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This week we take a seat at a refined resto-bar in Amsterdam for some French-Greek fare, rest our heads at a beachside bolthole by the sand dunes of sunny Formentera and uncork a bottle of natural wine made in an ancient Catalan settlement. Plus: a trip to the Algarve with a Lisbon-based designer and the cap we recommend to keep the rays at bay while still looking decidedly stylish. Up first, Tyler Brûlé on leading from the front.
The Faster Lane / Tyler Brûlé
For our readers in the northern hemisphere, it’s time to get back to work – or almost. Millions of French people will be crisscrossing the country today as la rentrée is in full swing and families hustle back to base to prep the kids for school and parents shuttle into the office for rallying summits to get them motivated till the Christmas holidays. The Italians still have a bit of time off. So too the Spaniards and Portuguese. In the UK, it’s a bank-holiday weekend, and next week is among the quietest on the calendar, with Londoners on the coast, in Tuscany or somewhere further afield. Many of our Canadian and American readers still have their respective “labour” and “labor” days to look forward to before it’s back to the home office, work desk or conference table on the 59th floor.
The work-from-home debate took an interesting turn this week with news that the freshly appointed CEO of Starbucks had negotiated to work from his residence in Orange County, while also being able to use the company jet to fly up to Seattle for days in the office. While much of the fuss was centred around the high-flying privileges of the post, most of the discussion missed a fundamental point. What happened to a CEO setting an example with their presence on the shop floor rather than spotlighting his living room and the wife he wants to spend time with? Why was there concern about how often he should be at his desk when the problems facing the coffee giant are in its outlets – not its Seattle HQ?
It’s not easy taking the reins of a brand that’s at once loved and loathed by hundreds of millions across the globe. But couldn’t the Starbucks comms team have done a better job of putting the story into context? Never mind that this type of corporate-jet use is going on at all kinds of companies, both private and public (it comes with the job and is baked into US corporate culture), the message should have been that Starbucks’ new leader would be putting the plane to full use to mark a new day for the company and putting an end to the crunch of sugar crystals underfoot throughout its branches, reducing order complexity by limiting special adaptations to less than 29 toppings, milks and syrups for the upcoming spiced-pumpkin-cardamom-whipped Hallowe’en season and implementing super-advanced spelling classes for frontline staffers who have to cope with tricky names shouted over milk-frothing and boarding announcements for the next Vueling flight to Valencia.
Somewhere between the chatter about sky-high privilege and how many days other employees have to be in their offices, the discussion somehow overlooked the fact that the overwhelming majority of Starbucks staffers lack the luxury of pouring sprinkles and rinsing blenders from their living rooms. Instead they need to be at malls, railway stations, roadside service stations and, most annoyingly, neighbourhood shops where WFHWers (work-from-home whiners) pull up for their ultra-complex takeaways, lift the lids and ask the completely stressed-out employees if they “really put in five pumps of caramel?” I witnessed this first-hand at 06.30 in a Beverly Hills branch of the ’Bucks. Astonishing – but then again, not really.
I return then to Monocle’s recent call for a global awards programme recognising excellence in the service industry, with special citations handed out to the suffering thousands of Starbucks employees (and those working for the competition) who have to endure a service culture that has allowed too many customers north of 30 to turn into oversized infants.
New opening / Massalia, Amsterdam
Massalia – named after the port city of Marseille, which was founded by ancient Greek settlers – is Amsterdam’s new 120-cover French-style brasserie, with more than a suggestion of owner Angelo Kremmydas’s Greek sensibilities (writes Claudia Jacob). The Dutch-Greek restaurateur’s establishment has been attracting a tidy stream of eastern Amsterdam’s creatives in search of the abundant produce and herbs from across the verdant Mediterranean terroir.
Massalia comes off the back of Kremmydas’s success with nearby Gitane, the contemporary brown café designed by Dutch firm Studio Modijefsky, which has lured western Amsterdammers to its wood-panelled interiors over the past year. But Massalia leaves Dutch café culture behind in a big way; instead you’ll find a list of 180 wines, including varieties from the Greek island of Ikaria, mixed with sweet whites and quaffable reds from the Jura and Burgundy regions. Dig into salted cod beignets with skordalia (a Greek potato and garlic dip), octopus terrine with a burnt pepper salsa and whole grilled artichokes, and finish off with a fennel granita with ouzo foam and grapefruit. The sunny Aegean and Mediterranean shores won’t appear nearly so far-flung.
21 Beukenplein, Amsterdam
Sunday Roast / Pichaya Soontornyanakij
Pichaya Soontornyanakij, known as Chef Pam, is the Thai-Chinese-Australian chef-owner of Bangkok’s Potong, located in an historic pharmacy started by her family 120-years ago (writes Adrian Moore). Here, she chats to us about reinventing the classic Pad Thai, discovering cultural treasures in the Samphanthawong district and her penchant for the simple chef’s jacket.
Ideal start to a Sunday? Gentle start or a jolt?
My day starts at 06.00 when my daughter wakes up. I always spend time
with her before heading off for a busy day at my restaurant.
What’s for breakfast?
A simple salad for me: roasted beetroot, goat’s cheese and a
balsamic dressing.
Lunch in or out?
Out, always exploring Bangkok’s dynamic food scene. It’s essential
to see what others are doing in the culinary world and find
inspiration. In Bangkok I like Jay Fai (a renowned street-food stall).
Walk the dog or downward dog?
Walk the dog in Phutthamonthon park.
A Sunday soundtrack?
John Newman’s “Love Me Again”.
Sunday culture must?
The Song Wat Road area. There are so many pop-up stores, art
galleries and restaurants. I like the gallery Play Art House, Thai restaurant E-ga
Sathorn and a simple coffee shop called Woodbrook Bangkok.
News or not?
I stay updated on the culinary world through food documentaries and
chef interviews. I recommend Flavourful Origins, a show that goes to the
true source of Chinese food.
What’s on the menu?
At Potong, we serve progressive Thai-Chinese cuisine. Think a
reinvented Pad Thai or five-spice dry-aged duck.
Sunday evening routine?
I’ll cook a simple meal like Pad Kra Pao (basil stir-fry) or Khao Tom (rice soup). Sometimes we’ll have Japanese-style fried chicken.
Do you lay out an outfit for Monday?
Always the chef’s jacket: simple, functional clothing.
Recipe / Ralph Schelling
In Monocle’s Mediterraneo newspaper, we feature a series of imaginative cocktails to recreate when you kick back by the beach. This one, by our Swiss recipe writer Ralph Schelling, is a citrusy tipple. “Many people in the villages of Switzerland make their own gin with special herbs and botanicals from the countryside,” he says. A double dose of gin and a whiff of ginger gives this drink a medicinal profile. “It’s almost certainly healthy,” says Schelling.
Aperitif for 4 people
Ingredients
180ml gin (Ralph prefers to use Agramonte Gin for its citrus kick)
80ml lime juice
40ml sugar syrup
2 handfuls of ice cubes
600ml ginger beer (150ml each)
1 sprig of mint
Method
1
Pour the gin, lime juice and sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice cubes and shake.
2
Strain into the glass over ice cubes, top up with ginger beer and garnish with mint.
For more drinks to enjoy under the sun, pick up a copy of the Monocle ‘Mediterraneo’ newspaper, which is available now.
Bottoms up / Fruita Analógica
Amsterdam natives Dido Voorma and Jurriaan Morsink travelled the world learning how to make wine before finally putting down roots in the Spanish town of Rabós. This medieval settlement in the heart of Catalonia’s Alt-Empordà region is nestled between the rocky coastline of the Costa Brava and snowy peaks of the Pyrenees. It’s an ancient wine-making area, filled with co-operatives that have been running for centuries.
In 2017 the couple took over one of these co-operatives and began making natural wine under the name Vinyes Tortuga. In 2020 they took over a second location nearby, which became the home of Fruita Analógica, a winery-cum-restaurant. Here, visitors can sample crisp whites made using indigenous Catalan grape varieties such as xarel-lo and macabeo, and full-bodied reds produced from cabernet franc sourced from small vineyards across the region.
fruitaanalogica.com
Weekend plans? / Dunas de Formentera
Compared with its well-known neighbour Ibiza, popular with nightcrawlers, the island of Formentera offers a more relaxed vibe where travellers pass the time sunning themselves on one of many pristine beaches (writes Ivan Carvalho). Those who visit the smallest of the Balearic Islands now have a new property to explore at the recently opened Dunas de Formentera. Occupying a picturesque strip of land next to Migjorn beach, the 45-key hideout offers guests accommodation in modernist interiors decorated in a soothing palette of beige, terracotta and off-white.
Patrons can opt for suites with sea views or rooms immersed in nature. The serene surroundings are complemented by a casual Mediterranean-inspired kitchen specialising in grilled fish and pizzas prepared in a Neapolitan-style wood-fired oven. To beat the heat, one can stretch out on a sun lounger next to the hotel’s infinity pool or take a short stroll to the white-sand dunes. Either way, it will make guests consider making Formentera a regular port of call for a vacation getaway.
dunasdeformentera.com
Pack this / La Paz cap
Outfitter La Paz, based in the seaside city of Porto, believes in simplicity. It’s rare that an accessory succeeds as a statement piece in its own right while remaining versatile enough to jazz up any outfit.
But the brand’s Santos cap, which we’ve selected in a sunny yellow, does just that. Hats off.
lapaz.pt
For more sunny styles and inspiration, pick up a copy of Monocle’slatest issue, which is available now. Or,subscribe today. Have a super Sunday.
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