening, Blumenthal tucks heartily into Bains’s scallop dish and praises it enthusiastically: ‘It’s gutsy but refned. You have a big fat juicy scallop at the heart, as well as rich truffe in the emulsion, but it’s balanced by bitterness from the charred leeks and the sharpness of the pickled onions.’

The fnal course of both dinners comes in the form of a competition. Blumenthal sets his two friends the challenge of interpreting the classic Italian dessert, the tiramisú. Independently, they both decide to emphasise the separate favours.

Wareing produces a chocolatey circle that brings a crispness to the dish, while Bains creates aerated chocolate squares with the other favours introduced by dots of gels and ketchups. Both are phenomenal, and Bains’s narrow victory is possibly down to a Proustian rush to childhood Aero bars.

As everyone heads home, plans are already afoot for the January 2015 edition of the Gourmet Mountain Experience. ‘It’s going to be even more collaborative,’ says Blumenthal. ‘Rather than have Marcus and Sat in different kitchens, we’ll all be together, producing different dishes with the local chefs at each restaurant. One evening will have a fne-dining feel, the other will be more rustic.’

The weekend will begin with breakfast at The Perfectionists’ Café, Blumenthal’s place at Heathrow Terminal 2, before he hands guests a carry-on treat for the plane. The Michelin star count will be up to eight with the addition of Maura Gosio, chef of the Grand Hotel Royal e Golf. One of the mountain lunches, at Château Branlant, will be a wine and cheese-tasting session with the chefs, and there may be a revival of the plan, ruled out by bad weather in 2014, to have a picnic on the classic Vallée Blanche off-piste ski route – which is where the idea began. l The second Gourmet Mountain Experience takes place 9–12 January and costs £3,800pp, including fights, transfers, meals, fve-star hotel accommodation, ski hire, lift pass and ski guiding or lessons; momentumski.com

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Brummell • Need to know

In his element

In a long-awaited solo show at Portland Gallery, celebrated sculptor David Williams-Ellis reveals his latest bronze fgures

Words: Charlotte Metcalf

In December, Portland Gallery in St James’s will unveil the newest work of internationally renowned sculptor, David Williams-Ellis. For the frst time since his exhibition at the Robert Bowman Gallery in 2003, the artist is being celebrated with a long overdue one-man show, Elemental, featuring his works in bronze, from small, desktop fgures and busts to larger sculptures intended for the landscape or garden.

For the past 12 years, Williams-Ellis has been building up a substantial following, accepting commissions in locations as far afeld as Milan, Mykonos and Tokyo. In Britain, his eclectic client list includes the Duchess of Abercorn, Bryan Ferry’s sons and Alex Thursby, the CEO of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

City regulars may already be familiar with Williams-Ellis’s work, which graces and ‘humanises’

many corporate spaces. ‘The Guardians’ preside over Marshall Wace’s headquarters in the Adelphi Building near the Strand; ‘The Watcher’ towers over Swires’ Oxford House in Hong Kong; and ‘The Leapers’ are silhouetted against the dramatic IFC building in Shanghai. ‘Big offce blocks, while being architecturally adventurous, can often feel sterile,’ says the artist. ‘A sculpture can make people smile and feel a personal connection to an otherwise anonymous environment.’

The sculptor’s creative heritage is rooted in Wales – his great-uncle was the architect Clough Williams-Ellis, who created the Italianate village of Portmeirion. The family connections continue: his sister, Bronwyn, is a respected ceramicist.

Williams-Ellis began his artistic journey at 18, when he asked his parents for a ticket to Italy for his birthday. He went to Florence to seek out Nerina Simi, the legendary drawing teacher, then in her eighties. Although she turned him away several times, his persistence paid off. ‘I kept going back until she let me in,’ he says. ‘She taught us that a life drawing should take two weeks, but I did about 10 the frst morning. I took six months to slow down enough to look properly. Then, walking down the street one day, I realised I was seeing people’s faces, the folds in their clothes, the detail on buildings, in a totally different way.’

He went on to learn wood-carving, then joined a community of marble sculptors at Pietrasanta before returning to London to attend the Sir John Cass School of Art. A group exhibition cemented his reputation, and shows at the Bruton Gallery, Agnews, Sladmore and Cadogan Contemporary soon followed. The US collector Will Richeson, chairman of Security Pacifc Bank’s fnancialservices division, started collecting William-Ellis’s work, earning him a following in the States. The artist then created six life-size bronzes for the roof of a mansion in Kobe, Japan, and was soon sculpting for public spaces all over the country.

Today, Williams-Ellis works from a studio at his home in Cumbria, a converted farmhouse overlooking a valley. ‘I’m drawn to the sometimes harsh, unpredictable weather here and wanted to explore the relationship between the elements and us,’ he says. His new series, Umbrella Girls, represents his fascination with the way an umbrella can enclose and animate the negative space around a fgure. Recent experiments with patination have enabled him to create dazzling, fame-bright colours for some of his works, giving them a dynamic feel and sending a clear signal to collectors that fgurative sculpture is once more the focus of keen attention in the art market. l Elemental runs at The Portland Gallery from 4 to 23 December 2014; portlandgallery.com

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Welcome to Brummell This issue explores the art of giving, looking at one of the positive outcomes of the credit crunch: a re-examination of values. What do you really want to achieve? Our columnist David Charters argues that those with a City career behind them will become the frst generation who will routinely expect to have not one career, but several.

‘We will be the frst who will retire from highly paid, full-time employment at close to our peak talent without fnancial pressure, generally in good health and, after a short break and pause for breath, a lot of energy,’ he predicts. ‘Our talent and focus will shift elsewhere, and we will focus far more on the things we did not do during our career – philanthropy and public service – either because there was so little time available for those in senior, high-pressure positions, or because other priorities crowded them out.’ The scope is limited only by imagination and ambition, he says.

One person whose ambition is certainly not lacking is Fiona Halton. Her conviction is that everyone has a philanthropic journey in them, but Brits are not very good at progressing on those journeys – yet. With that in mind, her aim is to unlock our potential for giving, and she explains in these pages how she intends to go about that.

We also talk to the CEO with City experience who has turned a loss-making philanthropic gesture into a social enterprise and given a generous proportion of the profts to charity. Karen Lynch’s company produces bottled water with the aim of disrupting the market – ‘If you can drink tap water, it’s better for the environment.’

Elsewhere, we round up upscale timepieces with charitable connections, and curate luxury accessories for gifting that will be warmly received.

We hope Brummell gives you enjoyment.

Joanne Glasbey, Editor

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