Brummell: The Art of Giving

December 2013

The little black book for the City

Better to give Donating time, not just money • Mentoring top executives • Gifting accessories • Philanthropic watches The lowdown on the latest Aston Martin • Plus the new Epicure section: whisky, craft beer, restaurants

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Welcome to Brummell This edition of Brummell takes a look at the art of giving, in many of its guises. Columnist David Charters argues that contributing in ways that go beyond the bottom line is de rigueur rather than an optional extra these days. It manifests itself, he says, in ‘the unnecessary flights that we avoid, the firm’s recycling policy, the cup of Fairtrade coffee, the charities we sponsor, the time that we give to each other and to the causes we pursue.’

We talk to the people involved in philanthropic initiative Pilotlight, connecting ambitious charities with business leaders who give their time, and find the results prove mutually beneficial; and discover how ‘The Mentor’ delivers his proposition to make high-fliers become ‘the very best version of themselves’, helping his clients break through

to the zenith of their game on all levels – personal, spiritual and emotional as well as financial.

Elsewhere we suggest luxury accessories for gifting, ensuring a warm response, and round up the upscale timepieces with charitable connections.

Endowing the magazine with a relevant new section, we introduce Brummell Epicure, in which we separate the good and the excellent from the run-of-the-mill in the buzzing but over-excitable restaurant scene; delve into the passionate rise of craft beers, which is so much more than a trend; and travel to Bordeaux with Michelin-starred chef Chris Galvin as he meets food and wine producers to get inspiration for his own new menus.

We hope Brummell gives you enjoyment.

Joanne Glasbey, Editor

“Victoria is evolving into a real fashion hub. For me, working here is perfect because I’m close to so many fashion houses, especially now that Jimmy Choo, Tom Ford and Burberry have set up their headquarters here.”

DANIELA AGNELLI Daniela Agnelli is Fashion Director at the Telegraph Magazine

At Land Securities, we believe a place is defined by its people. Together we are creating a vibrant new destination for Londoners to enjoy, people from across the world to visit and somewhere that businesses and individuals are proud to call home.

To watch interviews with the creative people in our list of eminent ‘New Victorians’, visit our website.

createvictoria.com

l @createvictoria f facebook.com/CreateVictoria

hermès. time reinvented.

arceau le temps suspendu forgetting time, just for a moment, before recapturing it again. one press on the pushbutton makes the hours and minutes vanish at will. meanwhile, the central second hand, unperturbed, pursues its ardent race against time. while the illusion works its magic, the movement continues to beat thanks to a complication exclusive to hermès. another push is all it takes for time to resume its onward march .

Her mes.com

Contents • Brummell

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Cover illustration: Ryan Todd Show Media Brummell editorial 020 3222 0101 — Editor Joanne Glasbey Art Director Dominic Bell Managing Editor Lucy Teasdale Chief Copy Editor Chris Madigan Deputy Chief Copy Editor Gill Wing Senior Designer Jo Murray Picture Director Juliette Hedoin Staff Writer Charlie Teasdale Copy Editor Cate Langmuir Intern Lisa Aichhorn Creative Director Ian Pendleton Managing Director Peter Howarth — Advertising & Events Director Duncan McRae duncan@flyingcoloursmarketing.com 07816 218059 — showmedialondon.com brummell@showmedialondon.com — Visit Brummell’s website for more tailor-made content: brummellmagazine.net

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Foreword Columnist David Charters urges his City colleagues to check their moral compasses Money no object The Hermès watch that is, intriguingly, a tribute to the lift in the Paris headquarters BEAUMONDE News Mayfair art tours; Neapolitan silk ties; and a celebration of Sir Paul Smith Cars The new Rolls-Royce Wraith is so good to drive, it will make chauffeurs nervous Jewellery Inside the expanded and even more luxurious Harrods’ Fine Jewellery Room Eyewear Hardy Amies – intelligence officer, royal couturier and dapper spectacle-wearer Footwear The shoe choice of most French presidents, JM Weston now makes a range for women After the City From trading floor to treading the boards: the stockbroker who became a theatrical agent ACCESSORIES Jewellery The beauty of gold and diamonds elegantly expressed in rings, bracelets and earrings Leather goods This most sumptuous material in many guises, used for belts, gloves and bags

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Colour reproduction by Fresh Media Group, groupfmg.com. Printed by Manson Group, manson-grp.co.uk 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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FEATURES Watches With these examples of horological charity, you can be generous with your timepiece and help good causes around the world Mentoring David CM Carter is ‘The Mentor’ – not the trailer for a new US TV show, but an introduction to the man who guides the highest business achievers Skiing Not grotty, but not quite super-luxe: we try the new breed of high-service, upper mid-market chalet holiday Philanthropy Pilotlight is a charitable organisation that doesn’t simply campaign for money, but gathers experienced professionals to work pro bono to make charities work better Motoring Our correspondent takes the new Aston Martin Vantage on the road in California and, if the Highway Patrol is reading, drives it at a solid 55mph

By George A corporate lawyer sings ‘Toreador’ at Sadler’s Wells; bank employees perform Messiah – it’s all thanks to City Music Services EPICURE Food & drink news A Liverpool Street champagne bar; organic Christmas meat delivered; handmade Sheffield-steel knives; ants with pineapple Travel Every year, chef Chris Galvin takes a trip to France to inspire new ideas for Galvin at Windows –we accompany him to Bordeaux Restaurant openings Brummell separates the wheat – or indeed the quinoa – from the chaff of London’s ‘hottest’ new dining experiences Champagne New evidence may suggest champagne was actually invented by an Englishman. But it was certainly the French who perfected it…

Craft beer Under railway arches around London, something is brewing: a revolution in beer Whisky With the trend for non-age-statement single malts, has whisky reached the end of time?

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True bearings

Foreword • Brummell

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As the City navigates its return to a strong moral code and a need to give something back, could it be in danger of losing its bad-guy reputation?

Words: David Charters Illustration: Brett Ryder

Have we become better people as a result of the banking crisis? I ask because there is no doubt these days that morality is definitely on the board agenda. The public, media and, of course, grandstanding politicians are all asking how we do things as well as what we actually do, and they expect answers driven by more than simply the bottom line. Even traditionally passive shareholders have started to ask questions that relate to more than just their annual returns.

The problem is that regulating the financial services industry is like nailing jelly to the wall. No sooner do the regulators announce another set of rules or guidelines than highly paid, talented, creative teams of bankers, lawyers and accountants set about working out a way around them. And it is a one-sided battle.You only need to compare relative pay scales to understand who will come out on top.

As an industry, if we want to do something – even something terribly high-risk, which more properly belongs in a casino than a bank – we can generally find a way to do it. At worst, we restructure it, turn it into something else that achieves exactly the same dodgy results, give it a new name and get it reclassified. In the most extreme case, we move it offshore or into a non-banking entity, so that we really can say, ‘Yah boo sucks’.

We have been doing this for years. It does not break any laws – indeed that is the whole point of it. But is it right?

As we head into yet another self-indulgent, hedonistic, seasonal binge, it is worth reflecting on whether we have learnt anything – and actually changed the way we conduct ourselves – as a result of what we have been through.

I am a non-executive director of a security and risk-mitigation company called Protection Group International. It is the world’s largest maritime security company, providing more than 500 former Royal Marines as armed guards against pirate attacks aboard merchant ships in the high-risk area of the Indian Ocean. It also offers technical security services to large corporates all

Contributing in ways that go beyond the bottom line is de rigueur rather than an optional extra

over the world – ex-cyber-spooks who will mount ‘red team’ attacks on your systems and buildings, and will come and vet your key personnel. It is a genuinely international business, and could easily be structured to have inter-company charging for services between regionally based subsidiaries, and inter-company loans requiring interest to be paid. It could potentially move profits out of the UK into low-tax jurisdictions, possibly even avoid paying tax altogether. For a company such as PGI, tax is a voluntary contribution – and yet paying it is what we have decided to do.

Not only that, but we have decided to give one per cent of profits to charitable causes. And we already pay more than £20m a year in wages to ex-servicemen. Are we saints? Or have we lost our commercial nous? Actually, the answer is neither.

We have taken a decision as a board, supported by our shareholders, about how we want to do business.

Whether it will benefit us remains to be seen, but we really do not care – this is a matter of principle.

The way we conduct ourselves is a statement in itself, and people doing business with us should know who we are and what we believe in.

If that all sounds terribly hard-going and pompous, bear in mind the people employed by PGI are hardly the sort you meet at the vicarage tea party: former Royal Marines, Special Forces and spooks. So, if they are deciding to pay taxes voluntarily and choosing to give money to charity, what will more mainstream businesses (particularly large, consumer-facing ones, which depend on public goodwill and government support) be doing?

I hope it is a sign of the times that soft factors are coming back in: values, ethics, morality – all the things we used to talk about but now actually feel the need to deliver on.

There was a time – not so long ago – when most boards cared as little about their CSR policies as they did about their professional liability insurance. A quick five minutes at the end of the meeting. It was a cost of doing business and they accepted it, provided it did not impinge on what really mattered, which was making more money and getting well paid as a result.

My sense is that times have changed. More significantly I feel that only a marginal shift is needed to make a dramatic difference. It is a shift that cannot in the end be dictated by the government or the media or indeed any outside body. It has to come from within, and it has to be a natural response to the mood of the times.

How we conduct ourselves – our moral compass – is now part of the mainstream.

Contributing in ways that go beyond the bottom line is de rigueur rather than an optional extra.

How does it show itself? In a thousand tiny ways.

The cars we drive, the unnecessary flights that we avoid, the firm’s recycling policy, the cup of Fairtrade coffee, the charities we sponsor, the time that we give to each other and to the causes we pursue. If it all sounds ever-so-slightly cheesy, perhaps it is and that may be no bad thing.

Multiply all those little inputs across an entire global industry – particularly one as powerful as finance – and you start to change the world.

The key here is that none of us needs to change radically, provided we all change a little. If everyone takes a few steps in the right direction, the impact will be dramatic. It is almost Christmas, the season of goodwill. Let’s start now.

You know what to do. l The Ego’s Nest, by David Charters, the fifth novel in the series about City anti-hero Dave Hart, is published by Elliott & Thompson, £6.99

a sporting life

Alastair Cook, English National Cricketer & Team Captain 2 S av i l e R o w, L o n d o n 8 1 6 M a d i s o n Av e n u e , N e w Y o r k k e n ta n d c u r w e n . u s . c o m

Brummell

The Hermès Arceau Lift is an elegant timekeeping homage to the house on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré

The luxury goods house Hermès started out in 1830s Paris as a harness- and saddle-maker. When Emile Hermès took over the family business in 1920, he had to devise a new strategy to use his leather workers’ skills following the demise of the horsedrawn carriage and rise of the motor vehicle. Setting his sights upon the needs of the traveller, he concluded an important element was timekeeping, and the house’s watchmaking heritage was born.

Over the decades, Hermès watchmakers have produced memorable mechanical pieces – with their signature elegance, good looks, and typical equestrian-inspired motifs – and the newest launch is a shining example of the brand’s horological ambition. The Arceau Lift, Hermès’ first flying tourbillon, is named after the ornate ascenseur in the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré boutique, the Parisian HQ. The brand’s famous ‘double-H’ motif, originally designed to symbolise the marriage of Emile Hermès and Julie Hollande in 1900, is featured on the elevator’s decorative wrought iron gates.

This symbol is deployed on the Lift’s tourbillon cage and over a second dial opening. The exceptional hand-wound watch, two years in the making, has a 90-hour power reserve, and a 43mm, 18ct rose-gold case featuring Hermès’ ex-libris emblem of a Duc carriage and horse on the reverse. The Arceau Lift, complete with brown alligator strap made in Hermès’ own factory, extends to just 176 pieces – one for every year of the brand’s history – and costs £104,000. hermes.com

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© NASA

Vintage BR 126 Blackbird · Automatic chronograph with Flyback function · Limited edition to 500 pieces · Bell & Ross UK: +44 207 096 0878 · e-Boutique: www.bellross.com

Beaumonde

A sports-car brand’s first diesel model; the jewels inspired by the past; cultural outings for art and design lovers

Go like the wind Maseratis of the Sixties and Seventies may have been a tad unreliable, but they were invariably gorgeous to look at and sported evocative names such as Mistral, Kyalami, Bora and Merak. Then there was the glorious Ghibli, a two-seater GT or convertible named after an African wind and manufactured from 1967 to 1973, before being revived in the Nineties as a fast but unsuccessful coupé. Now the Ghibli badge is back, in the form of a far more worthy, high-performance four-door. The basic model has a Ferrari-built, 3-litre,330horsepower V6 petrol engine with twin turbos, but there’s also a souped-up ‘S’ model with 410horsepower, and even a version with Maserati’s first ever diesel engine.

Prices range from around £48,000 for the diesel to £63,000 for the ‘S’. ghibli.maserati.com

Band of brothers British luxury watch brand Bremont, co-founded by brothers Nick and Giles English, is just 11 years old, but has made a big impact. Announcing the opening next year of its second London boutique, in the City’s Royal Exchange, Giles English says: ‘The idea is to let people experience our watches in an environment where they can discover everything about the company.’ bremont.com

Made in Italy ↑ Fragrance company Acqua di Parma embodies the essence of Italian style, so its involvement in a new largeformat art book dedicated to Italian excellence makes sense. Italy has long been at the heart of traditional craftsmanship and the volume features significant examples of Italian creativity, with images by Giovanni Gastel. Artistic institutions to small workshops are portrayed, but all have in common a passion for keeping alive the country’s cultural and artistic traditions.

La Nobiltà del Fare – Stories of Italian Excellences, €200, Electa; electaweb.it

A perfect fit ↑ It had humble beginnings in 1979 as a stall on the Portobello Road, but now Hackett claims a place at the top take of men’s style with its new three-storey flagship store on Regent Street. The brand’s personality abounds, with an eclectic mix of artwork and furniture, a beast of a staircase in pressed steel and a workshop for applying monograms or personal messages. The best views are saved for the tailoring service, the perfect place to enjoy a gin and tonic from the store’s Beefeater 24 bar as you discuss your next bespoke purchase. hackett.com

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Beaumonde • News

Train and gain ← Calling all cyclists: the ‘ultimate fitness learning retreat’ at Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa in San Diego, California, has places for fanatics to train in good weather and luxurious surroundings.

Be inspired and coached by top cycle champions and indulge in sybaritic pleasures in the hotel’s restaurants and spa. It’s an opportunity to take your cycling to the next level under the watchful eyes of road cycling greats Christian Vande Velde and George Hincapie, who will host the performance cycling camp in January. The five-day programme, 23-29 January 2014, includes daily rides with the pros, in-resort training sessions, a daily one-hour massage, all equipment and six nights’ full-board accommodation.

Prices for the camp start from £6,264 per person; ranchovalencia.com

The art of the lunch Brown’s Hotel in Albermarle Street is supporting neighbouring art galleries and launching Saturday Art Tours in January. Hotel and Show and tell ↑ Paul Smith subverts traditional conventions in design. He says it’s because he didn’t train or follow the conventional route, so for him it’s more intuitive – taking things that already exist and changing them, creating playful points of difference. Staying curious and a passion for surprising people infuse everything he does. The designer’s quirky world is celebrated in the Design Museum’s latest show, Hello, My Name is Paul Smith. Charting the rise and impressive scale of his global reach, the exhibition draws on his own archive and offers a unique insight into Smith’s mighty and mischievous mind. designmuseum.org

external guests are offered the opportunity to meet knowledgeable local gallery principals; each tour is hosted by a different gallery.

Afterwards, guests return to Brown’s for a three-course lunch at HIX Mayfair. Call 020 7518 4172; or email reservations.browns@ roccofortehotels.com

Memorable motifs ↑ Mappin & Webb is a national institution with a heritage in the craft of silverware and fine jewellery stretching back some 235 years, and as royal warrant holders since 1897 the company has marked many of Britain’s significant cultural moments. New creative director Elizabeth Galton has overseen a complete re-launch to breathe new life into the company, re-interpreting a number of collections from the archive, including the Fitzrovia range of opulent cocktail rings such as the Amarisa (pictured), and the ornate Empress, inspired by a bespoke design for the Queen of Siam in the Twenties. mappinandwebb.com

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Beaumonde • News BRUMMELL PROMOTION

Water of life

In the first of a series of columns, The Dalmore’s master distiller, Richard Paterson, explains his lifelong love of malt whisky I was born into whisky. My grandfather founded a whisky company in the Thirties and my father followed him as a blender and broker. I remember him taking me to his warehouse in Glasgow when I was eight. I was running around between the casks when I got a clip round the ear. My father told me to stop fooling around, put my nose into a glass of whisky and tell him what I smelled: ‘Is it as heavy as your grandfather? Or as light as your mother?

Is it sweet like chocolate? Or as dry as the dust on the floor?’ And suddenly I understood. My passion began at that moment. The next time I went to the warehouse, as soon as my father opened the doors, I could see the dark silhouettes of the casks and I was consumed by the whisky in the atmosphere, the wood and the maturisation of the wine soaked into it.

When I finished my apprenticeship, I joined The Dalmore. I became master distiller in 1970. Part of my job is to

maintain the DNA of The Dalmore – it will always have a top note of dark chocolate and Oxford marmalade.

I can recognise it like a mother can recognise her child blindfolded, just by smelling behind his ear. Everything after that is just giving it a new suit – creating new styles but always retaining that character. Our new 25 Year Old is matured in palomino fino sherry casks – that’s quite a dry grape – then finished with a year in port pipes, to give it the plummy note and lovely blackcurrants. It’s sensational.

My other role is educating people about whisky. People have become so discerning these days and open to the subtleties of different whiskies. In my next column, I’ll explain the nuances of nosing and tasting whisky properly.

The Dalmore 25 Year Old, £600; thedalmore.com

Precious time As part of luxury watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 180th year, The Watch Gallery is launching a JLC pop-up in Selfridges, open now for six months. Exclusive timepieces on show here for the first time include the rare Reverso Platinum SQ Number 1, a high complication Reverso that appears transparent due to the craftsmanship of skeletisation, and the exquisite Rendez-Vous Night and Day with mother-of-pearl marquetry. selfridges.com

To have and have knot ↑ E Marinella is a hidden gem on the West End’s Maddox Street, which specialises in ties. The company, founded almost a century ago in Naples, uses the traditional skills of tie-making, an Italian origami technique of ‘5-fold, 7-fold and 9-fold’, designed for consistency. As it takes a whole square of silk to make one tie, each is unique, resulting in

a style the company charmingly describes as ‘veracious Neapolitan’ yet ‘very British’. E Marinella’s creations have been worn by a most august and international collection of men, including the Prince of Wales, former President Bill Clinton, the late Boris Yeltsin, Spanish royals and many politicians. marinellanapoli.it

IWC. The fuTure of WaTChmakIng sInCe 1868.

Portuguese Perpetual Calendar.

Ref. 5032: One thing at IWC always remains the same: the desire to get even better.

Here is one of the finest examples, with the largest automatic movement manufactured

by IWC, Pellaton winding and a seven-day power reser ve. The perpetual calendar shows the date and moon phase, and the

year – until 2499 – is shown in four digits. In short: a watch that has already written the future. i wc . e n g i n e e r e d fo r m e n .

Mechanical IWC-manufactured movement, Pellaton automatic winding system, 7-day power reserve with display, Perpetual calendar (figure), Perpetual moon phase display, Antireflective sapphire

glass, Sapphire-glass back cover, Water-resistant 3 bar, 18 ct red gold

IWC Schaffhausen, Switzerland. iwc.com. The world’s finest timepieces are exclusively available from selected watch specialists.

For an illustrated catalogue or list of nationwide concessionaires please contact IWC UK. Tel. 0845 337 1868. E-mail: info-uk@iwc.com

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Beaumonde • Cars

Haunting beauty

Good looks, every techno tool and the most advanced engineering makes Rolls-Royce’s Wraith a real driver’s car, and a beast of the road

Words: Charlotte Metcalf

‘Women are actually physically attracted to it. I’ve seen them push men aside to insist they’ll be driving.’ Dr Philip Harnett is telling me about Rolls-Royce’s newest car, the Wraith – a sleek, two-door fastback coupé – of which he is product manager. Conjuring up images of diaphanous, whispery slenderness, was ever a car more aptly named to appeal to women? In fact, he explains, those Rolls-Royce names are all about how silent the cars are, from the Phantom, Shadow and Spirit to the Ghost and Wraith.

Rolls-Royce launched the Ghost four years ago. With its shorter body and inward-curving interior, it signified a move towards a less formal, more female-friendly car. I enjoyed driving it but I’d have preferred a chauffeur to take the strain.

Today Rolls-Royce is convinced that the Wraith will prove irresistible across the board, luring younger drivers and women alike. A few months ago it celebrated its international launch in Vienna, a location that reflects Wraith’s ethos, cherishing as it does its heritage while embracing innovation.

Wraith is the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever, with the most advanced V12 engine in the luxury car market – a 6.6-litre twin turbo – that also happens to be the most fuel-efficient. It has a top speed of 155mph (governed) and can do 0-60 in 4.4 seconds. It’s also the first car to use the breakthrough technology, Satellite Aided Transmission. This means that Wraith employs satellite maps to see ahead and thus anticipate your manoeuvres, so you’re never in the wrong

gear – of which there are eight. You simply steer, and the car does much of the rest. ‘It’s all about effortlessness, like having the perfect co-pilot or butler,’ says Dr Harnett.

It is that co-pilot that makes the Wraith such a different Rolls-Royce, one that isn’t beholden to the marque’s admittedly impressive heritage. It makes it a Rolls for an owner who wants to drive rather than be driven. And, while the luxuries of space and handcrafting are all there, as well as all the technological tools – power-assisted door closure, park control, a theft-proof Spirit of Ecstacy statuette – the emphasis is squarely on the great drive.

In front of the Palais Coburg in Vienna, 10 Wraiths, sleek and curvaceous, await us.

We drive 300 kilometres on roads that twist, climb and swoop through pine-forested Styrian mountains and valleys dotted with Alpine chalets bright with flowers. We stop at Mariazell for coffee and sugared dumplings, glide on towards lunch at a mountain restaurant and then shimmer smoothly back to the city along the autobahn.

This is not a sports car (not weighing over 2,400kg), but it handles beautifully. At the end of the drive, I am so relaxed that I’m almost drowsy and very reluctant to leave Wraith’s lush, creamy leather cocoon. And therein lies my one niggle: it floats along so dreamily that occasionally I felt I had little contact with the road, as if we were hovering above the earth’s surface. Like a wraith.

Almost too good. l rolls-roycemotors.com

Jewellery • Beaumonde

Treasure trove Expansion of the Harrods Fine Jewellery Room has created a kind of one-stop Bond Street

Words: Joanne Glasbey

The definitive go-to fine jewellery destination that is Harrods Fine Jewellery Room is now even more of a one-stop luxury haven. The floor space has recently doubled with the addition of a new room and several famous houses have swelled the number of elite vendors, increasing the choice of precious jewellery and women’s jewelled watches.

Customers don’t even have to navigate their way around the labyrinthine store to locate the department: it’s on the ground floor, and there will be less need to carve a path through the emporium’s usual crowds, as easy access is provided via Harrods’ door no 9 on Hans Road, off Brompton Road, directly into the department.

The room’s expansion sees the arrival of a new boutique for fine jeweller Garrard, as well as Hermès’ first dedicated fine jewellery and watch boutique. Boodles, Theo Fennell and Dior are relocating from the original room into their own stores in the new space, while Italian fine jewellers Faraone Mennella and Buccellati are introduced on-counter in the new environment. Dior’s boutique has been designed by the maverick architect Peter Marino and features the house’s signature elegant, grey wall coverings and upholstery. The house is showcasing colourful and extraordinary high-jewellery pieces including items from its

From top: ‘Cher Dior Fascinante’ emerald bracelet; Theo Fennell white and rose gold and diamond crane and peony drop earrings; Faraone Mennella ‘Butterfly’ opal and diamond ring; all at Harrods’ Fine Jewellery Room

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Biennale collections. The sixth boutique has just been taken by the prestigious Graff Diamonds, with plans to launch in March 2014.

Also new to the existing room is the historic Parisian house Chaumet, with its dazzling selection of jewellery, including tiaras and fine watches.

A number of pieces exclusive to Harrods include Hermès’ Galop high jewellery collection, as well as the brand’s pavé diamond set Arceau timepieces, and Garrard is launching the Tudor Rose Set to mark its Harrods debut. Boodles’ newest high-jewellery collection, called Greenfire, has just launched and a very special Columbian emerald suite will be available exclusively from the Harrods boutique.

Helen David, Harrods’ fashion director for women’s wear, accessories, fine jewellery and children’s wear, says the company is very excited about the expansion of the new Fine Jewellery Room: ‘The new arrivals further strengthen Harrods’ product offering and react to the ever-increasing demand from our clients for unique and exquisite jewellery.’

The Fine Jewellery Room is also temporary home to two pop-ups, both open now and running to early January 2014: Cartier is hosting a dedicated counter sitting outside the boutique, offering jewellery from the brand’s iconic Love, Juste un Clou, Trinity and Panthère collections, along with pieces from the house’s latest launches, including the spirited Paris Nouvelle Vague range.

Chopard is showing an exhibition of the Animal World collection, on show in London for the first time. The unique haute joaillerie collection comprises 150 animal-themed jewels and the pop-up showcases exclusive pieces.

Helen David is not overstating when she says, ‘The exceptional breadth and depth of collections establishes Harrods Fine Jewellery Room as a truly distinctive retail destination within today’s fine jewellery marketplace’. It certainly beats braving the weather and wandering from luxury showroom to boutique all the way down Bond Street. l harrods.com

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Beaumonde • Style

Frame work

Sir Hardy Amies was the epitome of understated elegance, right down to his carefully coordinated eyewear. Now his design house has launched a range of its own

Words: Josh Sims

The man in the photo – sitting on a terrace in Cannes in 1939 – looks every inch the artfully styled model. There are the dark, high-waisted trousers, the pristine white open-necked shirt and the glen-check overshirt with rolled-up sleeves.

Then there are the sunglasses: a gently curved oval frame, almost feminine, but not quite.

The man liked his specs. The man knew how to dress. The man was Sir Hardy Amies, tailor, couturier to the Queen for more than 40 years and, in his way, fashion innovator, despite once proclaiming, ‘I have no desire to do anything too revolutionary with men’s fashion – I think men have just got used to the idea of where the pockets are.’

Nor was he a man who simply cut a dash; he spent his World War II years as an agent for the Special Operations Executive. Following the war, Amies, already a couture success in his pre-war days, opened his own house on Savile Row and went on to make history as the first designer to stage a menswear catwalk show, in 1961. Designing the costumes for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, dressing the England 1966 World Cup squad, and creating a range of homewares are just three of the many projects through which he showcased his creative vision and versatility.

But he never – surprisingly, given his love of it – turned his design focus on eyewear. Now Hardy Amies, the company that carries his reputation, his modern-but-not-too-modern design ethos and his name (or rather, his invention of one – he was born Edwin Amies, but took his mother’s maiden name instead), has launched its first autumn/winter collection of sunglasses (from £240), and its third of optical frames (from £130), for men and women.

‘We started looking through the archive and the pictures of him lounging around, wearing specs, seem so modern that we felt we had to have eyewear to complete the wardrobe,’ explains Hardy Amies’ design director Mehmet Ali. ‘We wanted a Fifties cinematic aesthetic, injected with a little modernity where necessary – in materials, proportions and fit – to bring styles up to date.’

These include, for example, the limited-edition Randolph, an angular style with curved-off points, available in unusual marble grey or light horn; the Hewett, with its dark woody grain; the Calvert, with its squarish semi-frame; or Ali’s own favourite, the Elgin, a Thirties-ish style in a bold tortoiseshell with a gold bridge. As you might gather, someone had fun giving the styles their

Glass menagerie A selection of frames from the Hardy Amies eyewear collection, from top to bottom: Calvert tortoiseshell; Alton demi-wash; Hollywell quartz; Kingsley graduated grey

to-the-manor-born, hyper-English sounding names: Carlton, Kingsley, Digby, Blake, Warwick, Bravington and Giles.

‘Despite being based on Savile Row, and loving all the craft and artisan work here, Hardy apparently loved the idea of bringing well-made menswear and accessories to everyone and thinking in terms of a whole lifestyle, which was modern for the time. Our eyewear collection completes the package,’ says Ali. ‘He was a man of specific character and tastes so, during the design process, we kept referring to ABC of Men’s Fashion, his classic guide, to inform what we did, even though a lot of that is tongue in cheek.’

Each frame is handmade – the optical models in Italy, the sunglasses in Japan – to allow the designers to retain certain small details. ‘We have more control over the final design that way, rather than being told that the machines can’t do certain things,’ as Ali puts it. ‘We’re using the kind of production techniques more commonplace 50 years ago.’ Key materials include titanium – lighter but stronger than steel – and cellulose acetate. ‘But we pushed to source acetates that have unusual qualities – in terms of texture or pattern – so the production people were excited to be making something less run-of-the-mill, too,’ adds Ali. No doubt, if Amies was still around, he’d be lounging on a terrace, sporting a pair. l Hardy Amies, 14 Savile Row, London W1S 3JN; hardyamies.com

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Beaumonde • Footwear

Well heeled

‘Why can’t a woman be more like a man?’ enquires Professor Higgins exasperatedly in My Fair Lady.

Maybe these days the genders are closer than ever, but for some women, the only aspect of maleness they ever coveted was the footwear. Yes, women can wobble precariously in heels with all the towering benefits (lengthens the leg, looks sexy) and disadvantages: uncomfortable, liable to cause long-term foot damage, don’t allow a fast exit, make driving while wearing them hazardous – and did I mention long-term foot damage?

Enter designer Michel Perry, patron saint of women’s feet, if you will. No stranger to designing sculptural elevated heels, he’s been making stilettos quirky for his own label since 1987, and his success can be gauged by his moniker, ‘king of heels’.

Over a decade ago, Perry was appointed artistic director of French footwear institution JM Weston.

Since 1891, the brand has been making classic styles, using traditional craftsmanship, for the well-shod Frenchman; customers include former French presidents Mitterrand, Giscard d’Estaing, Chirac and Sarkozy and the brand also creates made-to-measure boots for France’s Republican Guard. By the Sixties, footwear by JM Weston was an integral element of Parisian chic, its moccasins worn by hipsters as part of their signature look.

Some of its styles – the calfskin Chelsea boot and its Hunt Derby, for example – achieved the status of minor classics. The arrival of Perry added a more avant-garde gloss to the traditional JM Weston lasts, modernising without removing the essential Gallic, more precisely, Parisian, elegance in which timeless style is given a bold twist with contemporary influences. ‘It is a matter of balance’, says Perry.

Now he’s tipping the scales with the introduction of a new women’s collection, based on the classic men’s footwear lines. ‘They are designed in the same way as the men’s models, both in terms of skill and production,’ Perry explains. The thicknesses of the leathers are re-crafted in order to gain lightness and suppleness, and are available in unique colours, such as port, petrol blue and olive green.

The JM Weston woman is free, independent and spontaneous. She will enjoy the liberty accorded by wearing the one-piece plain Oxford, or the patent loafer, or the multi-perforated Derby. ‘The main idea,’ Perry says, ‘was to intensify femininity to the maximum, thanks to codes borrowed from the male wardrobe. It is the woman that counts… shoes must have a strong identity but in no way must they override the wearer. The shoe must be at the service of femininity.

For Perry, it’s all about playfulness, comfort and looking stylish: ‘The fact a woman wears masculine creations disrupts the masculine approach. The more feminine the woman, the more surprising the result.’ When a woman is more like a man… and isn’t distraught because her high-heeled shoes are hurting, perhaps. l jmweston.com

Classic French shoemaker JM Weston launches a feminine take on its men’s collection

Words: Joanne Glasbey

From top: JM Weston patent loafer; one-piece plain Oxford. Women’s collection from £420

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Beaumonde • After the City

I find having direct contact with clients and clinching the deal very satisfying, and being an agent delivers all that

A career, act two

When Luc Chaudhary left the City to set up a talent agency, he discovered stockbroking had been the perfect dress rehearsal

Words: Charlotte Metcalf Photography: Philip Sinden

‘He has this extraordinary energy,’ says actor and singer John Rawnsley about his theatrical agent, Luc Chaudhary. Known to opera aficionados as one of the best Rigolettos of his time, Rawnsley joined International Artists Management last year.

As an older actor, Rawnsley had given up on finding good roles and, other than a small part in Dustin Hoffman’s Quartet, had virtually stopped acting. But when he met Chaudhary, everything changed. ‘It’s because I approach representation in the same way I used to approach City deals,’ laughs Chaudhary: ‘Aggressively!’

He looks extraordinarily young for someone on his second career, but he left the City in 2011 at the age of 36, following the plan he’d hatched at 26 when he first worked in the Square Mile. After earning a business studies degree at the University of Brighton, Luc decided he’d be a millionaire by 28, a multi-millionaire by 30 and semi-retired by 35. ‘I’ve always been very focused and driven,’ he says.

In 2001, he first joined a ‘small boutique firm’ of stockbrokers, where he worked for six years before setting up his own company, Mansion House Securities. ‘I bought a penthouse in

Liverpool Street and was out every night partying,’ he says. Then his girlfriend, Michelle, became pregnant. Today, they have seven-year-old twin boys.

‘One minute, I had a fridge full of champagne. Just a few months later, it was full of baby milk,’ remembers Chaudhary. ‘Suddenly, the City wasn’t fun any more. I always saw the City as a passage to something creative. People say, “Give me another year and I’ll get out,” but they never do – I didn’t want to be one of those who gets stuck.’

While still in the City, he set up a production company via an investment scheme and produced a raft of films that, if not huge box-office hits, made comfortable profits and was working with the likes of Billy Zane, Robert Vaughn, Michael Madsen and Steven Berkoff. When one of his films, The Big I Am, sold worldwide, Chaudhary realised his moment had come.

Next, he set up a talent agency: ‘I’d had such a rapport with the actors and realised that, while producing was fun and financially rewarding, I missed the one-to-one interaction I’d had with people as a stockbroker. I find having direct contact with clients and clinching the deal very satisfying, and being an agent delivers all that. It’s the perfect job for me.

‘I learnt all my current skills in my previous career. Whether you’re an agent or a stockbroker, you need to be good at sales and have a head for figures. It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with actors or commodities.’ His skills are clearly effective because productivity is up 600 per cent in two years and he now has a growing team, with offices in the City and Hampstead.

Only a handful of his actors are household names – he says he doesn’t want to grow too fast and nor is he interested in luring big stars. ‘As a stockbroker, I used to love that embryonic phase of building something up. I take great pride in turning jobbing actors into A-listers. I feel like a football manager, building my team. I keep the number of clients down so I can really give them attention. Besides, having got out of the City, I’m not under the same pressure, time-wise. Now, I can take all the time I want to nurture my clients – and a very high percentage of them are in work.’

John Rawnsley has just landed a role in Pudsey: The Movie. As far as he’s concerned, Chaudhary has the thrust many theatrical agents sorely lack.

‘None of us is doing this for the money,’ says Chaudhary. ‘We’re doing it because it’s creatively fun and challenging. At the same time, everyone’s fighting for the same piece of cake, just like in the City. I fight for my clients as I would over a City deal.You have to have a strong work ethic, put in the hours and go out there to make things happen.’ l internationalartistsmanagement.co.uk

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Helping hands Take time to give something back: choose a watch from which the proceeds help causes as diverse as eye operations and the restoration of Bletchley Park

Words: Simon de Burton Photography: Tif Hunter

This page, from left: Bremont Codebreaker; Omega Hour Vision Blue; Oris RFDS Edition.

Opposite, from left: IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ‘Le Petit Prince’; Audemars Piguet Tradition Extra Thin; Luminox Scott Cassell Deep Dive

Watches • Brummell

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Brummell • Watches

Bremont Codebreaker ↑ The Codebreaker honours the genii of Bletchley Park, whose work in breaking the German Enigma codes is said to have shortened World War II by two years. The GMT flyback chronograph is styled on a classic Forties officer’s watch. Each crown contains splinters from the floor of Hut 6, the centre of operations; the case has a serial number made with pieces of Bletchley’s data punch cards; and the oscillating weight includes fragments of a German Enigma encrypting machine. Part of the proceeds go to the Bletchley Park Trust, which is currently restoring the buildings used by the codebreakers. £11,995 (steel) or £21,950 (gold); bremont.com

Omega Hour Vision Blue ↑ The deep-blue hue of this special version of Omega’s delectable Hour Vision marks it out as an Orbis International special edition. Since 1982, the charity has funded a ‘flying eye’ hospital, which uses an aircraft equipped for opthalmic surgery. So far, it has resulted in treatment for more than 12 million people in 88 developing countries. Omega ambassador Daniel Craig works closely with Orbis and is helping the watch brand to meet its pledge to donate $1million to the charity, solely from sales of the Hour Vision Blue, a 41mm, steel-cased watch powered by the famously accurate Co-Axial automatic movement. £4,550; omegawatches.com

Oris RFDS Edition ↑ This classic-looking pilot watch also furthers the cause of an airborne charity: Oris is giving a percentage of the proceeds from each of the 2,000-piece limited edition to Australia’s Royal Flying Doctors Service. Founded in 1928, the RFDS is now the most significant aero-medical service in the world, operating 61 aircraft, 21 bases and five primary healthcare facilities in remote areas. Neat touches on the watch include an orange ‘pulsation’ scale (useful for doctors) and an inner turning bezel providing dual time functionality - handy in Oz, which straddles three time zones. It’s remarkable value for money, too. £1,200; oris.ch

IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar ‘Le Petit Prince’ ↑ SInce 2006, IWC has worked with the Fondation Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, set up in memory of the French author and aviation pioneer whose most celebrated works include The Little Prince and Night Flight. Its projects support its global commitment to literacy, for example taking reading materials to remote parts of Asia. A limited edition of 270 red-gold, perpetual-calendar Le Petit Prince watches is on sale at £36,500, with a percentage of the revenue going to the charity. Also available on the same basis are 1,000 examples of the Pilot’s Watch MK VII Le Petit Prince at £3,900. iwc.com

Audemars Piguet Tradition Extra Thin ↑ As with all the watches this independent firm sells, a percentage of the revenue is donated to the Fondation Audemars Piguet, set up in 1992 for the protection and conservation of the world’s forests.

Funding 65 projects in 30 countries, the foundation works towards reconstructing woodland destroyed by fire, financing biodiversity and conservation studies, and more. To demonstrate its commitment to the cause, the brand uses only paper and furniture made with materials from certified forests. Which seems a good enough reason to consider spending £24,000 on one of its delectable rose-gold Tradition Extra Thin watches. audemarspiguet.com

Luminox Scott Cassell Deep Dive ↑ Not for Luminox some high-maintenance sports celebrity or movie star as an ambassador: it favours a real life action man in the form of Scott Cassell, an expert counter-terrorism operative whose Sea Wolves organisation hunts down criminal killers of endangered underwater species. Last year, Cassell completed a 20-hour underwater swim, covering a distance of 30 miles at a depth of 30ft to gather data on the reduction of the shark population. The appropriately tough Deep Dive edition of the watch he wore for the exercise can be on your wrist for £1,650 – with part of the proceeds from every sale going to the Sea Wolves charity. luminox.com

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I want to leave a legacy and sharing wisdom is part of that. I teach the difference between being successful and being significant

Mentoring • Brummell

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Wise guide

You have people who can advise you throughout your education and career – teachers, trainers, bosses – until you reach the top. But who do you turn to then? A professional mentor such as David CM Carter can step in

Words: Charlotte Metcalf Photography: Marcus Butt

Such is the reputation of David CM Carter that he is known as ‘The Mentor’. He represents a growing trend – one which is accelerating so fast, there are not yet figures available – for City firms to employ mentors. Latest research from the European Mentoring & Coaching Council identifies seven ways in which companies benefit from mentoring programmes, including easier recruitment and induction and the fact that people are a third less likely to leave if they have a mentor.

Carter went solo three years ago when he left Merryck & Co, the company he founded in 1997 (Merryck is the M in his CM) and which became the world’s leading CEO mentoring company. ‘I believe the purpose of life is being and becoming the very best version of ourselves,’ says David. To this end, he mentors high-fliers, helping them break through to the zenith of their game on all levels – personal, spiritual and emotional as well as financial. His clients tend to be entrepreneurs and CEOs in transition to the very top tier of their communities.

His mentoring technique is intensive and focussed, so he never takes on more than 10 clients at a time, but he’s already making his mark on the City. Setting out to establish why his offering is unique, we talked first to Tony Manwaring, CEO of Tomorrow’s Company, a think-tank that works with business leaders to harness trends and shape the future in a positive and significant way. Carter, who passionately believes in Manwaring’s work, first mentored him about two years ago, as one of his two annual pro-bono clients.

‘David only takes on people he judges will benefit from him to make a wider impact on the world,’ says Manwaring. ‘For leaders to be significant outside their own confines, they need a tougher, more reflective process and to be continually

holding themselves up to the mirror of other people’s point of view. This is what David helps with.’

‘I don’t take on clients who simply want to move remorselessly up the corporate ladder,’ confirms Carter. ‘I only take on people who want to reach the top in order to make a difference.’

To that end, Alison Hutchinson is a typical client. She is trustee for the Charities Aid Commission and CEO of The Pennies Foundation, which launched Pennies, the electronic charity box. She’s also an independent non-executive director of the award-winning LMAX Exchange.

Carter first mentored Hutchinson about a dozen years ago. ‘I went on a 48-hour retreat, which is unique to David,’ Alison explains. ‘At first I said I didn’t have time to do it but David only mentors people who are prepared to commit the time and, in return, he invests time in getting to know you, so it’s a tried and trusted partnership. Basically, if you’re not really serious about putting time aside to improve yourself, then I’m not sure David would be interested in helping you.’

Carter has just moved house from Wimbledon to South Kensington but intends to carry on using his home for his retreats. ‘My home is a sanctuary and I want my clients to feel it’s a place in which they can hang up their holster, switch off their phone and put their feet up. It’s a serene environment in which we can unload the jigsaw pieces of their life so we can start fitting them together again.’

I talked to Shalini Khemka, who had just finished a mini-retreat with Carter. With the support of Sir Richard Branson, Luke Johnson, Duncan Bannatyne and a heavy-hitting board, Shalini founded E2Exchange in 2011 to help entrepreneurs create high-growth companies, and access finance and the UK’s leading non-executive directors and mentors. ‘I was pleasantly surprised

by how useful the mini-retreat was,’ says Khemka.

‘What I learnt in that one day could have taken months to realise. David got straight to the heart of things and helped me clarify and articulate my objectives. When you’re really busy you’re thinking all the time but you’re not necessarily focussed.

He asked me if I was interested in the exit of my business or in running a business that gave me a sense of satisfaction through what I could contribute to it. That was a crucial question to ask.

David is seriously expensive compared with other mentors but worth every penny. Any leader would benefit from his mentoring as it’s all about helping you get to where you want to be.’

Carter’s credibility is founded not just on impressive client testimonials but on the fact that he has been a CEO and at the top of his own game for 25 years, as well as experiencing a roller-coaster ride as an entrepreneur and a couple of broken marriages. ‘My clients know I speak their language,’ he says. ‘There’s nothing about being a CEO I don’t know. But it’s more than just business that has contributed to my arsenal of skills.

Raising two children, almost single-handedly for 17 years, taught me the gift of unconditional love and loyalty, and the wisdom I’ve accumulated has enabled me to continue to lead a fulfilling, purposeful and fun life… no matter what.’

Recently he has published a book, Breakthrough. It allows the reader access to Carter’s methodology that has hitherto only been available to his clients. ‘I want to leave a legacy – sharing wisdom freely is part of that intention,’ Carter says. When asked how he would sum up why someone already successful would hire him, he doesn’t hesitate: ‘I teach the difference between being successful and being significant.’ l davidcmcarter.com

Chalets rebooted

The days of ski holidays spent in box-sized rooms, poorly catered for by inept staff, are long gone. Welcome to a new world of spacious chalets, genial hosts and impeccable service

Words: Chris Madigan

The idea of a chalet holiday has changed over the decades. In the Eighties, we were naïve. It seemed fine to be transported like veal calves from airport to resort in a huge coach. We were OK with bedroom walls so thin you could hear your neighbour’s every breath – and the rest. As for the food… I was once served a tuna bake where the recipe was, apparently: 3 x tins tuna; 450ml double cream; cornflakes as topping.

Many who experienced these holidays swore off chalets forever – unless, if budget allowed, they could afford a private one. Super-chalets have become the Premier League footballers of the Alps, outdoing each other with bling. The one-upmanship resulted in the opening last season of the Edelweiss chalet in Courchevel.

Arranged around a spiral staircase coiling up seven floors (alongside a lift and past original artworks from the owner’s collection, which covers Hirst, Dalí, Picasso and others) are a cinema; a gym and spa (with a 13m pool) that fill the huge basement; and the chalet’s own nightclub.

However, the Edelweiss costs on average £159,000 a week to hire (via summitretreats.com).

Those who’ve had only a reasonably good year may need to find an alternative. Thankfully, the bad old days of chalet operators are mostly gone, with some firms refining and redefining the chalet holiday for a more demanding and informed clientele.

VIP has operated in Val d’Isère for nearly 25 years and now also has bases in Méribel, Alpe d’Huez and Zermatt, among others. Many of the properties in its original home have been built or

We won’t impose a holiday on the client. It is a holiday after all, not a school trip

refurbished to its specifications: there are individual chalets such as the great-looking conversion The Farmhouse or Bel Sol, with its rich, warm interior; and then there is Chalet Aspen. Like the two stand-alone chalets, it has an extremely convenient location in the centre of Val d’Isère, close to the Solaise lifts and Dick’s Tea Bar to bookend the day, but it is somewhat of a hybrid.

The Aspen has the reception area, ski lockers and après-ski bar of a hotel; the floor layout of a higher-end apartment block, with a couple of chalets per floor; but beyond the door of each ‘apartment’, it is a chalet as you’d recognise it – except bigger. After many a chalet holiday spent negotiating who gets to stand up in the bedroom at any one time, the vast plains of carpet are disconcerting. More familiar is the friendly greeting of the chalet host. No longer ‘chalet girls’ (the average age is 27) they are sharp, well-trained professionals and can cook to restaurant standards.

The same is true of the staff of Powder White, which operates in Verbier, St Anton and French resorts including Tignes, Les Arcs and Val Thorens.

Travel • Brummell

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Clockwise from far left: a New Generation off-piste guide; Verbier town; the bar at VIP’s Aspen Lodge in Val d’Isère; Powder White’s Locarno residence in Verbier

This company is structured a little differently, with prices excluding travel to allow customers greater flexibility (jets private or Easy, or, if you prefer, the train). Still, like VIP, it offers private transfers from airport or railway station, as the first in a series of hassle-reducing measures.

My arrival in its Scandinavian Moderniststyled residence in Verbier was followed swiftly by decent champagne and excellent canapés. Pleasant enough, but more importantly, it was accompanied by the arrival of a team from the ski rental shop, who fitted our skis there and then. They made way for the off-piste guides from New Generation, one of the modern breed of ski schools with state-ofthe-art methods of training. They discussed our experience, what safety equipment we would need and what we wanted to get out of our day’s skiing tomorrow. Another hour of morning faff saved.

The following day, after heavy snowfall meant the higher slopes, such as the mighty Mont Fort, were closed due to avalanche danger, the New Gen guides’ skills of snow management came to the fore: our small group spent a happy two hours just on laps of the Lac des Vaux chairlift, as our guides kept finding interesting new descents of the same shoulder, each time with fresh snow.

In Val d’Isère, VIP uses another of the best ski schools in the Alps, The Development Centre, whose effect is as much psychological as technical, based as it is on a discursive style – Socratic skiing, if you will. And the result was one of those magical moments on skis: imbued with confidence and gung-ho spirit, our group headed into a storm

everyone else was escaping and ended up with the whole of La Daille to ourselves. On other occasions, we skied further afield, but a call to VIP ensured private transport came to fetch us.

That is one of the bonuses of VIP’s Platinum Service, along with valet parking at the UK airport and personally selected wine with dinner cooked by a private chef. Staff act as concierges, booking tables at in-demand restaurants such as Le Signal and La Fruitière and arranging in-chalet massages by Pamper Off Piste. Personally, a shower and a demi is all the pampering I need – and neither the hot water nor the complimentary beer ever ran dry.

While VIP does offer shared chalets like the old days, it is geared more towards single-group occupancy – it has an excellent reputation for family holidays. Powder White leans further towards a convivial approach. When it does offer packages (rather than tailor-made options), they tend to be themed so that you share with like-minded people: this season, a race-training week and a ski touring holiday are on offer. Its great innovation last season was the weekend chalet holiday: a threeor four-night break to Courchevel or Verbier with chalet creature comforts and that faff-reduction.

Powder White’s co-founder Fraser Ewart-White sums up the chalet-holiday reboot: ‘We set up to get away from the inflexible boot-camp style of ski holiday, with rigid timetables for meals and staff days off. We won’t impose a holiday on the client.

It is a holiday after all, not a school trip.’ And, thankfully, that means no more school dinners. l vip-chalets.com; powderwhite.com

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Limited edition of 1,000 pieces.

For a list of Hublot stockists in the UK, please telephone 0207 343 7200 or e-mail info@timeproducts.co.uk www.hublot.com •

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Accessories • Brummell

Accessories special Perfect partners Successful gifting is all about the personal touch, showing that you have thought carefully about the recipient and acknowledged their particular tastes, preferences and passions with an insightful present. To help you on your way, we have delved into the material world and returned with specially curated examples of precious metals – featuring covetable, exquisite, fine jewellery – and luxurious leather, with bags of inspiration and accessories to turn the heads of those fortunate beneficiaries.

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Precious metals Exceptional stones are showcased in stunning sculptural shapes for covetable rings, bracelets and earrings

Photography: Andy Barter Styling: Tamara Fulton

Accessories • Brummell

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Clockwise from far left: ‘Tatiana’ pink and white gold ring with white and pink diamonds, POA, FABERGÉ AT HARRODS. Round and white briolette diamond ring, POA, GRAFF. ‘Paris Nouvelle Vague’ white gold, black lacquer and diamond ring, £87,000, CARTIER.‘Fountain’ white gold and diamond ring, £37,400, CHANEL FINE JEWELLERY. ‘Omega’ white gold and diamond ring, POA, CARTIER

Clockwise from below: ‘Liens’ white gold and diamond cuff, £21,890, CHAUMET. ‘Camélia Ajouré’ gold cuff, £12,175, CHANEL FINE JEWELLERY. ‘Paris Nouvelle Vague’ white gold, black lacquer and diamond bracelet, £61,500, CARTIER. ‘Alternative’ white gold and diamond bracelet, POA, CARTIER. Gold cuff bangle, POA, POMELLATO

Accessories • Brummell

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Brummell • Accessories

Clockwise from far right: Earrings with rose gold discs and white diamonds, POA, CHOPARD. Diamond earrings, POA, GRAFF. ‘Bodkin’ white gold and diamond earrings, £5,500, THEO FENNELL. ‘Paris Nouvelle Vague’ white gold and diamond earrings, £48,000, CARTIER. White gold and diamond earrings, £68,880, CHAUMET Photographic assistance: Andy Taylor Smith Styling assistance: Cat Stirling, Lisa Aichhorn, Lucy Zondi Stockists details on page 90

THE V12 VANTAGE S EXTREME SPORTS

POWER: 565BHP ACCELERATION: 0-60MPH IN 3.7 SECONDS SPEED: 205MPH Official government fuel consumption figures in mpg (litres per 100km) for the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S urban 12.6 (22.5); extra-urban 27.7 (10.2); combined 19.2 (14.7). CO2 emissions 343 g/km. The mpg/fuel economy figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results obtained through laboratory testing and they are for comparability purposes only.

D R I V I N G I N I T S P U R E S T F O R M , T H E N E W V 1 2 VA N TAG E S H A S TA K E N A P OT E N T R E C I P E A N D T U R N E D U P T H E H E AT. T H E S C I N T I L L AT I N G 5 6 5 B H P 6 L I T R E V 1 2 E N G I N E A N D 7 - S P E E D S P O R T S H I F T I I I T R A N S M I S S I O N F U S E E X P LO S I V E P E R F O R M A N C E W I T H TOTA L CO N T R O L .

A TOP SPEED OF 205MPH MAKES THE V12 VANTAGE S THE FASTEST SERIES PRODUCTION ASTON MARTIN EVER MADE. TO EXPERIENCE THE INTENSITY OF THE V12 VANTAGE S YOURSELF, VISIT

WWW. ASTO NMAR TIN.COM/ EXTR EME

Mater i a world l ge h a ni o n t i pa ew rov l com p a l im on wil ncti r e fu e, a th s l e d s om u o uri h an Lux b e a an d ter ar yB nd on A t : l y Fu ph gra mara a oto Ph ing: T l St y

Men’s attaché cases, from top: ‘Sartorial’ briefcase, £1,150, BURBERRY. ‘Bourdon’ single-document case, £595, ALFRED DUNHILL. Bag, £475, PAL ZILERI

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Women’s bags, clockwise from bottom left: ‘Madame’ bag, £295, Russell & BRoMley. ‘Diorbar’ calfskin box bag, £3,400 DioR. Crocodile skin bag, £8,520, Bottega Venetta. ‘Hero’ bag, £452, Paul sMitH albemarle street. ‘Constance’ calfskin bag, £6,930, HeRMès.‘isabella Rossellini’ calfskin bag, with tourmaline clasp, £1,916, BulgaRi. ‘Bayswater’ hair/calfskin mix bag, £2,500, MulBeRRy

Accessories • Brummell

Men’s travel bags, opposite, from top: ‘Hunter’ rucksack, £495, Bill AmBerg. Bag, £499, PAul SmitH. Oiled-leather holdall, £950, Cherchbi for HArdy AmieS.

Gloves, this page, clockwise, from bottom left to centre: Women’s python and leather, £260, HAmerli at Harrods. men’s leather and knit, £140, PAul SmitH. Women’s in

Kaffee, £145, JAne CArr. Women’s in Firecracker, £145, JAne CArr. Women’s zip, £135, PAul SmitH. Women’s in red, £175, PAul SmitH. Women’s nappa leather buckle-strap,

£195, mulBerry. men’s deerskin, £165, mulBerry.

Women’s touch screen, £235, BurBerry. Women’s in Arctic, £145, JAne CArr. Women’s stripe, £350, HermèS

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Men’s belts, from top: Braided leather with brass buckle, £145, Gieves & Hawkes. Plaited belt, £75, Brooks BrotHers. oak arched-buckle belt, £195, MulBerry. yellow belt, £110, Paul sMitH. Plaited belt, £385, BotteGa venetta at Harrods. eel-skin belt with gold buckle, £265, alexander McQueen on savile row. lizard-skin belt, £275, Holland & Holland Photographic assistance: Andy Taylor Smith Styling assistance: Cat Stirling, Lisa Aichhorn, Lucy Zondi Stockists details on page 90

Bright sparks

Philanthropy • Brummell

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Pilotlight connects experienced business leaders with small charities – and the results benefit all those involved

Words: Charlotte Metcalf Illustration: Marcus Butt

The latest results from Pilotlight, a philanthropic initiative that draws heavily on the City’s talent pool, are astounding. Pilotlight works with more than 70 charities and social enterprises across the UK. Within a year, those charities have, on average, increased income by 50 per cent and doubled the number of people they reach. With so many charities struggling, what explains Pilotlight’s exceptional efficacy?

Simply, Pilotlight provides a way of donating time and skills rather than money. ‘All members have to do is point their brains at a project – they pay to become a “Pilotlighter”, then donate two or three hours of their time a month,’ explains chief executive, Fiona Halton. She founded Pilotlight in 2001 after working at Comic Relief. ‘We assign four Pilotlighters to each charity, like a fantasy business team. You might have a leader from a huge retail firm, a marketing guru, someone in private equity and the head of human resources at a bank. You couldn’t normally bring a team like that together for love nor money. We help charities grow but they have to be willing to listen and not just be in search of a quick fix because we’re about applying business rules to the charitable sector.’

Pilotlight’s chairman, Graham Clempson of MidOcean Partners, explains how he became involved: ‘I met Fiona over 10 years ago when I was working for Deutsche Bank. After working as a Pilotlighter, I became fascinated by Pilotlight itself. I became a donor and a trustee and then chairman last September.’

One of the strengths Clempson brings is his preoccupation with goals. ‘Without a goal, you

can’t operate,’ he says. ‘The toughest thing to ask a charity is, “Why are you doing this and how do you know you’re doing it well?” They’re often so caught up in a great cause they haven’t thought about what they’re achieving. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.’

Halton says, ‘It’s a huge tribute to Graham that he’s come up with a system for evaluating and it’s so rewarding seeing a charity’s sense of triumph and confidence when it can measure its performance.’

Pilotlight had 20 members in 2003 and today has over 300; those we spoke to who work in the City were unanimous in their praise for the organisation and felt a great sense of personal reward from their charity work.

Sam Berwick worked at Mizuho International from 1999 to 2010. ‘I had a spell at Harvard Business School in 2002 and then, back at my job, found myself feeling very frustrated,’ he says. ‘I’d turned 40 and wanted to give something back. I read an article about Pilotlight and loved the idea of helping a charity become sustainable rather than just writing out a cheque.’

Clempson concurs: ‘It used to be an easy option to write a cheque and forget about it, but people were seeing their money wasted.

Increasingly, people want to know what impact their money is actually having.’

Berwick became involved with Fine Cellwork, a charity that trains prisoners in paid, skilled, creative needlework, and then REAP (Refugees in Effective Active Partnership). ‘I went to Hillingdon, near Heathrow, and into a room full of women in

hijabs, who had all had been doctors, accountants and lawyers – high-powered women – in Somalia, Afghanistan or Iran. It was eye-opening stuff,’ remembers Berwick. ‘Selfishly, Pilotlight allowed me to experiment outside of my relatively narrow corporate box and gave me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone,’ he says. ‘Pilotlight teaches softer, persuasive skills that are fantastically useful tools for senior managers.’

Berwick has been a trustee at Merlin, the medical emergency service, and recently became a trustee for Campden Charities, helping pensioners and disadvantaged people in Kensington, where he lives. He’s also begun working with motor neurone disease charity, Ataxia UK. ‘I’ve learnt just as much from Pilotlight as I did in three months at Harvard, which cost around $50,000,’ he says.

Sally Cohen, a Pilotlighter since 2006, was managing director of Elizabeth Arden UK and is now a marketing consultant. She has also worked for Coca-Cola, Vodafone and Allied Domecq and served on the board of Marks & Spencer Financial Services. ‘Pilotlight changed my life,’ she says. ‘I’d worked for a big food company in the US, where there was a dedicated person to match up employees with the volunteer service.

When I came to England, I struggled to get involved in any kind of volunteer organisation until I came across Pilotlight.’

The first Pilotlight project Cohen was involved in was Unique, a small charity dealing with rare chromosome disorders. ‘It was very conservatively

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Many of us don’t even realise we have skills that can help others, but we can help charities shape their purpose

and cautiously managed by a fantastic chief executive who didn’t have the time to grow and manage her team,’ says Cohen. ‘Charities can be so focussed on helping people that they have mission creep, but I’m a marketer so I can help them think about their brand, mission and vision.

It was amazing to watch as they began to mobilise their network. Then Unique won a £100,000 prize from Marks & Spencer, which came as a huge lift for a charity with a turnover of just £200,000 or so. On our recommendation, they brought in a CEO and a fundraiser to free up the chief executive’s time. The charity is now thriving and I’m a trustee.’

Andrew Witney, a technologist at Barclays, first worked as a Pilotlighter on Cancerkin, a charity helping women with breast cancer. ‘My job at Barclays has real scale – I’m managing large teams and sometimes feel like the captain of a ship,’ he says. ‘However, with Cancerkin being much smaller, it was all about applying critical thinking. Pilotlighters help charities make tough choices. One charity asked, “How can

we keep going?” and we asked, “Should you?”

Eventually they decided to shut down, which was sad, but in reality the only choice.’

David Pelham, client director at Lloyds Bank, describes hearing Graham Clempson’s presentation in 2009 as a ‘light-bulb moment’. As a result, Lloyds TSB, as it was at the time, put eight people on a Pilotlight programme. ‘What they learnt went on and on,’ says Pelham. ‘They learnt how to listen carefully and work as a team, how to be diplomatic and frame questions and feedback in a positive manner. They all realised seniority was irrelevant in a charity situation.

It was very grounding as it took them away from all those big numbers. Learning to talk about small amounts was very humbling.’

Pelham became involved with two communitybased charities, Access Sport – helping children in deprived areas of London take part in sport – and Entelechy Arts, which empowers people with complex disabilities through live performance. He enjoyed putting his skills to use in a new context.

‘Many of us don’t even realise we have skills that

can help others, but we do, and we can help charities shape their purpose. If they were clearer about what they were trying to achieve, there would be broad benefits for carers, hospitals, family, all spreading outwards into the community.

It’s hard to ignore such huge benefits.’

‘If you’re still working in the City today,’ says Sam Berwick, ‘woe betide if you’re not seen as someone giving back. A lot of firms have tried things like sending employees to paint houses at weekends but those houses can get painted by less experienced people. What’s great about Pilotlight is that it’s making real use of our skills.’

What Pilotlight has brilliantly tapped into is City folk’s thirst for fulfilment beyond financial gain – indeed nearly three-quarters of Pilotlighters say they are now happier and more fulfilled in their professional work. As beleaguered bankers fight to brush up their tarnished image, Pilotlight is providing as much of a welcome boost to City benefactors as it is to the charities they support.

As Berwick says, ‘It’s a win-win situation.’ l pilotlight.org.uk

www. brummell magazine. net Launching soon, the refreshed Brummell website brummellmagazine.net is an essential resource: your edited selection of the very best in style, culture, food, drink, technology and motoring. With an elegant new design and featuring exclusive interviews, videos and reportage, it’s the indispensable daily dose of the little black book for the City.

Vantage point

Motoring • Brummell

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With the son of a legendary racing driver beside him and Smokey Bear on the hunt for speeding cars, our correspondent takes to the two-lane blacktop in an Aston Martin V12S Vantage to make his own road movie

Words: Simon de Burton

It’s hard to believe that a decade has passed since the wraps came off the prototype of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage at the New York Auto Show. Back then, the new ‘baby’ Aston Martin – billed as the most affordable, user-friendly car the marque had ever produced – astonished many with its taught styling and the promise of thrilling performance from its 4.3-litre, 380-horsepower engine.

The production Vantage finally hit the road for the 2006 model year, attracting rave reviews worldwide for its looks, pace, handling and, almost above all, its fabulously rorty exhaust note. That winter, I was lucky enough to be loaned a test model, and found driving it so irresistible, I was eventually stopped by the police – the car’s rear end had become so caked in road dirt, the lights and number plate were rendered entirely invisible.

Back then, it seemed hard to believe an Aston could get any better. But then came the 4.7-litre engine upgrade, followed in 2009 by a V12, powered by the 510-horsepower motor from the Aston Martin DBS and then, in 2011, a souped-up ‘S’ version of the V8 with more go than the standard model and seven-speed, Sportshift II transmission. The arrival of the inevitable V12S is a fitting finale to Aston Martin’s centenary year because this is most probably the best car the company has ever built.

There’s a chance my judgment has been skewed by the absurdly perfect location in which the V12S was launched. California’s Coachella Valley is a far more tempting proposition in November than London’s gloom, particularly when you’re behind the wheel of a 200mph sports car.

The only downside is the speed limit here: a decidedly conservative 55mph, which is, according

Easy driver The Aston Martin V12S Vantage, tested on the road in near Palm Springs, Coachella Valley, California

Being nailed by the California Highway Patrol would have been worth it to experience this car in the way that it is intended

to frequent road signs, ‘enforced by aircraft’. The car I was given wasn’t exactly low key, either, being finished in a colour called Yellow Tang, its screaming hue tempered only by a black grille, dark ‘lipstick’ surround and satin-black wheels.

To further add to the burden of responsibility, my co-pilot (for that’s what you feel like in the passenger seat of a V12S) was none other than Tom Hunt, a chap so charming and self-effacing that when I asked, idiotically, about his connection with the car world, he modestly answered, ‘My father was quite well known as a racing driver.’ Ah yes. He would have been called James…

For the first few miles, having Hunt Jr sitting beside me in the passenger seat (more often than not looking uncannily like his dad) made me a trifle nervous, and I made sedate progress, claiming to be conscientiously observing the speed limit.

But it was patently ridiculous to be in charge of a £138,000 car with a claimed top speed of 205mph, without giving in to the temptation to exploit just a teeny bit of its awesome performance.

OK, maybe we exploited more than just a bit of it, but being nailed by the California Highway Patrol’s spotter planes would have been worth it, just to experience the sheer joy of using this car in the way that it is clearly intended. Why else, I ask you, would Aston Martin’s engineers have created a blend of engine, chassis, suspension and steering so harmonious that it adds up to one of the best-driving road cars currently available?

Whether it was the G-force sprints along the arrow-straight desert roads, or the catapulting canyon switchbacks, the V12S proved grin-inducing to the power of 10. It is so utterly enthralling to

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Aston Martin and a century of classics It is somewhat miraculous that the Aston Martin marque survived to see its century. Over those 10 decades, it has had numerous owners, been bankrupt on several occasions and been written off as a basket case more than once. Perhaps its past history is best summed-up in the words of its inimitable one-time chairman (and one of its best-known saviours) Victor Gauntlett. During his tenure in the Eighties, he famously said that the best way to make a small fortune out of Aston Martin was ‘to start with a large one’.

Although it might have struggled for survival in the past, the firm has never failed to make great cars, including the first: created in 1914 and nicknamed Coal Scuttle. Despite the undignified shape and title, the car sowed the seeds for the racing success that made the marque famous.

20s

With cash from super-rich, car-mad patron Count Louis Zborowski, Aston Martin competed in the French Grand Prix and set several speed and endurance records at Brooklands, with cars such as the affectionately named Green Pea and Razor Blade.

30s

New investors included a genius engineer called Bert Bertelli, who developed a range of racing models, including the rapid 1.5-litre Ulster, which enjoyed success at Le Mans and many other race events.

40s

After a production hiatus that lasted throughout World War II, Aston Martin was bought by tractor manufacturer David Brown in 1947. He lent his initials to the DB series of cars, with which the marque became synonymous.

50s

The first DB car was the DB2.

Race-prepared versions took second and third places in the 3-litre class at Le Mans in 1951, and the model was developed into the DB2/4 (1953), the DB2/4 MkII (1955), and the DB Mark III (1957). In total, 410 cars were built before Italian styling house, Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, was commissioned to design the all-new DB4 in 1958. It became the first Aston Martin to emerge from the famed Newport Pagnell workshops.

60s

In 1963, the DB4 was remodelled to become the legendary DB5, as driven by 007, originally in the movie Goldfinger. The larger DB6 was launched in 1965, although the DB5 remained in production until 1966, with 1,059 cars being built in total.

Motoring • Brummell

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drive, in fact, that when we realised the long, flowing, spiral of asphalt from the mountains down to Palm Springs offered the last chance to revel in the car’s power, handling and sound before the return of urban constraints, we drove back up and did it all again. Twice.

As we did so, we occasionally saw colleagues coming the other way in the latest rag-top Aston Martin was also launching: the range-topping Vanquish Volante. According to Aston Martin design chief Marek Reichman, the carbon-fibre body shape is intended to evoke the look of a ‘scarf blowing in the breeze’. More a grand tourer than an out-and-out sports car (it has occasional rear seats), the £199,995 VV combines a luxurious interior with a refined ride and plenty of oomph thanks to a 565-horsepower V12 engine that will propel the car from standstill to 60mph in just 4.1 seconds, and on to a top speed of 183mph.

Back in the slow-moving traffic of the Palm Springs rush hour, the V12S still proved its worth.

As it purred from one stop light to another without protest, it seemed hard to believe it had been behaving like a thoroughbred racer just minutes earlier. If there is one gripe, it’s with the Oerlikon Graziano seven-speed ‘automated manual’ gearbox.

In automatic mode, unless you are careful to throttle off a little, up-shifts can be ungainly and lurching, somewhat spoiling what is otherwise an unusual level of refinement for such an aggressive sports car.

With the dynamic setting switched to sport mode, however, the paddle-change gearbox becomes a joy, though purists would, no doubt, like to see the option of a traditional, manual stick shift.

That, unfortunately, is something that can’t be specified, but when it comes to bespoking your V12S in terms of paint colour and interior trim, the sky is more or less the limit. And if, like me, you can’t afford to actually buy one, Aston Martin’s online V12S configurator at least gives you the chance to dream. I’ve wasted hours on it already. l astonmartin.com

Max Earey; Dominic Fraser; Rachel Palmer

70s

80s

By now looking dated, the DB6 was replaced with the more modernlooking DBS. Early models had less impressive performance than their predecessor, because they were heavier but used the same, six-cylinder engine. This was later replaced by a powerful 5.3-litre V8 conceived

by Polish engineer Tadek Marek. The car was now known as the AMV8.

At the turn of the new decade, worldwide sales of Aston Martins had dropped to just three per week, despite the arrival of the souped-up Vantage model of the AMV8. However, the futuristic and very expensive wedge-shaped Lagonda – first seen in 1974 – helped keep the firm in production, thanks to interest from Middle Eastern buyers.

90s

The Ford Motor Company took control in 1994, re-establishing the marque with the beautiful, Ian Callum-designed DB7, which remained in production until 2003. With 7,091 being built, it is the most successful Aston Martin of all time – in the company’s previous 80 years, it had made 16,000 cars in total.

00s

As well as the aforementioned DB9, the first decade of the new millennium also saw the launch of the flagship Vanquish model, followed by the V8 Vantage, the DBS and the ultra-rare, £1.1million One-77, of which just 77 were built.

10s

Aston Martin marks its centenary with the creation of a spectacular, roofless roadster, the CC100. Powered by Aston’s 6-litre, V12 engine, the split-cockpit concept car’s top speed is over 180mph.

Vanishing point The Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, launched in the mountains of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California

Peak of perfection Andrea Franchetti is one of Corney & Barrow’s most adventurous winemakers. Having produced great wine in what he calls a ‘god-forsaken place’, he took on another challenge: planting vines on a live volcano

Words: Charlie Teasdale

Brummell Promotion

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Opposite: Mount Etna, which looms over Franchetti’s Passopisciaro vineyard. This page, clockwise from below: Franchetti, centre, and his team; the winemaker surveys his terroir; his first vineyard, Tenuta di Trinoro

Making a fine wine requires more than just the right grapes, growing conditions and processes.

To make something truly fine, you need passion, ingenuity and courage – three qualities Italian trailblazer Andrea Franchetti has in abundance.

A former Rome restaurateur and New York wine distributor, Franchetti learnt the trade and honed his skill in Bordeaux before heading back to Italy to create his first vineyard – from scratch.

Ever the rebel, in 1992 he opted to create Tenuta di Trenoro on a patch of steep-sloped, wooded scrubland 600m above sea level in southern Tuscany, flanked by mountains and south/southwest facing. There were many who thought he was mad, but, before long, although his vines were young, Franchetti’s Bordeaux varietals were beating the odds and stunning critics.

There are currently four wines emerging from Tenuta di Trinoro: the award-winning Palazzi, which he decided to discontinue for 10 years because it was too ‘straightforward’, Magnacosta, Le Cupole di Trinoro and of course, the title track, Tenuta di Trinoro, a blend with a complex nose of tobacco, spice, wood smoke and tea.

If the challenge of creating beautiful wines in a ‘godforsaken place’ weren’t enough, Franchetti embarked on a new project with Passopisciaro, a collection of formerly abandoned terraces on the

Every night, the cold slides down Mount Etna to the vineyards, so the vines produce different aromas to the average Sicilian plant

slopes of Mount Etna. Not only are the sites kilometres apart, they are polar opposites in terms of terroir – Passopisciaro is 1000m above sea level, and the contradas, which each sit on their own lava flow, are exposed to the vast temperature variation from day to night.

‘Sicily is one thing, but Mount Etna is another.

Every night, the cold slides down the black mountain to the vineyards, putting them through a violent change in temperature, so the vines produce different aromas to the average Sicilian plant,’ says Franchetti. And it would seem his instincts have proved right once again, because, since it was planted, Passopisciaro has been a huge success. Comprised of 100 per cent indigenous Nerello Mascalese grapes, picked from the bottom of the mountain upward, Tenuta di Passopisciaro offers delightful irregularity and great diversity between vintages. The 2009, for example, is a bright, diaphanous ruby with a nose that reveals cherries and red-fruit compôte. Unusual, certainly, but Franchetti plants and picks when he feels it’s right, not when the rules dictate.

Diversity is one of the fundamental virtues of the wine industry. As Franchetti says, ‘People aren’t looking for seamless, smooth wines any more – the more complex the better.’ l corneyandbarrow.com

Barbour, Leadenhall 31 Leadenhall Market EC3V 1LR T: 0207 283 2852 www.barbour.com

MOTORCYCLE CLOTHING SINCE 1936.

Epicure section Wining & dining

Epicure • Brummell

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Introducing Brummell’s newest section focused squarely on the enjoyment of food and drink. We bring you carefully edited selections of stories and news both gourmet and oenophile to enhance your enjoyment of dining out, eating in, imbibing and consuming. Each issue, the menu will feature hors d’oeuvres of news, followed by main courses of culinary indulgence and experimentation, served with side orders of expert knowledge, washed down with skillful advice on what’s best to drink now, lay down or order en primeur. For the gastronome, gourmand, gourmet, connoisseur, or the just plain hungry.

Turnbull & Asser 71-72 Jermyn St, St James’s, London SW1Y 6PF

News • Epicure

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Tailored to taste ↑ Some may baulk at the use of premium whisky in cocktails, but Chivas positively encourages it. To celebrate its partnership with the Savile Row Bespoke Association – whose members include Hardy Amies, Kilgour, Gieves & Hawkes, Richard James and Dege & Skinner – the deluxe scotch blender formed in 1801 has developed a list of new cocktails. These range from the equivalent of a simple, beautifully fitted flannel suit – the Chivas Three Piece (50ml Chivas 12YO, 25ml pineapple juice, 60ml ginger beer, lime wedge) – to a limited-edition cashmere-silk blend number – the Cocktail Cuff (pictured; 50ml Chivas 12YO, 20ml Antica Formula vermouth, 15ml freshly squeezed blood orange juice, three cloves, 2ml Aztec chocolate bitters).

The latter will require a rigorous search for ingredients, as well as time and care to perfect, but that is the statement both Chivas and the Savile Row tailors are keen to make about craftsmanship. chivas.com; savilerowbespoke.com

Look sharp ↑ As a boy, Will Ferraby was forever losing his trusty penknife, so he decided to start making them. A hobby became a career and, setting up shop in a Victorian cutlery factory in Sheffield, the home of British steel, he turned professional in 2009.

Handmade to order, Ferraby’s knives are not only technically brilliant, they are pieces of art. The blades are individually shaped, sanded, polished and sharpened and, thanks to the perfectly balanced rock, offer outstanding comfort and practicality. Built to last a lifetime, Ferraby kitchen knives are made from stainless steel, cryogenically hardened to 59 on the Rockwell scale, although other steels, such as Silver Fox 100 or the Swedish Sandvik 12C27, are available on request. Handles come in a choice of olive, yew or rosewood. Some clients have opted for wood from their own land – Ferraby welcomes any new challenge, and looks to collaborate with the customer as much as possible. ferrabyknives.co.uk

The choc of the new Chocolatier Paul A Young is renowned for his outlandish flavour combinations, so it comes as no surprise that his Christmas 2013 collection is a little off-thewall. Perhaps the most intriguing creation is the Log Fire, a truffle flavoured with pine, cedar wood, black cardamom, chipotle chilli and Chase oak-smoked vodka. paulayoung.co.uk

Sparkling concept ↑ The area immediately by Liverpool Street station has never been a place to linger – until now. Tirage, which has opened at 64 Bishopsgate, serves tempting small plates (such as parmesan toast soldiers with quail eggs and shaved truffle) and boasts a list of 120 champagnes and sparkling wines, many from lesserknown, innovative houses such as Jacquesson and Thiénot. Appealingly, a large selection is available by the glass. tirage.co.uk

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Epicure • News

Secret ingredient For its use of Amazonian ingredients and innovative cooking, DOM has been voted the finest restaurant in South America, and sixth in the world in The World’s 50 Best Awards. Now DOM’s charismatic chef Alex Atala has written a book celebrating the rare produce he sources from the rainforest. Rediscovering Brazilian Ingredients is a strikingly illustrated take on the chef’s relationship with native products, such as sea snails, red porgy (seabream) and palm hearts, and how he works to source them sustainably from community producers.

You may never be able to source all the ingredients to prepare dishes such as ‘ants with pineapple’, but it’s a fascinating look at someone for whom South American cuisine is more than just a trend.

DOM Rediscovering Brazilian Ingredients by Alex Atala, £35.00 / €45.00, Phaidon 2013, phaidon.com, domrestaurante.com.br

A rare breed Never mind the size and cooking time for your turkey; it’s the breeding that counts. Laverstoke Park Organic Farm in Hampshire, Winter warmers ↑ To mark the arrival of the party season, Grey Goose has unveiled four new winter cocktails, specially designed by global brand ambassador Joe McCanta. The collection sees the vodka mixed with ingredients such as lavender honey, star anise and mandarin to create an eclectic and delectable range of drinks. The standout creation, La Poire De Luxe (pictured) blends Grey Goose La Poire’s mellow sweetness with XO Cognac, bitters and grated black truffle. If you want something with a little more spice, opt for the French Negroni, a heady mix of Grey Goose L’Orange, Noilly Prat and bitters. greygoosetaste.com

owned by former F1 champion Jody Scheckter, sells rare-breed Norfolk Black turkeys, organically reared in Laverstoke’s fields. For Christmas, there are also fattened organic Embden-Toulouse geese and native Angus beef, as well as sausages, bacon and other trimmings. laverstokepark.co.uk

Sergio Coimbra

A rum job ↑ Aged at an altitude of 2,300m in the highlands surrounding Quetzaltenango in Guatemala, and crafted by skillful master blender Lorena Vasquez, Ron Zacapa is by its nature a bit special.

The newest rum from the house, Reserva Limitada 2013, combines rums aged from six to 24 years in sherry, whisky, Pedro Ximenez and charred oak barrels. With a complex aroma that combines notes of chocolate, marmalade, toffee, raisins and dried fruit, it would seem a sin to drink it with anything but ice. Read more about Ron Zacapa and Lorena Vasquez: brummellmagazine.net; zacaparum.com

“Already a favourite amongst London’s smart drinking set” WALLPAPER

“Every aspect of creating their brilliant spirits has been a meticulously researched labour of love” ESQUIRE

“Starting a gin distillery in London is not exactly a new idea, its just no-one had done it for 200 years” MONOCLE

INTRODUCING SIPSMITH Now and then, something very special comes along. In this case now and then was quite a while. It has been almost 200 years since a copper pot still was operating in London until the three lads at Sipsmith commissioned theirs named “Prudence” in 2009, spearheading the resurgence in small batch spirits and the pure artistry of distillation.

Sipsmith’s London Dry Gin is one of the few gins in the world not made from concentrate. Instead, using the traditional one shot method, it’s handcrafted producing only a few hundred bottles at a time, delivering perfect balance with real intensity and character.

Sipsmith’s Barley Vodka is distilled in copper for purity, and made from just the best spirit from the heart of the run. This means there is no need to filter, add glycerine, fructose, or any aromatisers. No compromises; just unadulterated smooth pure vodka.

www.sipsmith.com

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Epicure • Travel

French leave

With his finely tuned obsession for French haute cuisine, Chris Galvin has made his name as one of London’s finest chefs and restaurateurs.

We accompany him on a fact-finding and food-tasting trip to Bordeaux

Words & photography: Nick Smith

Chris Galvin says he’s often asked where he gets his ideas. The eldest of a trio of brothers who put their name to Galvin Restaurants, he thinks it’s all about getting out there and talking to people.

‘I’m always going to markets and out on boats, listening to producers, farmers and visiting other restaurants.’ Once a year, he goes on a pilgrimage to a particular region of France, to drink in the atmosphere of a place that has given him a lifelong passion for haute cuisine.

This year he’s off to Bordeaux in search of oysters, lamb, caviar and, of course, wine. His mission goes way beyond simply the refreshment of his palate. He’s searching for ideas that will form the basis of new dishes at his London restaurant Galvin at Windows. ‘I want to bring the Bordeaux region to London,’ he says.

Perched on the top floor of the monolithic Hilton on London’s Park Lane, with a panorama of London that takes in Buckingham Palace and the Shard, Galvin at Windows occupies something of a glamorous space. But this can be a mixed blessing for the Michelin-starred restaurant, says Galvin, who admits that what’s on the plate is ‘always going to have to compete with the view.

We need to make sure the food not only tastes great, but looks great, too.’

Specialising in French haute cuisine, Galvin describes the ethos at Windows as ‘market-driven and seasonally led’. But he says he finds it hard to put a label on what he does. ‘People sometimes say it’s a British contemporary interpretation of

the theme. But most of our dishes come direct from the markets and producers of France.’ He expands by saying that it’s critical that he doesn’t cook out of a book, vital that every chef develops his own repertoire. For Galvin, what this really means is that he needs to see first-hand where the dishes are formed geographically, to tune into ingredients on their home soil. ‘I don’t understand chefs who aren’t prepared to research their food this way. Dishes change frequently. Even if you have a real classic, it might be with you for no more than five years. So you have to keep on the lookout for what’s next.’

We’re heading for the sumptuous Château La Lagune on the outskirts of the city of Bordeaux, where, on the last night of our stay, Galvin will create a Christmas feast based on what he sees over the next few days. As our taxi sweeps through endless vineyards he tells me how he came to be so fixated with France.

It all started back in the Sixties when his father won a highly improbable ‘Yankee’ flutter on the horses that meant he could buy a second-hand Vauxhall Viva. ‘We just drove through France for two weeks. Mum and Dad couldn’t speak a word of the language, but they were brave. The attitude towards French food at the time was that you didn’t want to be dealing with that foreign muck.’

Despite the windfall, the Galvins weren’t exactly rolling in it, and so meals were taken at lorry drivers’ roadside cafés, ‘where you could always find a great plat du jour. These dishes were

The feast in me Opposite: Chris Galvin (centre) enlists the help of La Lagune chef Catherine Nègre and Galvin at Windows general manager Fred Sirieix, in preparing his Bordeaux banquet. Above: carefully selected local wines, here a white Bordeaux, complement each course

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Epicure • Travel

Local heroes Clockwise from left: the rustic informality of La Tupiña, a renowned bistro in Bordeaux city; a typical shared spread at La Tupiña features produce fresh from the market; caviar is farmed and hand-produced in Bordeaux; foie gras cooked with port waiting to be plated up for Galvin’s feast.

Overleaf, bottom: gathering oysters in the Bassin d’Arcachon estuary

very exotic for me at the time and really stuck in my mind.’ He also remembers squeezing through hedgerows, scrumping for grapes and apricots. ‘That’s where I got this fascination for the flavours of France.’

As a kid, Galvin would go shopping with his grandmother in Romford market, where there were live eels, chickens and ducks. ‘I used to wonder what these people were going to do with them when they got home,’ he recalls. Coming from a modest background, as a teenager Galvin soon found himself looking for work to support his family. Knocking on the door of a restaurant in Brentwood, he was greeted by a sous chef called Antony Worrall Thompson, who gave him a job as a Saturday plongeur. ‘It’s an old saying,’ reflects Galvin, ‘but if you find a job you love, you’ll never work again.’

And yet the work was only just about to begin, with decades in and out of colleges and kitchens, unpaid work and writing letters to French restaurants ahead of him. ‘I just wanted to learn and tried to work in the best kitchens I could.’

Back in Bordeaux, our first stop is Jean-Pierre Xiradakis’ legendary restaurant, La Tupiña.

Tucked away down a Bordeaux side street, this tiny bistro is a celebrity hang-out for movie stars, politicians and artists. Galvin is anxious to see for himself the famous mechanical open rotisserie, family-style shared dishes on the table, and rustic informality where the food reflects what the farmers are bringing to market on the day. It’s

Epicure • Travel

no surprise to see La Tupiña’s pâté de foie gras served in enormous chunks, with crusty bread and a bowl of tomatoes and radishes.

Xiradakis commands respect wherever he goes, with Galvin describing him as ‘a guardian of local produce.’ On meeting, the men exchange inscribed copies of their cookbooks before getting down to the serious business of eating. After a few hours of flowing local wines, chairs are pushed back and stories are swapped, with Galvin watching every detail like a hawk. ‘This is all about inspiration.

Not copying, but absorbing details and techniques because you like the way another chef works. But, I’ll want to put my own stamp on things.’

The following morning, we drive to Bassin d’Arcachon, a sleepy estuary known for the excellence of its oysters. It was Napoléon III, in the mid-19th century, who really developed l’ostréiculture in the region with his Parcs Impériaux. But today we’re visiting Les Parcs de L’impératrice, where guitar-playing, cigarsmoking Joël Dupuch farms the finest oysters in France. Dupuch leads us onto the terrace of his beachfront home, where he serves fresh molluscs with crusty rye bread, salty butter and lemon.

Galvin’s verdict is that they are ‘magnificent – as soon as they were popped you could see they were really special. You get that big saline hit and a lot of flavour.’ Will he be bringing these back to London? ‘Yes. And when we do, we’ll tell the story of what we have seen, so we can transfer this enthusiasm and expertise to our customers.’

The whole point of these fact-finding missions is to be able to take something back to our restaurants

The oysters will eventually be paired with caviar from a local sturgeon farm. For anyone thinking that the latter delicacy comes only from the Caspian Sea, where the eggs are black and the flavour is overpowering, and it’s all sloshed down with vodka, there is a big surprise in store.

Over the past two decades sturgeon farming has started to develop in Bordeaux, with the Sturia company hand-producing caviar in laboratory conditions. ‘I wanted to see how it was produced. This is such a great clean flavour that you don’t want to drink vodka with it.

I think we’ll serve our caviar hors d’oeuvres with champagne,’ says Galvin.

Back at Château La Lagune, it is time for Galvin to put his newfound local knowledge into action. As with probably every other visitor to France since the dawn of time, we are up against the enemy of all itineraries… ‘schedule slippage’.

If Galvin, along with Galvin at Windows general manager Fred Sirieix, is to prepare his feast on time, things have to move fast. Working with La

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Lagune house chef Catherine Nègre (who worked with Joël Robuchon in London and is famed for her purée de pomme de terre ratte) the subterranean kitchen becomes a blur of choreographed improvisation. ‘I didn’t know what I was going to cook,’ Galvin confesses later. ‘But we all agreed there would be a Christmas feel to the menu. So we made it up on the spot, based on what we had.’

The halls may not have been decked with boughs of holly, but every other detail of traditional Christmas decoration – from a glorious tree to bowls of festive nuts – is evident at every turn. As we settle into our seats a general air of expectation of something special descends upon the dinner guests. The oysters and caviar are served on a bed of pine needles Galvin collected from a nearby forest that afternoon. The splendid foie gras poêlé au porto is followed by local lamb cooked on a rotisserie. Everything about the one-off menu is perfect.

And yet, as Galvin says, this isn’t really a one-off, more the first steps in the creation of new elements for a London menu. ‘The whole point of these fact-finding missions is to be able to take something back to our restaurants. I’m already thinking about a Christmas feast in 2014 based on what I’ve learnt on this trip to Bordeaux. I’ll be thinking about some big-hitting dishes similar to what we had tonight: foie gras, oysters with caviar, Pauillac lamb, all of which are just terrific at this time of the year.’ We can testify to that. l galvinatwindows.com

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Epicure • Travel

Now serving: Huitres Brummell On returning from his trip to Bordeaux, Chris Galvin devised two oyster recipes (pictured) specially for Brummell readers to prepare – one with the shellfish lightly poached, one where it remains raw. Both are mouth-watering.

Poached oyster, cider butter sauce and smoked pancetta 10 freshly shucked oysters Half a banana shallot, diced 100g butter 100g cider vinegar 1 tbsp chopped chives Good amount of lemon juice 20g pancetta, in small batons Sweat the diced shallot in butter.

Reduce the cider vinegar and slowly add the butter and a good amount of chopped chives. Poach the oysters in their own juice and place back in the warmed shells. Gently sautée the pancetta and serve on the shells.

Fresh oyster in shell, with soy gel and pickled ginger and cucumber 10 freshly shucked oysters Pickled ginger Cook thinly sliced ginger in pickling liquid: 50g white wine vinegar 50g sugar 50g mineral water Pickled cucumber Use same liquid, but cold, and pickle for 10 minutes Soy gel 90 ml soy sauce 90 ml sake 30 ml cider vinegar 2g agar agar

Bassin d’Arcachon oysters are magnificent – you get a big saline hit and a lot of flavour

Mix the soy gel ingredients well. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 seconds.

Chill until completely set. Blend and pass through a sieve. Store in a squeezy bottle. Add gel to each oyster shell.

Arrange the pickles over the oysters.

L ife can be p e rf e c t

Experience Bollinger Responsibly www.champagne-bollinger.com @BollingerUK #BollingerByTheGlass

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Epicure • Restaurants

Dining decisions

London’s restaurant scene is buzzing – from fine dining to café culture.

We give the lowdown on the most exciting openings

Words: Jane Fulcher

There are changes afoot in the Square Mile. The area has rapidly developed into a desirable dining destination, inspired by the ‘cool’ trickling down from Shoreditch and following the success of Sushisamba and Duck & Waffle in Heron Tower.

Mark Hix is about to open Hixter (020 7749 0479; hixter.co.uk) on Devonshire Square, serving the simple chicken and steak menu that continues to draw the crowds at Tramshed in Shoreditch.

Excitingly, the 5,000sq ft restaurant will also feature an outpost of Mark’s Bar, the eternally fashionable, clubby bar underneath Hix in Soho, home of the finest Aviation cocktail in the UK. In Clerkenwell, Foxlow (020 7014 8070; foxlow.co.uk) is the latest addition to St John Street, from the men behind the Hawskmoor restaurants, Will Beckett and Huw Gott. Like Hawksmoor, it offers plenty of excellent British meat, but with more spices, as well as slow-smoked and charcoalgrilled dishes, all in a more intimate atmosphere.

The restaurant is inviting wine experts to create their own page on the list, with guests including Paul Draper from California’s Ridge Vineyards.

In Canary Wharf, One Canada Square (020 7559 5199; onecanadasquarerestaurant.com) has just opened, serving delicious British produce prepared by ex-Ivy chef Jamie Dobbin. Much of the food is served in its purest form, with ceviches, tartares and carpaccios leading the seasonal menu.

Yorkshire red grouse, Devonshire red chicken, Peterhead cod and Cumbrian shorthorn steaks complete this homage to British regional food, alongside an interesting cocktail menu that focuses on Negronis, Manhattans and martinis.

The trend for Peruvian food continues: Andina (andinalondon.com), set to be opened this month by the team behind Ceviche in Soho, is bound to be the hottest new restaurant in Shoreditch. With a focus on cuisine from the Andes, the menu will include Andean pork stew, cod cheek and hake tiradito (similar to ceviche) with red grapefruit, and mazamorra morada, a pudding made with purple corn. Pop in to sample ceviche with pisco cocktails in the downstairs bar.

Over in Mayfair, Rextail (0203 301 1122; rextail.co.uk), the third London restaurant from

Restaurants • Epicure

Russian tour de force Arkady Novikov, opened on Albemarle Street in November. Met with scepticism when he opened Novikov in 2012, the Muscovite has now proved his London mettle and his new venue promises a European menu with an Asian twist, including Irish Black Angus steak, venison loin, tuna tartare with koshu dressing and braised beef shortribs with herb-baked bone marrow.

Also in Mayfair, colourful Casa di Fiori (020 7491 8638; casadifiori.co.uk) brings an eccentric fairy-tale aesthetic to the area’s Italian restaurant offering, resplendent in Murano glass chandeliers, bright blue furniture and fresh flowers. The north Italian menu includes taglioni crab and Rossini beef fillet with foie gras and black truffles with Marsala reduction.

A welcome third outpost of wine-focused restaurant 28°-50° (0207 495 1505; 2850.co.uk) opened on Maddox Street in October and is the first in the group to feature a champagne bar. The group’s restaurants are so named because 28°-50° are the latitudes at which most grapes are grown, and oenophiles will love the 30 wines available by the glass as well as the Collector’s List of rarer bottles. Founders Xavier Rousset and Agnar Sverrisson, formerly of Michelin-starred Texture, have matched their wines with a refreshingly straightforward menu.

Wine-lovers should also look out for a new venue from the people behind the influential Experimental Cocktail Club, the bar that made Chinatown worth visiting again. Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels Seven Dials, opening this month, will serve very selected natural wines from lesserknown producers, paired with a simple menu.

Shaftesbury Avenue has long been the nadir of eating out in London but Polpo’s Russell Norman will soon change that by opening pub-restaurant The Ape & Bird (020 7836 3119; apeandbird.com) on the corner of West Street, offering all-day dining crafted from fresh market produce.

As if one foodie pub transforming a beleaguered area of London wasn’t enough, sushi expert Kurobuta, fresh from its wildly successful King’s Road pop-up, will be opening a Japanese-style pub near Marble Arch in 2014, serving fresh sushi and sashimi alongside robata-grilled meat and tempura, all prepared by ex-Nobu Melbourne and Wabi head chef Scott Hallsworth. Those wondering what Hakkasan founder Alan Yau is up to behind the hoardings on Berwick Street in Soho might be surprised to hear that he is also planning to launch an Asian-style gastropub, this one with a Chinese twist, launching early 2014.

With The Shard and Heron Tower shooting into the sky, London has recently developed an extraordinary dine-with-a-view culture. Oblix and Hutong in The Shard, and Duck & Waffle and Sushisamba in Heron Tower, have set the bar high. Next year, London restaurant darling Jason Atherton will take over at Tower 42 in the space formerly occupied by Gary Rhodes’ restaurant.

The new developments in The Shard, including the Shangri-La hotel, as well as the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street – which will feature three new restaurants from caterer Rhubarb, which will also work with Heston Blumenthal on events in the Walkie-Talkie – will ensure the trend continues, and continues with style. l

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Opposite, from top: Rextail, the recently opened second London restaurant from Russian Arkady Novikov; One Canada Square, the new outlet for the skils of ex-Ivy chef Jamie Dobbin.

Above: Foxlow, another British meaty addition to St John Street, Clerkenwell

Café Marcel

Café culture Clever restaurateurs have caught on to busy customers’ desire for a quick lunch without compromising on flavour and quality. As a result, many are opening café versions of the main restaurant, ideally suited to working lunches or more casual evening meals.

L’Anima Café The City stalwart will soon open a smaller, more casual café, adjacent to the Snowden Street restaurant, serving southern Italian pasta, pizza and meat dishes prepared on its Josper grill. Customers will be able to take away or dine in. 020 7422 7000; lanima.co.uk Café Murano Angela Hartnett’s café version of the Michelin-starred restaurant on the former site of Pétrus in St James’s.

Café Murano serves delicious north Italian cuisine and a daily changing list of ice cream and sorbet. 020 3371 5559; cafemurano.co.uk Café Marcel Café Marcel is the more informal side of Boulestin, St James’s newest, finest French restaurant. Serving bistro classics (soupe de poisson, provençale vegetable gratin, moules marinière), it’s perfect for a quick delicious lunch or supper. 020 7930 2030; boulestin.com/cafe-marcel

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Epicure • Champagne Top of the pops Clockwise from left: Gosset Celebris; Bruno Paillard Brut Première Cuvee; Mumm 2006; Thiénnot La Vigne aux Gamins 2002; Dom Pérignon 1996 Oenothèque; Krug Rosé

Out of the friar

The history of the Champagne region reveals extraordinary personalities and dynamic dynasties. Little wonder that its namesake has become one of the great wines of the world

Words: Richard Woodard

Champagne’s back-story, in theory, began with 17th century Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Pérignon, the cellarmaster of the abbey of Hautvillers and the inventor of the process that makes champagne sparkle; but there’s just one problem – he was beaten to it by the English.

Historians believe scientist Christopher Merret discovered that, if you add sugar to wine, you can induce a second fermentation and make it fizz, whereas Dom Pérignon’s reputed discovery came two years after Merret’s death.

But don’t let the facts get in the way of a good champagne. In its modern form, Dom Pérignon is the benchmark of luxury champagne. To avoid looking predictable, steer clear of standard vintage and seek out museum releases, such as Dom Pérignon 1996 Oenothèque (£180-200, various wine merchants), which shows remarkable vivacity for a teenage champagne, with some gorgeously honeyed, nutty flavours.

However, the history of champagne wasn’t entirely written by men. The veuves, or widows, of the region have become legendary, with a succession of formidable females taking over champagne houses when their husbands died.

Pre-eminent was Madame Clicquot, who turned a company that did a bit of everything – including wool and banking – into a champagne house whose output became a fixture at every self-respecting

19th-century imperial court. Widow Louise Pommery, a younger contemporary of Madame Clicquot, acquired the Roman chalk pits in Reims, which hold countless bottles of Pommery to this day.

Then there was Lily Bollinger, who revolutionised the vineyards and wines of the house, a familiar sight as she toured the vines on her bicycle.

If this all sounds quintessentially French, it’s not. The founder of Bollinger – then pronounced with a hard, Germanic ‘g’ – was born in Germany.

Similarly, ‘von’ Mumm came from the Rhine Valley, as did Johann-Joseph Krug. Today, the two businesses they established could scarcely be more French – Mumm part of the Pernod Ricard drinks empire, Krug owned by luxury goods group LVMH. Newly released Mumm 2006 (£40.99, Bibendum Wine, Sainsbury’s) is indecently young, but offers a supple, quaffable mix of lip-smacking fruit flavours and great balance. Meanwhile, Krug Rosé, now available in magnum (£600, New Street Wine Shop, Oblix) is a meeting of the ethereal and the corporeal, combining an elusive floral scent with robust flavours of red fruits and fresh pastry.

The age of the veuves and Germans is mainly confined to history books now, so who are the individuals shaping the champagne of tomorrow?

Alain Thiénot was for some years a courtier, or broker, in champagne – a middleman between the producers and the grape growers. It’s a great way to find out where the best vineyards are and, in 1985, Thiénot put that knowledge to use by founding his own champagne house. Thiénot’s top-end champagne remains a stand-out today, in particular Thiénot La Vigne aux Gamins 2002 (£113.92, Hedonism). Take a moment here; this is not a showy wine, but a subtle, delicate expression of the Chardonnay vineyard in Avize from which it originates, with pure, crisp finesse.

A younger man, Bruno Paillard’s career path has echoes of Thiénot. Also a former courtier, the empire he spearheads encompasses familiar names, such as Lanson and Heidsieck Monopole.

But the champagne bearing his name is very different. Founded in 1981, Champagne Bruno Paillard specialises in luxury cuvées, keeping the dosage low to retain elegance and freshness, and allowing each bottle to ‘rest’ before release, ensuring perfect balance. Taste Bruno Paillard Brut Première Cuvée (£49.99, Selfridges) and you’ll find out why he goes to such pains.

But if there has to be just one Champagne choice, turn to the oldest house of them all: Gosset.

It has been making red wine, then champagne, since 1584 and has definitely got the hang of it.

Gosset Celebris 2002 Extra Brut (£75, Farr Vintners) is a champagne that has it all: precision, purity, underlying structure and enormous depth.

It’s perilously drinkable now, but try to squirrel a few bottles away, because this could be a highlight of Christmas 2025 and beyond. l

Fermenting revolution British brewing is in a state of flux as drinkers turn their backs on generic lagers – not in favour of old-fashioned real ales, but a new breed of craft beers. The revolution will not be pasteurised

Words: Charlie Teasdale Photography: Dominic Bell

Beer • Epicure

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London pride From left: The Kernel IPA, made with Citra hops; the Belgian-style Camden Gentleman’s Wit; Best bitter from Crate Brewery; Partizan Ale, with Galaxy and Cascade hops; Brew By Numbers Saison, with Citra hops

In the Eighties, we were duped by cool lager brands.

The consumer is far more educated and taste-aware now

Walking the streets of Bermondsey in search of beer, I finally find Enid Street and the railway arches I’m searching for. After knocking on the little corrugated iron door of number 79, I find Tom Hutchings and David Seymour, founders of Brew By Numbers, sitting at a table among boxes, bottles… and piles of hops. The heady smell of freshly brewed beer hits me immediately, and Hutchings and Seymour, who both look a little exhausted after a hard day’s graft, offer me a seat before nipping off to fetch an extra glass.

We drink and talk about beer. We discuss its nuances, what it takes to make it great and why we like to drink it in the first place. Then we get down to the nitty-gritty, and I ask them why they’ve just invested everything they have in a brewery.

Five years ago, there were fewer than 10 breweries in the LBA (London Brewers Alliance), but thanks to a handy piece of tax legislation by the departing Gordon Brown, there are now 56.

So has an army of bearded men pulled up its sandal straps and banded together to fill the taps of the capital with medieval bitter? Far from it.

Beer is now cool, and there is a brotherhood of breweries producing exciting new variations at an alarming rate. This isn’t just beer. This is craft beer.

So what makes a beer a ‘craft’ beer? The usual line-up of beers and ales encountered in the pub is mass-produced, fast-brewed, triple-filtered, pasteurised and more than likely barrelled a few months before it even reaches the tap. In reality, they’re too cold – often a measure used simply to hide the fact that they don’t taste of anything at all. Craft brewers use the finest ingredients – and an exciting variety of them – to create complex beers via traditional, artisanal methods. They do it with passion, and they do it because they know that what they’re making is better than anything you can get in BOGOF deals at the supermarket.

‘It used to be that there were a handful of pubs where you knew you could find The Kernel,’ says Seymour of his Bermondsey neighbour. The Kernel Brewery was set up in 2009 by former Neal’s Yard cheesemonger Evin O’Riordain and, as one of the first of its kind in London, is widely regarded as one of the sparks that reignited the British brewing industry. ‘Nowadays you can go into almost any pub or bottle shop and find craft beer – everyone wants to sell it.’

The new abundance of craft beer is down to the changing tastes of the nation. ‘In the Eighties, we were duped by cool, sexy European lager brands,’ says Neil Hinchley, co-founder of Crate Brewery and Pizzeria in Hackney Wick. ‘Today it’s not as easy: the consumer is far more educated and taste-aware than we were.’ In the same way that people are now concerned with the provenance and quality of their food, drinkers want to know what’s going into their pint, and are actively looking for organic, small production beers that offer impeccable flavour, rather than ‘refreshment’.

Surprisingly, the renaissance has its roots in the US, although there has been good beer throughout Europe for decades. Despite America’s reputation for producing bland, weak, fizzy stuff, a vast amount of the hops being used

by UK craft breweries comes from across the pond. Citra and Amarillo, for example, are used regularly in American pale ales, which are so popular, they seem to crop up on every good brewery’s menu. ‘People want hoppy beers,’ explains Mark Dredge of Camden Town Brewery – maker of Camden Hells Lager and now the third largest brewery in London. ‘We tend to use lots of hops so you get more of a citrus aroma.’

The breweries don’t just sell this new category of beer via off-licences. Restaurant menus up and down the land are listing craft brews alongside

their wines, because they know that many discerning drinkers now know their porters from their saisons. It’s a culture that has permeated society; people who enjoy good things – wine, food, art – enjoy craft beer and expect any eatery worth its salt to serve it.

Beyond even that, the now-established movement is part of something altogether experiential. Every Saturday in Bermondsey, for example, people flock to Maltby Street Market to sample the glut of gastronomic delights, before wandering between three ‘open-house’ breweries – The Kernel, Brew By Numbers and Partizan, a young set-up that is quickly making a name for itself by creating groundbreaking beers.

If this seems like just another trend, think again. People may have less disposable income at the moment, but they’re opting to invest in quality, not quantity. ‘Once you’ve had that flavour experience, why would you ever turn back?’ asks Hutchings. ‘There’s no doubt that we’re on track to challenge the big boys – they’re already trembling. I’m sure there’s somebody at Stella right now panicking over how they’re going to get a piece of this market.’

Despite the seemingly zealous and puritanical nature of some breweries, at the core of it, this craft beer ‘revolution’ is powered by good taste and a desire to do better, and competition between companies is almost non-existent – in fact there’s mutual encouragement, a desire to build the market rather than fight over a small segment. As Camden Town’s Mark Dredge says, ‘You will still find crap beer in 95 per cent of London pubs. Until we’ve changed that, there’s still lots to do.’ l brewbynumbers.com; thekernelbrewery.com; cratebrewery.com; camdentownbrewery.com; partizanbrewing.co.uk

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Epicure • Whisky

Calling time

The old certainty that the older the malt the better, is giving way as distillers offer more variety and innovative ways of defining their whiskies – there’s even an X-Factor competition

Words: Chris Madigan

Above: Balblair distillery, the location for Ken Loach’s film, The Angel’s Share.

Opposite: The Glenlivet’s master distiller Alan Winchester noses a cask of the whisky

John MacDonald walks through the dunnage warehouse of the Balblair distillery in the Easter Ross like a matron patrolling a maternity ward. It is he who decides when the whiskies in his care – arranged in casks three high above a dust floor – will be allowed to be taken home. Nearby, beside the Forth of Cromarty, the master distiller of The Dalmore, Richard Paterson, collects samples from sherry butts and port pipes to take back to his Blumenthal-style lab in Glasgow. And further south, in the Spey Valley, Alan Winchester draws a little from the casks he plans to use in the next expression of The Glenlivet.

These are some of the men who are changing the way we choose whisky at a time of greater variety than ever, when we can no longer entirely rely on the old certainties of geography and age in determining a whisky’s quality and character.

In terms of age, you will certainly still pay more for a distillery’s 25YO than its 16. But Dave Broom, the drinks writer who devised the Whisky Flavour Map to help us pinpoint our dram (between light and rich, delicate and smoky) in these confusing times points out, ‘In an active cask, the wood can eventually obliterate the carefully crafted character of the distillery.’ What’s more, he adds, ‘The global boom in whisky was not anticipated 12 or more years ago, so there is pressure on stock.’

Whatever the reasons, niche distillers are increasingly releasing whiskies based on character not age and famous names are following suit. The

Whisky drinkers are becoming more demanding. They expect a story of what you’ve done during maturation and why

peated Islay malt Laphroaig has one of the most distinctive characters in whisky – it is so smoky, it is often referred to as ‘a campfire in a glass’. But, in an effort to offer more variety, it now markets expressions in terms of the wood in which it has matured, including Quarter Cask (finished in a small barrel so more of the spirit takes on the vanilla and caramel notes of the bourbon-infused wood) and PX (richer, spicier and less smoky due to time spent in a cask once containing treacly Pedro Ximenez).

Richard Paterson has been one of those master distillers who is breaking new ground, with both the distilleries he is responsible for, The Dalmore and Jura. The latter, on the island neighbouring Islay, produces four expressions. None are named by year, although two state it (Jura Origin at 10 and Diurach’s Own at 16); the others – Jura Superstition and Prophecy – are described in terms of how peated they are: lightly and heavily, respectively. At The Dalmore, he has made an art of experimenting with different woods. Arguably Paterson’s masterpiece, the King Alexander III includes Dalmore spirit aged in bourbon and marsala barrels, Cabernet Sauvignon barriques, madeira drums, port pipes and various sherry butts – notably Matusalem. He says, ‘Age statements are still here but if we arrived at a whisky festival these days and said, “We have a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old” and so on, people would reply, “Is that all?” Whisky drinkers are becoming more demanding. They expect a story of what you’ve done during the maturation and why.’

Not only can whisky drinkers expect a story these days, they can actually be part of it. Recently, the Guardians of The Glenlivet were invited to decide which whisky will be released next. These Guardians are not a secret cabal of wizened keepers of the flame that fires the stills in Speyside, but enthusiasts who have signed up on the distillery’s website. Alan Winchester has suggested three very different expressions of The Glenlivet: the Revival, the Classic and the Exotic. At invitational events all over the world, over 2,500 people have sampled and voted for their favourite. Having the three in front of you is an education – not only do the flavours change (and not just subtly) but the mouth-feel does too. The Revival majors on fruit – citrus and banana – and is very light. The Classic is oilier and introduces deeply warming Christmassy flavours. And the Exotic (which currently shades the Classic in the votes) emphasises the floral tradition of Speyside malts.

Winchester says, ‘All three maintain the true character of The Glenlivet – the fruity, floral style – because the distiller’s holy grail is consistency in the new-make spirit, but each stresses a different aspect according to its maturation. It is an interesting way to let the customers pore over the details. And these are all the building blocks, if you like, of our main age-statement range.’

The future is likely to see more whiskies named for the other epicurean delights they may accompany and in which infinite variety and specificity is equally available, such as coffee and chocolate. The Dalmore Cigar Malt (which, says Paterson, ‘is at 44 per cent, not 40, so the spiciness complements the richness of a Partagas or Hoyo de Monterrey’) is arguably the prototype.

There is, however, an exact opposite approach – not being vague about the age but far more precise. The Balblair was an ancient but low-key distillery (founded in 1790), overshadowed by its neighbour Glenmorangie. It gained more attention after taking the decision to release its whiskies as single-year vintages. (Its buildings and staff also appeared in Ken Loach’s The Angel’s Share.) If a 1990 vintage bottled this year sounds the same as a 23YO, it isn’t – because an age-statement whisky might actually contain slightly older spirit to nudge it in the direction the distiller wants to take it. At Balblair, John MacDonald doesn’t have that luxury.

So there’s a purity to his judgement. He puts it like this: ‘We take a complementary approach between age itself and the character of a whisky, where the natural process and human judgment come together at precisely the right moment.’

What is fascinating is when a second bottling, years later, reveals a sort of parallel universe: the 2007 bottling of the 1997 has much of the Balblair new-make spirit’s green apple and herbs, while the new 2013 release of the same vintage reveals banana, pineapple and a coffee ice-cream finish.

Meanwhile, voting is coming to a close on The Glenlivet’s next limited edition; I fear my preference, the Classic, will lose the election, but rather than simply contenting myself that it’ll have a place in the coalition of an age-statement whisky, I have a hint from Alan Winchester that I may not be disappointed for long: ‘We’ll see: it’ll be interesting how we can develop this concept.’ l balblair.com; thedalmore.com; theglenlivet.com

A certain age?

Dave Broom, designer of the Single Malt Whisky Flavour Map, lists five great whiskies that are too modest to reveal their age – or, at the other extreme, are more exact than most Glenrothes 2001 (bottled 2012), 43% This Speyside distillery was the first to explore the vintage concept, with each release demonstrating a different facet of its complex personality. This release sees it in restrained mood, delicate and appley with gentle spices. The palate has typical Glenrothes depth and a whisper of cereal. The distillery has also just released a non-age-statement (NAS) range for duty-free: Manse Reserve, Minister’s Reserve and Elder’s Reserve.

Balblair 2000 (bottled 2010), 43% Balblair’s adoption of the vintage concept has allowed a previously relatively unknown distillery to offer up a wide range of different styles. This release sees its delicate underpinnings in their greatest expression: a mix of pear, apple, honey and cut flowers. The palate has good silky depth, making it an ideal aperitif whisky - try it slightly chilled and served in a champagne flute.

Macallan Sienna, 43% Macallan’s new ‘1824’ range has done away with age statements and replaced its youngest expressions with a fourstrong range graded by colour. The average age actually exceeds the whiskies they are replacing. This has allowed Macallan’s whisky-maker, Bob Dalgarno, full rein. Sienna has rich fruits (plums, morello cherries) alongside toasted nut, pine rosin and lingering mulled spices.

Kilchoman Machir Bay, 46% Kilchoman, which opened in 2005, is Islay’s newest distillery. Here, the removal of an age statement avoids the (misplaced) negative connotations surrounding young whisky. Greatquality wood shows that maturity can be achieved at a young age – here shown by fresh fruits, mintiness, drifting smoke, oyster brine and a whiff of clove.

Great drunk long with soda water.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label, 40% Blue Label’s launch in 1992 broke the mould. This expensive NAS blend demonstrated how removing the restrictions of declared time gives a blender - in this case Jim Beveridge - greater creativity. It is a complex whisky mixing the depth of dried fruits with wax polish, dry grass, citrus, agave syrup and heathery smoke.

The World Atlas of Whisky by Dave Broom (Mitchell Beazley, £14.99)

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Brummell • By George

Chambers music Convinced music is the antidote to stress, two men are bringing City executives together in perfect harmony

Words: Maria Yacoob

As the last rousing notes of the ‘Toreador Song’ rang out on the Sadler’s Wells stage, Don McGown considered his latest role a career pinnacle.

He had already achieved his dream of taking to the stage at Glyndebourne, in Mozart’s Magic Flute. But playing the bombastic Escamillo in Carmen, and singing Bizet’s most famous aria to rapturous applause, was an unbeatable high.

McGown is not a soloist with the Royal Opera, but a partner at Allen & Overy. The operas he has starred in – on world-famous stages – are productions put together almost entirely within the four walls of 1 Bishops Square, the firm’s London offices. The casts, orchestras and many behind-the-scenes roles comprise Allen & Overy employees – from senior partners to reception staff.

Allen & Overy operatic performances also include The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore and The Mikado. The company staged its first musical, Oklahoma!, at Opera Holland Park earlier this year.

Last month, it teamed up with employees from Royal Bank of Canada, Rouse Legal, LexisNexis, and the Financial Times to perform Handel’s Messiah at St Luke’s in Chelsea. After performing a series of Christmas concerts this month, the company will next year embark on the challenge of a day-long concert of Beethoven works.

These hugely ambitious shows, from which all proceeds go to charity, are all dreamt up and put

Stockists

Centre stage Members of the financial services community perform at Sadler’s Wells as part of City Music Services’ gala in aid of the Anchor House life-skills centre

together by City Music Services. Founded over a decade ago by two Welsh opera singers, Howard Charles and Mark Luther, CMS provides music and dance lessons, and puts together city orchestras and choirs. Clients include Freshfields, KPMG, Simmons & Simmons, Commerzbank and Boston Consulting Group.

‘For many city executives, this is their only opportunity to make music, and offers a welcome time out in their day,’ says Charles. ‘Music is a great leveller. It breaks down barriers between the different floors of these companies.’

While an hour of singing, playing or dancing is undoubtedly a refreshing tonic after a day of bad posture and computer screens, it is the chance to be involved in a big show that really excites.

‘Some clients have previously trained in music, then gone into banking or law, so they have ability and relish the chance to perform,’ says Charles.

For McGown, performing in an opera and working as a lawyer are not poles apart. ‘There are some surprising similarities,’ he says. ‘Both involve teamwork, for instance, and both involve performance – lawyers are used to performing in

court, in meetings and behind a lectern, so being on stage is simply an extension of their daily role.’

Colleen Keck, also a partner at Allen & Overy, has had a very different musical journey. ‘I grew up in a remote part of rural Canada. Although there was music around us, there was no formal music education, so, though I enjoyed singing and playing the piano, I never achieved a high level.’

She has sung in the Allen & Overy choir since she joined the firm, and performed in all its shows – both singing and, more recently, dancing. ‘This has been my musical education,’ she says. ‘The processes of choreography and directing fascinate me. While there’s planning involved, it’s very organic, and scenes are created then and there.’

Keck relishes the differences between her law work and performing. ‘My day job is all about thinking – it’s primarily an intellectual exercise.

Music and dance require a lot of thinking too, but are also very focused on the body. To some extent, you have to learn it, then not think about it – just let your muscle memory take over and do it.’

But whether its challenges are similar to or different from those of working in a top City law firm, one thing is for certain: participating in a musical performance is hugely enjoyable. As Keck says, ‘It gives me a great sense of achievement, as well as being the most fun I’ve ever had.’ l citymusicservices.co.uk

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The power of two Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Mentoring Women in Business Programme has brought together a London high-flyer with great experience and an entrepreneur from Bangalore with a great idea

Words: Maria Yacoob

When Maha El Dimachki was growing up in Sydney, everyone had high hopes for her future. ‘They all wanted me to become a doctor or an engineer – it’s the aspiration of every Arabic family for their kids.’

However, for all that the expectations of her were traditional, El Dimachki’s upbringing was rather less conventional. Her father died before she was born and her mother took her and her siblings to her home country of Syria when El Dimachki was eight years old. With such a strong female role model, the young girl knew she would grow up to be a successful, independent woman.

After studying for a commerce and marketing degree in Sydney, El Dimachki began her ascent through the finance industry, joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2009. Today, based in its London offices, she is head of Corporate Sales in Global Transaction Services for EMEA. She knows her achievements are uncommon for a woman in the male-dominated world of finance, but says, ‘I don’t feel hard done by.

I had opportunities, worked hard and kept an open mind. If you’re willing to improve yourself and show dedication, you’ll be given a chance.’

In contrast, Shilpa Datar struggled to believe she could be successful. She grew up in Bangalore, where social mores were set firmly against women entering business. ‘In our society,’ explains Datar, ‘the goal is for a girl to be educated, form a good alliance, get married and live as the husband and in-laws wish.’ It was only later in life that she found the courage and resources to continue in education, gaining a masters degree, then a doctorate in psychology from the university of Mysore.

Datar believed the psychometric test that she designed for her PhD, uniquely based on Indian philosophies, had business potential. But every time she approached companies for support in developing relevant software she was brushed off.

She was told, ‘A man hasn’t done this, so what makes you think you can?’ Constantly rebounding off the barriers of prejudice, she didn’t know where to turn next to ask for help in transforming her idea into a profitable concern.

in association with

Bespoke prom otion • Brum mell

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‘Research has shown time and again that the real drivers of the world economy are women’ After moving to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s London office in 2012, Maha El Dimachki decided to join its female mentoring initiative. The Mentoring Women in Business Programme was created in partnership with the Cherie Blair Foundation to pair top female executives with entrepreneurs in developing and emerging economies. Its mantra is to build the confidence, capability and capital of fledgling female business leaders. To date, 60 of the firm’s employees have helped steer the careers of 400 mentees from around the world.

‘I benefited hugely from having mentors,’ says El Dimachki. ‘I was paired with my first in Sydney, through a Bank of America Merrill Lynch programme that promoted female talent. He gave me advice about career development and put me in touch with valuable contacts within the firm.’

She already had experience of mentoring within Bank of America Merrill Lynch and knew how mutually beneficial such relationships could be, but the chance to do it on an international scale struck a particular chord. ‘I lived for 10 years in a developing country and saw at first hand how my aunts and female cousins and friends struggled to

in association with

get equal opportunities in education and work. I know how talented these women are. All they need is a fair go in a male-dominant culture. I wanted to contribute, to make that happen.’

El Dimachki was paired with Datar. When she read her mentee’s CV, El Dimachki was initially intimidated. ‘Shilpa has more degrees than anyone I know!’ But her marketing expertise was exactly what Datar needed to turn her enquiring mind into a business brain. Through a series of weekly phone calls and email exchanges, El Dimachki advised Datar on the best way to present the results of each psychometric test, pinpoint her target market, develop her message, find her first clients and make a viable financial model.

Supporting new businesswomen is vital to Bank of America Merrill Lynch because research has shown time and again that the real drivers of the world economy are women. As leaders, employees, consumers and entrepreneurs, they are accelerating growth and improving conditions in communities. However, in spite of the proven benefits of female economic engagement, they face disproportionate barriers in growing businesses.

Bespoke prom otion • Brum mell

Guiding light Previous page: Entrepreneur Shilpa Datar (second left) extols the virtues of the Mentoring Women in Business Programme to a panel that includes her mentor, Maha El Dimachki (far left) and Cherie Blair (second from right). This page: El Dimachki (left) with Datar

In many countries, they also face challenges in accessing networks, technology, training, credit, markets and equal protection under the law.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s partnership with the Cherie Blair Foundation is just one of the company’s commitments to mentoring tomorrow’s international female business leaders. It also leads the Global Ambassadors Program, in partnership with Vital Voices, and establishing relationships between highly successful female executives and eager mentees in emerging economies forms the backbone of its remit.

The programme includes several week-long international conferences each year, during which seven or eight of the ambassadors are brought together with their mentees. Each event includes leadership training, collective workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions. To date, conferences have been held in Haiti, South Africa, India, Singapore, Brazil and Qatar. Over the next five years, Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects 275 ambassadors from its organisation and others to forge a connection with at least 6,750 future female leaders across the world.

However, if it is economics that drives the Global Ambassadors Program and Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Mentoring Women in Business efforts, it is important to remember that the economy is essentially about relationships. And each relationship is between two unique people.

For El Dimachki, the highlight of her mentoring relationship came when Bank of America Merrill Lynch invited Datar over to London for a panel discussion with Cherie Blair on the benefits of female mentoring. ‘It allowed Shilpa to meet key business people and we got to spend lots of time together, which was fantastic.’ Despite coming from different backgrounds, the pair found that, as working mothers, their lives had much in common – so much so that they asked to extend their mentoring informally for an extra year.

Sharing advice, best practice and other business wisdom through female mentoring is proven to have a ripple effect in which benefits are felt far beyond the initial partnership. It is perhaps best summed up by global ambassador Dr Rashmi Tiwari: ‘If you teach a man, you teach a man. But educate a woman and you educate a family.’ l

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