The Peninsula - Spring 2017 by The Antithesis

Spring 2017

FROM THE CEO

t is with great pleasure that we bring to you the first Peninsula magazine of 2017, the year of the Fire Rooster. I am delighted to wish you a happy and prosperous year ahead. In this issue, we focus on some of the elements that make up our precious planet, the most prominent of which is water.

For more than five decades, photographer David Doubilet has captured some of the world’s most impressive images from under the surface of our oceans and has come face to face with a host of the sea’s most fascinating creatures. Today he has reached the peak of his career and he speaks about his life and work as well as sharing some of his most striking underwater images. As most of us are aware, our oceans today are sadly facing the threat of severe pollution, and a new documentary film entitled ‘A Plastic Ocean’ closely examines these issues in the hope of creating a much deeper awareness of the problems that exist. In this issue, we meet the director of this pioneering and critically acclaimed film, Hong Kongbased Craig Leeson. The earth’s natural elements are integral to the work of London-based firm Based Upon, which recently unveiled two monumental cast bronze sculptures in Hong Kong and London respectively. Entitled ‘A Grain of Rice, the sculptures are the studio’s first major public commission and also mark 10 years of creating exceptional work using the materials of Mother Nature. Mother Nature has also given us the beautiful Italian island of Sardinia, where in this issue, photographer Antonio Saba captures the spirit of the women who continue to make pasta by hand in their centuries-old kitchens. In her kitchen on the opposite side of the world, for years Filipina Margarita Forés has been bridging the gap between authentic Italian and traditional Filipino food, putting her in the spotlight as Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2016. These stories echo The Peninsula’s philosophy of embracing sustainable luxury. Throughout our 150-year old history, we have exhibited a strong sense of responsibility, as well as a high level of social consciousness and integrity. In creating a legacy and addressing the environmental and community challenges we face, we understand that companies must play a role in building a sustainable future, through continued dialogue, collaboration, and innovation. All this and more awaits you in this edition of The Peninsula magazine, and as always, I look forward to welcoming you to our properties in the coming year and beyond…

Clement K M Kwok Chief Executive Officer

CONTENTS SPRING 2017

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FROM THE CEO MY JOURNEYS: BEATRIX ONG MBE London-based designer, Beatrix Ong started her fashion career as a magazine intern. By the age of 22 she was creative director of luxury shoe label Jimmy Choo before deciding to branch out on her own and launch her own eponymous collection. Since then Ong has collaborated with some of the world’s most respected designers, while her shoes are featured in the permanent collection of The Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She has also been awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to British fashion. She shares her thoughts on travelling with The Peninsula.

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THE DEEP BLUE Pre-eminent underwater photographer David Doubilet has captured some of the world’s most impressive images from under the surface of our oceans and has come face to face with a whole host of the sea’s most fascinating creatures. Having put a Brownie camera in a plastic bag to first take pictures underwater at the age of 12, his fate was sealed. He looks back on a career that spans more than five decades.

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A BOLD NEW WORLD Andreas Gursky is arguably one of the most influential photographers of our time and is certainly one of the most prolific at auction. His ‘Rhine II’ image sold at Christies in 2011 for US$4.3 making it the most expensive piece of photography ever sold. His epic landscapes of distorted banality subvert the previously held fundamental philosophies of photography and with it he redefined a craft in terms of both cultural and commercial currency.

CONTENTS 2 SPRING 2017

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THE PLASTIC WARRIOR Award-winning documentary film-maker Craig Leeson had no idea what he was letting himself in for when he embarked on his largest and most important project to date – his cinematic documentary ‘A Plastic Ocean’.

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HIDDEN MEANINGS “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” These are the words of historian and novelist Charles Kingsley and they aptly seem to sum up the philosophy of Based Upon, a London-based company with an international clientele seeking one-of-a-kind furniture pieces or installations that tell a story and speak of timelessness, provenance, resonance and preciousness.

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GOD SAVE QUEEN’S ROAD WEST ‘Queen’s Road West: The Vanishing Neighbourhood’ offers an intimate perspective of the rapidly disappearing speciality shops and restaurants that run along one of Hong Kong’s most iconic streets. The proceeds from the sales of this unique book will go to the Sovereign Art Foundation, which has harnessed the power of art to support children around Asia for over 14 years.

CONTENTS 3 SPRING 2017

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THE GOOD OLD DAYS Unearthing albums of vintage photographs, The Peninsula brings you a taste of the past and revisits Hong Kong’s landmark heritage buildings and ponders what life in the former British Territory was like under colonial rule.

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SECRETS OF SARDINIA A journey through the subject of Sardinian cuisine is akin to venturing back in time to discover the treasures buried in the folds of history. Photographer Antonio Saba has documented not only the various types of pasta which feature prominently in local meals, but also skilfully portrayed the women who are still making them by hand, immortalising them in their kitchens. The images tell of a world that is likely to disappear, despite the charm and unquestioned goodness of the dishes of the island’s rural tradition.

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AT ONE WITH THE SEA If there were three words to describe Sanlorenzo’s first-ever explorer yacht, the 460EXP, it would have to be ‘perpetual wow factor’.

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ELEGANTLY EDGY ‘Hand-crafted’ is the perfect term for describing the production process at Richard Mille. Every piece and part is unique, the work is executed by hand, five centimetres from the eye of the watchmaker. Now the brand’s recently introduced RM 07-01 and RM 037 models are the first women’s watches to incorporate ultra-strong Carbon TPT™, a material predominantly used in the making of racing yacht sails.

CONTENTS 4 SPRING 2017

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FROM TOKYO TO NAPA Kenzo Estate owners, Kenzo and Natsuko Tsujimoto, recently opened their latest venture, ‘Kenzo’, an exceptional, authentic Japanese restaurant featuring a pre-fixe Kaiseki and sushi menu, in Downtown Napa. ‘Kenzo’ joins the elite culinary culture in Napa Valley alongside acclaimed three Michelin star restaurants including ‘The French Laundry’ and ‘The Restaurant at Meadowood’.

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PLATED WITH PASSION For decades, Margarita Forés has been bridging the gap between authentic Italian and traditional Filipino food – a movement that put her in the spotlight as Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2016.

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Joselito has been named ‘the world’s best ham’ time and time again. It may be a bold claim, but it isn’t an empty one – just ask Ferran Adrià or Joël Robuchon…

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THE PENULTIMATE

The Peninsula Hong Kong Salisbury Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong Telephone: (852) 2920 2888 Facsimile: (852) 2722 4170 E-mail: phk@peninsula.com The Peninsula Shanghai No 32 The Bund, 32 Zhongshan Dong Yi Road Shanghai 200002, The People’s Republic of China Telephone: (86-21) 2327 2888 Facsimile: (86-21) 2327 2000 E-mail: psh@peninsula.com The Peninsula Beijing 8 Goldfish Lane, Wangfujing, Beijing 100006, The People’s Republic of China Telephone: (86-10) 8516 2888 Facsimile: (86-10) 6510 6311 E-mail: pbj@peninsula.com The Peninsula Tokyo 1-8-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo , 100-0006, Japan Telephone: (81-3) 6270 2888 Facsimile: (81-3) 6270 2000 E-mail: ptk@peninsula.com The Peninsula New York 700 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, New York, NY 10019, U.S.A. Telephone: (1-212) 956 2888 Facsimile: (1-212) 903 3949 E-mail: pny@peninsula.com The Peninsula Chicago 108 East Superior Street (at North Michigan Avenue), Chicago, IL 60611, U.S.A. Telephone: (1-312) 337 2888 Facsimile: (1-312) 751 2888 E-mail: pch@peninsula.com The Peninsula Beverly Hills 9882 South Santa Monica Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, U.S.A. Telephone: (1-310) 551 2888 Facsimile: (1-310) 788 2319 E-mail: pbh@peninsula.com The Peninsula Paris 19 Avenue Kléber, Paris 75116, France Telephone: (33-1) 5812 2888 Facsimile: (33-1) 5812 2999 E-mail: ppr@peninsula.com The Peninsula Bangkok 333 Charoennakorn Road, Klongsan, Bangkok 10600, Thailand Telephone: (66-2) 861 2888 Facsimile: (66-2) 861 1112 E-mail: pbk@peninsula.com

CONTRIBUTORS WILLIAM FURNISS

ELIETTE ROSICH

William Furniss was born in London in 1970. Initially taken with the idea of working as a portrait and fashion photographer, Furniss assisted luminaries of the London scene such Patrick Litchfield and Terry O’Neill. His work soulfully elevates the science of classic photography to an art - in particular through a hyper-repetitive approach to his subjects that makes being in the right place at the right time inevitable, given his extremes of patience. After the initial visualisation, some of his images take decades to achieve before the elements fall into place. Nature still plays an enormous role in shaping his work extremes of sun, wind, tides, rain - not to mention the vagaries of human behaviour.

With over 16 years experience in Hong Kong in the fashion, luxury and fine arts sectors, Eliette has developed a marketing career spanning on and offline PR, advertising, events and promotions and has a deep understanding of the market in the region. She has valuable skills in writing and communication management and is known for her commitment and determination not to accept second-best and brings both creativity and a positive approach to challenges.

ANTONIO SABA

Christine graduated from the Hong Kong Design Institute with a degree in animation but soon realised that her passion lies in graphic design. A creative of many talents - she bakes, hand makes clothes and accessories, and speaks fluent Japanese. Christine draws inspiration from music as well as movies and she is the Chief Designer for The Peninsula magazine.

Antonio Saba had already earned a reputation as a leading talent in the advertising sector by the age of 21. Trained as an observant exponent of still life, today Saba is a very interesting figure in world photography, with a particular focus on the pictorial element of the shot and its iconic composition. This marked compositional approach, his signature means of expression, has enabled Saba to gain exposure on an international level. A permanent exhibition by Saba on the subject of his birthplace, Sardinia, can be found in the head offices of the Bank of Cagliari.

COCO MARETT

ANN TSANG

A Chinese-French hybrid, Coco has spent her life living between Hong Kong and Melbourne and travelling the spaces in between. She began chasing the dream of becoming a writer at a young age and her work has since been published in the US, Australia and Hong Kong. She credits her love of words to her father - also a writer - and finds inspiration in people, places and food.

Ann Tsang is the Editor-In-Chief and Creative Director for The Peninsula Magazine, as well as several luxury custom publications in Asia and the United States. She began her career in television, working for many of the world’s biggest broadcasters, and also ran her own marketing consultancy before founding The Antithesis, a bespoke, luxury publishing venture in Hong Kong.

CHRISTINE LAM

The Peninsula Manila Corner of Ayala & Makati Avenues, 1226 Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines Telephone: (63-2) 887 2888 Facsimile: (63-2) 815 4825 E-mail: pmn@peninsula.com Reservations can also be made through: The Peninsula Global Customer Service Centre 5/F, The Peninsula Office Tower, 18 Middle Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong Telephone: (852) 2926 2888 Facsimile: (852) 2732 2933 E-mail: reservationgcsc@peninsula.com Toll Free from: Australasia • Australia: 1 800 116 888 • China: 4001 200 618 • Hong Kong: 2926 2888 • India: 000 800 852 1388 • Japan: 0120 348 288 • Korea: 00798 8521 6388 • Singapore: 001 800 2828 3888 • Taiwan: 00 800 2828 3888 • Thailand: 001 800 2828 3888 Europe • France: 0800 915 980 • Germany: 0800 181 8418 • Italy: 800 789 365 • Russia: 810 800 2536 1012 • Spain: 900 937 652 • Switzerland: 0800 562923 • UK: 00 800 2828 3888 Americas • Argentina: 0800 888 7227 • Brazil: 0800 891 9601 • Canada: 011 800 2828 3888 • Mexico: 01 800 123 4646 USA: 1 866 382 8388 Middle East • Bahrain: 8000 0889 • Qatar: 00 800 100 388 • Saudi Arabia*: 800 8 852 288 • UAE: 800 0852 07088 * Toll-free access number is only available through Saudi Telecom Company (STC). www.peninsula.com E-mail: info@peninsula.com

Published by: The Antithesis G/F, 1 Pak Tze Lane Central Hong Kong Tel: +852 2851 1150 Email: info@theantithesis.net Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director: Ann Tsang Graphic Designer: Christine Lam Cover Image: Based Upon

THE PENINSULA is published by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited. Incorporated in 1866 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00045), HSH is a holding company whose subsidiaries and its jointly controlled entity are engaged in the ownership and management of prestigious hotel, commercial and residential properties in key destinations in Asia and the USA. The hotel portfolio of the Group comprises The Peninsula Hong Kong, The Peninsula Shanghai, The Peninsula Beijing, The Peninsula New York, The Peninsula Chicago, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, The Peninsula Tokyo, The Peninsula Bangkok, The Peninsula Manila and The Peninsula Paris. The property portfolio of the Group includes The Repulse Bay Complex, The Peak Tower and The Peak Tramways, St. John’s Building, The Landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and the Thai Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand.

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ORDERING FROM ADVERTISERS: Advertisers warrant and represent that the descriptions of the products or services advertised are true in all respects. THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI HOTELS, LIMITED assumes no responsibility for claims made by advertisers. THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI HOTELS, LIMITED, its officers, directors, employees or agents make no recommendations as to the purchase or sale of any product, service or item. All views expressed in all articles are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI HOTELS, LIMITED. All content contained within this magazine is the sole property of THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI HOTELS, LIMITED and may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without authorisation. (c)Copyright 2017 by THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI HOTELS, LIMITED. All rights reserved. The Peninsula is a trademark of The Peninsula Intellectual Property Limited.

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My JOURNEYS: Beatrix Ong MBE London-based designer, Beatrix Ong started her fashion career as a magazine intern. By the age of 22 she was creative director of luxury shoe label Jimmy Choo before deciding to branch out on her own and launch her own eponymous collection. Since then Ong has collaborated with some of the world’s most respected designers, while her shoes are featured in the permanent collection of The Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She has also been awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to British fashion. Here Beatrix shares her thoughts on travelling… I never travel without… My passport, a notebook, a pencil and a light scarf.

My dream trip would be… To do some conservation work in the Galapagos Islands.

One of my fondest travel memories is… Recently going to Myanmar. It truly is a wonderful and beautiful country. There are some new and exciting things happening there, but what I love most are the untouched areas that seem to have stood still in time. I really look forward to visiting again soon.

The best city to get lost in is… Milan – I love the hidden gems in this city and I literally can walk for hours happily there. My jet lag remedy is… Drop your bags off, then go out.

Whenever I can, I travel to… The sea. Water makes me happy and invigorates me.

The restaurant I would travel across the world for is… Silo in Brighton, UK – it’s simply some of the best food I’ve ever had and their no-waste philosophy is a an inspiring standard.

The perfect souvenir is… A fridge magnet.

My favourite place to shop is… Local supermarkets. I love wandering through the aisles browsing local products. Food and a fridge magnet are quite often the only souvenirs I bring back from a place I’ve visited.

I’m always searching for the perfect… Expedition! Crawling through Harrison’s Cave in Barbados, surfing in Costa Rica and cycling in Tuscany are a few of my favourite excursions.

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The DEEP Blue

Aurelia Mon jellyfish, Tasmania

TEXT: ANN TSANG IMAGES: DAVID DOUBILET

Preeminent underwater photographer David Doubilet has captured some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most impressive images from under the surface of our oceans and has come face to face with a whole host of the seaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most fascinating creatures. Having put a Brownie camera in a plastic bag to first take pictures underwater at the age of 12, his fate was sealed. Here he looks back on a career that spans more than five decades.

Endemic double-headed wrasse on southernmost coral reef, Lord Howe Island, Australia

Silky sharks, Cuba

The Peninsula: Do you remember your first ever scuba diving experience? David Doubilet: I grew up along the New Jersey coast, yet my first dive was in a pool. I was 10 years old and I borrowed by sister’s boyfriend’s tank. My first real dive was a few years later at the age of 12 in the Bahamas. We are all incredibly lucky to be one of the first few generations to really see beneath the surface of the ocean, but with this great power and knowledge, comes great responsibility.

school of barracuda circled around her once, twice, three times, and I just managed to get the shot before they were gone. One of the reasons why I’m an underwater photographer is because of the quality of water. I take pictures on land too but I love to shoot water itself, and shooting on a stormy night against the surface on the great Bahama banks, shooting creatures like lemon sharks, is a great joy. TP: Do you ever dive without a camera? Do you take all of your pictures yourself with the camera in hand, as opposed to remotely or inside a vessel underwater? DD: I never dive without a camera. Ever. And I take almost all of my images while diving. Sometimes we use a remote, for example, when we blow up a ship and want to capture the drama, or when a subject is far too deep for diving access. We did a story on artificial reefs for National Geographic magazine and captured the sinking of the second largest ship ever sunk for an artificial reef, the USS Vandenberg off Key West in Florida. We placed cameras on the stern and bow of the ship which were triggered to take photographs at short time intervals while the ship was sinking. Unexpectedly it sank very quickly - we had predicted it would take 20 minutes to fill and sink but in fact it went down and hit the sea bottom in two minutes - but we still got some great shots.

TP: Your goal as a photographer is to “redefine photographic boundaries”. What do you mean by this and how do you achieve it? DD: Each dive is a new visual experiment no matter where that dive is. I never go into the water without a camera and I always look for an intimate moment of light and movement. TP: What is the greatest challenge of underwater photography? DD: The greatest challenge is to come back with new and different images that speak to the viewer and draw them to the sea. TP: Do you ever experience underwater camera-housing disasters? DD: Unfortunately, yes. It is never a question of “if ”, but always “when” your camera will flood. TP: Do you have a favourite part of the under water world to shoot? DD: I have spent many years in the Red Sea and also in the coral triangle which encompasses Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. My most challenging assignments found us in the Okavango Delta working with Nile crocodiles underwater. It was both dangerous and delicate. I love shooting clownfish pictures too. It’s an addiction! I’ve always shot them, ever since I went to the Indo-Pacific, and well before ‘Finding Nemo’. The male clownfish is such a good parent. A female will lay a clutch of eggs which will start out as perfectly orange, and the eggs will grow and in just one week they become almost ready to hatch with eye spots in them. The male will garden around the eggs, aerate them and take very good care of them. I always wanted to make a picture that told this story. Clownfish are also the canary in the coal mine of reef systems. What happens to them will happen to the rest of the reef. Meanwhile they are extraordinarily beautiful, wonderful creatures. The most unusual thing in the ocean and one of the things I love the most about making images underwater is that sometimes you come across a geometric pattern, something that fish will do automatically, like chevron barracuda schooling around something in a perfect circle. I captured Diana Halstead in this situation. A

TP: Your pictures are very beautiful, but is there another message that you hope to send out with them about our oceans and their importance? DD: Yes. I hope, need and want to make images that connect people to the sea and open their minds and eyes to how fragile the oceans are. We need to capture people’s attention and once we have it we need to convince the unconvinced that their day-to-day choices impact the world’s oceans. For example, in the furthest northern corner of the Great Barrier Reef is a place called Rain Island. It’s a gathering place for green turtles which cross all of Indonesia and come from the north around Papua New Guinea and even from the south. They arrive every other year because turtles mate every two years. There can be as many as 80,000 turtles waiting to get onto Rain Island to lay their eggs. We photographed these turtles underwater. We went in with a snorkel, as regular scuba gear was too noisy and made them move away, and there were great hordes of them. The sad thing is that the generation of turtles we are seeing on Rain Island today are going to be the last generation that we see because, by halfway through this century, that island will be under water. Their habitat and the place they go to lay their eggs will be totally transformed as a result of climate change.

TP: Is conservation of the oceans important to you and do you try to express this in your work? DD: Oceans are the Earth’s engine and very few people understand that if the oceans go, then so do we as a race. It’s simple. The oceans must survive and thrive if we are to do the same. We live in difficult, sometimes perilous times for the ocean and the problems are manifold, whether it involves global warming, over-fishing or anything else. Everyone who dives or photographs underwater is an ambassador for this blue world. I have a picture of bluefin tuna taken in 1978 in St. Margaret’s Bay, Nova Scotia. They are in a pound net, in mackerel traps that have been in St. Margaret’s Bay since the end of the American revolution. Bluefin tuna were constantly caught with mackerel as they were coming up the east coast and the Nova Scotians didn’t know what they were. They called them horse mackerel because they were the size of horses, and they initially cut them up and used them for fertiliser, because that was how they made their money. In 1970 the market dropped out of the mackerel business but they then discovered that they could actually feed the mackerel to the tuna and Japanese buyers would take the tuna out of St. Margaret’s Bay, fly them across the pole and they would appear in the Tokyo fish market, sometimes for as much as US$60,000. And that was in 1978. Now there are no more tuna in St. Margaret’s Bay. In fact, there are few bluefin tuna left in the world, and yet we still fish them. TP: As well as an underwater photographer, explorer, marine naturalist and protector of the ocean, you are also a Rolex testimonee. What values are shared in common between the brand and the ocean? DD: Rolex has been at the forefront of support for science and exploration of the seas. The brand supports innovation, creativity and fosters new visions. One example of its ultimate commitment is its support of Our World Underwater scholars who go on to become leaders in the community and conservation of the sea. This is very important for the future of our oceans and of the human race. TP: How have you seen the oceans change over the years that you have been diving? DD: I have been in the sea for five decades and have seen dramatic degradation. In certain areas many of the big reef fish and sharks which were plentiful just a few years ago are now all gone. In my lifetime certain sites have changed beyond recognition, due to overfishing, ocean acidification and global warming. The biggest fear I have is that the pictures that we make today, the scenes that we see today, will sooner or later be documents of a time gone by. Circling barracuda, Papua New Guinea

Lemon sharks on patrol

Penguins on ice, Antarctica

A BOLD New WORLD

TEXT: ANN TSANG IMAGES: COURTESY OF GAGOSIAN

Kathedrale, 2007

Andreas Gursky is arguably one of the most influential photographers of our time and is certainly one of the most prolific at auction. His ‘Rhine II’ image sold at Christies in 2011 for US$4.3, making it the most expensive piece of photography ever sold. His epic landscapes of distorted banality subvert the previously held fundamental philosophies of photography and with it he has redefined a craft in terms of both cultural and commercial currency.

their flat plains of anonymous industrial buildings. “My formal study, first at the Folkwang University of the Arts, under Otto Steinert, then at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf under Bernd and Hilla, was instrumental to my understanding of concept and composition and the potential of photography, beyond taking pictures to making pictures,” states the photographer. Contemporary Asia has provided extraordinarily rich and surprising subject matter for Gursky and, over the last 25 years, he has photographed in Japan, Thailand, China, and North Korea. Some of the first images he took were in Hong Kong in 1994 - among them the Sha Tin racetrack, Hong Kong airport, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (now in the permanent collection of Hong Kong’s M+ museum). The photographer’s ‘Bangkok’ series of 2011, shot on the Chao Praya river, went on to represent a bold new direction in his work.

orn in Leipzig and raised in Dusseldorf, Andreas Gursky came from a home that was firmly attached to the tradition that he would come to change. His father worked as a commercial photographer throughout his career. “The fact that my father was a successful photographer obviously had a formative inf luence on me,” says Gursky. “Perhaps this background also contributed to my understanding of the spectacular possibilities of photography in terms of both subject and scale. I actually still work with the same printer that my father used before me, although the technology has obviously changed.” Most likely the strongest influence on Gursky’s aesthetic came from his time spent studying with Hilla and Bernd Becher at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf during the 1980s. The Bechers believed in objectifying their subjects through a scientific means of examination. They removed the sense of a moment captured with

Bangkok I, 2011

By pure circumstance, Gursky found himself fascinated by the phenomenon of the river flowing beneath a city overpass, the intense light effects, and the flotsam and jetsam carried by in the dark water. A major arterial waterway that is as compromised by manmade pollution as by disequilibrium in the natural hydrological regime, the Chao Phraya river is revealed by Gursky to be at once a dumping ground for all manner of manmade detritus, a crucible for ecological disorder, as evidenced by a dead fish, and the pretty but devastating weed known as water hyacinth; and a reflecting, refracting surface for the modern city itself. But it was only during the post-production process that a clear relationship emerged with abstract painting, as well as the broader implications of depicting an ecologically threatened waterway in seductive visual terms. It was for his travelling exhibition ‘80-08’ that Gursky began combining scales, partly as a practical measure to be able to show a more comprehensive range of subjects in relatively small spaces. Since then, he has continued to experiment with this idea of the monumental and the miniature, finding that representing a large photograph in a very small format completely changes its reception: in some instances, such as ‘Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank’ (1994) and ‘Pyong Yang IV’ (2007), the small scale emphasises the strong abstract compositions that underpin the representational content. But with images such as the mysterious, gleaming ‘Kamiokande’ (2007) and ‘Kathedrale’ (2007) with its ethereal stained glass windows drained of colour, the large format is instrumental to the presence of the work. In this way, surprising juxtapositions are created within which pictorial structures and patterns can be more closely compared and examined. “I first experimented with scale in my retrospective exhibition ‘80-08’,” states Gursky. “Putting the monumental and miniature side by side allowed me to present a

full-scale retrospective of 130 works in relatively small venues. After so many years of making increasingly large images, it was interesting to think again about relationship between extremes of scale. The small pictures are still big enough to read detail. Sometimes this scale emphasises the strong abstract compositions that underpin the representational works. I enjoy playing with scale to take stock of my own work and also to generate a new experience for the viewer.” Just as history painters of previous centuries found their subjects in the realities of everyday life, Gursky finds inspiration in his own spontaneous visual experience and via reports of global phenomena in the daily media. The resulting pictures have a formal congruence deriving from a bold and edgy dialogue between photography and painting, empirical observation and artfulness, conceptual rigour and spontaneity, representation and abstraction. Grappling with the abstract aesthetic structures that underlie manmade or natural environments, and reconstructing real subjects according to his inner eye, Gursky presents a world view that fuses the f lux of life and nature with the stillness of metaphysical ref lection. When asked if he refers to his images as digital interpretations, artworks or photographs, Gursky responds, “I usually refer to them as images or pictures, which evidently refers to the relationship with the larger context of art history beyond the photograph; at the same time, my work is generated by the photographic gesture.” Photomontage is a distinct method of communicating messages and some would say that this form is capable of having more truth than a singular ‘untouched’ image. Asked what his message is using this form, Gursky closes the interview by simply responding, “I am purely interested in making a great picture, and this is sometimes a more complex aesthetic proposition than reality.”

Bangkok VI, 2011

The PLASTIC Warrior TEXT: ELIETTE ROSICH PORTRAIT: WILLIAM FURNISS IMAGES: COURTESY OF LEESON MEDIA

Award-winning documentary film-maker Craig Leeson had no idea what he was letting himself in for when he embarked on his largest and most important project to date – his cinematic documentary ‘A Plastic Ocean’. The Peninsula learns more…

USA, UK and Canada, and screenings have taken place at the Smithsonian Institution and at prestigious film festivals, such as The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the Sedona International Film Festival, London’s Raindance Film Festival and the Barbados International Film Festival. The film has been met with critical acclaim and scooped up the awards for Best Documentary Feature (Directors’ Choice) and Best Environmental Film (Audience Choice) at the Sedona Festival. The figures raised in the film are shocking, for instance, more than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped into our oceans every year, and there is more plastic in the open ocean than plankton. These are deeply concerning facts. There are also some extremely harrowing scenes in the film, like watching a whale taking its last breaths, which has in many cases has moved audiences to audible gasps and some to silent tears. Perhaps one of the more shocking scenes is a discussion between Leeson and Dr. Jennifer Lavers across of table of dead seabird specimens. The birds are laid out, with bellies open, full of indigestible plastic junk, including in one case, a cigarette lighter. Everyday items moving into the oceans and killing these birds by rendering them unable to function is visually disturbing, yet despite such scenes it is ultimately hopeful. Success stories are included and the film highlights work being done around the globe, from the very effective monetising of water bottle collection in Germany to the rehabilitation and detoxification of some of the once putrid waterways and devastated wetlands in the Philippines. These stories are successful in balancing the overall tone.

s a life-long lover of the ocean, a keen surfer and Tasmanian born, Craig Leeson grew up thinking, like most of us, that the little coloured pieces in the sand that he walked on were crushed shells or coral. The sad truth is that they are in fact degraded plastics. And as these visible pieces further degrade, they become microplastics that enter the world’s waterways and the food chain of marine birds, fish and humans. “I’m an environmentalist; I’m in the water all the time, and I didn’t see it. Floating plastic bags were so ubiquitous that it didn’t register,” says Leeson. It was seven years ago that Hong Kong friends Sonjia Norman and Jo Ruxton, a marine biologist with whom Leeson had previously collaborated, opened his eyes to an issue that was literally underneath his feet. The enormity of this ‘invisible’ calamity only dawned on the film-maker when, at the behest of Ruxton, who was heading on an expedition to the North Pacific Gyre to look for plastic, he began to investigate the wind lines on the beach, the reefs that he surfed, and the oceans that he filmed. And what he found was so endemic that it took hold and compelled this fourth generation journalist to undertake his new film ‘A Plastic Ocean’ to sound the warning bell about what our addiction to single-use plastic is doing to the environments that we rely on for survival. The documentary is beautifully produced and directed using 4K cinematic cameras and high production values, contributing to it being described as “Attenborough-esque” - an accolade Leeson is rightly proud of. It has been a long journey to get the hard-hitting film to the number one spot for documentaries on iTunes in the

The Peninsula(TP): The science of ‘A Plastic Ocean’ is supported by eminent researchers, and over a dozen scientists are credited as advisers and featured in the film. How important was their contribution? Craig Leeson(CL): It was vital. It was something that Jo (producer and marine biologist) and I really wanted to get right – to make sure that the science held up. The hardest thing for me as a director was to ensure that the science was understandable to a wide global audience. It had to resonate with the viewers and that was probably the most difficult task. To communicate the facts, to see the extraordinary numbers, not just hear them, we used graphics and we wanted them to fit with the high specification of the film. It was a new format for me in terms of delivering information.

especially in developing countries. Indonesia is working on recycling initiatives with the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), as they recognise that there’s a problem. China could lead the way; it is currently the biggest polluter, simply due to numbers, but they are moving fast both in the investigation and implementation of sustainable practices and they are building Green Cities now. I do believe that we’ll see China leading the charge. The government is spending huge sums of money on making changes and there are new technologies coming on-stream that will have a significant impact. And then there is the development of alternatives to plastics. We are the first generation to deal with this massive problem of plastic pollution, so where do we go from here? What do we do about the mess we have left in the environment for the next generation? There is much to do and it’s only just beginning.

TP: The film is also shot from the perspective of Tanya Streeter, an extraordinary female athlete who broke the Men’s No Limit Free Dive record in 2002. Were you specific about having a female viewpoint? CL: Tanya is not only an amazing athlete, she is the first woman to beat a men’s sporting record, and not many people know that! She has held 10 world records, many of which still stand today, and like myself she is passionate about the ocean, and we specifically wanted someone who could articulate that. She is a mother, she has children and I don’t. I am someone who was ultimately pessimistic about what we saw, whereas Tanya has no option but to be optimistic because she has kids. She has to look for a solution and a way forward, so she brought something different to the table, an ‘optimistic desperation’ as I call it. She gets emotional in the film - the shock of discovering what is happening in her world, the leeching of BPAs and phthalates into the food chain through plastic usage, the threat to her children because of it - and when the realisation dawned on her, it broke her. She was thinking about the effects on her kids, and it was very important to get her perspective across and provide that opposing emotion.

TP: What do you hope that audiences will do after seeing your film? CL: When you see what certain individuals achieved after the nurdle spillage in Hong Kong (nurdles are pre-production pellets used to make plastic), ahead of government, ahead of corporations, they led the way. I realised that it’s up to individuals to make a change. We can start making a change in our homes. It’s about habits and changing people’s mindset that you don’t need to wrap a coconut or a banana in plastic in order to sell it in a supermarket. There are alternative ways of conducting your lifestyle without single-use plastic. You can take a bag to the supermarket and make a habit of keeping one with you, you can take your own coffee cup to the café, you can stop using straws… After every screening, people come up to me saying, “you’ve changed my life”. The direct result is amazing; people want to start immediately; they want to go home and start changing their habits and that’s fantastic as it means the film is resonating with audiences and making a difference. The seeds are being planted and we will see these gardens flourish! Ultimately we need to embrace ‘Zero Waste’, but in order to achieve that, we need to create the legislation, the technology and the education campaigns that say if we don’t we will have the dubious honour of being the masters of our own extinction.

TP: How did the filming of certain difficult scenes affect you? CL: I admit that I did get depressed because I realised that I was directly responsible. I used to throw things away without a care in the world, thinking they’d just go away. So when I felt responsible for what I was filming, it just made me more determined to get the documentary done and get it out there. When I look at my footprint now, I question my choices. Do I need to use my car? Can I grow my own food using my food waste and composting? We have to stop having inbuilt obsolescence in consumer products, we need to stop adding to landfills, and we need to look long-term.

TP: What’s next on your agenda? CL: I’m continuing to raise funds to get the film out there and of course, education is a big thing. We have come up with a whole education curriculum for schools, and we’ll be back in the edit suite to make a 22-minute version of the documentary. I would also love to film a follow up – we just touch on the surface with ‘A Plastic Ocean’, and we are just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to plastics. I’m keen to follow up on some of the bigger issues – the human health aspect, and to delve deeper into effective long-term solutions.

TP: As you travel the world, what are you seeing now? Is there potential for breakthrough or change in terms of how plastic is being dealt with? CL: That is definitely going to happen and has started to happen,

The Lost Fragment, 2016

HIDDEN Meanings

TEXT: ANN TSANG IMAGES: COURTESY OF BASED UPON

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.â&#x20AC;? These are the words of historian and novelist Charles Kingsley and they aptly seem to sum up the philosophy of Based Upon, a London-based company with an international clientele seeking one-of-a-kind furniture pieces or installations that tell a story and speak of timelessness, provenance, resonance and preciousness.

Berkeley Street. More than two decades on, Based Upon’s list of clients is broad and includes Gordon Ramsay, Fortnum & Mason, Comme des Garçons and Donna Karan, to name but a few, not to mention Russian billionaires, Arab Royalty and Greek shipping tycoons. The company has become celebrated for its highly innovative approach to luxury design, creating handmade art pieces and sculptures with provocatively striking surfaces and exquisite detail. “Our work ranges from sculptural forms and large scale wall installations to personalised artworks which incorporate mementos and precious objects to create a new kind of portrait,” states Abell. “It is constantly evolving, as most of our private commissions challenge us to create a one-off or something very bespoke.” Based Upon’s approach to its work is highly collaborative, both with its clients and within its team. The company is made up of fine artists, ceramicists, photographers, illustrators, sculptors, furniture designers and graphic designers, each of whom is committed to creating pioneering work, made with love. A graduate of Philosophy from Oxford University, Abell states that most of Based Upon’s ideas are primarily derived from philosophical concepts. “Things start as ideas and then gradually manifest visually; the name Based Upon is reference to the fact that everything is based on something, and everything has its influence in something. This is the first step in developing a piece of work.” Once an idea is formed, it then gradually evolves into existence and throughout the process, quality is never compromised, resulting in an intense level of craftsmanship and a highly covetable final product. Based Upon customers seek quality, intention and meaning in the pieces that they commission, and the artists and designers involved in the creation of each of these pieces go far beyond the realms of expectation in order to achieve just that.

uxury is a quality historically revered in France and as a result a sense of style can be seen to permeate almost every aspect of French life. Napoleon was possibly one of the most influential figures in the creation of the world of luxury, as he himself had a taste for it. His 10 years in power witnessed a highly influential period of development for the arts and crafts in France and the French leader employed some of the best artists in Europe during his reign. Conversely, the concept of luxury in modern day culture relates to mass produced handbags, scarves and products that have somehow seemed to have lost their core identity and edge from what they used to represent. Luxury, in this day and age, is something of a misconception. As Dana Thompson states in her book ‘Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster’: “...the luxury industry has changed the way people dress. It has realigned our economic class system. It has changed the way we interact. It has become part of our social fabric. To achieve this, it has sacrificed its integrity, undermined its products, tarnished its history and hoodwinked its consumer. In order to make luxury ‘accessible’, tycoons have stripped away all that has made it special.” Ian Abell, co-founder of London company Based Upon, creators of one-of-a-kind, unique furniture pieces, surface installations and sculptures, describes the nucleus of his philosophy, which for the beholder of his company’s creations, is likely to provoke a rethink of the concept of luxury, perhaps harking back to days of yore: “In remembrance of timelessness; inspired by nature; rooted in provenance; beginning with resonance; and drawn from preciousness.” Based Upon was formed in 1994 by Abell and his twin brother Richard, when they acquired the rights to the world’s leading liquid metal technology. Almost immediately they began collaborating with architect David Collins on the then new Nobu in London’s

The Lost Fragment, 2016

In nature everything evolves and constantly changes, whether it is the colour of the leaves on the trees, or the erosion of oils and rocks. “The pieces and surfaces that we have made also change and evolve with time. We did a staircase for Nobu in London, the surface of which has evolved through different layers and textures which can show marks of time and tell a story.” On March 3rd 2015, two monumental cast bronze sculptures created by Based Upon, were unveiled to the public. The sculptures, entitled ‘A Grain of Rice’, are the first major public commission by the British creative studio - the first sculpture stands at over 10 metres high on Queens Road Central, Hong Kong, whilst the second stands at 6 metres tall at 8 Canada Square in London. The works were commissioned by HSBC to commemorate its 150th Anniversary. Embodying a harmony on yin and yang, and a congruence of East and West, the ‘Grain of Rice’ sculptures symbolise the two beating hearts of HSBC in Hong Kong and London. The creative team at Based Upon, led by Ian Abell and Alex Welch, were tasked with creating a form which would resonate with both Eastern and Western cultures alike, and in so doing, they identified a solitary grain of rice as the starting point for these striking pieces. “In both Chinese and Western cultures, this single entity is rich in symbolism; untradeable alone, but of limitless value when combined as part of a greater number. The rewards of a bountiful rice harvest begin with regard for each and every grain,” notes Abell.

A Grain of Rice, Hong Kong, 2016

Abell states that going back to the source of origin has great importance when creating a legacy piece for a client, a reflection of the provenance in a piece. “Provenance is about taking the concept of bespoke to a real extreme. If we’re doing a piece for a Hong Kong client, we want the elements incorporated to have come from the streets of the city.” Although some pieces have taken longer than others to manifest, Abell is adamant in claiming that there is a sacredness to the whole process, the crafting almost a form of meditation, so the time taken to put a piece together is irrelevant for the most part. “In ancient times, it was all about the process and not necessarily the final object,” he notes. In June 2016, Based Upon’ revealed its second public sculpture in London. ‘The Lost Fragment (a prosthetic fallacy)’ is over three metres in length and is comprised of five tons of granite and bronze. Following its preview at Masterpiece London, the piece was then displayed on a lawn in Berkeley Square for the remainder of 2016. The sculpture’s stone and bronze form recalls a primitive tool. Conjuring notions of early human production, the fragmented work questions whether the making and trading of things created a fissure in man’s connection with nature’s wholeness. Arrow-like in its form, the sculpture pointed toward the Isle of Skye, the work’s conceptual

and physical origin, provoking reflections on displacement and homecoming. The finely sculpted cast-bronze ‘fixes’ the rock’s severed edge, highlighting the preciousness of imperfection and asking whether human attempts to fix the cracks of nature are futile; a cosmetic, prosthetic fallacy. An apparently harmonious marriage of bronze and rock ‘The Lost Fragment’ hides a deeper truth within its vociferous crack. “The work is at once a monument to humankind’s ingenuity and a melancholic musing on how easily we are distracted by our own deftness, missing the vast ever present truth as we focus on details we have invented to demonstrate our cunning,” states Abell poetically. “This work mourns the loss of all that is ancient, the ancestral wisdom cultivated since the origin, stored within a lump of granite 50 million years old.” All told, the Abell twins have successfully played their role in redefining the idea of luxury, whether it be in the form of integrated artworks, single editions, legacy pieces or surface decorations. All their work is undoubtedly based upon many things and Abell sums his mission up in a nutshell. “We don’t care what the canvas is, as long as what is ultimately created means something.”

GOD Save QUEEN’S Road WEST TEXT: COCO MARETT IMAGES: WILLIAM FURNISS

‘Queen’s Road West: The Vanishing Neighbourhood’ offers an intimate perspective of the quickly disappearing speciality shops and restaurants that run along one of Hong Kong’s most iconic streets. The proceeds from the sales of this unique book will go to the Sovereign Art Foundation, which has harnessed the power of art to support children around Asia for over 14 years.

on and thought we were developers or maybe objecting to what they were selling in some way,” he says. After taking the time to explain the motivation behind the project, shopkeepers warmed up to Furniss’ camera and shared some of the history behind their stores and families. The result is a mix of candid portraits that reveal an honest look into everyday life along Queen’s Road West, and families posing proudly in front of their life’s labours. “The highlight is always the characters you meet. Older people are generally the most interesting; the Wais of Wai Kee Fruit Stall, and the gentlemen of the luggage shop on Centre Street are very special individuals who add a lot of value to the neighbourhood,” recalls Furniss of the experience. Proceeds from ‘Queen’s Road West: The Vanishing Neighbourhood’ will go towards the Sovereign Art Foundation, which to date has raised more than US$6 million for its programmes to help thousands of children around the world through the power of art – from drawing and painting to film making, music, dance, and many other forms of creative expression. “Many thousands of children have gone through the programme…some of them who were really traumatised now have their lives back on track, and others have come to teach at the centre,” Bilton explains. “We’ve since seen improvement in behaviour and self-confidence as a result of receiving a real education. I think it has always been established that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, and I believe that art can play a big role in that process.” The Sovereign Art Foundation also hosted an exhibition showcasing photos from ‘Queen’s Road West: The Vanishing Neighbourhood’, where large-scale prints of the images were sold. Selected prints can also be bought on request, and all proceeds will will also go towards supporting the Foundation. “I wanted to capture a historical document of classic Hong Kong street atmosphere - without shark’s fin shops!” says Furniss. “I was inspired by the great book, ‘City of Darkness’ by Ian Lambert and Greg Girard about Kowloon’s infamous Walled City. It has never been out of print, so that’s a good project result to aim for.” The images have clearly had a powerful impact on its readers and the people of Hong Kong as a whole. Hong Kong University – which was recently named the most international university in Asia, and the third most international university in the world, by Londonbased Times Higher Education – took such a liking to the project that it took all of the images from the book and placed them in its permanent archive. Bilton concludes, “We have achieved everything we wanted to by not only preserving these images and stories in the form of a book, but also professionally documenting and archiving them at HKU for future generations to see.”

n Hong Kong, over 1.3 million people are living below the poverty line.

“It’s quite a hidden statistic,” says Howard Bilton, Chairman of the Sovereign Art Foundation. “The idea behind the Foundation was to combine my love of art with charity, and we have done that by creating art prizes. The end result of each year’s prize is that the 30 finalists’ works are sold, with half of the money going to the artist and half to fund programmes that we have to help disadvantaged children. Our programmes use art as a form of rehabilitation and therapy.” One of Bilton’s most recent projects is a photography book titled ‘Queen’s Road West: The Vanishing Neighbourhood’, which documents the slowly disappearing family-owned businesses along the famous street that runs through Hong Kong’s Sai Ying Pun district. The book was prompted by the disappearance of the iconic neon cow signage, which had hung proudly from Sammy’s Kitchen since 1978. “The idea for this book had been in the back of my mind for a while, but the catalyst was when the prominent cow above Sammy’s Kitchen disappeared,” Bilton recalls. “That’s when I realised I had to get on with it.” “Queen’s Road West is one of the oldest streets in Hong Kong and has had a long time to develop its characteristics – in particular, it has a good mix of family owned and run small unique businesses,” says Hong Kong-based photographer William Furniss, who Bilton commissioned for the project. “The junction with Possession Street – which is the starting point of this photographic journey – is where the British first planted their flag, founding modern Hong Kong.” Together, Bilton and Furniss selected more than 30 traditional Chinese shops to include in the book. They range from tea vendors to Chinese medicine specialists, a hole-in-the-wall porcelain treasure trove, a bamboo steamer maker that has been around for over a century, and Hong Kong’s oldest qipao shops – “Kan Hong Wing, the 3rd generation of his family to run it, is the youngest and perhaps the last qipao tailor in Hong Kong,” reads the description for Mee Wah Qipao at 74 Queen’s Road West. It’s inevitable that cities grow and evolve, but sometimes, unfortunately, change comes at the expense of a city’s culture and heritage. In Hong Kong – and along Queen’s Road West in particular – it often feels as though this is happening at an exponential rate. “I think the histories of these shops and the people behind them are fascinating. Old Hong Kong is fast disappearing under the developers’ wrecking ball,” says Bilton. “It’s important to appreciate these places, and maybe as a result of the book, more people will go down to the shops and use them so that they can continue to exist.” Bilton recalls that initially, the shopkeepers weren’t too pleased. “Almost all of the owners were deeply suspicious of what was going

Tuck Chong Sum Kee Bamboo Steamer Co., 12 Western Street

Mee Wah Qipao, 74 Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Road West

The GOOD Old DAYS

TEXT: ANN TSANG

Unearthing albums of vintage photographs, The Peninsula brings you a taste of the past and revisits Hong Kongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s landmark heritage buildings and ponders what life in the former British Territory was like under colonial rule.

Queen’s Road Central, 1880s

erving up all the predictable big city draws - blinding neon lights, a skyline of steel and glass, and a palpable buzz - Hong Kong has come a long way since Lord Palmerston disparaged it as “a barren rock” back in 1841. The city has seen its fair share of war and strife, boom and downturn, times of plenty and those of want. Its ownership has changed hands, from the British, even to the Japanese for a season, only to return eventually to the Motherland. Hong Kong’s history may not have the rich tapestry of the European Renaissance, the depth of intrigue found in tales of Chinese Emperors and of Dynasties, nor the revolutionary history of the United States, but sandwiched between these modern day temples to wealth and development are tributes its own little slice of history. Connoisseurs of colonial nostalgia point to Hong Kong’s Central District as the location of the highest density of heritage sites. By virtue of where the Royal Navy landed, the now non-existent Possession Point once located along Queens Road, the various institutions that a society is prevaricated upon are all within walking distance from that point. Historical accounts by Reverend James Legge noted in 1843 that, “Looking up Pottinger Street you could see the Magistracy and the Gaol of the day, where the dreaded Major Caine presided, and below which were two or three other buildings. On the west of d’Aguilar Street building was going on and just opposite to it was a small house called ‘The Bird Cage’ out of which was hatched the Hong Kong dispensary. All the space between Wyndham Street and Wellington Street was garden ground with an imposing flat roofed house in it built by Mr. Brain of the firm Dent and Co.” It’s difficult to envision life in those days looking at the Central Police Station, Victoria Prison and the Central Magistracy

compound as it stands today. Therein, the feared Major Caine presided over the then Colony’s first gaol. Erected in 1941, Victoria Prison had become so crowded by the 1860s that prisoners were transferred to a hulk moored off Stonecutters’ Island. It’s a reoccurring tale of overcrowding that would become familiar in Hong Kong’s penal system throughout the years. Replaced by Stanley Prison in 1937, the decommissioned Victoria Prison found itself pressed back into service after a mere two years of retirement due to an overwhelming demand for space. Hong Kong folk will also recall how the prison served as a detention centre for Vietnamese refugees through the 1970s and 80s. Built in 1947, St. John’s Cathedral is the oldest Anglican Church in the Far East. The structure, shaped like a cross, is reminiscent of 13th Century English architecture. During the Second World War, the Cathedral was converted into a social clubhouse for Japanese Imperial Art. Rebuilt after the War, it was declared a historical monument in 1996, and people still congregate to worship there today. At 1 Battery Path, next to St. John’s Cathedral, stands the former French Mission building. The Neo-Classical structure made from red brick was extensively altered from the original building in 1915. Initially built by order of the first Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Henry Pottinger, who resided there from 1843 to 1846, the building has changed hands a number of times. Acquired by the French Mission in 1915, a chapel topped by a cupola was added. It was later sold back to the Hong Kong Government and has since housed the Education Department and is now home to the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.

Wander a bit further on into Hong Kong Park, which incidentally cost HK$398 million to build, and the path will lead to Flagstaff House. Very possibly the oldest structure in the city, it was known up until 1932 as Headquarters House. Designed to put a stop to any trouble that might have been brewing in the Colony, the house was built by the Royal Engineers and served as the official residence of the Commander of the British Forces until 1978. Surrendered to the Hong Kong Government along with the surrounding Victoria Barracks, it was rebirthed as the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware and now houses Dr. K.S. Lo’s extensive collection of Chinese teaware. No other structure evokes the romance of the colonial lifestyle quite like Government House. Completed in 1855 after four years of construction, Sir John Bowring, the Colony’s fourth Governor, was the first to call it home. Consistent efforts were made to update the premises with electric lights being installed at the end of the 19th Century, and other luxuries such as electric fans following in 1908. The Georgian style house was occupied by the Japanese

Pedder Street, c1870s

military governor from 1941 to 1945 and was given a makeover by Seichi Fujimura to yield a more Japanese flavour. An eye-catching central tower was constructed to link the two original buildings and the rooves were altered to make them look less European. Since the Hong Kong Handover, Government House has been home to the Chief Executive and is only open to public during special occasions. Another pillar of Hong Kong’s administration is the Legislative Council building which originally opened as the Supreme Court in 1912. Designed by Aston Webb and E. Ingress Bell, the leading architects of the day, the pair were also behind the Victoria and Albert Museum, Admiralty Arch, as well as the façade of Buckingham Palace in London. It’s a truly impressive structure complete with a dome, four pinnacles and the Greek Goddess of Justice, Themis, who towers above the main entrance. If one looks closely at the columns near the Members’ Entrance, pockmarks sustained from gunfire during the Second World War still remain visible. Used as the Supreme Court until 1983, it became the home of the Legislative Council after a HK$36 million refurbishment spanning two years.

Hong Kong from the harbour, c1890

Hong Kong’s most outstanding architecture was the by-product of a battle of the egos. Armed with the wallets to fund such an extravagant rivalry, the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank and the Bank of China competed to build the biggest and most impressive headquarters. The Old Bank of China building which sits between Des Voeux Road and Queen’s Road Central was completed a mere 12 months after the Communist Party rose to power in China. Standing 20 feet taller than its neighbour, it set out to make a statement against the former Hongkong and Shanghai Bank building. In the 1980s, the old headquarters was demolished to make way for Norman Foster’s tour de force, a flashy glass and steel edifice that conspired to awe and amaze. Not to be outdone, the Bank of China found a new home in a stunning I M Pei creation that towers over the rest of Central, but the vintage Bank of China building still stands and is now home to David Tang’s China Club. Serious heritage sites are dotted about the rest of Hong Kong, including a series of Tin Hau Temples; Bethanie Hall, a neo-Gothic chapel built by the French mission; as well as Western Market. University Hall is also worth a visit, if simply to witness this castle on a hill. Built as a rural residence by shipping magnate John Douglas Lapraik, the ostentatious structure came to be known as Douglas Castle. Eventually sold to the Société des Missions Ètrangères de Paris, it was renamed Nazareth House. French monks cloistered within added a chapel, a crypt and installed a printing press. When the monks left in 1954, the building was sold to the University of Hong Kong and is now used as a student hall of residence. Across the harbour in Kowloon, a handful of landmarks hold tremendous historical significance. The Hong Kong Observatory

which was known as The Royal Observatory pre-1997 sits atop Mount Elgin, a small knoll east of Nathan Road. An elegant two storied colonial structure, it is surrounded by spacious lawns, shady trees and is nothing short of a throw back to another time. For the past century, the Observatory has provided Hong Kong with meteorological data and crucial typhoon warnings from this post, and until today, it continues to do so. A wolf whistle away from The Peninsula Hong Kong are two historical landmarks. The Star Ferry Pier was completed in 1906, but was subsequently destroyed by a typhoon months after it opened. It was not until the early 1950s that the construction of the doublepiered terminals commenced. The structure still stands as it did upon its completion despite the demise of its counterpart on Hong Kong Island. Also a stone’s throw from The Peninsula is the 44-metre high clock tower which formerly belonged to the Kowloon Canton Railway. The tower which dates back to 1915, outlived the railway terminus which was relocated to Hung Hom in the 1970s. The Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services department, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Museum of History have marked out a number of heritage trails for locals and visitors alike to get in touch with the historic side of the territory. The Hong Kong Tourism Board has also made provisions for visitors, offering guided heritage walks. hk.history.museum discoverhongkong.com

Cricket ground & HSBC building, 1930s

View from Flagstaff House to Central 1860s

SECRETS of SARDINIA TEXT: ANN TSANG IMAGES: ANTONIO SABA

Across the island, pasta is made with various types of flour and flour combinations. Sometimes the same pasta is known by different names depending on where you are, or vice versa. For their book ‘Sardinia: Pastas of Tradition’, the research conducted by author Gilberto Arru and photographer Antonio Saba was thorough and painstaking. They collected information by speaking with the elderly in order to fill in the blanks of what had been previously written about Sardinian food. This book holds a place next to the most in-depth classification of Italian pasta published in the Eighties called ‘Pastario’, the first real attempt at cataloguing Italian pasta. The following pages reveal a selection of pictures from the aforementioned 200-page coffee table book. “The culture of handmaking pasta goes back thousands of years in the island of Sardinia, and I tried to photograph the people who best represent this heritage,” says photographer Saba. Indeed Saba has documented not only the various types of pasta, but he has also skilfully portrayed the women who are still making them by hand, immortalising them in their kitchens. The images tell of a world that is likely to disappear, despite the charm and unquestioned goodness of the dishes of the island’s rural tradition.

journey through the subject of Sardinian cuisine is akin to venturing back in time to discover the treasures buried in the folds of history. Composed of strong and welcoming emotions and aromas, many recipes have been passed down verbally from mother to daughter. Ingredients are measured in spoonfuls, pinches, handfuls and cupfuls, and successful preparation is based on experience. Nothing has been written down or codified. The alchemy of ingredients has changed from place to place, thanks in part to whoever has been in the kitchen. The secrets of Sardinian cuisine have been kept safe by housewives and a handful of restaurateurs who seek to keep tradition alive. They have both the burden and the honour of promoting their homeland, its traditions and its history by seeking out quality products and by cooking seasonally. They are responsible for making food that is a direct expression of the region. Sardinian culture is extraordinarily rich, especially when it comes to food culture: every type of pasta has a strong tie to its place of origin, in terms of its name and the ingredients used to make it. The wide variety of pasta available in the region cannot be found anywhere else in Italy. The making of fresh pasta in Sardinia, like its bread, has never been sacrificed through the use of modern day technology. Sardinian food production has evolved traditionally, not only in terms of recipes but also in terms of culture, something that is becoming increasingly difficult to find.

AT One WITH the SEA TEXT: COCO MARETT IMAGES: COURTESY OF SANLORENZO

If there were three words to describe Sanlorenzo’s first-ever explorer yacht, the 460EXP, it would have to be ‘perpetual wow factor’.

he displacement-hull Sanlorenzo 460EXP superyacht brings the ultimate in sophistication and style to the sea, not only through her sheer size – a stunning 43 metres to be exact – but also in the many finely tuned details that make this luxury vessel a true modern marvel. Designed to nurture a spirit of adventure, Sanlorenzo’s latest model is built to go the distance with a range of over 4,000 nautical miles at 11 knots, with low fuel consumption, and a level of selfsufficiency and cruising stability that is unparalleled to any other motoryacht of its size. In addition, her length allows her to be more agile and manoeuverable, allowing for quick access to confined harbours, ports and docks, meaning owners of the 460EXP can sail to and explore beautiful, exotic, far-away destinations with ease. Great attention was paid to conserving the environment when designing the 460EXP. The eco-conscious superyacht has already received two classifications by RINA, one of the world’s oldest yacht classification societies. These include the ‘Comfort Class’ classification for its low sound levels and minimised acoustic vibrations, and RINA’s ‘Green Plus’ classification for its eco-friendly features, including her ability to be anchored for long periods of time without having to use generators, which results in reduced emissions and an overall quieter, more leisurely experience. On the topic of leisure, the Sanlorenzo 460EXP caters to an array of activities and entertainment options. The sprawling lower deck can house a number of supplementary accessories including jet skis, sail boats, sea bobs, surf boards, and more. If watersports aren’t your cup of tea, the 460EXP also boasts amenities that one would expect to find at a five-star hotel or resort. The stylish teak main deck at the stern provides ample space for soaking up the sun, along with a spectacular glass-enclosed ‘Endless Swimming Pool’. The stern area is also home to a chic ‘Beach Club’ complete with a bar, sauna and diver space. While a large master suite is located on the main deck, the lower deck houses four spacious double-bed cabins, a wellness room, a second ‘Endless Swimming Pool’, as well as a gym and sauna complete with a Turkish bath. Large vertical windows on both sides of the superyacht allow for a beautiful flood of natural light and breathtaking views that shift and transform as you sail the seas. Overall, the Sanlorenzo 460EXP is a spectacular vessel that brings together appreciation and respect for the marine environment, without skimping on luxurious amenities for those who love the finer things in life. www.sanlorenzoyacht.com www.simpsonmarine.com

ELEGANTLY Edgy IMAGES: COURTESY OF RICHARD MILLE

‘Hand-crafted’ is the perfect term for describing the production process at Richard Mille. Every piece and part is unique, the work is executed by hand, five centimetres from the eye of the watchmaker. Now the brand’s recently introduced RM 07-01 and RM 037 models are the first women’s watches to incorporate ultra-strong Carbon TPT™, a material predominantly used in the making of racing yacht sails.

ichard Mille was the first watch brand to incorporate the use of Carbon TPT™ in its timepieces, and it has been a signature material in its men’s collections since 2013, lending the brand’s watches a unique and powerful appearance whilst simultaneously ensuring an optimal protection for the calibre. Carbon TPT™ is an exclusive material with a unique appearance. Its surface displays extremely regular undulations as it is composed of multiple layers of parallel filaments obtained by dividing carbon fibres. These layers, with a maximum thickness of 30 microns, are impregnated with resin and then woven on a special machine that modifies the direction of the weft by 45° between layers. When compared to composite materials, whose exceptional physical properties are already well known, Carbon TPT™ improves the rate of occurrence of breaking stresses by 25% and of micro-cracks by 200%. This unique material has now revealed its feminine side in the RM 07-01 and RM 037, which boast gem-set Carbon TPT™ of unsurpassed elegance, a Richard Mille exclusive. Setting gemstones in Carbon TPT™ is a new adventure for the brand. Unlike gold, which can be worked directly with tools to create the prongs that hold the diamonds, the durability and resistance of Carbon TPT™ requires the use of special CNC machines for milling, equipped with diamond tools which are required to perform the mitraillage involved in a pavé setting. Hand-polished prongs in red or white gold are produced separately and then inserted around the many 0.25mm bearings destined to firmly contain as many as 250 diamonds in the case of a Richard Mille M 037 Full Set model. The perfectly flush surface of each creation bears witness to an absolute mastery of this art. Even at the slightest wrist movement, the eye is immediately drawn to the striking contrast between the sparkle of clear diamonds and the matt carbon contour that adorn both the RM 037 and the RM 07-01 automatic timepieces for the sophisticated female wearer. Although the parts for Richard Mille watches are made with the aid of the most modern and sophisticated machines that exist, with an accuracy of microns, this is only the first of hundreds of steps that are ultimately and completely reliant on the interaction of human hands, eyes and experience for the achievement of true perfection.

From TOKYO To NAPA

TEXT: ANN TSANG IMAGES: COURTESY OF KENZO ESTATE

Kenzo Estate owners, Kenzo and Natsuko Tsujimoto, recently opened their latest venture, ‘Kenzo’, an exceptional, authentic Japanese restaurant featuring a pre-fixe Kaiseki and sushi menu, in Downtown Napa. ‘Kenzo’ joins the élite culinary culture in Napa Valley alongside acclaimed three Michelin star restaurants including ‘The French Laundry’ and ‘The Restaurant at Meadowood’.

lready seasoned restaurateurs with four stunning Kenzo Estate restaurants and tasting rooms in their native Japan, it has been a longstanding dream for Kenzo and Natsuko Tsujimoto to enter the Napa Valley culinary scene with their vision and signature concept. That dream has now come to fruition with ‘Kenzo’, a 27-seat house including an adjacent private room serving seven guests, which opened on November 16th, 2016 after nearly two years of intensive and meticulous planning. “Napa has always been well-known for its gourmet food and wine culture, serving those with a highly refined palate, but unfortunately, I was unable to find a place for a truly elevated authentic Japanese dining experience”, says Owner Kenzo Tsujimoto. “Since establishing the Kenzo Estate Winery, I have wanted to share my vision and express the unique beauty of Japanese food in Napa Valley and I am therefore very proud to introduce our new restaurant to the region.” With a personal passion for wine, Tsujimoto had his mind set on Napa for many years, having previously lived and worked in Japan in everything from peddling candies to selling cotton candy machines, and creating and distributing gaming machines. Tsujimoto began the process of establishing a winery in Napa Valley in 1998. Following his purchase of the property, it took over a decade to develop the land and establish the winery operations and production. His vision finally came to fruition in 2010 when Kenzo Estate was completed and opened. With one of the most majestic locations in Napa Valley, Kenzo now produces a sublime range of wines which are distributed locally and internationally to buyers, collectors, and restaurants.

The Kenzo team has been steadfast in its dedication to the highest standards of winemaking with the Kenzo Estate, and is now pursuing the same level of excellence with a new culinary experience at the restaurant. The design concept of the 1,600 square foot space was to curate an intimate, experiential and visual dining opportunity focused on engagement with the chefs in terms of process, preparation and presentation. The décor, conceived by Creative Director, Natsuko Tsujimoto, incorporates rich, imported materials and specialty details, yet it evokes a clean, modern ambience. Elements include entry and dining room walls in a vertically grained teak, accented with a traditional Japanese scalloped finish. The ceilings in the private dining room have a complementary scalloped finish and were constructed from clear maple imported from Japan. “We were totally committed to being ‘Japanese-made’ in all facets, so I had to source materials, makers, artisans and products for the restaurant that could be made for us and imported to be assembled locally,” she says. “All of the wood material used in the restaurant came from Japan. Each individual piece was first selected, then the artisans used their tools and techniques to create the effect of the scalloping, which took an incredible amount of time and patience. Then it was shipped to and assembled in Napa by our Japanese craftsmen.” A key point of the Kenzo dining experience is as much the viewing of the preparation as it is the presentation and accompanying directions guiding diners through the dishes, the 10-seat sushi bar is the restaurant’s prime real estate. The sushi counters, customised to best showcase the fish, as well as to prepare and share the dishes, are built from Japanese cypress. A range of bowls, tableware and serving pieces were hand-selected in Japan to best present each dish.

At Kenzo’s culinary helm are the trusted hands of Executive Chef Hiroyuki Kanda, one of the most admired and celebrated chefs in Japan, whose award-winning restaurant ‘Kanda’ has achieved three Michelin stars for nine consecutive years. Chef Kanda was chosen by Kenzo and Natsuko for his level of excellence and drive to present their shared vision, unique respect and harmony between food and wine. “It was important for us to have the right team of Japanese chefs who had already enjoyed successful careers in Japan who shared our philosophy and had an understanding of the traditions and cultural elements that we wanted to present through our concept,” notes Kenzo. “Our belief was that while there is great Japanese food in America, we wanted to introduce the actual essence of true Japanese cuisine to American customers through our experience.” Since 2010, Natsuko Tsujimoto has designed all the restaurants in Japan managed by the Kenzo Estate. She was a key factor in bringing about great notice and successes to the brand with her visual and artistic sensibility, design adaptations and ability to curate and procure meaningful elements, from tableware to lighting and seating. She has demonstrated creativity in every aspect of each Kenzo restaurant with her individual presence and personality. “I have the utmost respect for the philosophy and approach of Chef Kanda and I admire his incredible passion and craft”, says Natsuko. “It is of course a challenge to recreate the same level of quality, authenticity and beauty of his cuisine outside of Japan, but I believe that with our vision and his talent, we can absolutely achieve the goal that we set out to accomplish with Kenzo.” The fusing of Japanese tradition with innovative techniques and presentation at Kenzo is already transforming American perceptions of Japanese cuisine. The sublime, rich f lavours of veritable Japanese Edomae Sushi and Kaiseki delicacies designed by the world renowned Chef Kanda are created with premier and unique seafood selections from the world’s largest and most acclaimed fish and seafood markets flown in daily from Japan, to appeal to all of the senses. Kanda’s unique delicacies are expertly paired with the full Kenzo Estate wine collections along with an array of fine Japanese sakes in this unique environment, offering the most engaging, robust and authentic food and wine experience from Japan in Napa Valley. 1339 Pearl Street, Napa, California 94559 kenzoestate.com

PLATED With PASSION

TEXT: COCO MARETT

For decades, Margarita Forés has been bridging the gap between authentic Italian and traditional Filipino food – a movement that put her in the spotlight as Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2016.

“I

feel like Miss Universe,” exclaimed a teary Margarita Forés after learning she had been named Asia’s Best Female Chef of 2016 in the prestigious Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. Over 300 restaurant industry experts in Asia, including chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and restaurant experts voted for Forés, who is the first Filipina to take this title. Group Editor of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, William Drew, described Forés as “a true leader in her country’s restaurant sector. Her dedication, culinary skills and pioneering efforts have elevated the dining scene in the Philippines and set a new benchmark for other chefs and restaurateurs to follow.” Forés’ skills in the kitchen came purely out of passion. Formerly a public accountant, a tour of Italy in 1986 inspired her to pursue a career in cooking after she fell in love with the authentic Italian cuisine throughout Florence, Milan and Rome. Forés never had any formal training. Instead, she chose to learn the traditional Italian way – by observing and learning from three Italian ‘signoras’. First was Signora Masha Innocenti, who taught out of her home in Florence. Following classes in the morning, she would take her students to the markets to shop for fresh ingredients, or on ‘field trips’ to local restaurants. Forés then learned under the wings of Signora Ada Parasilti in Milan and Signora Jo Bettoja in Rome. The real lesson, however, “came from simply being there on my own, forced to be like a sponge, learn the language and absorb as much as I could. It was a very challenging time, but it forced me to face my insecurities and crystallise what I really wanted to do.” Forés returned to the Philippines in 1987, and founded ‘Cibo Di M’, a high-end catering business where she utilised techniques learned during her time in Italy. A decade after its launch, she opened the first ‘Cibo’ restaurant. Today, what began as a modest catering company has evolved to become a restaurant empire - there are now 10 ‘Cibo’ outlets, luxe champagne and gastro bar Lusso, and most recently, ‘Grace Park’ in Rockwell One, Metro Manila.

‘Grace Park’ is an organic farm-to-table concept. The charming restaurant is ref lective of Forés’ upbringing in a big family; everything about it is hearty and homey, from the distressed wood and wrought iron décor to its rustic dishes, including her signature Pepato’s roasted bone marrow, baked chicharon two ways and, of course, a delicious selection of pasta. While the majority of her restaurant concepts are Italian, Forés – whose approach to produce was forever changed by those trips to the markets in Italy – has taken her restaurants as an opportunity to champion local, often organic, Filipino ingredients. This has also opened the young chef ’s eyes to the possibilities and potential of the Filipino dishes that she grew up with, and how she could bring that to a broader audience. “The blessing with having taken that path was learning the importance of working with beautiful produce and, at the same time, Italian cuisine has a lot to do with home cooking. I think that’s really the heart and soul of what Italian cuisine is,” Forés told CNN. “I was blessed with opportunities to cook for a foreign audience here at home and that allowed me to re-evaluate what it was about the food I grew up with that I wanted to share with people.” Just as she has brought the best of Italy to the Philippines, the tables turned in 2012 when Forés was invited by Italian Ambassador Luca Fomari to take part in ‘Kulinarya: Images and Flavours from the Philippines’, a Filipino food promotion week in Rome, to which she brought the best of traditional Filipino cuisine, including adobo, sinigang, pancit, kinilaw and pinakbet with anchovies. “Over the last 30 years I’ve always told myself that I should never forget how I started and where I came from. I began my work with Italian cuisine and that was what imbued me with this passion,” Forés told Blouin Artinfo. “My time in Italy was great because it allowed me to learn about traditions and great produce and to rekindle my love for my own cooking. It also made me more of a passionate advocate to push what is Filipino and what’s great about our people and our country.”

BETTER With AGE 92

TEXT: COCO MARETT IMAGES: COURTESY OF JOSELITO

Joselito has been named ‘the world’s best ham’ time and time again. It may be a bold claim, but it isn’t an empty one – just ask Ferran Adrià or Joël Robuchon…

week, before being washed and hung in curing sheds or secaderos. During the summer, the hams sweat and the outer fat melts to penetrate the muscular fibres – a process that is essential to creating the tender and aromatic meat that has earned Joselito its stellar reputation. The hams are then moved to dark bodegas, where temperatures range between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius, and the humidity levels between 60 and 80 percent. Ham from the paleta, or shoulder, are cured for a minimum of two years while hind-leg hams, known as the Grand Reserva, are cured for at least three years. Vintage hams, known as the Colección Premium, are matured for over 82 months. Joselito’s team of jamoneros, many of whom have decades of experience, check the quality during the curing process by thrusting a bone probe or cala into the flesh and then smelling it. Members of the team are so dedicated that a few years ago, when 29 of Joselito’s employees shared a 41 million Euro win in Spain’s national lottery, the majority of them chose not to retire, but to continue working for the company, dedicated to producing the ‘best ham in the world’. Its use of healthy, happy pigs and traditional curing methods not only result in ham that tastes unlike any other, but also in a healthy product that is high in oleic acid, vitamins and natural antioxidants – recent scientific studies even showed that 100g of Joselito ham contains fewer calories than a plateful of rice of the same weight. This is, without a doubt, thanks in large part to the pigs’ all-natural diet of organic acorns, grass and herbs. “We plant between 70,0000 and 80,000 holm oak and cork oak trees per year,” says Garcia, adding that Joselito is currently implementing a 30-year plan with the goal of planting a total of 2.4 million trees. “The oaks produce the acorns, the acorns feed the pigs, and the pigs feed us.”

o say that Joselito are purists when it comes to Iberian cured ham would be an understatement. Founded in 1868, the Spanish company has done almost everything the same way, using the same traditional methods, for nearly 150 years. “We are farmers, first and foremost,” says Jesús Garcia, International Director of Joselito. “We continue to breed and raise our own Iberian pigs, which have been fine tuned over generations. The important thing about Joselito remaining family-owned is to maintain our unsurpassed quality.” In the small municipality of Guijuelo in Spain’s Salamanca province, each pig enjoys two to four hectares of space to roam and feed freely in their natural habitat of oak forest pasturelands. Here, Joselito’s Iberian pigs consume a diet made up of acorns, herbs and grass. “During the fattening season in autumn, or what we call the montanera, Joselito pigs consume around nine kilos of acorn and three kilos of herbs and grass per day. At the end of the montanera, the pigs will have doubled their body weight,” Garcia explains, adding that Joselito only slaughters its pigs – which are adult pigs at least two years of age – during the winter months following the montanera when the meat is at its optimum level. The salting, curing and aging process at Joselito are done as they have been for centuries, and the only mechanical contraption in the factory is a button to open and close the windows in the drying rooms to regulate the temperature. “There are only two ingredients in our products – ham and sea salt. Nothing else,” says Garcia. “Even then, we try to use as little salt as possible. Yes, it will speed up the curing process, but it can also make the hams very heavy and, over time, the salt will migrate to the bone.” Indeed, Joselito prefers to take its time in order to produce the perfect meat. Its hams are first stored in sea salt for just over a

“The circle of life,” I quip. “Exactly,” he says, smiling. Joselito has secured a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certificate for Responsible Forest Management, making it the first agro-food company in the world to be recognised with this prestigious seal of quality. Today, Joselito can be found in two-and three-Michelin star restaurants around the globe, has repeatedly been hailed ‘the best ham in the world’, and is the Iberian cured ham producer of choice for renowned chefs such as Ferran Adrià and Joël Robuchon. In somewhat of a love letter to Joselito, Adrià wrote, “When it comes to Joselito, Spain has a lot to be thankful for: for the marvellous taste of pure acorn-fed hams, which have been referred to as the Dom Pérignon of Iberian cured meat. And for having kept alive – despite obstacles and challenges – a one hundred-year business founded by his great-grandfather. Yet Spain must also be grateful to Joselito for the excellence of a product whose international reach and reputation go beyond that of any other product we have. It is a rather near-sighted view to think that luxury products exist for the enjoyment of only a select few. Cured hams like Joselito’s are the beacon for an entire sector, that anyone can enjoy. Joselito never skimps on any aspect of his products: he does not allow anything that could cheapen the product, render it mediocre, or fool his customers. Of course, his customers would never allow such inferior quality – nor would ever expect it: Joselito is one of the most generous and well-loved people I know. He is, above all else, someone who has blazed a trail around the world, creating truth and quality in the food industry, a sector that needs authentic players such as Joselito in order to conquer the world’s markets.”

THE Penultimate

Three Unforgettable Journeys The Peninsula Hotels has partnered with Imperial Tours, China’s leading travel designer, to curate three epic journeys of discovery through China. En route, guests will enjoy transport by private jet, helicopter, luxury yacht and a Rolls-Royce limousine, and unparalleled access to the finest gastronomic, cultural and family travel experiences in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. China is one of the world’s most coveted travel destinations renowned for its stunning diversity of culture, art, landscapes, ancient cities and cuisines. The fast-paced urban modernisation of recent years adds a dynamic new magnetism. The Peninsula’s Journey Through China programme has been exclusively created to provide tailored luxury experiences for guests in each city, while enjoying VIP privileges at The Peninsula hotels in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. For more information on all itineraries and reservations, please visit http://imperialtours.net/imperial/private-jet-tours 96