Massimo Bottura & Michael Cimarusti Team-Up in L.A.

Fine-dinning has been reborn in L.A. with the coming of two culinary artists and masters of the kitchen who have teamed-up to prepare a one of a kind dinner on May 4th, 2017.  With these two, A master Italian chef that has refashioned Modenese style cooking and a dexterous American expert on all things seafood, the menu will be presenting the most creative and delectable dishes to be coordinated by two masterful michelin stared chefs within the Los Angeles area.

This one, and only one, night event will be featuring both Massimo Bottura of the world renowned Osteria Francescana and Michael Cimarusti of the esteemed Hollywood restaurant, Providence.  During this event, the two master chefs will be demonstrating their vast individual culinary capabilities along with their sui generis approaches on gastronomy in a second to none nine-course meal.

Massimo Bottura

Michael Cimarusti

The event is going to be limited to only 50 guests, and will be showcasing Cimarusti’s significant seafood masterpieces, which concentrate on key sustainability, while Bottura offers a display of adroit fortes in a simply brilliant and creative form of cooking.  Bottura, whose Modena, Italy, restaurant currently ranks second on the World’s Best list, will be offering “the crunchy part of the lasagna,” which is a dismantle of the time-honored Italian staple.  Another dish, “Autumn in New York in the springtime,” which is a vegetarian tribute to two New York City icons; Union Square Greenmarket and American jazz musician Billie Holiday.  And the “Oops! I dropped the lemon tart” dessert, which holds a chaotic composition that enlightens the sheer artistry of imperfection, which consists of lemon zabaglione, verbena sorbet, broken pie crust, candied bergamot, oregano, capers, and hot pepper oil.

This peerless dinning experience will, in addition to the nine-courses, have amuse-bouches that were personally made by the chefs, along with wine pairings from start to finish.  With an exclusive 50 guest limit, pricing for the remaining seats are open on request.

For more information visit:  ProvidenceLA.com

Montecristo’s 80th Year Commemoration in Napa Valley

The weekend gala for luxury aficionados to come together and revel in gourmet cooking, luxurious Cuban cigars, and vintage California wines for three unforgettable days is scheduled from May 4th to the 6th of 2017, and hosted by Charlie Palmer at Harvest Inn in Napa Valley.

This second annual event pays homage to the 80th anniversary of Montecristo, which to this day accounts for roughly one-quarter of Habanos SA’s worldwide cigar sales, designating it the most popular and best-selling cigar maker in the world.  Those that will be present during all or only part of the celebratory weekend will be able to indulge in some of Napa Valley’s finest wines and be given the opportunity to partake in specifically selected Montecristos with Cuban cigar specialist, collector, and proprietor of London’s renowned Casa del Habano “Ajay Patel”.

On the first day, the celebration begins with a barbecue reception provided by Harvest Table executive chef Spencer Wolff and will also present complimentary One Main hand-rolled cigars.  The next night commemorates the 80th anniversary of Montecristo with a multi-course dinner by Wolff and cigar & wine parings with Ajay Patel, as you look out over the Mayacamas Mountains and the hundreds of acres of vineyards.  The last day features an exclusive tasting at Gargiulo Vineyards followed by an array of cigars and a special winery tour, after which, a private reception and dinner take-place at Oakville’s famed B Cellars cave and includes a world-class menu, incredible wine, and aromatic cigars.

Tickets for this grand gala can be procured for specific events ranging from $70 to $350 per person.  As for the two- and three-night resort packages, they can range from $2,585 to $3,414 and include first-rate accommodations at Harvest Inn.  In addition, dinners and tastings for two are available as well.  The event will take a share of the proceeds to be donated to local charitable directed organizations, which will include the Boys & Girls Club of St. Helena.

Surgeon General Warning: Cigar Smoking Can Cause Cancers of the Mouth And Throat, Even If You Do Not Inhale.

Top Luxury Easter Eggs of 2017

Easter time is probably the best time of the year. What other time you can completely, with no regret let yourself fully enjoy its best gifts: chocolate eggs. No matter what age, every person in the world can’t resist their look and their fabulous taste. With that being said, we have found the top 5 of the best chocolate eggs and other Easter chocolate treats this year.

 Source

1. Hotel Café Royal chocolate egg

If over the last few days you walked through Regent Street, you were definitely drawn in by this Hotel’s grand Easter display, which was accented with an impressive 75 kg, 1 meter high Easter egg with an edible golden leaf attached to it. These take three days to mold and decorate, so only two of them are made – one is for display and the other one is for sale (at]. 600£). But if you don’t need a one meter egg inside your home, but want a standard egg – sized replica, made out of creamy Valrhona milk chocolate with salted caramel truffles inside. You can get it for £45.

Source

2. The Classic Ostrich Egg from Hotel Chocolat

England’s biggest fine chocolate supplier took it to a whole new level this year. They measured an actual ostrich egg – which is the largest living bird egg in the world, and created their mammoth Easter offering. This luxurious egg is made out of milk chocolate with crunchy cookies and puffed rice, and crispy feuilletine. You can also find a dark version, which is made out of dark chocolate with almonds, hazelnuts and a sprinkle of salt.

These giant eggs come with an additional 27 delicious chocolates and six hidden golden eggs that are hidden somewhere in the box. Basically, there is more than a kilo of chocolate in that box.

Source

3. Prestat Milk Chocolate Hot Cross Bun Spiced Easter egg

As we all know, Prestat is the chocolatier to no one else but Her Majesty The Queen herself, and one of the oldest chocolate shops in London. And this year they added a cross bun inspired egg to their repertoire. It may not have the most luxurious appearance, since it comes wrapped in a ribbon and packed inside a minimalistic box, but its taste redeems for it completely. The lightly spiced milk chocolate egg is full of mini golden foiled eggs with different and fabulous taste, and hints of orange clove.

Source

4. Paul A Young Machu Picchu egg

The groundbreaking chocolatier from the British chocolate scene has once again wowed us with his amazing craft. His Easter egg is made out of Peruvian chocolate and imprinted with Mayan script. He added a finishing touch to it with 22-carat golden leafs. This fabulous creation comes with a box of nine caramel ganache truffles.

5. Chocolab’s Easter treats

When it comes to chocolate, Chocolab never failed to amaze us. This Australian company’s motto is to always provide their clients with the best, so this Easter they also had to get their place on this list. The variety and appearance of their Easter chocolate eggs and treats is beyond this world. Make sure you check out their collection of egg slabs, Easter slabs, and many more. Plus, if you are feeling a little artistic, or just want to wake up your inner Willy Wonka, they also have an option where you can create your own chocolate treats. Who knows, maybe next year your creation will end up on an article like this (wink).

That would be it. The five magnificent. Feeling a little hungry now? We do too.

How to Pick Out the Restaurants on Your Travels

People travel for various reasons: business, romance, friendship, and adventure. It doesn’t matter which of these reasons leads you to make your way across the world, they will almost invariably include food.  It can just be fuel that keeps you going, or an adventure on its own. Just as the famous travel writer Deborah Cater said: “You have to taste a culture to understand it”. However, finding a good dining place despite the language barrier, cultural quirks and poor spatial orientation in an unknown city, is much more difficult than it sounds. Here are some tips that will help you to successfully navigate through local restaurants wherever you are.

Check the “Best Of” Guides

Of course, you shouldn’t trust what you read in these guides blindly, but they can serve as a great starting point for your further quests. Most big cities and popular tourist destinations have some sort of dedicated magazine or annual “best off” issues where they choose things to do and see, best restaurants included. The downside of these guides is that the Chamber of Commerce often gives preference to some restaurants.

Follow Local Bloggers

Local food bloggers might be a bit more honest than the people choosing restaurants for “the best off” guides. Start your treasure hunt for food blogs before you even set foot on foreign soil. Also, check if there are any world famous chefs or bloggers (e.g. Anthony Bourdain) who were visiting the same destination and the restaurants they visited.

Talk to Locals

Face to face conversations with the people that are actually living in the place you are visiting is the best way to find out where the best food is made. Asking the concierge in your hotel should only be your first step. Try with employees at popular tourist spots and people you meet on the street or at a bar. It may sound crazy to you now, but you will be able to easily tell when someone has similar taste for food as you on the first glance.

Check All Aspects of the Restaurants

When asking for recommendations, you should ask for more info than “is the food great”. Check for the available cuisines, food procurement policies, ambiance and the staff’s approach to guests (knowledge of English is desirable). If people you’re chatting with can give you even more info, such as the chef’s name, cooking style and whether they have efficient kitchen staff management which can be crucial in things like meals’ quality and the time of waiting per dish.

Avoid Big Tourist Attractions

Restaurants around the biggest tourist attractions gain most of the attention because of their location not the quality of the food. Unfortunately, tourists would buy anything that doesn’t include risk of getting lost in a foreign neighborhood, but sometimes getting lost is worthwhile. Almost every city has a neighborhood that is famous for a certain type of restaurants (in Paris that would be 8^th arrondissement for high-end restaurants, 10^th for having something for everyone and 11^th for new food scene), so prepare your feet for walking.

Use Smartphone Apps

Travel apps such as TripAdvisor, Foursquare and Yelp can help you find restaurants and read useful info about them, as well as the impressions of other visitors. The real value of these apps lies in the specific information you can find: when is the best time to get the table? Do they take reservations? What’s the most delicious and the most popular meal? Another app that you might want to have on your phone is Travelzoo for drink and food deals on the go.

When traveling abroad, you don’t want to be the typical tourist who goes to the nearest McDonald’s and eats on the go. Take your time to savor the local flavors and eat in the most prestigious restaurants you can find. Memorable meals are essential ingredients for a memorable travel.

Dalmore’s New Celebratory Bottle of Spirit

Dalmore has been known far and wide as makers of the rarest & finest whiskies throughout the world, so it’s not that easy to top what has already been perfected.  But with Dalmore’s master distiller, the renowned Richard Paterson, you can count on whiskey that will be beyond phenomenal and that will surpass previous spirits as it slowly ages deep within their warehouse until it becomes simply extraordinary.  To celebrate Paterson’s 50th year in the industry this season, Paterson himself wanted to add a little flair to the occasion by giving whiskey connoisseurs a grand anniversary present.  The Dalmore 35 is certainly worthy of celebration along Paterson, as it is a single malt that has been aged in three different kinds of casks.  Ex-bourbon barrels, vintage 1970 Colheita port pipes, and 30 year old Matusalem (sweetened Oloroso) sherry casks.  The bourbon, sherry, and port gives a strong impact along with the imparting flavors of tropical fruit, baking spices, and coffee.  The blend is perfect, with the sherry’s raisin notes and the port’s luscious, dark fruit flavors, the balance of the whiskey turns out sublimely without letting anything overwhelm or overrun the other ingredients.

Immersed in an opulent wooden case that holds a hand blown Baccarat crystal decanter with Dalmore’s 12-point stag insignia adorned in sterling silver.  Bottled at 80 proof (40 percent alcohol volume), only 1,000 bottles of Dalmore 35 will be available around the world per year for five years, estimated at a retail price of $5,500.  This bottle may be thought of as a capstone to Richard Paterson’s semi-centennial experience in whiskey, but don’t get the wrong idea, Peterson doesn’t look like he’s slowing down or taking it easy anytime soon.  For the years to come, we’ll be looking forward to see what kind of new, sensational bottles of spirit that Paterson will come up with next time to commemorate future anniversaries.

For more information visit:  TheDalmore.com

First Baccarat Pop-Up Boutique To Debut in the U.S.

A new Baccarat pop-up boutique has just opened in New York City on the 1st of November, and to no ones surprise, it has already become an extremely trendy place to shop in the West Village.  Being the first Baccarat boutique to make its debut in all of the United States, the 480-square foot transitory atelier is situated at 371 Bleecker Street and presents the brand’s one-of-a-kind, beautifully designed “Gifts in a Red Box” approach (curated glasswork nestled inside florescent ruby tinted packaging).

Amidst all the luminous objet d’art (a small decorative or artistic object) available there are stemware, barware, lighting as well as home decor fixtures.  Furthermore, there’s also stylish accents that include a new capsule collection by famed jewelry designer Marie Hélène de Taillac.  The short-lived retail haven will be open between 11 am through 7 pm from Monday to Saturday, and 12 pm through 5 pm on Sunday.  Even though the company has been doing business for around 252 years, the pop-up boutique will close up on December 31st.  Don’t miss this limited time event, with Christmas on the way this may be the perfect gift to display some Christmastime colors and fun for the holiday season.

Beverly Hills Most Luxurious Wine Bar

Making it’s debut on September 26th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, the Vinoteca wine bar and espresso café has been called the hottest new wine bar in all of Beverly Hills.  The area neighbors their property’s Culina restaurant which was designed to be a 24/7 hotspot.  The bar was made to follow a modern day-to-night approach, whilst Vinoteca revolutionizes from a fine wine and cocktail directed lounge in the latter part of the day to a serene and relaxing espresso bar at the break of dawn.

Opening every day at 6:30 am, Vinoteca serves freshly squeezed juices, acai bowls, espresso, and delectable Italian pastries.  Feel like savoring a cappuccino at the bar’s “power patio” go for it, as the power patio was conceived as a casual meeting spot for all guests.  And what makes this spot the ideal seating arrangement, is that the patio provides guests with outlets, USB plugins, and on the house Wi-Fi connectivity.

As previously stated, Vinoteca transforms into a fine wine & cocktail bar in the evening, at this time wine director Luca Bruno (formerly of French Laundry) has hand-picked a selection of classic fine wines from Italy along with its California lineage.  Paired with the wine selection is a carte du jour of auspicious small plates created by chef Denis Dello Stritto, whom conjures classic Italian street cuisine.  Notable dishes include the Western Sicilian specialty l’arancino (Sicilian salmon enveloped in a squid-ink bread-crumb crust) as well as Neapolitan-style montanara pizzas, that have been fried and finished with lobster, burrata, eggplant, or sweet ricotta.  In addition, the bar serves delicious Italian-inspired aperitivo cocktails like the absinthe-based Il Carosello and Aperol Spritz.

For more information visit CulinaRestaurant.com

The Hottest Home Delivered Vegan Meals

Incredibly talented chef Nina Curtis and her culinary team at The Ranch at Live Oak Malibu located in Malibu, California, have created a new delivery service that drops off organic vegan meals straight to your door step.  The meals are delivered in a large refrigerated tote bag with The Ranch Daily logo on it.  Inside the bag you will discover a variety of individually packed vegan meals with easy to heat up instructions and an abundance of healthy snacks to go perfectly with the chef-made dishes.  The delivered meals are made with plant based ingredients, and are free of meat/poultry, dairy, soy, gluten, and GMO.

The organic vegan meals are delivered after dark to the patrons home, so that they can start their day happy and fully energized with heavenly, nutritious dishes.  Available in big Southern Californian cities like Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego makes this food service majorly popular.  As the easy to prepare dishes includes, but are not limited to coconut mango yogurt parfaits, spinach & cheese quiche, grilled portobello mushrooms with cauliflower mash and Swiss chard, oyster mushroom lettuce cups, and black bean & rice burrito bowls.  Then there are the snacks which include, zucchini chips, kiwi chews, and granola spotted with cashews & dates that lends some very needed energy throughout your day.

Patrons have the choice between a two and three meal plan for three, five, or 20-day accretions.  There is even a favorable auto-renew choice that lets customers easily personalize their packed meal if they are away from home or if they wish for less meals in a certain week.  Meal plans start at $79 per day, creating a healthier more active lifestyle for the mind and the body.

For more information visit:  TheRanchDaily.com

Hennessy’s Most Enthralling Bottle Of Cognac

Created in tribute to eight generations of Master Blenders, where the current Master Blender Yann Fillioux will turn over the mastery to his nephew Renaud Fillioux de Gironde.  This blend is a one time limited edition cognac “Hennessy 8” crafted by both masters, which symbolizes the transmission of a one of a kind cognac from one generation to the next.

The Hennessy eight is emblematic of multiple blends.  It is by far the prefection symbol generation of the eight exceptional eaux-de-vie in the assemblage.  Seven were hand selected by Yann Fillioux to narrate each generation of master blender, and the eighth was chosen by his nephew to create this unparalleled cognac.

This cognac is the epitome of simplicity and absolute perfection, that is the Fillioux Family dream.  The Hennessy 8 carafe and the chest that cradles it are equally exceptional, the work of artist Arik Levy.  The 250 carafes-each individually numbered and signed by the artists are crafted in hand blown baccarat crystal and sealed by hand.  Eight insert rings constitute an ode to the eight Master Blenders, and the 8 eaux-de-vie in the blend.

For more information visit:  www.lvmh.com

A New Turkish Luxury Hotel Opens On The Aegean

The Il Riccio Beach House & Restaurant is a simply breathtaking seaside hotel and restaurant in Bodrum, Turkey, that just opened their doors in June.  The hotel was inspired and influenced by the beautiful cerulean waters of the Aegean Sea, which doubles as a wonderful view from the luxurious seaside hotel.  The white color within the hotel is accentuated with blue wooden tables, hand painted majolica tiles, and well rounded interior design aspects that perfectly embody the essence of the Aegean Sea.

Il Riccio Beach House offers 10 rooms and suites, featuring handmade Italian ceramic floors, far-reaching patios, and twice a day housekeeping service.  In addition the hotel offers incredible outdoor terraces that are nearly embracing the coastline that is Il Riccio’s fine dining establishment, which presents a Michelin-starred menu of Italian and seafood dishes.  The restaurant also features three excitingly up beat bars offering you high-spirits, plus all the snacks and drinks you desire.  If you enjoy relaxing, the hotel also includes a sauna, a gym, and two Turkish baths.

For more information visit:  ilricciobodrum.com