NOVEMBER 2015
LITV LIVE IN THE VINEYARD MUSIC ● WINE ● FOOD
ROB THOMAS ADAM LAMBERT JAMES BAY MICHAEL FRANTI
GRANT MacPHERSON
Stella Artois Chef Ambassador
STEPHEN BARBER KEN FRANK www.liveinthevineyard.com
CARRIE NAHABEDIEN1 November 2015 - Live In The Vineyard
Congratulations Nate Botsford! Project: Aloft Star Winner
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Without a Heart, it’s just a machine. So in 1971, a little Heart built a different kind of airline—one that made sure everyone could fly. Everyone has important places to go. So we invented low-fares to help them get there. Here, we think everyone deserves to feel special, no matter where you sit or how much you fly. And with all the places we’re going next, we’ll always put you first, because our love of People is still our most powerful fuel. Some say we do things differently. We say, why would we do things any other way? Without a Heart, it’s just a machine.
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November 2015 - Live In The Vineyard
‘ W GOA O something is always brewing
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ALWAYS ENJOY RESPONSIBLY. © 2015 Stella Artois® Cidre Premium Cider, produced for Stella Artois Cidre Company LLC, Baldwinsville, NY 13027
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Pick-up subject to geographic and other restrictions. Enterprise, We’ll Pick You Up and the “e” logo are registered trademarks of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. ©2015 Enterprise Rent-A-Car G02183 10.15
A LT HOUG H OU R S T OR Y DAT E S B AC K 6 0 Y E A R S , W E H AV E E M B A R K E D O N A N E W C H A P T E R .
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©2015 Trinchero Winery, St. Helena, CA
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difference in how people use and think about power. DC Solar products can be found anywhere you need off-grid electric power. From concert venues to sports arenas, from college campuses to remote cell tower locations, DC Solar products are a perfect solution anywhere power is required but not accessible to the electric grid.
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©2015 Sutter Home Winery, Inc., St. Helena, CA The Tasting Panel December 2014
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12 November 2015 - Live In The Vineyard Š 2015 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.
fun UNPARALLELED SERVICE. UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES. Pure Luxury combines uncompromising attention to detail, and the best chauffeurs in wine country so you can sit back, relax and have some Pure Fun! 1.800.626.5466 | PureLuxury.com TCP # 12878
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LITV LIVE IN THE VINEYARD
To all of you joining us in Napa Valley, California this gorgeous week of November in 2015, we welcome you to what we hope will be one of the most life-changing and invigorating weekends of music, food, wine, beer, art and conversation. For those of you who couldn’t attend and for those with us at the event, our wish was to give you the opportunity with our friends at Wo’Goa to enjoy the sights, sounds and stars of this magical event long after the last notes of music had faded into the fall leaves of the rows of vines across Napa’s golden floor.
people like those things brought together in one of the most glorious valley floors in the world.
Live In The Vineyard is the only “private” festival of it’s kind. Each April and November we invite 850 people to join us in Napa Valley for a neverrepeated collection of 30 artists, wineries, rockstar chefs and special guests. Our unique system of allowing people to win access to this event allows us to bring the beauty of this moment to people from all walks of life. When our guests arrive they are taken care of from hotel, airline, ground transportation, amazing gift bags, concerts, Eight years ago, we were just two women in the delicious and unique food pairings, the finest wine music industry who had been best friends, worked and the most exquisite beer and crafted cocktails. together promoting music, raised our children, They are treated to a weekend of intimate acoustic buried our beloved parents, and built a bond that concerts from artists who are as lovely as people would stand the tests of time, trials and years of as they are in their musical world. They are given the ups and downs in the music industry. We never a look “behind the curtain” into the real creative believed that when we created our first event in process that drives all these people to devote their 2008, with the help and cooperation of Jason Mraz lives to their chosen art. and his amazing label and management team, that we would have the chance to create an enduring We hope you enjoy the gorgeous publication that platform to celebrate artists in so many areas of has been created for you for this special 16th incredible creativity. We never dreamed we would event and to highlight a mind-boggling eight year have the honor of having some of finest corporate journey to hopefully helping people connect to their partners in the world believe in the same vision and emotions on a whole new level. The team of people help us bring this world to light, and to grow this who put this event together make this a true labor of love. Please stay with us as we continue down the dream so dramatically. “road to the vineyard” and with our partners and Our experience with music gave us the chance to amazing sponsors as we celebrate talent, passion, highlight artists who were literally “babies” when we drive, dedication and - most importantly - joy. started promoting them, and helped their careers blossom over years of travel and touring. We then Cheers, were given the chance to start doing the same with winery partners, and then with world-famous chefs. Claire Parr & Bobbii Hach Jacobs The bonds between music, food and drink go back to the beginning of human gatherings and we feel Co-Founders that nothing brings out the emotion and passion of Live In The Vineyard
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Editors Fabian deCastro Claire Parr Bobbii Hach Jacobs Lifestyle Editor Doug Singer Feature Editor Oilda Barreto
izzy
FJMdesign Photography Consultant Creative Design Studio Publisher
publishing
IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd.
‘ GOA W O ™
something is always brewing
VVG
TRAVELLER
LITV LIVE IN THE VINEYARD
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LITV is a private online digital publication published by: Izzy Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Unit 14, Agnelo Colony, Kerant, Caranzalem, 403002 Goa, India Tel: +91(832) 2463234 Fax: +91(832) 2464201 sales@wogoa.in. Company registration number U22100GA2011PTC006731 WO’GOA™ New York Head of Operations - North America Doug Singer 404 East 66 Street, Suite 2E New York, NY 10065 E-mail: doug.singer@wogoa.in Marketing & Advertising Joel Savio Nazareth Call: +91 832 246 3234 E-mail: joel@wogoa.in Web Administrator Joel Savio Nazareth © IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. Editorial material and opinions expressed in LITV digital publication do not necessarily reflect the views of IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. LITV, WO’GOA™ and IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or errors and do not accept responsibility for the advertising content. All contents are strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Production in whole or part is prohibited without prior permission from IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. © 2015 WO’GOA™ © 2015 LITV All rights reserved.
Cover Image Credit: Arashiyama Spring Blossom Makito Hiratsuka, Excuecutive Pastry Chef Le Moût Restaurant - Taiwan.
‘ GOA W O ™
something is always brewing
Live in the Vineyard has established a tradition of bringing together not only the finest wines, food and music, but creating world-class events that will be remembered for years to come. This year will feature extraordinary chefs like Grant MacPherson, Stella Artois Chef Ambassador, Stephen Barber and Carrie Nahabedian, just to name a few. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy spectacular cuisine, exclusive cooking demonstrations, interactive cooking competitions and a variety of local artisanal foods and farm fresh products throughout the weekend. Live In The Vineyard’s longstanding relationships with top musicians, record labels, and creative agencies allows the resources of a pool of multi-platinum musicians, as well as notable up and comers making their way up the charts. This year will feature music from iconic names such as Rob Thomas, Adam Lambert and Barenaked Ladies, as well as a host of other tremendously talented individuals. Collaborating with over 50 wineries will certainly provide something for everyone, whether you are first exploring the world wine, or are a lifelong oenophile. Live In The Vineyard breaks out into different areas over the course of the weekend, providing smaller, more intimate events, the majority of which are hosted at some of Napa Valley’s most celebrated wineries and feature acoustic performances and wine tastings in some of the valley’s most beautiful locations. WO’GOA is extremely excited about our collaboration with Claire Parr & Bobbii Hach Jacobs, Co-Founders of Live In The Vineyard, who created this extremely special event and in supporting this notable expression of the arts. This joint effort is the melding of those with a passion for the finer things in life - a desire to live within the greatest expression of pleasure food, wine and music! This is truly a recipe for a spectacular time and Live in the Vineyard along with the greatly appreciated help from the sponsors will deliver just that! Doug Singer Lifestyle Editor
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CLAIRE PARR
Co-Owner Live In The Vineyard, LLC. Claire (West) Parr, daughter of radio industry giant, Jim West, was raised in Dallas, TX. She spent her early years in her father’s recording studio working on jingles and production packages for United Stations, ABC/Cap Cities and other broadcasting conglomerates. She started her own live sound company at 17 and became one of the few successful female live-sound engineers in the country-working with Crossroads Audio, Showco and others. She returned to her radio roots to take over the Vice-Presidency of the Jim West Company in 1985 where she was responsible for overseeing the operations of such successful syndicated radio formats as famed big-band “Music Of Your Life” production of music for United Stations/Dick Clark’s syndicated Countdown shows and worked overseeing sales and marketing for the company’s representation of McVay Media.
known in the NAC/Jazz world. In addition, she also worked with Burns Media to assist in the famous creation of WJFK/Washington DC- one of the first syndicated morning show spots for Howard Stern. In the fall of 1988, Claire took her programming knowledge and relationships and segued into the record industry as Director of Urban, Jazz and Adult Music for Enigma Records. Under the tutelage of Sam Kaiser, former head of Atlantic Record promotion and MTV programming, she oversaw the promotion and marketing of their successful jazz imprint -Intima Records-yielding success with familiar contemporary jazz names, Richard Elliot, Fattburger, and Maynard Ferguson.
Claire made the jump to Geffen Records in 1989 as Director of Adult Music Promotion & Marketing working with giants Don Henley, Cher, Enya, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Rickie Lee Claire worked directly with the largest and most Jones, Pat Metheny, and working on specialty successful broadcasting companies to oversee projects for soundtrack albums for The Simpsons, format changes, consultant deals, custom jingle Thirtysomething and the Broadway cast recording and production music. She continued to produce the of Miss Saigon. She spearheaded Geffen’s Platinum theme music and jingle packages for Dick Clark’s crossing of Contemporary Christian Superstar, United Stations – working on such shows as Country Michael W. Smith, to top A/C and CHR success Gold Saturday Night, Entertainment Express and with ‘Place In This World” (winner of the American other weekly countdown shows. She also helped Music Award of 1990 for Best Adult Contemporary Owen Leach of Broadcast Architecture create an Artist), and a similar success with Kathy Troccoli’s Arbitron research system to assist programmers in Top Five CHR and A/C hit “Everything Changes”. the study of Arbitron ratings information. Claire resigned in 1993 to join industry veteran In 1987, Claire was asked to join Burns Media Tom Callahan in the creation of Callahan-West & Consultants in Los Angeles as Director of Sales and Associates, which quickly became an expansion Marketing. In her capacity as head of sales, she of the industry’s premier Adult Music promotion negotiated group research and consulting deals & marketing independent firm. Working on the with major radio group owners Genesis, ABC/ promotion of superstars like Rod Stewart, Elton Cap Cities, Infinity Broadcasting and Keymarket John, Heart, Chris Issak, Steely Dan, Toni Braxton, Communications (amongst others). She worked Jon Secade and others, the company was one of the with Burns Media president George Burns on first full service A/C NAC and Triple A promotion auditorium music testing, perceptual One-to- companies in the record industry. One research and call-out studies for stations like KROQ/Los Angeles, and participated in the highly Claire left the company to accept the Vice President successful switch of WPIX/New York into the now of Curb Records and moved from Los Angeles to much celebrated WQCD -or -CD101- as it is Nashville in 1994 to work with Mike Curb on the
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creation of a successful Pop and Contemporary Christian division to cross compatible country music into the pop market, and to develop a boutique Christian label. She was successful in having the biggest A/C – only record in 1996 with Michael English’s “Your Love Amazes Me”, and the now legendary LeAnn Rimes’ huge hit single “How Do I Live?”, which became the longest running single on the Billboard Hot 100, and was #1 on the Billboard A/C chart for 11 weeks. She oversaw CHR/Pop campaigns with the massive success of the Four Season’s remixed “Oh What A Night” – and immense success with “How Do I Live?” and “Can’t Fight The Moonlight”. She also racked up multiple #1 singles on the Christian side with Michael English, Jonathan Pierce and Whiteheart, and oversaw the winning of a Dove (Christian equivalent of the Grammy) for Inspirational Record of The Year with the debut of the group Selah. Claire spent six years with Curb Records. She resigned in March of 1999 to create The Navigator Company. She relocated to Connecticut to allow her to be closer to the New York area, and created on the most successful Adult-orientated independent marketing & promotion companies in the industry. She has since been hired on to work on the promotion and artist development of projects with Island/Def Jam, Sony, Epic, Universal Music Group, Capitol, Virgin, Jive, RCA Records, Lava Records and J Records, on such superstar projects as Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Adele, Mumford & Sons, Coldplay, Nickelback, O.A.R., Jason Mraz, 3 Doors Down, Hinder, Corrine Bailey Rae, KT Tunstall, Five For Fighting, Norah Jones, Maroon 5, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Gnarles Barkley, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Lenny Kravitz and countless others. Claire relocated back to Dallas, Texas Metroplex area and created The Navigator Company specializing in Hot/Modern A/C, mainstream adult and CHR Radio promotion.
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Bobbii Hach-Jacobs began her career in the entertainment industry early. When most of her friends were just having fun in high school, Bobbii was busy putting together her own student driven talk show to increase drug and alcohol awareness in local high schools, finding willing celebrity guests to participate and raising money for local charities. She didn’t stop there. Her path to a larger involvement in the entertainment world continued during her attendance at the University of Iowa, Iowa City – where she met now legendary actions sports powerhouse Bob Walker at the AT&T Campus Dimensions’s training program and teamed up with him to become one of AT&T’s top producing Campus Representatives in the country. Bobbii and Bob would later be chosen to join an elite group of AT&T’s campus reps to fly in and help train future college representatives. Her community service interest continued in college with her tireless work for MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION. Her refusal to take anything less than a yes from New Kids on the Block when she was fielding a request from two young girls with Leukemia to meet the boys, wound up catching the attention of both the band and the record label, Columbia Records. Columbia was so impressed with her tenacity and passion to make these young girls’ dream come true -they pursued her to offer an internship with the label to help promote their music on the college and local level.
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After college, in 1991 and her work during that time with Columbia – Bobbii’s desire to continue her pursuit toward a full time career in the music industry resulted in a move to Los Angeles. She hit another home run immediately by landing a highly coveted job with powerhouse music industry trade magazine, Hitmakers. She was hired by legendary music giant Bob Greenburg, to promote music to commercial radio stations across the country. – and within weeks her call list had grown from a few “starter” radio stations to a staggering 150 stations
BOBBII HACH-JACOBS
Co-Owner Live In The Vineyard, LLC. across the country. Her infectious personality and energy quickly made her one of Hitmakers most successful promoters and most influential staffers. She worked during that time to develop mega-hit artists like Mariah Carey, Wilson Philips, All for One, Vanilla Ice, Lenny Kravitz, UB40, Tina Turner and dozens more. Bobbii’s results continued to get noticed in a world that doesn’t notice many. In 1994, she was approached by Atlantic Records to join the staff of their newly launched LAVA records. Bobbii was hired to head up their West Coast National Promotion department and to promote LAVA’s up-and-coming roster of talent to multiple radio formats. Bobbii created successful marketing campaigns and sales strategies for developing bands and acts that would soon become household names – including Matchbox 20, The Corrs, Edwin McCain, Carol King and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Her responsibilities included coordinating radio promotions, on air events and give aways for LAVA’s artists.
In October of 1999, Bobbii was again recruited back to the publishing world – this time with THE most legendary “hit” trade magazine and promotion powerhouse HITS Magazine. Appointed as Head of Adult Radio Formats and Broadcast Editor, Bobbii continued to help shape the careers of emerging artists at radio with heavy involvement in the launches of Norah Jones, Avril Levigne and Macy Gray -to name a few. Bobbii directed and trained staff on developing promotional relationships with radio stations in the Top 40 and Hot A/C format arenas. She wrote a popular weekly column highlighting artists and showcasing label and record executives.
In 2005, Bobbii took her extensive background in promotion, publishing and event marketing and started BSG Entertainment-integrating entertainment, corporate promotions and marketing. Her immediate success left to ongoing relationships with Universal Records, Columbia, Epic, Island/Def Jam and dozens others. In the spring of 2006, Bobbii moved her corporate base In 1996, Bobbii decided to expand on their label from Los Angeles to Denver, Colorado. Today, BSG experience and create her own marketing and Entertainment is one of the foremost Adult music promotions company, Leverage MPC. Leverage specialty marketing and promotions companies in quickly became a trusted and popular source to the music industry. create promotion opportunities for entertainment and corporate entities. Bobbii continued to keep Live in the Vineyard was conceived from the passion her company’s rock solid contacts in the radio that Bobbii and Claire share for music, food and promotion world and created grass roots national wine. Since its creation 7 years ago, Live in the tours for up-and-coming artists, generating regional Vineyard has grown into one of the nations most airplay, assisting developing artists in securing exclusive and memorable concert events. Held corporate deals with larger labels. She worked twice a year in the heart of Napa Valley, Live in the successfully on the New York Times Concert Series, Vineyard boasts an intimate fusion of the nation’s created events for Coors Brewing Co, The Hard hottest artists, world class chefs, and renowned Rock Cafe, Embassy Suites and spearheaded an wineries. executive tie in with the American Music Awards to kick off the Motley Crue Reunion tour. In addition, Bobbii is married to her wonderful husband, Steve. she indulged her passion for sports by working with They have two boys, Gabriel and Grady, and reside the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles to create in Parker, Colorado. Bobbii loves to cook and as an custom concert series designed to increase game avid fan of all things sports, she can be found on attendance and drive ticket and concession sales. the nearest golf course in her spare time.
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MAKITO HIRATSUKA - LE MOÛT, TAIWAN
Makito Hiratsuka inspired by nature Sakura, Strawberry, White Bean, Daiginjo Sake Makito Hiratsuka, Excuecutive Pastry Chef of Le Moût Restaurant, Taiwan - with a series of desserts inspired from nature beauty of Kyoto. The spring season in Arashiyama area is famous for Japanese cherry blossom “Sakura”. This spring blossom dessert is to enjoy both the flavor and visual of Sakura. The Dessert is covered with pink blooming of dehydrated Sakura and petals made by tuiles. Delicate sweetness of daiginjo sake foam and mild flavor of white bean cream match together with beautiful aroma of Sakura gelato. Taiwanese green bean gnocchi is a unique texture and local strawberries have nice balance of sweet and sour, give a charming acidity to this dessert.
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Arashiyama Spring Blossom
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GRANT MACPHERSON - STELLA ARTOIS CHEF AMBASSADOR
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GRANT MacPHERSON
Stella Artois Chef Ambassador
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GRANT MACPHERSON - STELLA ARTOIS CHEF AMBASSADOR
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Chef Grant’s stellar career has spanned five continents, four decades, and some of the world’s most celebrated dining and hospitality destinations. He has cooked adventurous five-star menus, designed and run world-class kitchens, and built top- notch teams at iconic places including Raffles Hotel in Singapore, Bellagio Las Vegas, Wynn Las Vegas, Wynn Macau, Regent Hotels Sydney, Kuala Lampur, and Singapore, several Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton Big Island, and Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados. This native Scotsman’s robust embrace of global wanderlust and contrasting cultures is exceeded only by his passion for food and all things culinary. With these comes his deep love of the camaraderie of the kitchen, the restaurant, the venue - the life - which has earned him consummate respect for his people and executive skills as well as his mastery as a chef. MacPherson relishes sharing tales of his colorful experiences, extraordinary mentors, and storied accomplishments so far - most recently with Word of Mouth, a coffee- table volume brimming with mouth-watering photos, recipes, and memoir - but is always one to look to the challenges ahead. Based in Las Vegas, MacPherson runs his own culinary global consulting business, and keeps a globetrotting calendar of international festivals and events. He was recently tapped as one of the Chef Ambassadors for Stella Artois, and is featured in video and print in their “Host Beautifully” campaign for 2015/2016. He has recently been spotted in Las Vegas working on the re-launch of the Westgate Resort & Casino - formerly the legendary Las Vegas Hilton. He has also been featured this year on VH1’s Big Morning Buzz.
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GRANT MACPHERSON - STELLA ARTOIS CHEF AMBASSADOR
One of the executive culinary stars of the celebrated private rock & culinary festival, Live In The Vineyard, in Napa, California, MacPherson has served as the Global Culinarian for Beech Ovens, Jade Range and Executive Chef for Viking Commercial as well as being the subject of another beautiful coffee table cookbook, In The Viking Kitchen. He has cooked 15 James Beard dinners, including three in New York City and was involved in the first overseas James Beard dinner at the Four Seasons in Singapore. He was also a Gold Medal winner in the Culinary Olympics of 1992 on Team Singapore. Chef Grant has been appearing as a Chef Ambassador at multiple festivals presenting pairings and cooking seminars with Stella Artois, Goose Island and various Anheuser- Busch products. His upcoming projects as Principal and Chef of Scotch Myst’s culinary consulting team span the world from Malaysia, Australia, North America and Europe to Newport Beach, California. LITV catches up with Stella Artois Chef Ambassador Grant MacPherson... Tell us about your journey to becoming a chef and what inspired you to pursue this career? Grant MacPherson: I didn’t enjoy school, and I traveled a lot as a kid through Canada. In the kitchen I found a peace with myself, because there was so much going on, so much action, so much to live up to… things were always buzzing with action and everything seemed interesting from butchering a piece of meat, turning a vegetable, or making the perfect mashed potatoes. It continues for me today. I just don’t get bored because the landscape in the kitchen is always changing.
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GRANT MACPHERSON - STELLA ARTOIS CHEF AMBASSADOR
It’s interesting to learn how Chefs find their passion for cooking and where they grew up. Tell us more about your formative years and how did you find your way into the culinary field to became one of the most sought-after Chefs in the world! Grant MacPherson: It started with travel, and travel led me to my successes and I started to meet people and see different cultures and that was always the driving force. It was incredible to be able to pick up my knives and my tool box of favorite rock and roll cassette tapes and venture off to places I barely knew existed. That stayed with me, and that love of travel and the excitement of learning about other cultures and cuisines just kept snowballing into more and more great destinations and friends all over the world.
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Working alongside legends in the culinary world Joël Robuchon, the late Jean-Louis Palladin, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, how did the experiences help to form who you are as a chef today. Grant MacPherson: Working with high caliber chefs such as the ones mentioned put your mind onto a different planet. To be able to achieve the level of perfection and quality that doesn’t commonly exist… that is what drove me and does still drive me to be better and better, no matter what country I am cooking in. Being surrounded by that level of perfection and passion demanded that I always push beyond my comfort zone and I wanted to live up to those benchmarks.
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GRANT MACPHERSON - STELLA ARTOIS CHEF AMBASSADOR
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How would you describe your cuisine? Grant MacPherson: My cuisine has changed over the years. The older I get, the simpler my food has gotten, and I inspire myself to work on the Cantonese model of having the freshest ingredients, working at the right temperature, and working on the right flavors. That makes my cuisine, in my mind, very approachable. Cuisine should be subtle and about the ingredients. When the food is fresh and wonderful, you don’t have to “dress it up” with a lot of rubbish. You take readers on a 30-year journey of rock-n-roll recipes and tales with your book “Word of Mouth.” This autobiographical book spans 5 continents, with your intelligent cooking and inspired approach to creating new dishes, creative development and innovations behind your exceptional food - what was the inspiration behind this? Grant MacPherson: A couple of close friends including my great and legendary photographer friend, Bill Milne and I wanted to do a book that was unusual and “off the beaten” path for cookbooks, and we actually did it in a week. It was self-published. I thought it would be fun and it’s become a piece of my marketing “collateral.” I think it’s good for young students or people getting into the business to see a snapshot of iconic properties and chefs around the world, my mentors and how they changed their universes. I also wanted to have a legacy of some kind to thank those people for helping me and to show others how lucky I was to achieve some of the great things I have been happy and blessed to experience. Your culinary creations are based on simplicity, intense satisfying flavor and bringing your own personal food culture. How do you bring about this balance on a plate? Grant MacPherson: It goes back to where you are. You look at the center of the plate, and you want to make sure the portion is right. But most importantly who is your guest? You want to cater to your guest. In Australia – a bit smaller and cleaner, in Europe more cream and butter, America for larger portions. You have to fit your cuisine into the environment.
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GRANT MACPHERSON - STELLA ARTOIS CHEF AMBASSADOR
In your opinion, what is the best recipe you have ever created? What inspired this recipe and why? Grant MacPherson: I don’t believe there is “one” recipe for me. That’s a layered question. Chefs are constantly adding and working on dishes. What I like today, I may not like tomorrow. I sometimes bring things back and refine them. There’s a simple beef tenderloin, very simple….medium rare, rested and sliced and you do a ratatouille vinaigrette with olive mashed potatoes…I’ve been refining that one for quite a while. I do think I have a “style” to most of my food though rather than one signature dish, a lot of my food is a cross between Cantonese and South of France. Provence food is very light. I don’t cook with a lot of dairy or butter. Could you share the process you go through to create a new dish? Grant MacPherson: First thing, you have to keep your mind fresh - going to the market, seeing what’s in season, touching and tasting and feeling and smelling. I don’t look at books so much now, because so much is available to see and experience on the internet. But for me, it’s the physical interaction and discovery of ingredients. It’s the markets and walking through them that makes things alive. Whether it’s a fish or a vegetable, or anything – you eat with your eyes – what you see you can deliver.
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What new ingredient or ingredients are inspiring you right now and how do you select your ingredients? Grant MacPherson: At the moment, short ribs because while they’re not “new” I keep trying to make them better. Salmon is a favorite and I do it in a multitude of ways…cold smoked, gravlax, grilled. And then there are Brussels sprouts, which are now one of my favorites (growing up in a British home they were always dark green and soggy). Now you can make them bright, fresh and green and nowadays you can make them taste wonderful and not be in danger of losing your real teeth (wink). What are your favorite ingredients you like to work with? Grant MacPherson: Seafood, live fish and crab…definitely things that swim. Mussels, crabs, and clams. If it’s swimming, I totally love it. My favorite fish is Turbot. I also love monkfish, lobster and sea urchin. Australia really did that to me. Gave me a total love and appreciation for the flavor of the sea. Creativity or Technique, what is more important to you and why? Grant MacPherson: Technique being most important, Cooking is about timing and Creativity comes later. Do you have any special cooking techniques or equipment you like using? Grant MacPherson: I like proper grilling, and also steaming. Those are two of my favorite cooking techniques. And I like to braise. I like slow cooking.
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GRANT MACPHERSON - STELLA ARTOIS CHEF AMBASSADOR
It must be a great feeling to cook for illustrious guests – heads of state and celebrities. Can you please share an anecdote of one of your illustrious guests? Grant MacPherson: Cooking a steak for Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is still the one of the funniest. He gets so excited that he takes a sharpie pen out and he starts trying to sign my chef jacket. He is always so enthused and happy and great – it was just a blast. It’s not always the “celebrity” that you are noticing, more often it’s making your guest happy and seeing them love the meal. Famous or not, when your guests are happy, as a chef, you are happy. What does Grant MacPherson do when he needs a break? How do you spend your time off? Grant MacPherson: Cooking is a lifestyle and spending time “off” is debatable. I am never off the job, because my passion is cooking and food and all that it entails. I don’t separate my worlds and everything I do is tied up in those loves. I am always hanging out with family, friends, thinking of ideas, watching for new ideas. Preferably with a great glass of wine.
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What is it that keeps you motivated at this point of your career? Grant MacPherson: I think young chefs who have passion and want to feed off of you and want to learn and are into it. The ones who ask questions and generally want to see themselves get better, and are not pretending to be someone they’re not. I think you have to leave some legacies, and spending time with young chefs and students is important to me. Business can go in any direction, once someone finishes culinary school there are 25 avenues. Sometimes when the kids get into these situations they don’t know how to move up and find their path. I enjoy helping young chefs. My journey wasn’t planned and just “happened” from all the intersections in my upbringing and life, but when you see a young person who is truly striving to be a true culinarian, I have to help them as much as I can. That is motivating for me. What is next for Grant MacPherson? Grant MacPherson: Looking forward to the next year of travel and insights and continuing to look for new culinary challenges - my work with Stella Artois as a Chef Ambassador, and all the adventures I get to continue to have cooking and working around the globe.
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Le a r ni ng a b o ut Wi ne i s Fun:
T r i n c h e ro n a pa V a l l e y By Melissa Vogt, Ver y Napa Valley.
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At the picturesque winery of Trinchero Napa Valley, decadence knows no limits when it comes to interior design and stunning architecture. The twentytwo acre estate is home to the brand new winery, hospitality center, tasting room and thirteen acres of Cabernet Sauvignon vines. Trinchero Napa Valley is without a doubt one of the most elegant settings for wine education in the valley. As Italian immigrants in the early 1920s, the Trinchero family landed in New York when they first arrived in America. It wasn’t until the 1940s that they made their way to Napa Valley to pursue the American dream. Mario and Mary Trinchero initially began making wine under the Sutter Home name, though they only sold their bottles directly from the winery and locally to friends. Even without major distribution, their wines were received well and gained recognition outside of California; visitors who enjoyed their wines spread the word throughout the United States and in 1968, their Reserve Zinfandel was given a positive write-up that increased the demand for their wines. In 1972, the first Sutter Home White Zinfandel was made. Mario, out of unwillingness to let anything go to waste, took the off juice from some of the Zinfandel grapes and bottled it as its own wine. Two years later, a batch of this White Zinfandel went wrong and fermentation stopped earlier than usual— leaving higher sugar levels in the resulting juice and therefore, resulting in sweeter wine. Thus, what we know today as Sutter Home White Zinfandel
was born. Tourists who tasted this wine couldn’t get enough of it, so much so, that when they went home they called up the winery to see how they could get their hands on more. Without distribution, this was not an easy task, but the demand for the wine was high. It wasn’t long after that Sutter Home began distributing their wines. Over the years, Trinchero family wine production has grown to include more than a dozen labels. One of their higher end labels is Trinchero Napa Valley—producing some of the most high-end bottlings of Napa Valley wine, made with fruit from several premier appellations. Wine tasting experiences at the etstae include opportunities for wine education and in the new hospitality center, longtime friend of the family and Certified Wine Specialist, Barry Wiss, has created the ultimate educational wine aroma course. What’s more, is that this course is a lot of fun. The hospitality center, in which the Mastering Wine Aroma course takes place, leaves guests in awe of the conceptual and artistic design. Many of the architectural and design pieces were crafted specifically for Trinchero Napa Valley—a wall of wooden hats pays homage to Mario, priceless artwork adorns the walls, ivory tusks grace the walkway entrance table, and historical family photos emanate the pride and gratitude that the family has for the valley. Mastering Wine Aromas is more of a game than it is a course. Friends and family can gather for an afternoon of wine tasting and education while Wiss waxes poetic about the aromatics and flavors of wine, in addition to hosting the wheel of fortune-style game. An artisanal, handcrafted wheel is home to dozens of tiny glass bottles that contain common wine aromas. After a discussion of how the olfactory senses work, the proper way to smell the aromatics of wine, as well as an in depth look at primary, secondary and tertiary aromas, the game begins. Guests are divided up into teams and take turns spinning the aroma wheel; the team whose turn it is gets to make the first guess, before passing the aroma to the opposite team for a chance to guess the answer—if the first team cannot guess correctly. The game continues on in this fashion, all the while sipping on some of Trinchero Napa Valley’s finest wines. Not only is Wiss an incredibly knowledgeable host, but he is also a dynamic, engaging and fun wine educator. His speaking style is both informative and friendly, making jokes along the way, but he is always sure to answer serious questions and provide educational responses so that guests can walk away from the experience having learned a great deal about wine. Trinchero Napa Valley’s Mastering Wine Aromas experience is by far one of the most exciting, fun and interactive ways to learn about wine in Napa Valley. St. Helena is lucky to have the presence of the Trinchero family, because their passion for wine education and fun is truly admirable.
Certified Wine Specialist, Barry Wiss
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ADAM LAMBERT 44 November 2015 - Live In The Vineyard
Anyone who has ever seen Adam Lambert perform knows that he carries within him an unquenchable thirst to sing better, to live better, to love better, to be better. “It’s this hunger,” he says. “You can’t sum it up too easily because it runs deep, and certain things quell it for a minute, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m satisfied.’ Then you realize, ‘No, I’m not.’ Everybody’s chasing something.”
pageantry, and, in doing so, creates an enthralling intimacy with the listener.
Aiding him on the journey are Max Martin and Shellback, with whom Lambert had worked on his first album. After hearing the title track and other demos that Lambert wrote in Los Angeles, they were so excited about the direction in which the he was moving that they wanted to oversee the creation of On The Original High, Lambert’s third studio the full album and signed on as executive producers. album, the international superstar keenly captures Their commitment provided Lambert with a dream the piercing longing of trying to recapture the situation: a powerhouse team behind him to guide exquisite rush that comes with any first - from first the process with consistency and creativity. kiss to first hit - followed by the inevitable dashed A San Diego, California native, Lambert stepped expectations. into the national spotlight in 2009 when he became The hypnotic, pulsating title track dares to question a finalist on the eighth season of American Idol. what’s behind the sense of melancholy that dusts His vocal range, along with his unique style, made over people as they struggle with the discontent him a standout contestant and he quickly won over that comes with their dreams not coming true - millions of viewers. After the season wrapped, or coming true and then seeming hollow. The set Lambert released his successful RCA Records adventurously balances dark and light themes debut, For Your Entertainment, which has sold and sonically pushes pop boundaries with its nearly 2 million copies worldwide and featured the Grammy-nominated radio smash,”Whataya Want experimental beats and quirky rhythms. From Me.” The Original High is Lambert’s first for Warner Bros. Records. Eager to snap him up, the label Lambert then showed off his acting chops via a contacted Lambert the day after he announced his multi-episode arc on Season Five of “Glee” as NYU departure from RCA Records, home to his first two student Elliott Gilbert. He collaborated on superstar albums. No wonder they were so interested: the DJ Avicii on “Lay Me Down,” and also continued multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter’s work has as the lead singer for Queen, playing alongside garnered such accolades as a Grammy nomination founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, a BMI Award and selling out venues throughout the world. for Award-Winning Song, two GLAAD Awards, a Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year, a Chances are The Original High will blow people’s Teen Choice Award for Choice Male Reality/Variety minds as well as fans discover a new depth Star, and a People’s Choice Award nomination for to Lambert’s multi-faceted talent. For his part, Lambert wants the album to provide solace and joy Breakout Musical Artist. to anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. “I hope For The Original High, Lambert turns up the that the album can pull people together in realizing vulnerability and tones down the vocal acrobatics. they’re not alone and in realizing that if you sing His soaring range and powerful vocal strength about it or talk about it or dance it out, that’s the remain, but he purposefully dials back some of the best medicine.”
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MICHAEL FRANTI
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MICHAEL FRANTI
Michael Franti is a musician, filmmaker and social justice advocate who has been a key force in popular music throughout his storied career. The diversity of the Oakland, CA native’s sound can be attributed to his wide range of influences that include John Lennon, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, Marvin Gaye and The Clash. Along with his band, Spearhead, Franti seeks to break down barriers in music between performer and audience, in order to create an intimate, meaningful experience. “’Once A Day’ is about unexpected moments in life,” Franti said of the deeply personal new track. “Some days we have unexpectedly beautiful moments and others that are unexpectedly challenging. Last year I had a really challenging moment when my son was diagnosed with a kidney disease called Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. We thought it would break our family apart, but moving through the initial tears, made us realize life is precious and that we need to hug, kiss and be close to each other every day and through that we could ‘rise up’ and face his illness together. I hope that “Once A Day” brings inspiration to anyone in this world who is going through challenging times. Through music, dance and gratitude for this life we can all ‘Rise Up’!”
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JAMES BAY
With his wide-brimmed hat, leather jacket, and guitar in hand, it’s easy to pick James Bay out of crowd. However, the UK singer-songwriter’s voice remains equally distinct. The delicate delivery, breathtaking tone, and unparalleled guitar skills made his Republic Records debut album, Chaos And The Calm, one to be remembered. Upon its 2015 release, the album arrived in the Top 15 of the Billboard Top 200, #1 on iTunes Top Singer/ Songwriter Albums Chart, and Top 10 on the Overall Top Albums Chart. VEVO DSCVR placed him among their “Ones to Watch 2015” and VH1 gave him the “You Oughta Know” distinction. Worldwide his influence expanded and at the prestigious BRIT Awards, he received the 2015 “Critics Choice Award” and recently was nominated for an MTV VMA Award.
the guitar and say it was just a hobby, I couldn’t justify it,” he recalls. Almost as soon as he moved to Brighton, he was busking and playing open mic evenings five nights a week in the town’s many small music venues. “If it was bad, there was always the opportunity to walk down the street to the next place,” he says. From Brighton, the next step was a move to London. “London was always in the back of my mind. In America, they talk about LA, they talk about New York, but here, they talk about London.” Building up a solid live reputation in the capital, prestigious support slots started flooding in, including a life-changing opening set for none other than The Rolling Stones at their gigantic Hyde Park show in the summer of 2013.
“I’m trying to keep things human and emotional,” he explains. “It’s hard to know what the balance is, but you know it when you hear it. It’s such a personal process.”
“I almost fell off my stool when I was told about the Stones,” says Bay, who was on his first trip to Los Angeles when he heard the news. He’s also toured with the likes of ZZ Ward, Kodaline, Tom Odell, It’s something he started honing at a young age, John Newman, and Beth Orton. nodding to the likes of Miles Davis and Bruce One evening would prove particularly monumental. Springsteen back in the tiny UK hamlet of Hitchin. While performing a solo show in a Kentish Town At eleven-years-old, he asked to take a look at the pub, a patron was so impressed by Bay’s set that old axe that that his dad bought from his uncle and he took a video and uploaded it to YouTube where had been gathering dust in a cupboard. a couple of weeks later it caught the attention of a “I’d seen it two or three times in my life, and I decided I wanted to get it out. I opened the cupboard and it had five rusty strings on it, but I sat down with it and the sensation of holding it was the best thing in the world,” remembers Bay. “It just felt really fucking cool.” By 18, James Bay moved out of Hitchin to study guitar in the seaside city of Brighton. It was here his solo venture really kicked off. A talented and accomplished painter and drawer, he’d long planned to study fine art, but made a last minute decision to study music instead. “I couldn’t put down
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Republic Records A&R executive, who was blown away by what he saw. “That kicked everything off,” he exclaims. “The label flew me over to New York a week later, and ended up signing with them on the spot. It was like they were in that tiny club with me even though they were thousands of miles away.” Bay cut Chaos and The Calm at Nashville’s legendary Blackbird Studios with Kings of Leon’s long term collaborator and Tom Waits engineer Jacquire King. Now, the album formally introduces that voice and all of the emotion in it to the world.
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ROB THOMAS Rob Thomas is one of modern music’s most compelling and commercially successful artists. For 20 years, he has been the frontman and primary composer for Matchbox Twenty, leading the quintet to multiplatinum success over the course of four albums and a string of No. 1 hits that include “Push,” “3AM,” “Bent,” “If You’re Gone,” and “Unwell.” Thomas’ two solo albums, 2005’s platinum-certified No. 1 album …Something To Be. Thomas made history with “…Something to Be” as having the first album by a male artist from a rock or pop group to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since the chart had debuted. Thomas’ collaborations with iconic artists like Mick Jagger on the #1 single “Disease”, Willie Nelson, and Santana, the latter resulting in 1999’s “Smooth” - the Latin-tinged blockbuster that earned Thomas three Grammy Awards and spent 12 weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
And I think also, over the years, I’ve learned how to write a good melody, which is an easy thing to say about myself because I feel like it’s the thing I’m good at. “I also thought, ‘What if I it wasn’t about trying to see what I could pull off alone or prove anything other than trying to make a great record?’ Thomas adds. “Every time you make a solo record, there’s an element of trying to get something off your chest because it’s just you dealing with yourself. Doing it this way, when I looked at the blank page, I wasn’t looking at the same old shit. Everything wasn’t going to come from the same place.”
Thomas may be light-hearted about his propensity for revelry, but when it came time to name the album, he was inspired by one of its more emotional tracks, “The Great Unknown”. “My wife Marisol has been dealing with a lot of health problems and I was amazed at how strong and resilient she is,” Thomas is also known as an electrifying live he says. “I realized that I had written songs about performer, drawing fans of all ages to Matchbox her like, ‘Ever The Same’ and ‘Her Diamonds’ and Twenty’s concerts as well as to his solo shows around they almost paint her in a victim light, and I didn’t the globe. “After 20 years, I still get excited when like that. It was important to me to write a song that I go on the road,” he says. “The sound of the bus shows how strong she is.” When Thomas played before it pulls out. The idea of waking up in a new Marisol the song, she suggested it be the album’s city every day, not knowing what the day will bring. title. “She said, ‘Because any endeavor you go into It’s the best part of what I do. Seeing new faces is the great unknown. Your motive, your intention, every night. Sharing the music. It’s what keeps me and your purpose are the only things you can control. Whatever is going to happen when it’s doing it. It’s the greatest job in the world.” done, you have no hand in.’ it’s funny, success is When you ask Thomas what accounts for his really only 50 percent up to you.” stratospheric success, his reply is earnest and thoughtful, just like his music. “Part of me feels like Thomas will take those odds as he gears up to it’s because I am exactly like the people who listen release The Great Unknown, his third solo album to my music,” he says. “I’ve never written songs and first in six years. “I think every time I make that speak to a particular group of disenfranchised a record, the only thing I realize about myself is youth. I’m not super-political. I just write songs that I’m so completely not finished yet,” he says. “I about people and how they relate to each other. I haven’t gone, ‘Well, there you go. You’ve done it.’ think that’s something that is universal to everybody. I hope to God I never do.”
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Barenaked Ladies “I think it would be fair to say if the band was collectively known as Stella, then this record would indicate the reality that Stella had indeed got her groove back,” states Ed Robertson of Toronto’s Barenaked Ladies. After 27 years together, over 14 million albums sold and multiple Grammy nominations, Silverball, the cerebral band’s fourteenth album finds the long-standing partnership of Ed Robertson (guitar, vocals), Jim Creeggan (bass, vocals), Kevin Hearn (keyboard, guitar, vocals) and Tyler Stewart (drums, vocals) firing on all cylinders.
Robertson wryly rhymes “Muhammed Ali” with “boxing imagery”. “I was writing that song with Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra, an old friend and collaborator,” Ed explains. “I also love that line in the first verse: ‘I’m not gonna be the next big thing/ But I’m getting fitted for a new brass ring.’ In other words, I’m not reaching for a brass ring, I’m just having one made”.
“This is the first record since our debut Gordon that was written with no hand-wringing, secondguessing, insecurity or self-doubt,” Robertson asserts. “As we got ready to make the record, I The album’s graying protagonist is battered and was thinking’, man, this is what I get to do: I try bruised by life, but as the opening song “Get to process some of the stuff I’ve gone through and Back Up” indicates he keeps lifting himself off am going through and write songs about it. I play the campus, Rocky-like, to deliver a flurry of them for the guys I’ve played with for 27 years, counterpunches, along with a wisecrack or two. and they call me back and go, ‘Dude, these songs But there’s an underlying poignancy to Silverball are awesome - we can’t wait to make this record.’ as well. This is a mature album containing rock I had an overwhelming feeling of confidence and & roll songs repurposed to portray resiliency in gratitude heading into it”. midlife. The boxing metaphors come fast and furious in “Get Back Up;” indeed, at one point “My goal has always been to write things that don’t
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sound awkward,” Robertson says of his approach to writing lyrics. “To find parts of conversation that roll off the tongue, that have meaning and that people can identify with. For me, the ultimate goal in trying to write a song is to get those phrases to just fly by, to fit in the rhythm of the song. So if I’m futzing around too much with grammar or rhyme, I know that it’s not the right line; I need to find a way to say it that sounds like conversation.” Ed recounts the process “We started the record in December thinking we might get beds done for three or four songs before the Christmas break. Instead we got 13 beds done, and by the end of January we had all but completed the record. There was a confidence in the band and a boldness to just go for it.
in the world,” Robertson jokes. “I didn’t really see the appeal of writing a pinball song until I started to think about it as a metaphor for a relationship for this notion of an intricately connected machine where you literally push its buttons - and it started to make sense in describing a relationship. If you’re engaging with a person and you know what you’re doing, you light everything up and take it to the next level; that’s the metaphor. Gavin noted that Silverball should be the name of the record. It’s just such a cool word; it’s nostalgic and evocative”.
The album’s most emotionally direct song is its climactic closer, “Tired Of Fighting With You,” written and sung by Hearn. “That song is particularly poignant,” Roberson says. “Kevin’s cancer came back, and he wrote that song in the midst of everything he was dealing with. It’s a beautiful song The title track references Robertson’s obsession - a heartbreaking song. It’s so perfect. It gives you with pinball; he’s been collecting and refurbishing a little insight into how heavy a track that is. And vintage machines since 1998. Silverball was an the beauty of that song is that it works on whatever attempt to put another song out there so that level you take it on”. A great showcase of what this ‘Pinball Wizard’ wasn’t the only song about pinball band is capable of.
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ANDREW MCMAHON “I wrote a record and then she showed up”. Andrew McMahon laughs, cradling his 6-monthold daughter, Cecilia, as his wife Kelly lounges nearby with their dog, Doris. The young family is backstage at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park relaxing before McMahon performs a sold out headlining show. McMahon is referring to his new release, the self-titled LP, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. McMahon has had a winding road to this artfully balanced life. This is a man who was diagnosed with cancer at 22 years old, on the cusp of releasing his debut album (as Jack’s Mannequin). Who wed Kelly the following year and then took on an arduous schedule of touring and album releases. Who was nominated for an Emmy Award for his song “I Heard Your Voice in a Dream” on NBC’s Smash. Who sold nearly 2 million albums in a little more than a decade. Who, for much of that time, was struggling underneath the weight of it all. Despite these outward signs of success – beating cancer, getting married and an Emmy nom – McMahon says the road to recovery was “a rollercoaster ride” that took the better part of a decade. “My body healed faster than my mind and my heart. It took me years to realize that and do the work. I had to figure out how to acclimate to the world post-illness. I decided to take time away from the business of making music so I could pay attention to everything else. I left my label, my management and the name I had been making music under for the better part of my 20s. I moved out of Los Angeles. It was a metaphorical hard reset”.
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The time allowed McMahon to process what had happened and to renew his passion for songwriting and record making, to refill the well of his creativity. McMahon also changed his mode of operation, taking the critical step of physically distancing his work and home lives by retreating to a cabin “a shack, really. It had no running water”, in Topanga
N IN THE WILDERNESS Canyon (CA) to hatch the album. He would spend the weekdays in the canyon immersed in music and on the weekends travel the hour and a half back south to be with his then-newly-pregnant wife. “It was important to me to be completely present when I was home. Separating out the work actually created more space to live a life worth writing about.” The first single, “Cecilia and the Satellite” was actually one of the last songs written for the album. “A few weeks before Cecilia was born, I was introduced to James Flannigan, a British songwriter and producer. I knew I wanted to write a song for her, to show her who I was before she was born and my commitment to protect her”. While “Cecilia” details McMahon’s love in high contrast with what he calls “the impermanence of living”, its soaring chorus anchored by a kick drum like the steady thump of a heartbeat. After seeing the impressive results of their session, McMahon asked Flannigan to join him and Viola to help finish production of the album. The three of them bounced around LA in various production spaces and studios until all the details had been tweaked and McMahon was satisfied that it reflected the journey as a whole. “I had been dreaming about an album that sounded like this for years, but I didn’t know it until I heard it. It took all three of us. I realize now how important every piece of the process was – every step on the path and every voice in the room”. McMahon says, “music is a mirror to the adventure of living”, then it follows that each new chapter of life deserves its own title. As such, he decided his music would go forward under the name Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. “My wilderness is mostly abstract”, he posits, “I forced myself into strange new places on the hunt for these songs, and I met some amazing people in the process. The new name carries the spirit of our collaboration”.
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A GREAT BIG WORLD Grammy Award®-winning duo A Great Big World – New Yorkers Ian Axel and Chad King –who made music history with their mega-platinum #1 global hit “Say Something” (with Christina Aguilera), return this week with a brand new single on Epic Records, “Hold Each Other,” arriving July 22nd at radio, iTunes and all digital retail partners. “Hold Each Other,” a timely and socially conscious track, is the lead single from A Great Big World’s eagerly awaited second album, arriving later this year.
accommodate a rap feature, they reached out to Futuristic, who composed his rhymes overnight! “Hold Each Other” marks A Great Big World’s first appearance back on the scene since the 57th annual Grammy Award® ceremonies in February, when they brought home the gold for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their RIAA quadrupleplatinum #1 “Say Something”.
“Say Something,” a worldwide hit whose video boasts 220 million YouTube views to date, was With this track, Axel and King explain, “We are the highlight of AGBW’s debut album, Is There hoping that we can inspire people, even just a Anybody Out There? which debuted at #3 on the little, to fearlessly speak their truth when it comes Billboard 200 albums chart. About A Great Big to who they are and who they love”. Get “Hold World: The magical journey of A Great Big World – Each Other” here. Adding to the impact of “Hold Ian Axel and Chad King – really began in the music Each Other” is A Great Big World’s introduction of practice rooms of NYU (New York University) where Arizona indie rapper Futuristic. Nearly two years the two were attending college. In 2012, after a ago, Futuristic’s hip-hop cover of “Say Something” few twists and turns of fate, the friends formed A (on YouTube) came to the attention of AGBW, who Great Big World and released a six-song EP funded were blown away by the rising young MC. When by Kickstarter. It spawned the viral sensation the duo decided that “Hold Each Other” should “Everyone Is Gay” and “This Is the New Year”,
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which was performed by the cast on Fox’s Glee. Soon after, Epic Records offered the duo a deal, and issued “Say Something” as their first official single in 2013. Its terse, tearful piano and Axel’s heavenly hypnotic vocals tugged on heartstrings, and struck a chord. After hearing it during a pivotal segment of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, Christina Aguilera fell in love with the song. She collaborated with AGBW on a new recording of the track that they subsequently performed together on NBC’s The Voice, which launched it to #1 on iTunes. More TV performances followed (The American Music Awards, The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show), culminating with the song’s release on AGBW’s debut album, Is There Anybody Out There? (January 2014). In addition to the aforementioned TV appearances, AGBW also performed on ABC’s Good Morning America and Live with Kelly & Michael, NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and
were the first-ever musical guests on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers. Their sold-out show at New York’s Highline Ballroom was streamed live on VH1.com, who also selected AGBW as their first “You Oughta Know” artist of 2014. “Say Something” ultimately occupied the #1 spot on iTunes, Billboard’s Digital Songs, Digital Tracks, Adult Top 40, and Hot Dance Club Songs charts, as well as Spotify and Shazam, in addition to going Top 10 on sales charts in 19 countries. After turning in a riveting performance at Clive Davis’ prestigious annual pre-Grammy® party in January 2014, A Great Big World toured from May through August across the U.S. and Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East. For the remainder of 2014, into 2015, A Great Big World has been hard at work on new music which they are eager to present to their legions of fans across the globe. The release of “Hold Each Other” in July 2015, sets the stage for the arrival of their second album later in the year.
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ANGELA TAMURA
Angela Tamura Angela started cooking Italian food when she was old enough to hold a wooden spoon at her mom’s side. She started cooking professionally after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. After working in various restaurants around her home outside of Boston, she attended the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont which included two internships at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island and Rialto Restaurant in Cambridge. Angela stayed on for several years at Rialto under James Beard award winning chef, Jody Adams until she got the call to move out to California’s Napa Valley to work at Bistro Don Giovanni where she eventually became Chef de Cuisine. From there she skipped to Spanish tapas and became Executive Chef and Partner at Zuzu Tapas & Wine Bar. Now, as Chef de Cuisine at Péppoli, she is back to her culinary roots. Her goal is to use the best ingredients she can find with a focus on local and organic and to cook from scratch as much as possible making her own pastas, sausages, salami, pancetta, jams and preserves.
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STEPHEN BARBER
Stephen Barber
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Award-winning chef Stephen Barber is the executive chef of Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch in St. Helena. Building on his Southern roots, Barber brings his own ingredientdriven approach to Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch’s American farmhouse cooking, incorporating the organic produce, grass-fed beef and lamb, eggs, and olive oils from Long Meadow Ranch and other local artisanal producers. Barber was most recently chef of Fish Story restaurant in Napa, which is owned by Chef Bradley Ogden’s Lark Creek Restaurant Group. Previously, he was executive chef of MECCA in San Francisco where he received three stars from Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle and was named a 2004 “Rising Star Chef.” In 2007, Barber opened BarbersQ in Napa, which also received three stars from the San Francisco Chronicle, was featured on the “Top 10 Best New Restaurants 2007” and “Top 100 Restaurants” lists by Mr. Bauer, and was named a Michelin Guide “Bib Gourmand.” Barber has cooked at the celebrated James Beard House twice. A Kentucky native, Barber began his culinary career at one of the best restaurants in Mississippi, City Grocery, working with Chef John Currence. He next moved to Miami, where he spent four years honing his craft under Chef Norman Van Aken at his eponymous restaurant, Norman’s. Van Aken subsequently brought on Barber as the opening chef de cuisine for Bambu restaurant, where he was discovered by MECCA’s owner.
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KEN FRANK
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Ken Frank In 1995, Frank was hired to open Fenix in The Argyle Hotel in West Hollywood, where he introduced the concept of wine pairing with his tasting menu, dubbed the “Menu Fantaisie.” The restaurant immediately received rave reviews and in 1995 was named one of America’s Best New Restaurants Frank’s love of French cooking began in 1972 by John Mariani in Esquire magazine. In 1998, The when his father went on sabbatical, moving the Argyle Hotel was sold and Frank decided to pursue family from California to Yvoire, France, a 16th his dream of moving to Napa Valley. century village on the edge of Lake Geneva. When In September 1998, the second incarnation of La it came time to return to the states, Frank chose Toque debuted in Rutherford at The Rancho Caymus to remain in France. He began his culinary career Inn in the heart of California Wine Country. The as a dishwasher at a local restaurant, where he restaurant immediately garnered national acclaim nurtured his appreciation for richly flavored food and was soon established as the Napa Valley’s and his interest in a career as a chef was sparked. newest dining destination. La Toque was named After returning to California and refining his skills one of the 20 Best Restaurants in America by Wine at a number of restaurants, Frank first achieved Spectator in March 2000, and was awarded a national acclaim at age 21 as executive chef at the prestigious Michelin Star in 2007; the first year the Los Angeles restaurant La Guillotine. Frank went on organization published a San Francisco Bay Area to serve as the opening chef at Michael’s in Santa guide. Monica, considered the Los Angeles birthplace of In September 2008, ten years after opening La California cuisine. In 1979, the 23-year-old chef Toque in Rutherford, Frank relocated the restaurant boldly opened the first La Toque on the Sunset Strip. to The Westin Verasa Napa. Since the restaurant’s Acclaimed Chef Ken Frank is entirely self-taught and brings a distinctive, personalized touch to his contemporary French cuisine at the Michelinstarred La Toque restaurant, located in The Westin Verasa Napa.
After a 14-year run, Frank sold La Toque to the Chateau Marmont Hotel and went to work with Isaac Tigrett at the House of Blues. He launched the New Orleans House of Blues before returning to Los Angeles to open the House of Blues Sunset Strip, where Frank was tasked with developing the Foundation Room, a private, members-only restaurant on the top floor.
move to downtown Napa, La Toque has continued to be well-received by the nation’s top food critics and reviewers. In 2008, La Toque earned a threestar review by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Michael Bauer and in October 2009 was honored again with a Michelin Star. Most recently La Toque was named one of “America’s Best Top 100 Wine Restaurants of 2011” in Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
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CARRIE NAHABEDIAN
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After departing her position as Executive Chef of the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, Carrie Nahabedian returned to her native Chicago to open NAHA in 2000, which garnered her a James Beard Award and four consecutive Michelin stars. Carrie opened Brindille in the spring of 2013 along with partner and cousin Michael; while NAHA serves to highlight her Armenian roots, Brindille’s refined Parisian fare celebrates hers and Michael’s favorite spots in Paris. Nahabedian’s love for food stems from family and her love for the arts. From the delicious meals served by her grandmother and mother to the occasional grilling done by her father, Nahabedian grew up with a family full of culinary inspiration. Combined with her passion for the arts - including jewelry design and architecture - this naturally led her to a career as a chef. Nahabedian was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America, but turned down the opportunity. Nahabedian went on to travel Europe before returning to Chicago, where she completed her training at restaurants like Sinclair’s. Trained in French cooking, Nahabedian soon realized that she didn’t know what she calls “the basis of what makes America great, the regional cuisines.” After building up her reputation as a strong, all-around chef in Chicago, Nahabedian was tapped by the Park Hyatt. She then transitioned to the executive sous chef position at the new Four Seasons Chicago. Nahabedian stayed with Four Seasons for ten years, including stints in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Carrie’s kitchen emphasizes locally farmed ingredients and handcrafted items while taking a spin on American dishes using French technique and Mediterranean influence. In addition to gourmet cuisine, Naha prides itself as a restaurant with personality, style and warmth.
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FERRAN ADRIÀ
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Ferran AdriĂ
the making of a culinary legend who reinvented food...
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FERRAN ADRIÀ
the seeds
68 November 2015 - Live In The Vineyard ©Photo Francesc Guillamet
Necessity is apparently the birthplace of opportunity, as it was his need of money for a vacation on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza that led Ferran Adrià to take a job as dishwasher at a French restaurant in the Hotel Playafels in Castelldefels, Spain. This was the genesis of what would become culinary legend a man who later would be referred to as “the best chef in the world.” Chef Adrià was certainly fortunate that the chef at this restaurant would take an eager-to-learn dishwasher and introduce him to the classic culinary techniques with El Practico, the Spanish equivalent of Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire. Before meeting Jacques Maximin, a 2-star Michelin chef in Nice, France, Ferran never thought that chefs were “allowed to be creative.” Maximin told Ferran, “Creativity is not copying.” It is from this time Ferran thought of ingredients and tools that can be put together to make combinations that are creative, dishes that are surprising and challenging to the senses. Some combinations were failures, while others were triumphs. Eventually Adria did make it to Ibiza, where he had a brief stint working at Club Cala Lena in 1981-1982 prior to being drafted into military service where he worked as a cook. At the age of 22, Adrià ventured to the coast of northern Spain, and it was here, at the beach on the Costa Brava, north of Barcelona that he joined the kitchen staff of El Bulli as a line cook. He was quickly recognized as an innovator and within eighteen months became head chef, ultimately leading El Bulli to a record five wins in the “world’s best restaurant” awards.
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FERRAN ADRIÀ
Before the arrival of Adrià, El Bulli, then a French restaurant, was relatively unknown. When Adrià joined the staff, his manager recommended that he travel throughout France to find fresh ideas. This was done with vigor as Adrià journeyed to some of France’s top restaurants where he acquired a massive collection of techniques from many of the great culinary masters. Over the years, El Bulli was transformed into a world-class restaurant featuring modern Spanish cuisine and despite its extremely remote location at the end of a narrow, winding mountain road in the small town of Roses, ultimately received 3 Michelin stars. Add to that being ranked as the best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine and topping the influential San Pellegrino list of the World’s Best Restaurants a remarkable five times between 2002 and 2009. And it was not just writers that lauded this iconic chef - he was widely considered to be the finest chef in the world by many of his peers. At its height, El Bulli received over 2 million requests per year for reservations (it could only accommodate about 7,000 of them). There are few restaurants in history that have had the type of measurable impact provided by El Bulli and for that matter, Ferran Adrià. In the late 1980’s, Adria began performing cooking experiments which would forever change El Bulli’s place in culinary history. This was one of the launch pads for what is now referred to as Molecular Gastronomy (the application of science to culinary practices and cooking phenomena). His creations have always been designed to surprise and delight his guests, but the importance of spectacular taste has always been the ultimate goal.
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FERRAN ADRIĂ€
spherical raviolo of peas and minty pea salad
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carrot air with bitter coconut milk
ŠPhoto Francesc Guillamet
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FERRAN ADRIÀ
One thing that is now being used on a global scale is his creation of “culinary foam.” Culinary foam consists of natural flavors (both sweet and savory) mixed with a gelling agent. The designed mixture is then placed in a whipped cream canister where the foam is then forced out with the help of nitrous oxide - just one more contribution to the world culinary stage from this dynamo. It takes a man of this sort to be at the helm of a restaurant such as this and to the surprise of many, abruptly in 2010, announced that he was transforming his restaurant into a foundation that explores culinary creativity. So on July 30, 2011, Ferran Adrià voluntarily shut the doors of El Bulli, the most famous restaurant in the world, and started work on his next lofty goal, a foundation for the advancement of culinary understanding. Fast forward a few years and the over-the-top creativity that defined El Bulli now lives on - except you can stay right in Barcelona to experience some of what they had to offer. Ferran Adrià and his brother Albert (who spent 23 years working at El Bullli and rising through the ranks) are now running five dynamic restaurants in the city, each offering a different experience with a sixth planned for the near future.
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icy truffle of carrot and passion fruit
Albert Adrià and Ferran Adrià ©Photo Maribel Ruóz de Erenchun
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spherical balloons of rose water with touches of lychee and lychee soup
©Photo Francesc Guillamet
November 2015 - Live In The Vineyard
FERRAN ADRIÀ
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coconut’s egg with mango
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FERRAN ADRIÀ
pumpkin oil caramel
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spherical potato gnocchi with consommé of baked potato skin
white asparagus in different cookings and temperatures with egg yolk shots ©Photo Francesc Guillamet
Albert, (an extremely highly esteemed chef in his own right), the younger brother who has in the past remained in the background, has taken the lead in this emerging empire while Ferran plays a supporting role in between traveling, teaching at Harvard and following what appears to be his true passion - building his foundation. The foundation, now coming up on four years in the making will all be housed in the former restaurant’s premises - in a nature reserve overlooking the Mediterranean in Roses, a two-hour drive north of Barcelona. With the opening imminent, the anticipation in the industry is palpable. It will consist of three parts, including an exhibition on the history of cooking entitled elBulli 1846, a cooking research “laboratory” called elBulli DNA and the “Bullipedia,” a “gastronomic encyclopedia” including a database of recipes and ingredients. El Bulli defined avant-garde cuisine during its 25-year life span. It pioneered concepts like “fusion” and “deconstruction” and spawned a generation of highly influential chefs that continue to provide a new road for culinary exploration and enlightenment.
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JOHNNY CHUNG - THE PENINSULA HONG KONG
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Johnny Chung From Stars To Screwdrivers A Lifetime Behind Bars Senior Bartender Johnny Chung Kam Hung, one of The Peninsula Hong Kong’s longest-serving employees, has worked at the hotel for over 50 years. His father had been a captain in The Lobby, and so like numerous Peninsula staffers following a family tradition of working at The Peninsula, Johnny joined The Peninsula in 1957 at the age of 15 as a messenger boy in the Catering Department. Life in the Catering Department was extremely busy, as at this time only two hotels on Kowloon side - The Peninsula and the Miramar - provided catering services for private functions. After nearly four years of carrying messages around Hong Kong, Johnny was promoted to Bar Busboy in the Lobby Cocktail Bar. Open from 11.00am to 1.00am daily, with only 10 seats along the bar and six cocktail tables, this small intimate bar became one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated watering holes with a stream of high profile visitors. His most famous encounter came when the actor Clark Gable (who was staying at The Peninsula during the filming of “Soldier of Fortune”) entered the bar and asked for a “Screwdriver”. Johnny was nonplussed as he had never heard of such a drink in Hong Kong, and was about to call the hotel’s engineering department for assistance when Gable explained the recipe for the famous concoction of vodka and orange juice to him, and thus the screwdriver was introduced to Hong Kong.
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JOHNNY CHUNG - THE PENINSULA HONG KONG
Other famous guests from the world of movies in the Lobby Cocktail Bar served by Johnny included William Holden (in Hong Kong to film “Love is a Many Splendor’d Thing” and “The World of Suzie Wong”) and Rex Harrison (filming “Bridge over the River Kwai” in Sri Lanka). Roger Moore was a regular visitor to the L’Aperitif Bar each evening during the filming of “The Man with the Golden Gun” in 1985. Regular customers each evening during filming, Holden and Harrison would drink gin & tonic, and Clark Gable his screwdrivers, while 007’s favourite tipple was a Jack Daniels and coke.
Johnny has also served George Schultz (former USA Secretary of State) and former Philippine President Ferdinard Marcos during their stays at the hotel. Johnny was then promoted to Bar Trainee in the Bamboo Bar on the first floor (where the Swiss restaurant Chesa now stands). The Bamboo Bar was the exclusive bar for the Verandah restaurant, was only open from noon to 2:30 pm and 6:00 to 10:00 pm daily, and was thus rather quiet. However, with the opening of Chesa in 1965, the Bamboo Bar moved locations and became the much busier public bar L’Aperitif, where Johnny worked as a Junior Bartender, before being promoted to Senior Bartender in 1985. L’Aperitif metamorphosed into the Verandah Bar in 1987, and then into The Bar in 1990 in its current location. Johnny now works in the service bar in the main kitchen, where his day commences at 6:00 am when he prepares the fresh juices served throughout the hotel at breakfast each morning, and then he works until 2:00 pm preparing drinks for the hotel’s restaurants and room service orders.
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Johnny Chung’s Screwdriver
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HEINZ BECK - LA PERGOLA, ROME
Amberj ack mar i n a t e d i n w h i t e b a l sa m i c vi n egar w i t h p om e gr a n a t e sn ow
The inspiration for this dish comes from the image of an Artic pink glacier, a peculiar phenomenon caused by single-celled organisms that give the snow this particular color. The amberjack, previously marinated in white Balsamic vinegar, and the pomegranate snow are placed on a driedice basis, over which is poured an herbs infusion that gives the dish a balsamic flavor.
84 November 2015 - Live In The Vineyard PHOTO Janez Puksic
Heinz Beck
Heinz Beck is widely known as one of the most notable “Masters” of gastronomy. His unique interpretation of the “Modern” kitchen goes beyond his unique culinary talent, including the utmost attention toward the selection of ingredients and their transformation into highly innovative flavors. Beyond an excellent career as a highly decorated Chef, Heinz Beck has been heralded as a leader in Italian and Mediterranean culinary tradition.
Among numerous awards, the Chef has been recognized by “Michelin”, “Bibenda”, “Gambero Rosso” and “L’Espresso”. The menu at La Pergola is his greatest achievement to date - innovative and exciting while maintaining a respect for culinary tradition and remembering that great cooking is about fresh ingredients handled with sensitivity and passion. In 2000 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Foyer of Artists Award, an International Award from La Sapienza University of Rome this was the first time the award had been given to a chef. “La Pergola” has maintained its primary position in the gastronomic panorama of Italy; the Michelin guide for 2006 awarded Beck with the prestigious three stars. Heinz Beck is truly a prolific genius of our time, in which different attitudes evolve into different arts and he is a true pioneer of modern gastronomy.
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ANDONI LUIS ADURIZ - MUGARITZ, SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN
Savoury French Toast The french toast is a dessert that is most consumed in Basque country around Carnaval, lasting from February to early March. It usually comprises of an old bread soaked in an aromatic milk of cinnamon and citric peels. The soaked slices of bread are then battered and fried resulting in a milky, juicy and sweet bread. In this recipe, Mugartiz reinterpretes this culinary piece and developed its savoury version. Wafer sheets are soaked in milk infused with nutmeg, black pepper and other spices. These sheets are then superimposed making a stack. This stack is then hollowed in the middle and filled with carrot juice. This toast stuffed with carrot is then fried in very hot oil so that its exterior appears like that of a fried toast. This toast is served on a warm plate and is then covered with sea urchin roe, both sweet and fresh. The diner is given a small cheese cloth filled with nutmeg and chooses how to spice the toast.
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Andoni Luis Aduriz
Andoni Luis Aduriz is undoubtedly one of the most influential chefs of our time. Throughout his career, he has remained highly committed to culinary evolution, making him somewhat of a rebel in the kitchen. The launchpad for his famed restaurant in part seems to be the time he spent working under legendary chef Ferran Adrià, between 1993 and 1994, as it was not long after this that he decided to go off on his own adventure, opening Mugaritz in 1998. Named after a border oak tree that grows in the hills around San Sebastian - Mugaritz takes attention to detail to new heights. From the specially created barbecue smell that emanates from the restaurant, designed to remind approaching diners of their childhood, to the way the table is set or not - is done for a very specific reason - to transcend the dining experience to new and unexpected heights. Aduriz intends a meal at Mugaritz to shock and surprise as well as delight with ‘trompes l’oeils’culinary tricks of the eye. There is no menu in play during your experience at Mugaritz. What is delivered is a personalized array of signature dishes - some creations play with aroma, texture and flavour while others are designed to tell a story or evoke an emotion. Aduriz’s aim is clearly to seduce you with an experience that encompasses all five senses.
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PHOTO José Luis López de Zubiría/ Mugaritz
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CLARE SMYTH - RESTAURANT GORDON RAMSAY, LONDON
CLARE SMYTH
Gordon Ramsay’s protégé... the first and the only woman in the Britian to run a restaurant with three Michelin stars!
Poached Scottish lobster tail with lardo di colonnata, vegetables à la grecque and coral vinaigrette
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Clare Smyth’s credentials are exemplary and her steep rise to Chef Patron at the three Michelin starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is not surprising. Clare’s devotion to her craft and her uncompromising standards, meticulous work ethic are just two of the reasons why she remains the first and only female chef to run a restaurant with this accolade in the UK. Clare has stayed at the helm, safeguarding Restaurant Gordon Ramsay precious three Michelin stars and it is Clare who Gordon Ramsay needs to thank for helping him retain this status as an international culinary giant in the eyes of Michelin.
Born in Northern Ireland, Clare moved to England at 16 to learn the skills which would eventually make her a world class chef. On completing her studies Clare’s thirst for knowledge drove her to stage under many influential chefs around the world. In 2002 Clare joined Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and worked her way up the ranks to become Senior Sous Chef. Clare left London in 2005 to gain experience abroad and joined the kitchen at Alain Ducasse’s renowned Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo. Soon after returning to London and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in 2008 she was promoted to the position of Head Chef.
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VICKY LAU - TATE, HONG KONG
Vicky Lau VEUVE CLICQUOT ASIA’S BEST FEMALE CHEF 2015
Picnic under cherry blossom viewing
This edible story is inspired by the cherry blossom and hanami (flower vewing) season in spring. We seek the freedom to explore our world through our cooking, free from the mandatory rigour of these rules. Like a painting, food is a canvas for expression, triggering memories, emotions and our limitless imagination.”
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A true creative spirit, Vicky Lau, graduated from New York University in 2004 with a degree in Graphic Communications, six years later she pursued her passion for food. Enrolling at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in Bangkok. The experience gave her the opportunity to combine her artistic instincts, sense of style and appreciation for fine dining. As a designer, Vicky wanted to add another element or dimension to her design, and choosing food because it incorporates a lot of senses, from the visual to the smells, so she loved the idea of it being interactive - it’s combining graphic arts and culinary arts. With her Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu, Vicky began her career at Michelin-starred Cépage where she earned a reputation as one of Hong Kong’s most promising chefs.
This experience helped her develop her own style, learn an appreciation for seasonal ingredients and focus on details. In 2012 Vicky opened Tate Dining Room & Bar in Hong Kong’s SoHo district. Driven to inspire, the 26-seat restaurant serves an eclectic mix of French and Asian cuisines and has been awarded a Michelin star every year since opening. Vicky creates ‘Edible Stories’ with each dish conveying an overarching theme, abstract concept or memory. The presentation of the dish provides the narrative where each ingredient is its own character and the interplay between the nuanced flavours, aromas and textures reveal the plot. You consider all the elements, from the flavour profiles, to the contrasting textures. Cooking is a harmony of art, craft and science.
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MARTÍN BERASATEGUI - RESTAURANTE MARTÍN BERASATEGUI, BARCELONA
Ostra tibia ligeramente escabechada con granizado de pepino y K5, manzana picante
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Martin Berasategui
What does one need to have in order to become a kitchen legend? According to Martin Berasategui it’s called, “intensified passion”. “I have never lost the curiosity and passion for my job. I am always on a constant path of improvement and innovation. It has even intensified over time, I truly enjoy it. The kitchen has a magic like no other and is a huge motivation for me.” That’s intensified passion. It is also the key to winning a total of 7 Michelin stars, more than any other Spanish chef. In addition to his three at Restaurante Martín Berasategui, he holds two at Restaraunte Lasarte in Barcelona and another two at M.B. in Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands. His restaurant M.B. in the Ritz Carlton Abama resort in
Tenerife gained its first Michelin Star in the 2010 guide. In addition to his three Michelin starred restaurants, he owns a further six around the world including two in the Dominican Republic, one in Mexico and he recently opened a restaurant in Costa Rica. This passion developed in a man who began his dream of becoming a chef while growing up in a busy family restaurant business. His family owned the popular Bodegón Alejandro near the old part of the city of gastronomes, San Sebastian, Spain. The restaurant was also home as “it was where we lived our lives and it was the epicenter of everything. We only went to our house to sleep and freshen up.” Even though at the same time, he was being heavily persuaded by his aunt and mother to NOT become a chef because it was a very hard-hitting vocation. They wanted him to try other careers where he perhaps wouldn’t have to work so hard and thus, be much happier.
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CARME RUSCALLEDA - SANT PAU, SANT POL DEL MAR
Carme Ruscalleda World’s First Female Chef with Seven Michelin Stars
Gambes on Sailor’s Toast - tribute to the local sailors cuisine
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Chef Carme Ruscalleda was born into a farming family and delicatessen business in the Catalan region of Spain and began cooking there as a young girl, where she was able to master the art of farm-raised charcuterie. She and her husband, successful family grocery owner Tony Balam, manage the highly successful “San Pau” restaurants in the seaside town of Sant Pol del Mar, near Barcelona, Spain which opened in 1988. In 1991 it acquired its first Michelin Guide star and in 2006, obtained its third. She got two Michelin stars at their “Sant Pau” restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. She’s also the head chef at her well known, two-Michelin stared “Moments” restaurant in beautiful Barcelona located in the renowned Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where her son, Raúl Balam is maître d’. She often communicates her food with themed dishes by serving them as a leitmotif, explained in the menu, creating a literal concept with your meal
through a tasting menu, a cheese of the month, and a wine cellar. These three restaurants currently boast a total of seven Michelin stars for Madame Chef Carme Ruscalleda! With this achievement, the Catalan chef has surpassed her French female counterpart, the six-starred Anne Sophie Pic. In Spain, Ruscalleda now joins male chefs like the Basque Martín Berasategui, who also has seven stars among his various establishments. Her cuisine is strongly based on Catalan tradition, though she is open to world influences, and focuses on quality and seasonal products. Conventionally, Catalan cuisine relies heavily on ingredients widespread along the Mediterranean coast. Nature helps Carme to create new products, she likes to use any viable natural product in the surrounding environment, which is one of the reasons she enjoy discovering new cultures and using what is in their environment. It inspires her to create fresh dishes so that I am continuously applying imagination and research to my cuisine.
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ALEX ATALA - D.O.M., SÃO PAULO
ALEX ATALA
the world’s most influential chef
Veal thymus with mate tea béarnaise and ora-pro-nóbis
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Photo Rubens Kato
Firmly linked to his roots and looking towards the future, Alex Atala is, above all, passionate about Brazil, nature, gastronomy, and life. Driven by challenges and a great sense of indignation, Atala manages, with extreme delicacy and technique, to turn his creative energy into unforgettable experiences for those who have the opportunity to prove his experiments. His aim is to explore all the gastronomic possibilities of domestic ingredients, combining classical basis with current techniques. However, with boldness and vision, Atala surpasses the boundaries of cuisine and acts as a responsible citizen, valuing the small producer, encouraging young professionals, and supporting the third sector. Firmly linked to his roots and looking towards the future, Alex Atala is, above all, passionate about Brazil, nature, gastronomy, and life. Driven by challenges and a great
sense of indignation, Atala manages, with extreme delicacy and technique, to turn his creative energy into unforgettable experiences for those who have the opportunity to prove his experiments. His aim is to explore all the gastronomic possibilities of domestic ingredients, combining classical basis with current techniques. However, with boldness and vision, Atala surpasses the boundaries of cuisine and acts as a responsible citizen, valuing the small producer, encouraging young professionals, and supporting the third sector. Back to S達o Paulo in 1994, he soon drew attention for his performance while in charge of the restaurants Filomena and 72. In 1999, he began his career as chef-owner in the acclaimed Namesa. In the very same year he opened the D.O.M. Restaurant, as well as a new era for Brazilian cuisine, where the ingredients and food culture of his country are protagonists in an avant-garde, sophisticated, and always surprising cuisine.
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PÍA LEÓN AND VIRGILIO MARTINEZ - CENTRAL RESTAURANTE, LIMA
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Pía León and Virgilio Martinez are the masterminds behind the illustrious Lima’s Central Restaurante of having established a style of contemporary cuisine that focuses on the resources of Peru. Central celebrates the biodiversity of Peru, fresh produce and an inexhaustible curiosity to discover and integrate new ingredients into the Central’s menu. Virgilio chooses to approach the diversity of Peruvian ingredients in a manner similar to that used by the peoples of the Andes in pre-Hispanic times, through vertical ecological monitoring, understanding the geography, where the land is perceived not as a horizontal plane but rather vertically, so that it takes advantage of all that the flora and fauna are able to deliver according to the particularities of each ecological system. Motivated by an insatiable curiosity and interest in conveying the complexity of Peru, Virgilio
is passionate about traveling and investigating ingredients that can bring undocumented and yet even more wealth to the local cuisine, through a number of areas – the ocean, lower Andes, extreme altitudes, and high and low jungles. Pia pioneers the Peruvian cuisine movement, represents Mater Iniciativa (a group dedicated to learning, documenting and using well sourced and traditional Peruvian and Andean products in gastronomy) and the culinary team of Central, she leads the area of research and concept development in Lima, London, which was awarded its first Michelin Star in 2013 after being open for only one year; and Senzo -Cusco, Peru, where her intensive research unveils the source of unique Andean products. Central is ranked Number 4 of San Pellegrino’s 50 Best Restaurants in the World and Number 1 of the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants.
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NOBUYUKI MATSUHISA
Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, known to the world simply as ‘Nobu’, is the highly acclaimed and influential chef proprietor of Nobu and Matsuhisa restaurants located across five continents. With his multinational and ever expanding empire of restaurants, Nobu Matsuhisa has become one of the most talked-about international restaurateurs and arguably the world’s greatest sushi chef. Nobu’s culinary creations are based on the practice of simplicity, the art of using simple techniques to bring out the flavors in the best ingredients the world’s oceans have to offer and his innovative food that fuses South American cooking with his traditional Japanese techniques, a unique combinations of Japanese cuisine and imaginative Western, particularly South American, cooking.
Toro Rosa with Caviar Pinchos Style Born and raised in Saitama, Japan, Nobu served a rigorous apprenticeship at a respected sushi bar in Tokyo. It was not long before his dreams of seeing the world moved him to open a sushi bar in Peru. A classically trained sushi-chef, Nobu was challenged by the new culture and regional ingredients, which kindled his inventive style, known today as Nobu Style. After three years in Peru, Nobu moved to Argentina, then home to Japan, then on to Alaska, before finally settling in Los Angeles. Nobu opened his first restaurant in the United States, Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, California, in January 1987. Matsuhisa was an instant success and became a magnet for food lovers and celebrities alike. It was here that his longtime friendship and business relationship with actor and director Robert De Niro began. It was at De Niro’s urging that together they opened the very first Nobu in New York City in 1994 with restaurateur Drew Nieporent.
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LANSHU CHEN - LE MOÛT, TAIWAN
La nshu Ch e n Slow Cooked Beef Tongue “the happiness of sharing lightens the journey for perfection, the most pleasant companion ever”
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Born in a big family from Yilan, a small town in the northern Taiwan, Lanshu learned to cook from her grandmother and mother since very little. After 4 years in Foreign Literatures at the National Taiwan University, Lanshu decided to follow her craftsmanship passion in food and went to her dream city, Paris. It took her 4 years there to explore the world of gastronomy, Honing her craft in the Michelin-starred restaurants namely Les Ambassadeurs, Relaisd’Auteuil, The French Laundry and more under the guidance of world-class chefs Jean-François Piège, Patrick Pignol and Pierre Hermé, Chef Chen reaped tremendous recognition in the culinary world. In 2008, she opened her restaurant Le Moût in Taichung, Taiwan, where Lanshu creates
her “Haute Cuisine,” featuring the ultimate balance with her Taiwanese roots and the art of French cuisine. She plays with the local seasonal specialties and what is available amongst the best in the world at that particular time. The balance with layers of finesse versus the pitches of flavors unveils the essence of her philosophy, as well as the most poetic part of her creation. Never resting on her glories, Chef Chen opened restaurant Le Moût in Taiwan and was named Grand Chef of Relais & Châteaux in 2011. With a vision of serving the most refined French cuisine in Taiwan, Chen sums up her culinary philosophy in one simple statement, “The beauty of cooking is about finding the best match of flavors and textures”. In her lovingly presented degustation menu, every dish shines through individually while being a perfect complement to the next dish, making the whole dining experience harmonious and complete. Reflecting Chef Chen’s strong aesthetic sense and love for detail.
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PIERRE GAGNAIRE
Pierre Gagnaire LE GRAND DESSERT DE PIERRE GAGNAIRE
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Pierre Gagnaire is the wizard of innovative French gastronomy, and one of the most original and artistic chefs in the world today. Although his food is often described as “modern French”, Pierre Gagnaire’s style is deeply rooted in the French cooking tradition that results in dishes that are exquisitely presented whilst being both easy to understand and unpretentious. Pierre Gagnaire works with courage and flashes of intuition to produce complex dishes with seductive flavours that are truly worthy of his many Michelin stars. Gagnaire’s creations derive from inspiration and passion whilst at once evincing the chef’s highly refined skills. Each composition of seemingly incompatible ingredients achieves full harmony, often as a result of Gagnaire’s extensive gastronomic knowledge
and expertise in the particular chemical and molecular aspects of food. Pierre Gagnaire takes diners on a gustatory adventure during which daring combinations are transformed into something delectable and surprising. In Gagnaire’s cuisine, the traditional and the unconventional comfortably coexist and result in an unexpected medley of sensations, for instance, both delicacy and boldness in a single dish. To fully understand Gagnaire’s cuisine, one must have what the master chef calls “intelligence of the senses”, in addition to curiosity and freedom of spirit. Moreover, Gagnaire’s food is continually evolving, as are his passion and inspiration. Pierre Gagnaire asserts, “I want to put emotion and intelligence into every one of my dishes.”
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FRANCESCO APREDA - IMÀGO, ROME
Francesco Apreda
Pumpkin Caprese with almond sorbet, orange and cardamom compote My Naples is back again!. One of its traditional dessert, ‘chocolate caprese’ completely revisited. The pumpkin with the orange compote and cardamom. Even here, it is clear my desire to reinvent a dish of the Italian cuisine.
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Born in Naples, Francesco Apreda’s passion for cooking was evident when he was 14, at first with pastry making but soon after it lead him to make it his life. He earned his qualifications as a Chef from the I.P.S.S.A.R. school of Formia. With various summer work experiences in 4-star hotels in Italy, after completing his studies Francesco and went to Rome, where he started working as a Commis at the historic hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps - Hassler Roma and a year later became Chef de Partie. The desire to learn and to grow professionally soon lead Francesco Apreda to London - Europe’s gastronomic capital and its multitude of innovative restaurants and important Chefs. For the next five years, Francesco joined the Le Gavroche - 2 Michelin stars. Later he worked
under the guidance of Chef Michel Roux, at Ibla as Sous Chef and at Green Olive as Chef, both Italian restaurants recognized as “Bib Gourmants”. Imàgo is a full experience. The background music and the stunning view is complemented by the texture, aroma and, most of all, taste of Chef Francesco’s creative Italian cuisine. Francesco’s dishes are each carefully prepared and presented, and his menus vary according to the season to always offer his clients different yet refined tastes. The variety of what he presents is thought for each type of palate…an explosion of flavors that include the most refined combinations as well as traditional Italian cuisine, characterized by the ingredients and fragrances embedded within Italy’s rich history and culture.
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MARTIN BENN - SEPIA RESTAURANT, SYDNEY
The Pearl Martin Benn’s inspiration is based on Australian pearls that are hand dived for in Western Australia and, to utilise a native Australian ingredient (finger lime) in a completely unique way. The frozen powder inside is made from ginger and the dish is served as a palette cleanser at Sepia.
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Martin began his career as a chef at the Oak Room in London learning French gastronomy under Michel Lorrain, from there Martin Benn moved to work at The Landmark London and later The Criterion, where he came under the tutelage of Marco Pierre White. Moving to Australia in 1996, Martin spent two years at Sydney’s Forty One Restaurant as sous chef and later gained a place at Tetsuya’s, where he learnt the fundamentals of Japanese cuisine from Tetsuya Wakuda, mastering Tetsuya’s culinary philosophy, which centers on pure, clean flavours that are decisive, yet completely refined, and at the age of twenty five Martin become head chef.
Martin opened Sepia Restaurant in 2009, collaborating with George Costi to supply the restaurant with the best quality seafood available. Since opening, Sepia has gone on to become one of Australia’s most awarded restaurants and was recently named ‘One to Watch’ at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and was voted 84th best restaurant in the world. Martin Benn was named The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2011 Chef of the Year and the following year saw Sepia awarded the prestigious The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year 2012, and Three Chefs Hats, a meteoric rise in just over two years. Sepia has maintained the highest rating of Three Chefs Hats for four consecutive years and was awarded The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year 2014 and 2015. In 2015 was named Australian Financial Review’s Best Restaurant in Australia and Australian Gourmet Traveller Chef of The Year 2015 and The Weekend Australian Magazine’s Hottest Chef of the Year.
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MAKITO HIRATSUKA - LE MOÛT, TAIWAN
Nostalia Tiramisu, Grape, Balsamico Vinegar “Nostalia” is a mix word of nostalgia and Italia. Classic style Tiramisu served with warm Marsala sabayon and roast grape marinated with Balsamico vinegar give a sweet and sour sensation. Dessert is decorated with chocolate tree branch and maple flavor winter leaves made by caramelized edible paper and formed to dry leaves.
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“Be sensitive to season, create your own story behind the dessert, plus respect the regional food culture and flavours.” Makito Hiratsuka, Excuecutive Pastry Chef of Le Moût Restaurant in Taiwan. Born in 1978, Makito Hiratsuka began his professional career in Tokyo, Japan. In 2005, he left to study pastry in France and then later had the opportunity to venture to Spain. He trained under Paco Torreblanca, who is widely regarded as one of the most innovative pastry chefs in the world. In 2008, Makito decided to enter the world of molecular gastronomy where he spent a total of 4 years in the legendary El Bulli with Ferran Adrià
Makito Hiratsuka and with the Roca brothers at El Celler de Can Roca, a Michelin 3-star restaurant and the best restaurant in the world by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2013. After 7 years of relentless hard work in Europe, Makito had developed his unique style combining classic/modern with east and west culture. His origin of creativities are from Asian sensation, French tradition, and Spanish avant-garde emotion. Makito is not just a professional of plated desserts, he is also an expert in the art of chocolate and delicate sugar work. ‘Seasons of Arashyama’ is the classical desserts of Makito, a series of dessert that represent the change of season and beauty of nature and famous Japanese scene in Kyoto Arashiyama. Using Japanese ingredients and classic Taiwanese local food.
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LUKE DALE-ROBERTS - THE TEST KITCHEN, CAPE TOWN
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Carob Mousse, roast banana butter, Meringue, rum foam, coffee and Tanariva cremeux
Luke Dale-Roberts is a name synonymous with the finest, most creative and innovative food in South Africa. Luke’s The Test Kitchen, which opened in November 2010, has the celebrated chef cooking at his most creative in a distinctive contemporary space. Britishborn Luke trained in Switzerland and England before heading to Asia for a five year stint, launching several restaurants in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines. “My time in Europe taught me to cook; my time in Asia broadened my horizons”, says Luke. Since coming to Cape Town in 2006, Luke has consistently proven his world-class standing with a string of awards and accolades. A four year tenure as the executive chef of La
Colombe restaurant at the Constantia Uitsig wine estate culminated in winning the title of Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in Africa and Middle East 2010 and an amazing 12th place in the overall San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2010. He continues to garner awards at The Test Kitchen, winning the title Chef of the Year at the 2011 Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards. The Test Kitchen moved up from No.2 in 2011 to win the Restaurant of the Year in 2012 Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards. Most recently, at the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2013, The Test Kitchen made an impressive leap to No. 61 on the list, climbing up 13 places from no.74 in 2012. Though Luke is no stranger to the The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, having placed La Colombe in the Top 50 in both 2009 and 2010, the award is an enormous accolade for a young, independent restaurant. He opened his own restaurant because he craved complete freedom for his creativity and talent. He has succeeded in achieving fantastic recognition of that in under three years at The Test Kitchen.
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VLADIMIR MUKHIN - WHITE RABBIT, MOSCOW
Vladimir Mukhin reinterprets his innovative cuisine in a fairytale setting, a unique gastronomical performance “Alice in Wonderland”, every Thursday, the Champagne bar at White Rabbit transforms itself to a chapter of “Alice in Wonderland”. This fascinating story about a combination of food and cocktails charms and convinces that gastronomy is as much art as literature and painting. Mad Hatter is played by Vladimir Mukhin, March Hair played by the chief-bartender Oleg Reshetnyakov. After 150 years since the first edition of the legendary book written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym - Lewis Carroll, for the first time it was translated from English into the language of high gastronomy at White Rabbit. Fabulous rastibulki, magical dwarf water, Dodo bird egg, Cheshire cats’ smile and more has obtained not only the shape, but also the taste. A modern makeover to the Russian staple, fried carp, sour cream and turnip chips served with beans. Contemporary techniques, global influences with ingredients from around the world – Vladimir’s culinary philosophy of re-defines Russian cuisine. Named the “Highest New Entry” at the 2015 The World’s 50 Best Restaurants of the World, White Rabbit ranks 23rd, for the first time a Russian restaurant is highly acclaimed by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, leaders in the restaurant industry, gastronomic critics, chefs, restaurateurs and the most experienced foodies. Vladimir Mukhin was also the youngest chef among all the winners of 2015.
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