“Mademoiselle Khoo”, as she likes to be known, is a Paris based chef, writer and broadcaster. Bubbly and vivacious, she’s “seduced the French with Paris’ smallest restaurant” and charmed the Brits with her fresh and enthusiastic approach to all things edible. Watch out – her profile is rising faster than any soufflé.
Tag: Sydney
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Rachel Khoo
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Jim Ruig: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times asks architectural antiques expert Jim Ruig: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Design, travel and friends.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
The best revenge is to have a fabulous life.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?
The current government in Australia and especially our left-wing Socialist friend Julia.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
I miss being a father and a provider.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
More time on this planet.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the banking crisis?
All bankers are stewing in their own muck.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“Envy”.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
Too many people support charities for the wrong reasons. One must support a charity close to one’s heart rather than for superficial reasons.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
An unnecessary evil.
Jim Ruig 
Jim Ruig with Frankie Dettori MBE If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
Matthew Steeples, Julia Gillard, Carlos Santana, John Cleese, Sigmund Freud, Pablo Picasso, and my son, Morgan so that he can witness it all. It’d be nice also to have Ralph Lauren and Axel Vervoordt as that would be just perfect.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
I’d love a lamb shank on the Noosa Foreshore in Queensland. It’s a fabulous place and it would be divine.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
Don’t be silly, alcohol doesn’t know what time it is.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
I’d rather have a glass of good red wine.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
The ones thrown by fabulous people who are creative, funny and innovative.
Who is the most positive person you know?
My son.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Polo.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
I have tattoos that date back some 25 years. The one that would sum me up would be of a Viking.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
I would love to be an Aston Martin DB6.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I am very romantic.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
A photograph of my beautiful daughter, Camilla.
James “Jim” Ruig is the founder of the architectural business, The Salvage Company. Operating out of London, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Hong Kong, Ruig sources reclaimed materials and antiques for commercial and residential clients.
For more information about The Salvage Company, go to: http://www.salvageeurope.co.uk
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Luca Del Bono
This stylish Anglo-Italian entrepreneur was one of the founders of Quintessentially. Charm personified, Del Bono now assists wealthy foreigners invest in London’s finest homes and businesses. His most talked about venture is a £100 million project that will turn 50 St James’s Street into a member’s club, spa and hotel. In the residential sector, he represented a Ukranian who purchased Hanover Lodge in Regent’s Park for £120 million: Britain’s most expensive single family residence. His is a Rolodex that is second to none. -
Gina Rinehart
Whatever she does, “The House of Hancock comes first.” This little known Australian daughter of a bush pilot and prospector is now the world’s richest woman with a worth of some £18 billion. Known as the “Iron Lady,” twice-married Rinehart’s fortune is expanding at a rate of £21,000 a second and if this continues this larger than life lady will be the richest person on the planet. When Prince Philip met her he asked if she’d been invited simply because she had “the largest hat in Western Australia.” Her father called her his “right-hand man” and “young fella” and she’s even taken on three of her own children in court. The Hancock Mountain Range is named after her and commemorates her family’s contribution to mining in the Pilbara region. -
Anouska Hempel (Lady Weinberg)
The founder of the world’s first boutique hotel moved to London in 1962 with just £10 to her name. She’s acted with Anton Rodgers in Zodiac and was in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service but it as a designer of global repute that she is best known. Married to Sir Mark Weinberg, the founder of St. James’s Place Wealth Management, Hempel was born on a boat sailing from Papua New Guinea to New Zealand. This society figure’s first hotel, Blakes, created in 1978, is the favourite of personalities such as Sharon Stone and Seal and still sets the barometer for style today. -
James Murdoch
Considered by many as the pretender to the fortune of his father, Rupert, the phone hacking scandal may have put paid to that. He dropped out of Harvard to start a hip hop label named Rawkus and even gave an airing to a then little known Eminem. Here’s a rebel, complete with two tattoos, who, like a phoenix from the ashes, will undoubtedly rise again. -
Nancy Wake AC GM (1912 – 2011)
Churchill’s most highly decorated special agent. A resistance heroine who lived at The Stafford Hotel from 2001 to 2003 and regaled visitors with tales of her time as the legendary “White Mouse.” Her tipple of choice, gin and tonics, flowed as freely as did the stories of her time interviewing Hitler in the 1930s and 500-mile missions on bicycles. -
Rupert Murdoch
This father of six is a media mogul who doesn’t back down. Faced with being labeled the prime culprit in the phone hacking debacle, he battles on. His second wife Wendi packs a mean left hook.