The Barbican, Ladies Night, Long Island Iced Tea – Bangkok

February 5th, 2012

Valentine’s at Chesa Swiss Restaurant, Sukhumvit Soi 20 – Bangkok

February 4th, 2012

Escoffier Dinner, Chef Denis Lartigue, Fairmont Peace Hotel, Sat. 25 Feb. 19h30 – Shanghai

February 3rd, 2012

Paris Bangkok French Restaurant, Pressed Duck – Bangkok

February 1st, 2012

 

DUCK PRESSED A LA ROUANNAISE.
Pressed Duck a la Rouennaise is a lightly roasted duck which is pressed with a
special press. The extracted juice is cooked at the table with foie gras and
flambed with Armagnac.
Duck breasts are prepared by the Chef and mixed with the pressed duck sauce.

Open every day.
From 12h00 to 14h00
and 18h00 to 22h30(last order)
Parking and valet available

Italian Wine Tasting, The Barbican, 6 Feb 2012 – Bangkok

February 1st, 2012

Now Open, Sukhumvit 47, Wine Connection, Tapas Bar & Bistro, Wine Store – Bangkok

January 28th, 2012

Wine Tasting 26 Jan 2012: Château Meyre, Optima de Château Meyre & L’Enclos Gallen, Distributed by Siam Winery at the St. Regis Hotel – Bangkok

January 27th, 2012

Pictured above: The son of, Khun Pracha Hetrakul, the owner of Château Meyre distributed by Siam Winery in Thailand

St. Regis Hotel Bangkok

159 Rajadamri Road
Bangkok,10330
Thailand

Wines Tasted at this event:

Château Meyre Haut Medoc: Classic Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot Year: 2003

Optima A.O.C. Haut Medoc: 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 15%Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot. Average age of vines 25 years, Production: 10,000 bottles, Year:2002

L’Enclos Gallen A.O.C. Margaux: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Average age of vines: 25 years, Production: 80,000 Year: 2004

Clearly the bottle of Optima 2002 tasted last evening was drinking better than the other two selections tasted approximately at the same time; possibly due to the year or bottle variation.

The new St. Regis Hotel in Bangkok could not be more different than the original hotel, located at 55th and 5th Ave in New York City, although it is located in the prime area of Radjadamnri Road across the street from the Royal Sports Club race track and is designed in Thai-style. The objective of His Majesty and the Club was to introduce and promote the quality of horse-racing and breeding in Thailand, while providing sports facilities of international standards for Thais and expatriates. Occupying a prime spot on Henri Dunant Road the prestigious and private Royal Bangkok Sports Club holds horse-racing events that are open to the public every other Sunday.

Water Grill Reopens With New Look Downtown – Los Angeles

January 26th, 2012

Water Grill
544 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90071
213-891-0900
http://www.watergrill.com/

The new Water Grill opens with an entirely new decor and layout: with polished oak floors, a marble-countered oyster & seafood bar, two new lobster tanks, a wide-open bar area, and the entire space has been notched-up to a ultra modern feel with a sleeker look however, the convenient address and menu favorites that you enjoyed in the past, have not changed.

The Barbican Beach Party, Fri 27 Jan 2012, Soi Thaniya Silom – Bangkok

January 25th, 2012

Laura Chenel Founder of Laura Chenel’s Chèvre – Sonoma, California

January 24th, 2012
image credit: Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

I met Laura Chenel at a food exposition in Texas, where we both were in a booth displaying our products from California in the early 1980’s, when I was President of Cruvinet.  She is the founder of Laura Chenel’s Chèvre in Sonoma, California who established goat cheese in America. I was familiar with her cheese and found it on par or better than many French equivalents.

In 2006, she sold her business to a family-owned French firm, The Rians Group that makes AOC name-controlled (appellation d’origine controlee), French cheeses. They sent two young French women to Sonoma to run the company: Marie Lesoudier as general manager and Isabelle Dion as cheesemaker.

The completion of an all-new and larger creamery has given the Sonoma facility maturing rooms that will allow cheesemaker, Dion to produce more aged goat cheeses, a category of cheese that has not been made in quantity at Laura Chenel until now.

Alhough Laura Chenel sold her goat cheese company, she is keeping the 500 goats at her farm and is selling the milk to her former company.

Letting go physically and psychologically of a company you have owned and founded is never easy, but this sale seems to be a perfect match as both seller and buyer vow not to change the cheese. Outwardly, it seems everything is intact six years on, if the quality of the cheese is any gauge.