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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
 
 

Design meets art at new apartment showroom in Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
29/04/2021

German design studio LenzWerk has opened a showroom in Monaco, giving visitors a glimpse at high-end living spaces created using German design brands and stunning art. 
The new showroom for Lenzwerk Monaco at the Villa Nuvola is a tribute to exclusivity and style, offering potential customers the chance to wander through a shop that is set up to look like a private residence, making it both inspirational and aspirational.
Spread over 800 square metres and six levels, the entire showroom is up for sale. Highlights include a hand-knotted Jan Kath rug from the ‘Erased Heritage’ series, Occhio lamps and living spaces designed by Walter Knoll, as well as items from brands such as Miele, WMF, Loewe, Dornbracht and select pieces from Lenzwerk’s own collections.

 
Open to all who have an appointment, the displays offer “holistic interior concepts”, giving visitors a whole picture of what their homes could be. They offer simple advice or more comprehensive interior concept mock-ups for apartments of all sizes, villas and even yachts.
In addition to the furniture and objects, the König Galerie Berlin has filled the space with works by sought-after contemporary artists such as Katharina Grosse, Jorinde Voigt, Anselm Reyle and Jeppe Hein as well as sculptures by Alicja Kwade.
 

 
Villa Nuvola is a stand-alone created as part of the ‘Le Stella’ complex done by architect Jean-Pierre Lott, who has altered the Monegasque skyline with his distinctive works over the years. The elegant curves and mosaic tiling on the outside are a reflection to the tasteful and stylish interior, which mirrors the curves in the voluptuous spiral staircases that link each floor to the next.
The Lenzwerks philosophy of “think holistically, plan economically and execute with high quality” is on full display at the location, giving Monaco shoppers and design addicts one more place to go for wonderful ideas and new acquisitions.
 
Click on the gallery below for more pictures…


 
Photos by LenzWerk
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Be part of the F1 action

by: Stephanie Horsman
29/04/2021

Monaco is in the midst of Formula One fever and to help get everyone in the mood the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort has installed two F1 simulators to give racing fans the feeling of what it’s like to be behind the wheel of the real deal.

The Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort is giving the public an incredibly immersive experience with a Formula One simulator in the hotel’s lobby until Tuesday 25th May.

Participants will feel what it’s like to be behind the wheel of an actual Formula One car, driving as if it were in real conditions. The simulators allow for acceleration, braking, drafting effects and even off-roading, making it as close to reality as possible.

The simulators were developed by Wave Italy and are used to train Formula Two, Three and Four pilots at their Professional Training Centre in Verona.

Details like a high-tech steering wheel, interactive seat beats, motion technology and racing pedals make it as close to the real thing as one can get. 

There will be two simulators on site at the hotel at different price points. The first is the Phoenix F1 Pro, which will set would-be drivers back €30 for a 10-minute experience. The other simulator is the Ghepard Maranello GT/F1 Simulator, which costs €20 for 10 minutes worth of thrills. Souvenir videos from each person’s “race” will be available on a USB key for €15.  

The basic package can be extended to 20 minutes in certain cases. There is no minimum or maximum age, but there is a height limitation of between 150 and 190cm.

Reservations to take a spin in the simulators are not required, but sessions can be booked in advance by calling or messaging +33 6 64 04 30 28.

 
Photo by Monaco Life
 
 

Anyone for chess?

by: Cassandra Tanti
27/04/2021

It’s hard to miss, the giant black and white chess board that has been installed in the heart of Monaco at Casino Square. So, who put it there, and why?
Chess has enjoyed something of a resurgence lately, largely thanks to the roaring success of Netflix’s original series ‘The Queen’s Gambit’.
Safe to say, the knock-on effect has been truly global, with Google search queries for chess more than doubling, and those on the hunt for ‘how to play chess’ hitting a nine-year peak.
Monaco has its own relationship with the game through the Blitz manga series created by local company Shibuya Productions. In fact, the grand final in the latest book released in February actually takes place at the Monte-Carlo Casino.

It all creates the perfect amount of buzz around the first ever installation in the new Casino Square, which was designed to accommodate more events, a larger number of spectators, and giant installations such as this.
Titled ‘The Queen of Art’, the elegant black and white checkerboard is positioned right in front of the Monte-Carlo Casino, featuring custom made pawns brandishing the golden insignia of the Principality of Monaco.
The public are invited to look at the position of the pawns in relation to each other, as well as the clock provided by Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet, which is sponsoring the installation. Its giant size inevitably evokes the inner child in all.
And while giant art installations are nothing new in Monaco, the chess board actually forms part of a new spring campaign by the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) called the ‘Colours of Monte-Carlo’, designed to reignite interest and passion in the face of the health crisis. The story continues in the Casino itself, where a colourful lady poses in the atrium, above her a neon sign reads: ‘Life is a Game, Play it’.
The installation will remain in Casino Square until 14th June.
 
READ ALSO:

Monaco’s own manga powers ahead

Princely family inaugurates new Casino Square
 
 
Photos by SBM
 
 

Calling all young environmental entrepreneurs

by: Stephanie Horsman
22/04/2021

Applications are now open for the fourth edition of the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge in June, giving young entrepreneurial environmentalists a chance to create a business tackling the problems faced by the oceans. 

The Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge is a business concept pitching competition organised by the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, the International University of Monaco, Monaco Impact and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. It began in 2018 as a way to involve young people in creating sustainable businesses centred on ocean protection and awareness.

This year’s competition takes the theme ‘When Circular Economy Saves the Ocean’ and is open to university undergraduates, post-bachelor students and young entrepreneurs who are five years or less out of school, and who have or will have a company created after January 2020. Competitors must be English speakers who have ideas that will positively impact the seas and are willing to participate in the implementation of their ideas if selected by the jury.

To be considered, the applicant submits a business plan, a timeline of milestones in project development and a one minute video presenting the concept by 7th May.

Jurists are looking for plans that have been well-researched and relevant to today’s markets, as well as projects that can be globally implemented and that have a “measurable impact” on the oceans.

The prize and awards include a yearly induction and networking programme for the student’s category, and a check of €15,000 for the start-up’s category.

In May, jurists will choose three finalist teams from each category. The six finalist teams will be invited to Monaco for the finals on 16th June where they will be asked to present their plans intended to make the world a better place to live.

Previous winners include Elynn Yaoting Liu, who found a way to address inflatable balloon pollution, and Juan Felipe del Campo Guerreo and Julien Piveteau who created a phone case made of recycled ocean waste.

For more information visit: https://www.monaco-opc.com
 
Photo source: Pixabay
 
 

TV Festival screening to launch debate on lion farming

by: Stephanie Horsman
15/04/2021

This year’s Monte-Carlo Television Festival will host the premiere screening of Lion’s, Bones and Bullets, a hard-hitting animal rights documentary that reveals the underbelly of what the world thinks is ‘lion trophy hunting’ but, in reality, is the mass production, commercialisation and domestication of Africa’s wildlife for “traditional Chinese medicine”. 
The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is known for being a showcase for talented entertainment-industry professionals who have, over the past 60 years, created some of history’s most successful TV programmes.
But it also puts the spotlight on more serious, environmental topics. This year it is animal rights, namely, the exploitation of lions on the African subcontinent that are being cruelly raised for slaughter to make traditional Chinese “medicines” and potions.
A documentary entitled Lions, Bones and Bullets, produced by Jagged Peak Films, will be premiered in June at the Monte Carlo Television Festival through a collaboration between the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Festival organisers. It will be screened at the Grimaldi Forum.
Told through an adventure story, producer and investigator Richard Pierce travels from lion farms in South Africa to dealers in Southeast Asia “to uncover the elaborate wildlife con”. After presenting the problem, the film explores realistic alternatives.
“Lion farming and the increasing sale of lion bones to Asia involve exploitation, cruelty, injustice, misconception, fraud and corruption and is a threat to wild lion populations,” says Richard Pierce. “It is mind-blowing in terms of the huge negativity involved and it has no redeeming aspects. Lions are a flagship species. What happens to lion populations will be a major factor in determining the future of wild animals in Africa.”
The investigative documentary claims to uncover an elaborate international wildlife industry worth nearly US$100 million a year. Producers say it reveals, for the first time, the link between lion farming on an industrial scale in South Africa, and the growing demand and utilisation of lion bones in Southeast Asia.
“Lions, Bones and Bullets is a story that needed to be told,” says Executive Producer Anton Leach. “I realised not enough people know that lion farming is not just an emerging industry, it is a booming industry.
“We are honoured to have the world festival premier at the 60th Monte-Carlo Television Festival and believe this is the best forum to start a global debate about lion farming and the future of wildlife conservation.”
Lions, Bones and Bullets has benefited from support by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
“By denouncing the lion bones trade hidden behind hunting, it is a clear and vital wake-up call that is sent to the world, inviting us to open our eyes and rethink our relationship with nature in the respect of wildlife,” says Olivier Wenden, Vice-President and CEO of the Prince Albert II Foundation.
Lions, Bones and Bullets will premiere on Monday 21st June at 7pm at the Grimaldi Forum during the Television Festival.
“Our Festival has always put environmental issues at the forefront, notably through the Prince Rainier III Special Prize, awarded to the best documentary dealing with these topics,” says Laurent Puons, CEO of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. “We are convinced that this important screening will expose the secrets of the multi-million-dollar industry of lion farming to the world and open up a wide-scale ethical debate on the issue.”
 
Photo from the documentary Lions, Bones and Bullets