Kowloon Shangri-La has officially announced their partnership with legendary cognac brand, Hennessey. The unique collaboration has created a HKD 20,000 9-course tasting menu, which will be served at the renowned Shang Palace.

The two-Michelin star Shang Palace restaurant will design a special 9-course tasting menu, for up to eight individuals who purchase of Hennessey’s famed Paradis Horus cognac.

Aged up to a remarkable 130 years, the cognac is expertly made from hundreds of rare eaux-de-vie. The rarity of the cognac is not only due to the nature of the product, but also because of the 18k gold decanter it comes in. Individually numbered, the bottle – designed by the iconic Ferruccio Laviani – is in limited in production, with only 3,888 created worldwide.

Inspired by the culture of Kowloon, the menu features a variety of cuisines, including, the Golden Fried Fresh Crab Claws, Baked Seafood Rice in Crab Shell, and the 36-head Whole Iwate Dried Abalone.

Although the restaurant has been in service since the opening of the hotel, the exclusive menu will not be available until June 30.

~Affluent Page

[Shangri-La]

With over 50 years developing household names as Shaklee Nutritional Products, Famous Amos Cookies, and Vitamin Water, J. Gary Shansby has become an icon in the marketing industry. As the Chairman and CEO of Partida Tequila, Shansby has officially blended Mexican heritage with the United States’ best-selling spirit. Recently, Affluent Page Magazine had the pleasure of sitting down with Mr. Shansby to discuss his unique vision.

- As someone who is seemingly a master of his craft; where did your idea of marketing begin?

I have been interested in consumer spending habits, trends, and marketing since my early years at the University of Washington.  At the UW I was fascinated by what appeared to be a non-scientific, practical understanding of why consumers purchase brands.  I discovered a great deal in part time jobs working my way through the university, and in my first career position upon graduation, at the Colgate-Palmolive Company.

My career over the past fifty years has focused on launching and building successful, premium consumer brands.  I have built more than 100 brands in food, personal care, beverage, household products, and other consumer categories.  Some of these brands included Shaklee Nutritional Products, Famous Amos Cookies, Mauna Loa Macadamia Nuts, Terra Chips, Voss Norwegian Water, Glaceau Vitamin Water, and Partida Tequila.  While trends have changed, the education and fascination has never evaporated.

- At what point did you realize your definitive business skills?

I first sensed my skills at Colgate, where I was promoted several times into more senior marketing positions in the eight years employed there.  This continued at my second employer, American Home Products (later Wyeth), and then again at Clorox and Booz Allen & Hamilton.  When I joined Shaklee Corporation, I quickly ascended to the CEO position, and was able to reposition a tiny vitamin business into a large, multi-national nutritional and personal care business, positioning the brands as among the first “healthy for you” category of significance around the world.

- With success in over 50 companies, what continues to give you motivation?

I am passionate about consumers, understanding their needs, and finding ways to be successful by being different.  It is easy to copy others, but to be successful, one has to be innovative and take risks.

- You have saved several companies from the brink of obscurity. How can a man establish comfort in taking risks?

Comfort can only be achieved with laser focus, integrity, practical approaches to opportunities, and confidence in one’s strategy and tactical methods to build brands.

- Taking a look back over a 50 year career in marketing, what would you consider your greatest achievement?

Developing great leaders while building successful brands.  It takes team work, and strong leaders need strong lieutenants.  Some would say the success of Shaklee, Famous Amos, Vitamin Water, or Partida Tequila.  My greatest achievement was pride in the teams that succeeded together.

- In the flooded market of the alcohol industry, how did you ensure a unique product?

I had never entered the spirits category, so I had to learn everything myself from scratch (with nothing and no knowledge). I knew it would take a better product (smoother and consistent), a Mexican heritage positioning, excellent packaging, the support of a distributor network in which I had no prior experience, passion, commitment, and adequate funding.  I studied every aspect carefully, listened, learned, and then had the comfort to take the risk entailed, and this led to an entirely new tequila product and method of Marketing, resulting in Partida Tequila.

- What should a man look for in a premium tequila?

A product that delivers smooth, consistent brand attributes worthy of paying a premium to sip.

- How much of your own personality, would you say goes into the creation of the tequila?

Partida Tequila is my personality, and me personally.  I love Mexico, the Mexican people, their culture, and their commitment.  I built Partida to be my finest achievement in the sunset of my career, and I personally believe I’m well on my way to achieving my dream.

- You are involved in nearly every aspect of Partida tequila; how do you remember to live in the moment?

Every day, every sunrise, and every sunset presents a new moment to enjoy.  I often awaken during the night with a new idea, and I have always kept positive thoughts, and my goals have been achieved.

~Affluent Page

[Partida Tequila]

With the 136th Kentucky Derby on the horizon, the great horse racing town of Saratoga Springs has decided to celebrate. In commemoration of the event, several of Saratoga Springs’ fine dining establishments are hosting viewing parties on May 1st.

Hosting its first ever Derby party, Prime at Saratoga National will exclusively open their doors at 4 p.m. The event will consist of food and drink specials, as well as, Woodford Reserve bourbon tastings, cigar rolling, and live music.

Located on the legendary Henry Street, Tiznow will host a private evening, which starts at 4 p.m. Dedicated mixologists and culinary experts will treat each guests to mint julep specials and complimentary hors d’oeuvres.

Wheatfields – famous for their Annual Derby Party – kicks off their festivities at 3 p.m. Sponsored by Three Olives Vodka and Blue Moon Beer, Wheatfields has promised to “celebrate the Derby in style”, with “southern-style cooking” and a Kentucky Derby auction.

Rounding out Saratoga Springs’ celebration is a private party held at Vapor Nightclub. The Derby celebration will feature an illustrious dinner buffet, and complimentary drinks from 5 to 9 p.m. All proceeds from the private party will benefit the Double H Ranch in the Adirondacks, which houses several prestigious race horses.

All of the these parties are extremely exclusive, and the guest-list fills up quickly. For information call 518.583.4653 (Prime at Saratoga National), 518.226.0655 (Tiznow), 516.587.0534 (Wheatfields), or 518.581.5772 (Vapor Nightclub).

-Affluent Page

[Saratoga Springs]

From July 16th to August 21st, a different culinary master will serve as Head Chef of Topos 1910 each weekend. Domes has created quite a stir in the world of gastronomy — it has been awarded “Best Greek Cusine” by “Athinorama,” as well as the leading Greek hotel and restaurant guide, “Alpha Guide.” The five world-renowned chefs chosen to serve at Festival De La Gastronomie are Dimitriadis Dimitrios, Troumouches Georgios, Marco Garfagnini, Leuteri Lazarou and Yves Mattagne.

Dimitriadis Dimitrios is considered to be one of the leading chefs in Progressive Greek Cuisine. Having worked under and learned from Michelin star chef Alain Parodi and 2 star Michelin chef Jacques Chibois, Dimitrios has earned countless prestigious awards. He will be opening the Festival De La Gastronomie during its first weekend on July 16th and 17th.

On the weekend of July 30th and 31st, Chef Troumouches Georgios will be presiding over Topos 1910. As the Executive chef at the Ellsium in Rhodes, Georgios strives to portray food as a sophisticated yet playful expression of feeling. Georgio says that, “Playing with ingredients, colors and aromas can travel you into the world of flavor, transforming desire for taste into a sensual experience…a memory.”

Michelin star chef Marco Garfagnini’s cusine will be available the first weekend in August on the 6th and 7th. He is the Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva. He was honored as “Young Italian Chef of the Year” in 2005.

After being awarded a Michelin star in 2008, Leuteri Lazarou – who will be featured the weekend of August 13th – has taught Greek Cuisine at the International Olive Oil Council and The Culinary Institute of America. He was also the Greek Cuisine representative at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The final chef presenting his food at the festival will be Yves Mattagne. The highly renowned chef has won countless awards and recived multiple honors worldwide. Some of the awards include Best Hotel Restaurant Chef by the MKG Awards and Chef D’Or by Gualt Millau 2005. He is the executive chef at Sea Grill Restaurant in Brussells.

Festival De La Gastronomie will prove to be be a unique celebration of international master chefs and fine dining.

[Domes of Elounda]

This high-priced omelet, called the “Boisdale Omelette” has been much hyped due to its main ingredient: gulls’ eggs.

The eggs come from the black-headed gull found in the wetlands of the northern region of England. Speckled blue and green, the eggs are slightly larger than hen eggs and are known to have a much richer flavor. Gull’s eggs are extremely rare and only stay in season for a few weeks during late spring. Only about 40,000 are sold each year.

Gulls’ eggs are a prime example of chef, Neil Churchill’s, goal in creating this culinary delicacy: to use only the best local and seasonal ingredients. The Boisdale Omelet is created using native Hebridean Blue Lobster, West Minch cock crab, wild garlic, Wye valley new season asparagus & Piedmont summer truffles.

Taking advantage of the limited season, the restaurant has added several other items to the menu that also incorporate gulls’ eggs. One stand-out dish includes coddled eggs served with spring morels, Wye Valley asparagus, duck hearts and woodland herbs.

“They have a magnificent flavor, make an incredibly light a fluffy omelet and are ridiculously expensive,” said Ranald Madonald, proprietor and founder of Boisdale. “I am delighted to be able to offer our customers this rare culinary experience for a very short period of time.”

Madonald plans to keep the items on the menu just as long as 2010 the season lasts.

[Boisdale]

Kowloon Shangri-La has officially announced their partnership with legendary cognac brand, Hennessey. The unique collaboration has created a HKD 20,000 9-course tasting menu, which will be served at the renowned Shang Palace.

The two-Michelin star Shang Palace restaurant will design a special 9-course tasting menu, for up to eight individuals who purchase of Hennessey’s famed Paradis Horus cognac.

Aged up to a remarkable 130 years, the cognac is expertly made from hundreds of rare eaux-de-vie. The rarity of the cognac is not only due to the nature of the product, but also because of the 18k gold decanter it comes in. Individually numbered, the bottle – designed by the iconic Ferruccio Laviani – is in limited in production, with only 3,888 created worldwide.

Inspired by the culture of Kowloon, the menu features a variety of cuisines, including, the Golden Fried Fresh Crab Claws, Baked Seafood Rice in Crab Shell, and the 36-head Whole Iwate Dried Abalone.

Although the restaurant has been in service since the opening of the hotel, the exclusive menu will not be available until June 30.

~Affluent Page

[Shangri-La]

Ithaa, which means “pearl” in Dhivehi, is located just off the coast of the island and is a part of the Hilton Maldives Resort and Spa. It is comprised mostly of transparent acrylic and offers diners a 270-degree panoramic view of the reef that surrounds them. At five by nine meters long, the restaurant is designed to seat only 14 diners at a time.

Known for its crystal clear waters and vibrant coral reefs, Maldives was chosen by New Zealand based design firm, M.J. Murthy Limited, in 2004 as the prime location for this one-of-a-kind restaurant.

As diners enjoy their meals, colorful schools of fish, sharks, stingrays and other tropical creatures swim by. Each day is unpredictable and patrons can never be sure what marine life they will see outside of the restaurant walls.

Ithaa offers unique fixed lunch and dinner menus comprised of the best ingredients the Maldives has to offer. A creative fusion of Maldivian and Western cuisine, the choices range from creamed mushroom soup to Amuse Bouche. The Amuse Bouche, a particularly innovative dish, is a shot glass of salted cod and smoked eel, comfit red pepper, sweet spices, coconut foam and Osietra caviar.

Diners can expect to pay approximately $250 per head for five-course dinner below the sea.

[Ithaa]

To say that Noma has been enormously successful and comes highly recommended would be an understatement. The two-star Michelin rated restaurant has received an overwhelming amount of praise and has been celebrated by the world’s most esteemed food critics. Recently given the number one spot on San Pellegrino’s World’s 50 Best Restuarants, Noma has outdone former Chef winners of the past six years, Ferran Adrià’ (El Bulli) and Heston Blumenthat (Fat Duck.)

Redzepi, staying true to authentic “sea and soil” Nordic cuisine, takes his ingredients and raw food materials directly from the land. Using anything from wild beach roses to monkfish livers to “edible dirt” – consisting of hazelnuts, malt, and beer – Noma has proven to be incredibly unique and innovative. Due to the fact that Redzepi utilizes ingredients solely native to the North Atlantic Region, his recipes cannot be imitated or enjoyed elsewhere. Noma’s prices run about $250.00 a person, however including a selection from its extensive wine list, dinner can cost well over $500.00.

[Noma]