In photos: Princess celebrates Mother's Day with new mums and family

Princess Charlene spent the morning of Mother’s Day on Sunday congratulating new mums at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre and meeting their babies, before spending a quiet lunch with her family. 
Although the Princess was was wearing a mask, it was clear to see her swooning over the little cherubs recently born at the CHPG.


 
The new mums were obviously delighted by the visit, which is traditionally performed on Mother’s Day each year and organised by the Monaco Red Cross.
 


 
The mothers also received gift bags from the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation and the Princess Grace Foundation.
 


Afterwards, Princess Charlene, Prince Albert and their children Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, shared some family time and a nice lunch at Le Castelroc restaurant, which had recently opened its doors.
 
© Photos: Eric Mathon / Prince’s Palace
 

New effort to combat “more plastic than fish by 2050”

On World Oceans Day 2020, a new ‘Group of Friends’ initiated by the Principality of Monaco was created at the United Nations to fight the growing amount of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
Monaco, as a founding member of the group, was present for the launch on Monday 8th June, joined by Antigua, Barbuda, Maldives and Norway. Their aim: to strengthen political cooperation and support the work of the UN Environment Programme.
“Although EU Member States have made progress in banning the use of single-use plastic, this group aims to support system initiatives to put an end to plastic and plastic pollution, otherwise we will have more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050,” said the government of Monaco in a statement released on Tuesday.
Among the 37 speakers at the launch was Isabelle Picco, Monaco’s Ambassador to the United Nations, discussing awareness, recycling, a circular economy and calling for a radical change in the way plastic is produced and used.
The Ambassador stressed an urgent need to act against pollution and its link to climate change.
 
Photo: © DR
 
 
 
 

Local craft brewer gets creative during crisis

Blue Coast was thrown a curve ball in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic, bringing the brewing company’s supply chain in Monaco to a dramatic holt and forcing the closure of its taproom in the French Riviera.

But the team behind this local craft brewery knew they had to be creative and adapt their business model to withstand the coronavirus shock.

To understand more, Monaco Life spoke to company CEO Celina Eude and ‘BlueCoaster’ F1 champion Daniel Ricciardo.

Monaco Life: Let’s kick off the interview with Daniel. Why did you decide to get involved in Blue Coast Brewing and what have been your favourite moments?  

Daniel Ricciardo: When I was presented with the Blue Coast project, I was immediately seduced with the idea. Of course, as an Australian, we love beer! But I also really liked the idea of being surrounded by good friends and a good product to enjoy together. 

What I like most about being involved with the brewery is meeting with head brewer Robert Bush when I’m in the south of France and trying out some of his latest creations in the taproom – where the magic operates.

Robert Bush and Daniel Ricciardo, photo credit – Ed Wright

How involved are you in the beer development and tasting process? 

I don’t think of myself as a beer expert, rather I am a beer enthusiast and particularly fond of lager. I was behind the idea of creating a lager in 2019 and when we launched our new seasonal beer Lager N° 3 last May, I was of course impatient to try it. I am glad the team decided to add this lager to the Blue Coast range as a permanent beer as its proven to be very popular in this region and beyond. 

Celina, who are the other investors / ambassadors for Blue Coast in Monaco? 

Celina Eude: We are lucky to have been able to bring together like-minded people who share the same passion for craft brewing, for all the good things in life and for all the beautiful things the Côte d’Azur has to offer. These individuals have become what we call our ‘BlueCoasters’ – they like to enjoy the simple pleasures of life surrounded by friends and family and accompanied by a refreshing Blue Coast beer.  

In addition to Daniel Ricciardo here, some of our other original BlueCoasters include TV presenter Karen Minier-Coulthard, F1 pilot Jenson Button and Tiffany Cromwell.  

Can you tell us the story behind Blue Coast?

Blue Coast was born following a visit to the home of craft brewing, California, back in 2016. A group of founding ‘BlueCoasters sharing the same passion for craft beer decided to join forces and bring to the south of France a high quality, hand crafted beer for locals and visitors to share with their friends and family. The Anglo-Saxon name, Blue Coast, was given as a testimony to the Californian craft beer movement which took off in the 90s and is also a reminder of the colour blue of our beautiful Côte d’Azur for which we all share a common attachment.  

From its early days in 2017, Blue Coast’s goal has been to brew outstanding, unique beers while maintaining an unwavering commitment to making beer the right way: sustainable, ethical, and with the patience required in the art of brewing. Whether brewing our original Blonde or perfecting our latest seasonal brew, we approach everything just as we did from day one, with commitment to excellence.  

Blue Coast Brewery, photo credit – @loicthebaud

What has the response been to the brewery since it launched in 2017? 

In this part of the world, the craft beer movement is starting to explode, and people are now much more inclined to appreciate craft beer and understand that there is a plethora of styles and flavours, just like wine. 

The response we have received locally has been positive. We have been able to develop and nurture a real local community of craft beer ‘aficionados’ who get together every first Saturday of the month for our Blue Coast Sessions: an opportunity to meet at the heart of the brewery – our taproom, taste some of the latest creations, listen to some live music, savour some local delights from a regional food truck and just mingle with like-minded people. Unfortunately, these Sessions have been put on standby with the current Covid-19 crisis. 

Since launching in 2017, we have seen more craft breweries pop up in the region and this makes us happy as it proves we are doing the right thing.  

In your opinion, what makes Blue Coast unique?

Blue Coast is brewed with passion, by passionate people. Our head brewer Robert Bush is a craftsman who combines the work of his hands and his brain to craft new recipes and bring new experiences to our community. He is a character of great passion and commitment to the art of brewing. 

In the words of Robert Bush: “I have been brewing beer for over 20 years and what I like most at Blue Coast is the fact we are continuously innovating and trying to provide new experiences, and the Mediterranean has proven to be a wonderful source of inspiration in terms of flavours and aromas”. 

Selling our beer is of course important for us to maintain our business, but what brings us the biggest smiles is when we hear people appreciating our beer, sharing special moments with their friends or family and knowing that we are part of it.

Our best quality, besides having – in our point of view – one of the best brewers, is that we work as a team and we value each other’s views and expertise and try to bring the very best to our consumers. 

Blue Coast Team

What restaurants and bars in Monaco stock Blue Coast? 

We have always had a strong presence in Monaco and are proud to count as historic partners: Stars’n’Bars, Le Rouge et le Blanc, Bars du Casino, The Yacht Club, La Brasserie du Mystic, and Tip Top, to name a few.

Today we are present in over 45 restaurants and bars in Monaco and you can view all these spots on our beer locator.

How did the shutdown of these bars and restaurants impact your business? 

The sudden shutdown of bars, restaurants and hotels in the region has of course had a huge impact on our business. They are our historic partners and over the years we have developed very solid relationships with these clients. They represent 80% of our sales. We have tried to support each other through this crisis by communicating on take away services. Solidarity and resilience are what will get us through this crisis as a team.

This massive impact on our sales forced us to adapt our business model, looking at other distribution channels and sources of revenue such as e-commerce, home delivery and local supermarkets that remained open.

As a small business, how have you had to adapt your business practices?

It has been challenging, to be honest, as this unprecedent crisis hit us all in a sudden and drastic way. We had to react fast to protect our employees by closing our brewery temporarily and relying on government support to help us manage our cash flow. As for the business, we accelerated the launch of our online sales platform which now delivers our beer and merchandise to over 25 markets across Europe. To remain close and supportive of our local community, we launched Blue Coast Drive allowing our customers to pick-up their beers at the brewery once a week, and Blue Coast Deliveries locally to bring beers directly to our consumers in need of a cold and tasty refreshment.  
To help local independent brewers during this difficult time, the BIAM (Association des Brasseurs Independants des Alpes Maritimes) referred to as the local independent craft brewers’ associations, of which Blue Coast is one of the founding members, came up with the idea to unite the 12 breweries in a common box, the B-Box. Brought together by 12 local craft breweries, the B-Box regroups a mixed pack of 24 bottles of locally crafted beers and, thanks to the support of passionate local breweries, is delivered to your doorstep in the 06. In May, the B-Box 2.0 was launched, inviting consumers to try out 12 craft beers from the Alpes Maritimes every month.

This crisis has reinforced the importance of solidarity and we look forward to implementing further initiatives with local craft breweries in the near future. Stay tuned… 

Can you give us some stats on production levels and your most popular beer? 

We have over 350 clients between Menton and St Tropez, and we have been working on expanding along the coast and nationally. Of course, our expansion has been slowed down lately.

In 2019 we brewed over 1,500 HL of beer and were set to almost double that in 2020 pre Covid-19. 

We have a core range of six beers – Blonde, Lager, Blanche, Amber, IPA, LIPA (alcohol free) which we complement with seasonal and specialty beers. Our latest seasonal beer – Kawa Stout – was created in collaboration with Malongo.

When it comes to our most popular beer, our flagship Blonde continues to be very well appreciated by the local and international community and represents around 50% of our sales. Most recently, as palates evolve, we’ve noticed an increase in popularity and demand for our IPA, its bitterness is combined with an explosion of citrus and exotic fruits making it a thirst-quenching beer of intense character. 

Blue Coast Brewery taproom, photo credit – @loicthebaud

Do you follow sustainable practices at the brewery? 

Quality, authenticity and sustainability are key characteristics of how we brew our beer at Blue Coast. Quality because our beer is made using the finest ingredients and brewed with love. Authenticity because what we do is respect the traditional beer making process and allow for the necessary time for a high-quality brew with little intervention. Sustainability as we believe in supporting the community and donate our Brewers Spent Grain (BSG) to local farmers who feed it to their herds.  

Are you planning some exciting events now lockdown has been lifted? 

We are working on ways of bringing back the community to the heart of our brewery, the taproom, but it will most likely be in smaller groups. It is important that we continue sharing these moments together with the right safety measures in place.

Digital technology and experiences have brought people together during the lockdown and I believe we can learn a lot from that too. Our dedicated and passionate team are already working on new initiatives and products to brighten-up our summer ahead!

 

 Top photo by Anthony Oberst

 
 
 

Gareth Wittstock designs new race car for virtual Le Mans  

The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation has officially presented its Strong Together #54 Ferrari, designed by the Princess’s brother, which is set to take part in the first edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual from 13th to 14th June.
The LM GTE Strongtogether will be driven by three professional drivers: Felipe Massa, Giancarlo Fisichella and Francesco Castellacci, along with sim racer Tony Mella.
The car was designed by Gareth Wittstock, General Secretary of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, and created by rydesign who took up the challenge of bringing this unique model to life.
The Ferrari 488 GTE livery will bear the colours of the Principality of Monaco and those of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.
In order to optimise team cohesion during the 24 hours of this unprecedented race, Giancarlo, Francesco and Tony will drive together from Monaco and remain in constant liaison with Felipe Massa who will be in Brazil.
The team is hard at training with only a few days left before the start of the race.
 
Top photo: Copyright Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation
 
Related stories:
Princess Charlene Foundation enters car in virtual Le Mans
 
 

1st July flagged as date to reopen all EU borders

The EU is expected to fully open its Schengen borders by the end of June and ease restrictions for travellers outside of the bloc by early July in an effort to kickstart tourism and local economies.
EU member states, apart from Spain, have reportedly agreed to reopen their borders to internal travellers between now and 1st July, as well as and those from the EU-associated nations of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
At a press conference on Friday following a meeting of European interior ministers, the European Union’s Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said she expected to see the Schengen area operating again “by the end of June at the latest”.
She revealed that “almost all member states” had expressed “a strong preference for a further but short prolongation” of the ban beyond the 15th June reopening date proposed by the EU Commission.
“So that means that internal border controls are lifted by the end of June, I guess,” said Ms Johansson. “We should consider the gradual lifting of restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU in early July.”
Italy already opened its borders on 3rd June, while other countries, such as France, have opted for a 15th June lifting of the ban. While travel will be fairly easy, some restrictions will apply and some visitors will be subjected to quarantine measures depending on where they are going to or arriving from.
The European Commission is expected to present a list of guidelines to accompany the reopening based on epidemiological data from each country, which may add to confusion surrounding entry guidelines. But despite the possible hiccoughs the early days may bring, the news has been greeted with enthusiasm.
Over the past two weeks, statistics have shown there to be less than 100 new cases per 100,000 people inside the Schengen zone, with a few notable exceptions such as the UK and Sweden. The hope is that these encouraging figures will ease people’s minds and get them travelling once more, jump-starting faltering economies and bringing a much needed infusion of cash into tourist regions who are in desperate straits.
The non-essential travel ban was first imposed in mid-March at the height of the health crisis as a means to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
 
 
 

Condamine Food Hall reopens

One of Monaco’s little treasure spots is back in action. The Condamine Market Food Hall is again open for business, allowing customers to enjoy the many offerings for both lunch and dinner.

The site will be in accordance with all required governmental sanitary measures in order to respect social distancing, with safety barriers up to protect both vendors and clientele. Masks must be worn inside and outside of the hall except when guests are eating.  

Tables will be set up for four, with the possibility of six if the patrons are in the same group. Outdoor tables will continue to be available in Place d’Armes.  

The hall will be open for lunch every day from 11:30am to 3:30pm, and in the evenings from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 6pm to 11pm.

The hall had been open from mid-May strictly for take-away and delivery orders, but the ability to eat-in is a little enjoyment many missed during lockdown.

 
Photo courtesy Mairie de Monaco