Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris St Germain celebrated winning the Ligue 1 title with a 3-1 victory against Monaco.
Photo: AS Monaco
After failing to regain their crown in the past three matches, drawing one and losing two, PSG’s sixth title in the last seven seasons was confirmed prior to Sunday night’s game after Lille’s goalless draw at Toulouse earlier in the day.
It was not quite a party atmosphere at the Parc des Princes, owing to the fire this week at Notre Dame in Paris. PSG replaced the player names on the back of their shirts with the name of the cathedral while the front sported an image of the partially destroyed landmark.
During the pre-match warm-up, Mbappe greeted Paris firefighters and their children on the pitch.
Rony Lopes should have ruined PSG’s coronation by giving Monaco the lead after seven minutes but he scuffed his shot when through on goal, allowing Alphonse Areola to get a hand on the ball and make a save.
Mbappe punished his former club shortly afterwards, using his pace to get behind the visiting defence and on to Moussa Diaby’s perfectly-weighted pass before firing the ball past replacement goalkeeper Diego Benaglio and into the roof of the net.
Monaco responded well to falling behind and a sustained spell of possession inside the PSG half resulted in Aleksandr Golovin sending an effort narrowly wide.
A goal-line clearance from Marquinhos denied Martins a goal for Monaco and the PSG defender was at his best again shortly afterwards to nick the ball away from Carlos Vinicius as he looked to shoot.
Golovin could only head the ball over the crossbar when he should have hit the target at the very least but he got his goal with 10 minutes remaining, using his strength to hold off a defender before poking a low shot into the net from 12 yards.
“The game was pretty well balanced,” said ASM’s Leonardo Jardim. “Kylian Mbappé has shown his effectiveness, he’s the one who created the real difference in this game.”
“The future? For me it is the next games that we will play,” he continued. “I’m not worried, I know it’s a war that will be played until the end of the season.”
The 4th Annual Energy Security Forum is scheduled to take place at the Yacht Club of Monaco this May. Held in partnership with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Aleksander Kwasniewski Foundation ‘Amicus Europae’ and the Atlantic Council of the United States, the forum brings together leading global policy makers and thought leaders, key energy market players and recognised industry experts advocating for energy security and sustainability, as well as promoting innovation and inclusion.
Over the course of only three years, Monaco Forum has united numerous public influencers and opinion leaders, including President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis, President of Slovenia (2007-2012) Danilo Turk, Prime Minister of Italy (1996 – 1998, 2006 – 2008) Romano Prodi, Vice Chancellor of Germany (1998 – 2005), Joschka Fischer, Prime Minister of Belgium (1999-2008) Guy Verhofstandt, Director of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Centre (1999-2002) and Ambassador at Large for Counterterrorism Joseph Cofer Black, U.S. Senator for Louisiana Mary Landrieu, U.S. State Department’s Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs David L. Goldwyn, European Commissioner for Energy and Development (2004-2014) Andris Piebalgs and many others.
This year’s forum, to be held on 31st May, will see the likes of Prime Minister of Denmark (2001 – 2009) and NATO Secretary General (2009 – 2014) Anders Fogh Rasmussen, President of Poland (1995 – 2005) Aleksander Kwasniewski, Chancellor of Austria (2007 – 2008) Alfred Gusenbauer, President of Bulgaria (1997 – 2002) Petar Stoyanov, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Ambassador John E. Herbst, Founding Chairman of the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Centre Ambassador Dick Morningstar, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Statecraft and Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center Alan Riley, Senior Fellow at the Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, Vice Chair of the National Executive Committee at the U.S. Water Partnership and Former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky.
The second annual culinary competition for superyacht chefs has been held and won at the Yacht Club of Monaco. This year’s event attracted an impressive line-up of participants and a very high caliber jury, who ultimately decided that a female chef was a cut above the rest.
Stéphanie Gravier from M/Y Planet 9 took out top place in the competition
Organised as part of La Belle Classe Academy training centre for those working in the luxury yacht sector, the Yacht Club of Monaco joined forces with Bluewater to organise the competition on 18th April. It was presided by Michelin-star chef Jacques Maximin and the jury comprised of top chefs including Virginie Basselot, Meilleure Ouvrier de Francewith one Michelin star for the Saint James in Paris, Marcel Ravin, another Michelin star and head chef at the Blue Bay Restaurant in Monaco, and Iberian Chef Pablo Albuerne, winner of the 2018 edition.
This year, 12 chefs from different nationalities competed, all working on superyachts over 40 metres in length, with seven flying the Yacht Club of Monaco flag: Mimtee (60m), Madame Kate(60m), E&E (42m), Polaris (50m), Rio Rita(59m), Willow (42m) and the emblematic Black Pearl (107m).
Supervised by the YCM’s Executive Chef Thierry Thiercelin, the contest was an opportunity for owners and gastronomy enthusiasts to watch chefs in action at workstations set up to reflect the limited space available in some yachts’ galleys.
The contest comprised four 30-minute rounds during each of which three chefs had to prepare an original dish based on a basket of mystery ingredients. These included veal mignon, sea bream, lobster, black radishes, vitellote potatoes, sweet peppers and cep mushrooms. Three chefs made it through to the final, they were Richard Cullen (M/Y Black Pearl, 107m), Stéphanie Gravier (M/Y Planet 9) and Bruno Chailan (M/Y Mimtee, 60m).
Joël Garault, the Michelin-star chef previously at the Vistamar, was behind the workstations to support and advise the three finalists who had 45 minutes to prepare an Easter-inspired main course with lamb, haricot beans and parmesan as the main ingredients, and a dessert based on grapefruit, mascarpone and crushed almonds. Encouraged by the jury and a throng of spectators, including the Prince’s Palace Chef Christian Garcia, owners and crew members, contestants had to concentrate hard, not only to meet the deadlines but produce creative, tasty dishes from ingredients they had only just had sight of.
At the end of an intense day, Stéphanie Gravier emerged as the winner: “I was so surprised, I never expected to win, especially as I finished at the very last minute. I love the concept of this competition and the fact all contestants are on a level playing field, whatever the size of the yacht they work on or their experience. And I am particularly proud to be the first lady to win this competition in a still masculine dominated profession. I hope to win more and encourage others to take up this vocation.”
The finalists won a selection of gifts while the winner has been given the opportunity to take control of the YCM kitchens for the next Captains’ Forum lunch.
The art of mixology
New for 2019 was a Mixology Competition, an initiative organised by the YCM’s head barman, Giorgio Rocchino, winner of Best Bartender in Italy and 3rd in Europe.
Nine candidates had just five minutes to mix and present a cocktail on a theme of the sea and its colours under strict rules. Three experts, Ettore Diana, Cocktail World Champion in 2012, Cristina Nonino from the Nonino grappa distillery and Giorgio Rocchino selected the finalists. Martin Stefan Ballas from the Riolo Termo institute took first prize with his cocktail based on Curaçao, grappa and lime called Principe Azzuro in honour of HSH Prince Albert II, followed by Shirley Mortier from the Yacht Club of Monaco with her Libertad cocktail, and lastly Alessia Mirabelli from the Nino Bergese institute who came third and also won the Best Technique prize for his original cocktail. A prize for best garnish went to Luca Perugina from the Riolo Terme institute for his inventive and colourful creation.
Shirley Mortier from the Yacht Club of Monaco won second place with her Libertad cocktail
“The sea theme immediately gave me the idea for my Libertad cocktail,” said Shirley, a young barmaid at the YCM, “as for me the sea is freedom and I imagined a bird that I sculpted out of a lemon as a garnish. I am very proud to represent the Yacht Club of Monaco at this contest. The fact I am competing ‘at home’ gave me strength as I was cheered on by all my colleagues, although it also added to the pressure.”
“We want to position Monaco as a centre of excellence in the Luxury Yachting sector, including training. When an owner buys a boat, getting good crew is their major concern,”commented YCM General Secretary Bernard d’Alessandri.
Through these two events, the YCM intends to promote its La Belle Classe Academy which offers two specialist modules: ‘Destination Barman’ and ‘Chef Training’ for superyacht crew members and yachting professionals, designed to meet the most demanding requirements of yacht owners and their guests.
Saturday 20th April marked a very special and emblematic day for the industry. World Circus Day was conceived and created by the World Circus Federation in 2009 and takes place annually on the third Saturday of April to promote the circus and its various disciplines and culture.
The 10th edition broke all records with over 200 events around the world.
The International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo once again paid tribute to the circus arts by celebrating the special occasion under the world-famous Big Top in Monaco.
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Supervised by the YCM’s Executive Chef Thierry Thiercelin, the contest was an opportunity for owners and gastronomy enthusiasts to watch chefs in action at workstations set up to reflect the limited space available in some yachts’ galleys.
