Month: April 2018

ML: As co-owner of INLINE Technologies Group, one of Russia’s largest IT companies, you were contacted by a friend about the idea for the world’s first sustainable caviar. What made you decide to switch from IT in Russia to producing caviar in Switzerland?

KS: I like challenges and new projects and I enjoy doing business in different countries. Yet for some reason, until Kasperskian, all my involvement has been within the IT industry, probably because I was comfortable in a field where I had 27 years of experience.

When my Swiss friend, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, called me six years ago with a proposal, my first reaction was: “Why are you calling me about caviar?”

He replied that I am Russian and caviar should be in my heart. On top of that he offered to participate in a unique project which had not yet been done anywhere in the world – the production of the first truly sustainable, cruelty-free, fresh caviar – and without have to kill any fish. It was a new endeavour, and I accepted it.

Moreover my partner Peter is the former chairman and CEO of the Nestlé Group – and former chairman of Formula One – and an environmental enthusiast who knows probably better than anybody else in the world how to produce and market high-end organic food. So it would have been silly on my part to walk away from such an opportunity.

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ML: How is sustainable caviar and its taste different from regular caviar?
KS: The taste is a little bit different because if you kill fish you extract eggs two weeks before natural spawning. In our case, we do it at the time of natural spawning and so over these two weeks the eggs become bigger, the skin thinner and the texture more creamy.

In general the size of our sturgeon caviar is almost the same size as beluga caviar but the taste is much more gentle. That is why, for example, we add just a hint of salt to our caviar – to emphasise the caviar’s unique taste, not that of the taste. Caviar connoisseurs truly love it.

ML: Traditionally, there have been 4 types of processing methods for caviar – Malossol, Salted Caviar, Pressed Caviar and Pasteurized Caviar. How does Kasperskian caviar differ?
KS: This is a bit of a mix up of different types of caviar classification. Essentially, caviar can be pressed or granule. Pressed caviar was popular a couple hundreds of years ago when cooling systems had not yet been invented and logistics were not developed. The production was tsimply: fresh caviar was pressed and squeezed out and then mixed with a lot of salt and pressed again. As a result you had very salty cubes of pressed caviar, which could be kept without refrigeration for years. Now it is less than 2% of caviar production and it’s very hard to find.

Granular is the caviar that we usually see in the shop windows. All other caviar classification is tied into granular.

Malossol and Salted is the same granular caviar but Malossol has less salt content than Salted: 5% compared to 8 percent.

Then caviar can be fresh or pasteurized. Pasteurized caviar is usually quite cheap caviar with a shelf life of up to two years. Actually it’s boiled caviar, not live.

Fresh caviar has the most flavour and is most expensive in production, has a shorter shelf live and its real taste is not obscured by a lot of salt. And this is exactly what we produce.

ML: The International Union for Conservation of Nature placed 18 species of sturgeon on its Red List of Threatened Species, making the sturgeon “the most endangered group of species on Earth”. Tell us about Kasperskian’s sturgeons and their dwelling in Leuk, Switzerland.
KS: We have two types of sturgeon: Siberian Oscietra and Russian Oscietra. On average, they live 20 years. It’s possible to get the first caviar from 5- to 6-year-old Siberian Oscietra and from Russian Oscietra when it is 6 to 7 years old.

We believe that we treat them in the best possible way, which reflects in different certificates from the Swiss Veterinary Services (probably the strictest regulations for endangered species in the world), as well as from WWF.

The fish live in different pools. Baby fish pools, what we call the kindergarten area, for young fish up to 2 years old, and then major pools for mature fish.

Also, we have dedicated “spa pools” with special jet currents and bubbles where female fish can recover after caviar milking. When my wife saw this facility, she told me that the fish get better care than she did after giving birth to our children!

ML: Is it true that caviar sells for $35,000 a kilo? How does your caviar compare in price?
KS: Yes some types of albino caviar from beluga may cost $35,000 a kilo but it’s a quite rare caviar even though the flavour is almost the same as regular caviar. Therefore it’s for people who are prepared to pay for something one-of-a-kind and not for taste.

Our caviar is much more affordable and cost about $3,000 per kilo retail.

ML: Who are the biggest consumers of caviar?
KS: The biggest consumers of caviar are probably Russians and Russia is probably the largest producer of caviar, although they consume almost everything they produces making it a very closed market.

Unfortunately the quality of Russian caviar nowadays has dropped as consumers tend to buy a cheaper product. Today, when sales of caviar from wild fish is prohibited and 97% of caviar on the market is from farmed fish the traditional idea that the best caviar in the world is from Russia or Iran is totally wrong.

I believe that the best caviar is produced in countries with the strictest regulations for animal care. For example, our philosophy is “happier fish – better caviar”.

And this in not only our position: Regulatory and veterinary authorities control each step of our production: how we treat the fish, how they live, how we milk them during caviar extraction, how we feed them, etc. It would be impossible to imagine this type of regulation in, say, China. And, of course, many producers who do not have such standards, tend to cut costs by making compromises on the food they feed to the fish, the fish density in pools or lakes, and the general treatment of fish.

ML: Where can people buy Kasperskian caviar?
KS: Nearly everywhere in Switzerland, including Globus and Migros food retailers and several renowned hotels – including among others the Mandarin Oriental, Ritz, Badrutt’s Palace, Fairmont Le Montreux Palace. We can also be found in Michelin-star restaurants in Paris, Zurich, Geneva and Munich.

In London, we work with private clubs like RAC, 67 Pall Mall and Café Royal.

In Monaco we are looking for a partner who would be able to import our products into the country and help us in developing our sales here.

ML: What is the biggest mistake people make when buying or eating caviar?
KS: I have four suggestions. One: Before you open a tin carefully look at the label and check to see if there are any additives or preservatives in the caviar. If you find such additives as borax, E-285 or E-286 do not buy this caviar. Borax is dangerous and banned in food in the US and Japan. Some producers add it to increase the caviar’s shelf life and decrease its costs accordingly. To be safe, buy only caviar that consists of fish roe and salt.

Two: When you open the tin make a visual check. Mixed colour is usually better then monocolour and fish are not machines so the eggs should be a little different. Then the eggs should have round form and are not squashed. If you see notice some eggs look like blown little balls there is high probability that the caviar is not fresh and was frozen before. There should be no slime between eggs or on the tin’s lid – this is characteristic of poor quality caviar.

Three: Check if the caviar smells, especially fishy smell or seaweed odour. Good caviar should not have any smell.

Four: Try it. The caviar should taste like caviar, not like fish or seaweed, or too salty. Some producers cover up the lack of quality with salt.

ML: What is you favourite way to eat caviar?
KS: If, like Kasperskian, the caviar is good, you can enjoy eating it on its own, with maybe a couple of small neutral-flavour crackers, toast with unsalted butter or boiled quail eggs.

However, our Instagram page has many mouth-watering, adventurous ideas on how to serve it.

Personally, I prefer to accompany Kasperskian caviar with either Champagne or a white wine like Meursault or Montrachet.

For more see www.kasperskian.com. All photos Instagram @kasperskian_cavia. Article first published March 20, 2018.

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When American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956, her ascent to nobility as Princess Consort Grace of Monaco was captured in an official oil portrait by the artist Mohamed Drisi. More recently, the same artist painted the Duchess of Cambridge. In both portraits, various signifiers, such as the colour blue and its symbolic link to the royal household, situate the portrait within a specific time period and set of cultural values that the portrait exists within and responds to.

Portraiture still is today a vehicle for communicating both individual and collective identities. This spring, a range of noteworthy exhibitions is emerging across Europe. From London to Basel, these exhibits take bold directions with the genre of portraiture, applying new methods and attributing new meanings to this timeless art form:

Tacita Dean OBE presents a highly anticipated collaborative exhibition – Landscape, Portrait, Still Life – held across three of London’s most distinctive cultural landmarks: The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts.

Tacita Dean OBE is widely recognised for her contributions to the Young British Artists movement. She was a nominee for the Turner Prize in 1998, and elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 2008. This unprecedented collaboration between three major cultural institutes will mark the opening of the New RA, and is The National Portrait Gallery’s first ever exhibition ever focused purely on film. Through the medium of 16mm film, Tacita Dean will exhibit moving, living portraits of cultural legends, including Merce Cunningham, Cy Twombly and David Hockney.

Tacita Dean: Portrait will be at the NPG March 15-May 28; Still Life at the National Gallery March 15-May 28; and Landscape at the RA May 19-August 12.

Renowned British artist and architect Mark Dziewulski will display a genre-defying new series of portraits at Gallery Different, London, that first launched at the Venice Biennale 2017 and The New York Times Building in Manhattan.

Mark Dziewulski has received numerous honours for his architecture, public art and sculptural practice, from a Gold Cross Order of Merit from the Polish Government to a Letter of Approval from Buckingham Palace. This spring, the artist will bring a provocative new series of paintings and sculptures to his hometown that question how we really see each other and reveal a fascination with movement and time at the heart of his conceptual practice.

Mark Dziewulski: Layers of Self will be at Gallery Different (14 Percy Street) April 26-May 1.

Fondation Beyeler, Basel, celebrates the 80th birthday of Georg Baselitz with a retrospective that assembles over 90 artworks, painting a portrait of German national identity in the wake of the Second World War.

Throughout his lifetime, Baselitz presented himself as a romantic outsider, depicting people who have traditionally been seen as outcasts in society. Although he is known for reviving the German Expressionism that had been denounced by the Nazis, and for returning the human subject to a central position in painting, his stylistic manner suggests a deep unease about the possibility of celebrating humanity in the wake of the Holocaust and WWII.

These stirring images, on view through the end of April, will be subsequently shown in a modified form at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC. Running in parallel with the presentation at the Fondation Beyeler is an exhibit of Baselitz’s works on paper at the Kuntsmuseum Basel.

Georg Baselitz at Fondation Beyeler, Basel, from January 29-April 29.

Gagosian Gallery opens the first solo exhibition in Paris of Iranian artist, Y. Z. Kami, revealing large-scale portraits that recreate the visceral experience of a face-to-face encounter.

Y.Z. Kami draws parallels between the questions of portraiture and the patterns or processes of geometry, considering various ways to seek and represent the truth. The artist, whose works belong to prominent collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, probes the art historical quest to locate the unknown within material form.

Y.Z. Kami: Geometry of Light at Gagosian Paris (4 rue de Ponthieu) from March 16-May 5.

The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, announces “A Century of Women in Chinese Art”, featuring a diverse selection of women in Chinese art over the past 100 years.

This exhibition reflects a variety of styles and purposes for portraiture in Chinese art, from traditional literature to folk religion. For lovers of Chinese art or portraiture, this exhibition is not to be missed.

A Century of Women in Chinese Art at The Ashmolean Museum from May 1-October 7.

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The Monegasque Cooperation held a major workshop in Niamey, Niger, from April 3 to 6, bringing together five patient associations, members of the Sickle Cell Disease West Africa-Madagascar network.

Participants were able to share their experiences and receive training on strategies and techniques to obtain further funding. Discussions also focused on the support of the associations for the dissemination of informative materials targeting the harmonised management of sickle cell disease, funded by Monaco, which will be launched on June 19 during the World Day dedicated to the disease.

On the sidelines, the associations visited the National Centre for the Control of Sickle Cell Disease, supported by the Prince’s Government, which monitors nearly 6,000 patients with the disease, 40 percent of whom are children.

Finally, the associations, accompanied by Mrs. Anne Poyard-Vatrican, deputy director of the International Cooperation department, were received at the National Assembly of Niger by the deputies of the Social Commission. The delegation was also welcomed, in a private audience, by the Minister of Public Health, Dr Idi Illiassou Mainassara.

The network “Sickle Cell Disease West Africa-Madagascar”, created in 2013 by the Monegasque Cooperation, brings together doctors and representatives of patient associations from six countries – Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Madagascar. It aims to better manage the disease and make it known to a wider audience.

Sickle cell disease, a hereditary disease of hemoglobin, is the biggest genetic disease in the world: 50 million people carry the sickle cell trait, according to the World Health Organisation, and it is estimated that one out of two children infected with the disease die before the age of five if they do not receive care.

Monaco-based Dynagas LNG Partners announced on Wednesday, April 18, that, following a strategic review of its financial profile and distribution policy, the Board of Directors has approved a plan to reduce the quarterly distribution on the Partnership’s common units to $0.25 per common unit from $0.4225 per common unit, or from $1.69 per common unit to $1.00 per common unit on an annualised basis.

The reduction will take effect on May 3, 2018, upon the payment of the common unit distribution with respect to the first quarter of 2018 to common unitholders of record as of the close of business on April 26, 2018.

Tony Lauritzen, Chief Executive Officer of the Partnership, said: “This decision by our Board of Directors to reduce the level of the Partnership’s quarterly common unit distribution is necessary to align the Partnership’s distribution level with its capacity to generate cash flow in the long term. Despite the material increase in the Partnership’s estimated revenue contract backlog over the last two years, we have experienced a decrease in operating cash flow and a weakened distribution coverage ratio (which is our distributable cash flow available for distribution in proportion to actual cash distributed) following our shift to longer term charters for the employment of our liquefied natural gas carriers, which provide us with greater cash flow visibility albeit at lower charter rates that provide attractive returns of capital.

“As the Partnership’s shorter duration time charter contracts at peak charter rates have expired or are approaching expiration, we have capitalised on our Manager’s operational track record and the versatility of the ice class LNG carriers in our fleet to secure long term employment contracts. During the last two years, the Partnership has been successful in securing a ten year contract for the employment of our 2007 built LNG carrier, Ob River, two fifteen year contracts for the employment of our 2013 built LNG carriers, Yenisei River and Lena River, an eight year contract for the employment of our 2007 built LNG carrier, Clean Energy and a three year contract for the employment of our 2013 built LNG carrier, Arctic Aurora.

“Today our average remaining contract term is 10 years and our estimated contracted revenue backlog is approximately $1.5 billion, which highlights our ability to secure long-term contracts in periods when the LNG shipping market has been highly competitive.”

Mr. Lauritzen added: “The Partnership’s Board of Directors believes that the new distribution level is in the best interest of the Partnership’s common unitholders as it aligns the Partnership’s cash flows with our cash payment obligations.”

Dynagas LNG Partners is a growth-oriented partnership formed by Dynagas Holding Ltd., its sponsor, to own and operate liquefied natural gas carriers employed on multi-year charters. The Partnership’s current fleet consists of six LNG carriers, with an aggregate carrying capacity of approximately 914,000 cubic metres.

The Villa Sauber (NMNM) is hosting an exhibition by Latifa Echakhch entitled ‘The Mechanical Garden’ until October 28, 2018: inspired by the tradition of romantic landscape, characterised by the representations of teeming nature and ruined architecture, “The mechanical garden” combines the distant memories of Monte-Carlo’s earliest days with the artist’s childhood impressions and memories.

Born in Morocco, Latifa Echakhch grew up in Aix-les-Bains where her father was employed at the Casino Grand-Cercle, which operated alongside a prestigious theatre, in many similar ways to the Opéra Garnier.

Latifa Echakhch made several visits to the Principality: she was inspired by a number of mythical places – such as Opera Garnier, the Villa Sauber and the Exotic Garden, but also collections of the NMNM, such as models of decor and automatons of Ms de Galea – to design an exhibition that brings into play our perception of time and space and indicates the possibility of a survival of nature in a post-apocalyptic setting.

As part of this exhibition, the NMNM presents Salon Geologique I, an installation of the artist Yto Barrada in collaboration with the designer Stéphanie Marin in the reading room – mediation area of Villa Sauber.

At the end of this exhibition, Villa Sauber will close for several years of work.

The Plenary Session of the 11th edition of the Economic and Social Council of Youth (CES) took place on Wednesday, April 18.

During the meeting, chaired by Didier Linotte, President of the Supreme Court and sponsor of the event, in the presence of Isabelle Bonnal, Director of National Education of Youth and Sports, and Michel Gramaglia, Vice-President of CES, thirty students presented and voted on their favourite projects.

One of these concerns the creation of a maritime line from Menton-Monaco-Nice: a “shuttle of the seas”, while others involved the use of roof spaces on public buildings for young people, amending legislation on the protection against smoking in the Principality, and the creation of a Humanitarian and Environmental Recreational Route.

Students enrol in this project on a voluntary basis and as part of an option at the beginning of the school year. Supervised by members of the CES and professors, they meet government and private officials to build their cases.