The Agnelli “crown prince” is also nicknamed “Lapo of Luxury.” Regularly voted as being one of the best dressed men on the planet, he’s worked as a personal assistant to Henry Kissinger and for the family business on brands including Ferrari, Maserati and Fiat. Not without controversy, Elkann’s presence at any event leaves the girls swooning.
Tag: Italy
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Lapo Elkann
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A chic serpent
A review of Roberto Cavalli Vodka
The Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli is best known for using exotic wild animal prints in his creations and for giving jeans a “sand-blasted look” that has become the standard style for the majority of brands.
Roberto Cavalli Born in 1940 in Florence, Cavalli sells his main lines in over 50 countries and owns various clothing brands as well as producing watches, perfumes and eyewear. Married to Eva Düringer, who he met when he was a judge at the Miss Universe 1977 pageant, Cavalli’s success is often attributed to his success at maximising returns from “celebrity endorsement.” Victoria Beckham, Halle Berry, Brigitte Bardot, Mary J Blige, Elton John, Sean “P Diddy” Coombs, Kate Moss and Shakira all number amongst his muses and customers.
The father of five children from two marriages, Cavalli chose the symbol of the snake as the mascot for his fashion house and most of his inspiration is said to come from nature itself. His brands especially prospered in the United States after the plot of an entire episode of Sex and the City centred upon a Roberto Cavalli dress but it is his wife who is credited with transforming his business fortunes. “I was thinking maybe to stop,” Cavalli told Time International, “… but then Eva became interested so I started—for her—to involve myself again.” Today, his net worth is estimated at $500 million.
Roberto Cavalli Vodka After being told about Roberto Cavalli Vodka, I got in touch with Tommaso Cavalli, the eldest son of Roberto Cavalli, who has built himself a successful career breeding horses and developing the family’s wine and spirit range. Based in Chianti, where the family also produce their Tenuta Degli Dei range of wines, Tommaso Cavalli, in a 2010 interview for DNA India, suggested:
“When people hear about Cavalli Vodka or Wine, they want to try [it] out because of the name.”
This indeed tallies as there have been various attempts at cashing in on fashion and celebrity in the vodka market in recent years. Most, though, have floundered or been trounced as shoddy attempts to take on Grey Goose and Belvedere. I haven’t heard, for example, much of Donald Trump’s vodka since 2006 and critics described it as one that “will produce a not-so luxurious hangover.” Roberto Cavalli Vodka, launched in 2005, however, has deservedly proved itself truly to be an exception to this trend.
Tommaso Cavalli pictured with his family’s vodka Packaged in a stylish frosted bottle, this is one that has been designed to look elegantly sophisticated. Tall and slender, with an appropriately snake like climbing up it, this is a bottle that suitably reflects the “ultra premium status” of Cavalli’s brands.
The vodka itself is 40% ABV and uniquely is made entirely in Italy. The purest water is taken from the Monta Rosa slopes and the finest of grains come from the valleys where the South-Western Alps meet the River Po, Italy’s longest river. Filtration through flakes of Italian Carrara marble results in a taste that I found subtly peppery with a slight hint of citrus. Roberto Cavalli Vodka, as a result, makes a perfect martini but also works well in long drinks.
Of the vodka that bares his name, Roberto Cavalli concludes:
“I love the pureness of vodka, especially of my vodka: it is like water and fire coming together in a single element.”
If you’re looking to add an element of style to your drinks cabinet, make sure you add a bottle of Roberto Cavalli Vodka. It can only add to your status as one who’ll be considered both super cool and super chic.
For more information on Roberto Cavalli Vodka, go to: http://www.robertocavallivodka.com
Purchase Roberto Cavalli Vodka through TheDrinkshop.com for £48.95 for a 70cl bottle at: http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=3682
Follow Roberto Cavalli on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/roberto_cavalli
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The blini baron triumphs
A review of Novikov’s Asian Restaurant
I went to Novikov expecting something brash and “oligarch-tastic” having read articles that bigged up this recent Russian arrival at the heart of Mayfair as just such. As Wayne Rooney once said: “How wrong was I?”
Arkady Novikov Novikov is owned by Arkady Novikov, a man who heads an empire that includes over 50 restaurants in Moscow, supermarkets, multiplex cinemas and florists. Dubbed the “blini baron,” the maverick Novikov employs some 7,000 people in total and counts a clientele of Bill Clinton, Vladimir Putin and Naomi Campbell amongst his patrons. He doesn’t have an office as he prefers to work out of whichever restaurant needs his attention at any given moment and keeps his employees on their toes by aiming to visit each of his restaurants at least once a week. Novikov Berkeley Street is the first foray into restaurant ownership outside of Russia for a man who also purchased the late Gianni Versace’s Villa Fontanelle on Lake Como for £26 million in 2008.
Gianni Versace pictured outside the Villa Fontanelle, near Moltrasio on Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy Novikov London is a vast 400-seat restaurant and bar that is open daily from 7.30am to 11.30pm and split into three parts. In this colossal space, which cost some £8 million to create, is an Italian restaurant and a large wood paneled bar but what I got to try along with my esteemed dining companion, Anthony Brown, was their superb pan-Asian restaurant.
A natural haunt for Mayfair’s wealthy “hedgies,” the clientele of the restaurant also numbers Rhianna, David Walliams, Lara Stone, Tamara Ecclestone, Nick Candy and Holly Vallance. Here indeed is a place where the modern day equivalents of Jay Gatsby can feel perfectly at home.
The pan-Asian restaurant is understated and dark. Though I personally found that the tables were a little too close together, I was especially impressed by the knowledgeable and friendly staff as well as the open “market” area showcasing the finest seafood, fruit and vegetables.
Novikov’s “market” area showcasing seafood, fruit and vegetables The menu parades diners through a culinary tour offering a spectacular selection of Asian dishes. Divided into sections that include dim sum, maki, sushi and sashimi, we started with some edamame with sea salt (£4) before trying a most sophisticated Thai yam bean dumpling (£6) and some steamed king crab and parma ham dumplings (£9). The 5-piece prawn tempura with a tesuyu sauce (£17) was simply divine but the only disappointment was that the wasabi was not quite punchy enough.
We continued with a California maki roll (£12) that contained some of the most fantastic crab I’ve ever tried. Accompanied by deliciously juicy ginger, this was one of the highlights of the meal but the undoubted number one hit was the unagi (£17), a dish made from Japanese freshwater eels. Sweet yet also salty, this grilled dish alone will make me revisit Novikov again and again. Our next choice was yuzu soy dressed tuna sashimi (£17) that had been flash cooked for 2 to 3 seconds. This was itself delicious but the citrus was a little overwhelming.
For the main course, we opted to share a 180g chilli ginger spicy beef fillet (£24) served with steamed jasmine rice (£5) and a roast half duck with a Chinese spiced soy sauce (£22). The former was phenomenal and definitely deserving of a mention in despatches.
For pudding I opted for a green tea crème brûlée accompanied by a punchy guava sorbet (£8) that was unusual and delicious. Mr Brown’s poached pear, however, was a dish that he described as “a little pedestrian.”
Novikov’s Asian restaurant Novikov is somewhere that I urge readers to try. Deservedly lauded as “Russia’s most successful restaurateur,” Mr Novikov is on to a winner in Berkeley Street and I predict further openings in Europe will, in due course, be equally well received. His attention to detail and fastidious nature are, in my opinion, plainly what makes him and his restaurants such a runaway success.
I’ll leave the final word with Mr Novikov himself: “People often ask me whether I plan on continuing to expand. I always tell myself, ‘Enough. Stop.’ But I just can’t!”
Novikov, 50a Berkeley Street, London, W1J 8HA. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7399 4330. Website: http://www.novikovrestaurant.co.uk
For more information on the Novikov Restaurant Group, go to: http://eng.novikovgroup.ru
Follow Novikov on Twitter at: http://www.twiter.com/NovikovLondon
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Valting Vodka
A review of Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka
When thinking of places where vodka is made, Poland and Russia are probably the first places that come to mind.
Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka, however, is unique in being the only single malt vodka from Scotland and Ricky Christie, it’s founder, claims to be on a mission to “change your perspective.”
Christie describes his vodka, which currently sells around 3,000 cases a year, as having a “barley sugar and cream nose, [a] sweet vanilla ice cream taste [and a] warm melting butter finish.” I personally found it very distinctive and much more punchy than the standard “colourless, odourless and tasteless” description that is applied to most vodkas. Valt is not a vodka for a traditional Stoli fan but more one for someone willing to be a little more adventurous in what they consume.
Ricky Christie with a bottle of Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka and his reflux column copper pot still The spirit is made with water from the famous salmon fishing river, the 107-mile long Spey, and Scottish malted barley. Using a traditional copper still, Valt is a vodka that undergoes a charcoal and chill filtration and one that is quintuple distilled. The result is a pure and mellow taste.
Christie first launched Valt in the UK but it is now also available in Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Malta, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Poland. It can also be found in Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore and Jakarta but the brand has yet to conquer the biggest and toughest spirits market, the United States of America.
Nonetheless, Valt’s progress since launch in 2006 is somewhat impressive and case sales of some 10,000 a year are now within reach. Rabbie Burns would be proud.
For more information about Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka, go to: http://www.valtvodka.com
Follow Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/valtvodka
To purchase Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka for £24.95 a bottle, go to Master of Malt: http://www.masterofmalt.com/vodka/valt-single-malt-vodka/?agegate=true&gclid=CKu2nZTiz64CFcImtAod9XXhlw