News Chefs get onboard with Aqua By April Hutchinson
One of the world’s foremost specialists in Thai cuisine is to host sailings with Aqua Expeditions in south-east Asia this year. A consulting chef with Aqua, David Thompson
(below left) has become known as the Australian king of Thai food, with restaurants such as Nahm in Bangkok and Long Chim restaurants in Perth and Singapore. He will be on Aqua Mekong April 22-29
sailing from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and May 13-20 from Phnom Penh in Cambodia, with guests able to book on for three, four, or seven-night sailings. Aqua’s other consulting chef Pedro Miguel
Schiaffino (below right) – whose Lima restaurant, Malabar, has been listed in the San Pellegrino World’s 100 Best Restaurants – will be onboard Aqua Amazon in Peru March 29- April 2, and November 26-December 3.
The chefs usually visit the vessels regularly to
train and supervise anyway, but on these cruises, guests will get their undivided attention as they share their knowledge about south-east Asian and Peruvian cuisine, take guests shopping on shore in small groups to local markets, offer hands-on masterclasses and host a Q&A session. Aqua Expeditions founder and chief executive
Francesco Galli Zugaro (below centre) said: “At the luxury level, the food and beverage offer is just as important as the destination and we have aligned with great people.” Galli Zugaro will also host two departures
himself –August 26-September 2 on Aqua Mekong and November 19-26 on Aqua Amazon – leading guests on excursions. He is also is hoping new “game-changing”
flights to Peru will help boost UK sales for its cruises on the Amazon. British Airways starts flying to Lima from Gatwick on May 4.
notes
Going wild in yala Resplendent Ceylon is to open its third project in Sri Lanka, Wild Coast Tented Lodge, a safari-style tented wildlife camp with 28 canvas and bamboo “suites” on a pristine beach in Yala national park (above),
resplendentceylon.com
Bloomsbury set Tara Bernerd & Partners has been appointed by Starwood Capital Group to start work on the new interior architecture and design of 370-room Hotel Russell in London’s Bloomsbury area,
tarabernerd.com
On the house Shakti Himalaya is to add its first four-bedroom house – The River House – on the Indus in time for the season in Ladakh in May, while new activities include visiting a monk’s home for lunch,
shaktihimalaya.com
Bob van den Oord, managing director, The Langham, London
A top-to-toe refurb that will assert this hotel’s position as one of London’s finest is almost
complete, reports April Hutchinson
Like a child with a new toy, Bob van den Oord bounds around The Langham proudly showing off all the elements he says make it an “icon in a city of icons”. “This hotel is such an important asset for the group,” he says. We’ve just finished breakfast in the Club
Lounge, a perfect place to demonstrate how the sophistication and quality of some of the newer elements of this hotel are a perfect addition to its storied past. It’s strange to think that the lounge we were sitting in was, until a year ago, office space rented to external tenants. But the hotel has now created one of the largest – and most attractive – business lounges of any London hotel if not further afield too. One of the many benefits is being able
to sample the best elements from across the hotel within its elegant confines – such as menus compiled by Chez Roux,
12
TTGLUXURY.COM SPRING 2016 IN THE KNOW
cocktails from Artesian, and Afternoon Tea from Palm Court. Those old offices are also now home to the
450sq m Sterling Suite (pictured below) too, which opened last year – the hotel’s 150th – and stops you in your tracks. Designed by Richmond International, the hotel suite has six bedrooms and costs £24,000 a night. And there is more of Richmond’s style to
come, in the next and final phase of the refurb, with 115 rooms set to reveal their new attire in June, constituting a third of the overall inventory and including 25 suites and several residences.
What April learnt
OPEN THE BOX: One of the most popular things about the hotel is the Chameleon Crystals cocktail served in Artesian; it comes filled with dry ice served in a box.
TIE THE KNOT: This is a wedding hotspot for those with the budget; the hotel organised its first wedding fair recently to showcase what’s available and is hoping to host 80 events a year.
SOMETHING TO CHERISH: Langham’s executive pastry chef Cherish Finden is a judge on BBC2’s new Bake-Off: Creme de la Creme.
Breakfast with...
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