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Day: 3 May 2021

The stars are aligning in Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/05/2021

The first ever Festival of Stars is launching this May, featuring exclusive dinners by Monaco’s Michelin-starred chefs who are partnering up with other award-winning masters.
With seven Michelin star establishments to its credit, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) is no stranger to fine dining experiences. Now, they are taking things one step further by launching the Monte-Carlo Festival of Stars, in parallel with the arrival of three Michelin starred Chef Yannick Alléno at the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo.
Over the next several months Michelin chefs from SBM’s resorts are inviting Michelin starred guest chefs to come and collaborate with them at the hotels, giving diners a truly unique night out.
Guests staying at the hotels for the occasions will also have the opportunity to meet the chefs before the events, adding icing to the cake.
The line-up starts on 29th May when Michelin starred Chef Marcel Ravin hosts two-Michelin starred Chef Michel Sarran at the Blue Bay restaurant in the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort. Toulouse-based Sarran, whose restaurant bears his name, is also one of the jury members on the popular Top Chef television series on France M6.
On 12th June, Michelin-starred Chef Franck Cerutti will welcome Lido 84 Chef Riccarado Caminini into his kitchen to create a special lunch and dinner at the Grill in the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo. Camanini’s Lake Garda establishment, which opened in 2014, was awarded Michelin star status a mere six months after opening, making him one of the cooking world’s brightest stars. His dish of spaghettoni with butter and brewer’s yeast was once described by Alain Ducasse as the best dish he’s ever tasted.
Further details are to be announced regarding a dinner at Elsa, Monte-Carlo Beach in September.
On 15th October, Chef Dominique Lory of the exclusive three Michelin-starred Louis XV-Alain Ducasse will open his doors at the Hôtel de Paris to Chef Michel Guérard, whose restaurant Les Prés d’Eugénie in Eugénie-les-Bains has held three stars in the Michelin Guide since 1977.
Finally, on 5th November, Chef Marcel Ravin will welcome three Michelin-starred sensation Chef Mauro Colagreco for a dinner at the Blue Bay, Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort. Chef Colagreco has achieved monumental success with his Menton restaurant, Mirazur, which has now risen to three Michelin stars.
The piece de resistance comes in November with the grand finale of the festival. The Monte-Carlo Casino will be the setting for an incredible dinner created by all of SBM’s Michelin-starred chefs on one night.

More than a festival, this culinary event is a true celebration of gastronomy orchestrated by those who make it shine.

 
READ ALSO:

Leader of ‘Modern Cuisine’ to head Monaco restaurant

Interview: Leader of ‘Modern Cuisine’ Yannick Alléno

Interview: Combining the arts with Chef Philippe Mille

 
Photo of Chef Marcel Ravin by Monaco Life
 
 

The winning photos of the Prince’s Environmental Awards

by: Cassandra Tanti
03/05/2021

‘Gorilla by the water’ by Kathleen Ricker has taken out the top prize in the inaugural Environmental Photography Award, a competition to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. 
Amateur and professional photographers from across the world were invited to submit their photos on the theme ‘Humanity and wildlife: crossed destinies, shared territories’ as part of the Foundation’s anniversary celebrations.
On 1st May, wildlife photographer Kathleen Ricker was named winner of the 2021 prize for her piece titled ‘Gorilla by the water’. The American photographer has been capturing wildlife in its natural environment and telling the animals’ story of survival since 2013. She is particularly fond of Ugandan mountain gorillas and has managed to photograph them during her regular treks.
“The photographer has perfectly captured the magic of the moment when the gorilla forgets her presence to concentrate on crossing the river in the heart of the sumptuous Ugandan forest,” said  Jean-Michel Krief, member of the jury and co-founder of the Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project.

‘Enchanted Forest’ by Lincoln MacGregor

Lincoln MacGregor’s ‘Enchanted Forest’ was named the winner in the Incredible Wildlife category for his photograph of bioluminescent mushrooms, which are only seen a few days a year, especially in the company of a wombat.
‘Traces of life in the realm of death’ by Maxim Sayapin

The winning photograph in the Wildlife in Crisis category, highlighting the negative impact that human activities are having on wildlife and the irrationality of our relationship towards it, was ‘Traces of life in the realm of death’. Photographer Maxim Sayapin captured the heart-breaking image of a nest woven from garbage on the Mediterranean coast of Israel.
‘The stag above the highway’ by Emmanuel Rondeau

The ‘Reasons for Hope’ category was won by Emmanuel Rondeau, a producer, writer and photojournalist specialising in wildlife conservation, for his photograph ‘The stag above the highway’. The shot reveals a suspended moment in time between two cohabitating worlds.
Hidden from sight’ by Mitchell Lewis by Mitchell Lewis

The general public was also invited to choose their favourite photographs via the Photocrowd platform.
The winners were ‘Hidden from sight’ by Mitchell Lewis in the Incredible Wildlife category, ‘Captive’ by Maxime Aliaga in the Wildlife in Crisis category, and ‘Love in the Jungle’ by Mathieu Courdesses in the Reasons for Hope category.
‘Captive’ by Maxime Aliaga

The grand prize winner receives a cash prize of €6,000 and a VIP invitation to the opening of the PA2F Environmental Photography Award exhibit, as well as the Foundation’s 15th anniversary events.

The winners of each category receive €1,000 each and the people’s choice winner gets €500. All shortlisted photographers will be featured  in the PA2F Environmental Photography Award book.

‘Love in the Jungle’ by Mathieu Courdesses

The best photographs from the competition are being presented in the Boulingrins Gardens until 1st June 2021.
 
 

Leclerc after Portugal: “We struggled a lot”

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/05/2021

Monegasque pilot Charles Leclerc came in sixth at the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday, saying he felt like the team made “a very bad choice” in racing on medium tires.
Despite finishing two places higher than he started, Charles Leclerc says he felt a bit disappointed with his sixth place finish in Portimao at the Portuguese Grand Prix on the weekend, saying the race was tough because of windy conditions and racing on tires that were not best suited to the track.
“I think we took a great decision to go on the hard tyres, but the mediums for us – only for us – we struggled massively, whether it was Carlos or myself. On paper it looked like a very good choice, but then once we made the race, we struggled a lot,” Leclerc said in a post-race interview with Sky F1. “If I look at the whole weekend, I haven’t done a great job as a driver, whether it’s in free practice, in qualifying, I haven’t extracted the maximum out of the car, because I was very inconsistent. Today, I did a good job, but from eighth, there wasn’t much better we could do, but looking at the full weekend, I could’ve done a much better job.”
Teammate Carlos Sainz finished in 11th place after having a fifth place starting position, highlighting the difficulties Team Ferrari had over the weekend.
But the troubles weren’t limited only to Ferrari. Several teams made noises about the track, citing a roller coaster layout, high winds and low-grip asphalt. Leclerc seconded these opinions but remains optimistic about the car and the future.
“It’s encouraging for the whole team,” he said. “We were struggling a lot last year, we did a step forward this year and we need to keep in mind also that Portimao is quite a strange track. We are trying to maximise our car, and that makes it interesting.”
The race was won by world champion Lewis Hamilton, followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes taking the number three spot. The next Formula 1 race will be held next Sunday in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix – the final race before Leclerc comes home for the Monaco Grand Prix at on 23rd May.
 
Photo supplied by Ferrari Press Office
 
 

Match takes ugly turn

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/05/2021

AS Monaco faced off against Olympique Lyonnaise on Sunday night in a game that saw the team’s winning streak brought to an abrupt close and ended in a nasty fight with four players sent off.
It was not their finest hour. AS Monaco, who have been riding on a high for weeks, watched their third place position in Ligue 1 reduced to a mere one point from their Lyonnais opponents, as they lost to them 2-3 in a match that went from aggressive to downright violent.
A massive brawl broke out at the end of the game, forcing the referees to red card Monaco’s Pietro Pellegri and Willem Geubbels, as well as Lyon players Mattia DeSciglio and Marcelo. Maxence Caqueret, another Lyon player, was sent off 20 minutes earlier.
It was an ugly end to a game between two top-flight contenders.
Both sides were in it to win it, and opening scoring didn’t happen until 25 minutes in when Kevin Volland knocked one between the posts. It wasn’t until nearly the one hour mark that Lyon evened up the score, with a Memphis Depay goal. This was followed 20 minutes later, in the 77th, with a free kick header goal by Marcelo.
Wissam Ben Yedder made good on a penalty kick in the 86th minute making it two to two and keeping hopes alive. The game changer, and ender, came with just one minute to go. 17-year-old Rayan Cherki was substituted in and took advantage of his time on the pitch to score a literal last minute goal, giving Lyon the 2-3 win.
“Frankly, the defeat is hard to swallow,” said player Axel Disani after the game. “We led, then we had an advantage, so really that’s hard tonight. We are still ahead of Lyon and we have three games left, so we control our own destiny.”
The loss puts Monaco five points behind top seeded Lille and four behind Paris Saint- Germain. Now it is time to put their heads back on straight, cool off and look to the future.
“We are obviously disappointed to have lost but my players did their best,” said Coach Niko Kovac. “I think we had the best chances. We missed that bit of success. We had the opportunity to score a third goal, which we missed. This is football, this is life. We are still one point ahead.”
The team have a shot a redemption next Sunday when they go up against Stade Reims on the road.
 
Photo by AS Monaco
 
 

Junior Councillors begin work with Assembly

by: Cassandra Tanti
03/05/2021

After their recruitment into the Grand Hémicycle on 29th March, Councillors and Junior Councillors returned on 28th April for their first working meeting.
Divided into working groups with the support of Assembly officials, the Junior Councillors planned the stages of their term of office which runs until April 2022.
During the meeting, they discussed the expectations of young people in the Principality and the issues relating to environmental protection.
On these two main themes, more than 50 subjects were discussed and presented to National Council President Stéphane Valeri and Marc Mourou, President of the Education Commission, Youth and Sports.
At the conclusion of this first meeting, the Mr Valéri congratulated the Junior Councillors for the richness of their contributions, saying: “Your initial work confirms the importance of the creation of the National Youth Council. You can count on the members of the Assembly to assist you in preparing your future resolutions to defend an idea or action that is close to your heart. ”
The next meeting is scheduled for May.
 
Photo by National Council of Monaco