Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/433160
Events 46 maltatoday, Sunday, 14 december 2014 British American Tobacco Malta focuses on Malta's heritage enhancement Emirates unveils US$500m long-term investment to provide the best wines onboard Medina Restaurant wins Best Overall Restaurant in Malta One of the most popular historical sites in Malta among Maltese and tourists alike was "brightened" fol- lowing a new initiative by British American Tobacco Malta. Held under the theme of "Bringing value everyday to the society", all employ- ees of the British American Tobac- co Malta dedicated a day's work at Fort Rinella in Kalkara where they planted olive tree saplings in three areas around the historic site as part of the annual corporate social responsibility day of the company. The initiative took place in co- operation with Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (FWA), a voluntary non- governmental organisation active in the field of heritage preservation. Fort Rinella is one of a series of four coastal batteries built by the British in Malta and in Gibraltar between the years 1878 and 1886. Up till the mid-1930s, it served as a Position Finding Station for nearby Fort Ricasoli. The property was surrendered to the Government of Malta in 1965. Since 1991, this iconic heritage of Malta has been undergoing restoration by volun- teers from FWA - Malta Heritage Foundation. British American Tobacco Malta Head of Trade Charles Saliba said: "A central part of being a sustain- able business is operating with integrity and responsibility. As a socially-aware and responsible business, we understand the role of private sector in contributing to the community by encouraging the protection of our heritage. This col- laboration with Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna forms part of our continuous social responsibility, bringing value everyday to the Maltese society. FWA Chairman Mario Farrugia said, "Our Foundation welcomes any assistance and support from both corporates, institutions and individuals. For this purpose, Fon- dazzjoni Wirt Artna is grateful for the support extended by British American Tobacco Malta and its employees as this contributes to- wards the upkeep and maintenance of Fort Rinella in Kalkara." British American Tobacco was formed in 1902 as a joint venture between the UK's Imperial Tobacco Company and the American To- bacco Company, founded by James 'Buck' Duke. In 1907, BAT set up a sales depot in Malta. In mid-1950s, Rothmans set up a factory in Malta operating under the name of Car- reras. In 1972, BAT and Rothmans established a factory operating un- der the name of Central Cigarette Company Limited (CCCL). In 1999, BAT and Rothmans merged globally ensuring a smooth transition of CCCL into the BAT Group. Following Malta's entry into the EU, BAT Malta refocused as a trade marketing organisation. On any given day, over 60 differ- ent wines, champagnes and ports, sourced from the best vineyards in 11 countries, are served onboard Emirates to passengers in all class- es. Representing a long-term invest- ment of over US$500 million to date, Emirates' wine programme is a critical component of its inflight dining experience. As with every aspect of its service, wine selection and planning is undertaken with meticulous care. Rather than depend on intermedi- ary buyers, Emirates' own team of experts has built relationships di- rectly with some of the world's most prestigious chateaus and vineyards to handpick and secure the wines served onboard. "To us, wine is an experience. Our customers want to enjoy wine onboard as if they were in a fine dining restaurant. It's not just red, white, or rosé. They are interested in where the grape comes from, the vintage, the vineyard's heritage and so on. That is why over a decade ago, we moved away from the usual corporate procurement process and decided to take control of our own destiny," said Sir Tim Clark, Presi- dent Emirates Airline. "We could have taken the easy way out - just do the maths for how many bottles we'd need in each cabin class over a year then put it up for tender. But with the scale of our opera- tions, this would limit our choices as not many producers can offer the quantities we'd need, at the qual- ity standards that we'd want. We'd rather buy the best wines we can get in smaller lots, and offer our cus- tomers more opportunities to try the best vintages, even though this requires a lot more work in terms of operational logistics from the load- ing of flights and menu updates, to the training of our cabin crew." Emirates has a dynamic strategy of buying wines, and an intensive programme to secure the best vin- tages for future consumption by buying en primeur – often before the wines are bottled and released to the market. The airline currently has over 1.2 million bottles of wines aging in its cellar in Burgundy, France. Some of these vintages will only be ready for consumption in a decade's time. "The thing about wine is that each vintage is finite. Therefore we want to get in early to secure the best stock for our customers. Over the years, we have developed very strong relationships with the best, as well as the most promising pro- ducers in all the main wine regions. That helps open the doors for us to get the best picks. "Sure, it is a big investment. But wine and champagne will always be an important aspect of our on- board product therefore we take a long-term view. It is simply part of our rigorous planning process. Just as we know how big our fleet will be and where these aircraft will fly, we know what wines we are going to serve in each class on a particular route in four years' time," said Sir Tim. To find out more about the fine wines, ports and champagne that will be served on a specific flight, customers can visit emirates.com to view the wine lists, by simply keying in the flight details at: http://www. em i rates.com/ae/eng l i sh/f ly i ng / dining/wines/inflight-wine.aspx Emirates operates a daily sched- uled flight between Malta and Du- bai via Larnaka, Cyprus. The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants Awards Ceremony sponsored by HSBC and Charles Grech & Co Ltd, held at the Radis- son Blu Golden Sands on Monday 8 December celebrated the outstand- ing achievement of Malta & Gozo's top survey rated restaurants as vot- ed by diners out who participated in the Malta & Gozo Restaurant Survey online at www.restaurants- malta.com. Out of over 1800 restaurants on the Maltese Islands only 150 make it to be included in the latest 2015 edition of The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta & Gozo and its official portal www. restaurantsmalta.com The results were revealed by Lisa Grech of the Definitive(ly) Good Guide Co and presented by Min- ister for Justice, Culture & Local Government Owen Bonnici, Sergio Bellizzi from HSBC, Stephen El- lul from Charles Grech Co Ltd and Alfred Cuschieri of Continental Purchasing on behalf of Villeroy & Boch who supplied the beautiful commemorative award plates for the occasion. The Malta & Gozo Restaurant Survey was conducted in September 2014 and had a fantastic response of over 1700 surveys returned, with reviewers who dined out on aver- age 2 times per week equivalent to over 176,800 dining experiences in a year! Of the survey respondents 47% were women and 53% men. This year sees a remarkable 39 new res- taurants to the The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta & Gozo and www.restaurantsmalta. com which was also launched on the evening. Award restaurants were chosen from the highest rated restaurants, both overall, and in the various price categories for Malta and Gozo, tak- ing into account not only the Over- all rating but also individual Food, Service and Ambience ratings, the number of people rating, value for money, comments and other data from the survey. The winners were: • Best Food (sponsored by Rummo) – Caviar & Bull • Best Service (sponsored by Charles Grech Co Ltd) – Medina Restaurant • Best Ambience (spon- sored by F Busuttil & Sons) – Me- dina Restaurant • Best Maltese Food (spon- sored by The Definitive(ly) Good Guide Co) - La Maltija Restaurant • Best Business Entertain- ment (sponsored by The Catering Centre) – Zeri's Restaurant • Most Romantic Restau- rant (sponsored by Francis Busuttil & Sons) – Tarragon • Most Children-Friendly (sponsored by the Malta Baby & Kids Directory) – iPlace • Best Restaurant offering Vegetarian options (sponsored by Good Earth Ltd) – Tarragon • Best Value for Money (sponsored by Apple Core Foods) – Mamma Mia Restaurant • Most Lively Atmosphere (sponsored by Lord Chambray) - Tarragon • Best Newcomer (spon- sored by Sistina Wine & Co) – Cav- iar & Bull • Best Restroom – The Blue Elephant. • And in memory of Colin Best – co-founder of the Restaurant Guide. - The Colin Best Award for the Most Consistently Outstand- ing Restaurant in Malta & Gozo for 2014/2015 – The Blue Elephant. The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in association with Charles Grech Co Ltd Wine Awards were as follows: • The People's Choice Wine List taken from the results of the re- turned surveys - Tarragon. • The Best Maltese Wine List – Tal-Familja • The Best Value for Money Wine List - La Mere • The Best Fine Wine List – Patrick's Lounge & Restaurant • The Most Progressive Wine List – Del Borgo • The Best Style & Read- ability Wine List – Del Borgo • The Best Assortment & Diversity Wine List - Pintonino • The Hotel Wine List of the year – Xara Palace, Relais & Chateau • Wine List of the Year - Tarragon The results of the Restaurant Sur- vey can be found in the 2015 edition of The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta and Gozo and is now available to purchase online for 8 Euros at www.restaurantsmal- ta.com which will also entitle you to the Guide online and a free hard copy in the post. It is also available at leading stationers and bookshops in Malta & Gozo. Planting olive tree saplilngs around Fort Rinella