Something for the Weekend #19
Villa renovations, A Look Inside W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island, a humble feedback request, Champagne’s human trafficking, more Ozempic menus! So sit back & enjoy a little Something for the Weekend #19.
Happy Sunday, folks! Here’s an update on our Italian renovations, a humble request for your feedback, a selection of this week’s eye-catching headlines, such as human trafficking in France’s Champagne region, The Fat Duck slims down, plus glimmers of my time in Italy over the last seven days. So sit back and enjoy a little Something for the Weekend #19.
Our renovations kicked off!
I recently shared that this current Italian tour of duty kicks starts the renovations to our old villa nestled among the slopes of Monferrato.
The work started this week! All credit goes to my wife who is overseeing the project with contractors in a language she does not speak while I mainline Teams calls like a goose fattened for the foie gras gallows, all from the same small desk where I punch out this recent spate of SFTW.
I’m the Treasury, but she’s the treasure.
A surreal still, a cacophonous silence reverberates around this house that we own—but have never lived in—now stripped of the soft furnishings and oil paintings of other people’s relatives almost certainly deceased. Weathered doors and shutters were disconnected and passed to artisans for restoration. Somewhat prophetic, my mother-in-law resuscitated an old wrist watch found in a bedside draw. It is now ticking away; emblematic of a house that’s still got a lot to give.
In our enthusiasm, years ago, we set up an Instagram account as a photo diary of our renovation journey, but we have yet to post.
If you’re interested, follow House with the Tower on Instagram or Liam Collens.
A Look Inside W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island.
Last weekend I published on EatGoSee A Look Inside the iconic W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island: a stylish, iconic resort in the centre of all the Formula 1 action during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit! Words by me, photograph from the W Abu Dhabi - Yas Island. Check it out!
Switching gears.
The eagle-eyed may have noticed SFTW now weaves in headlines that catch my eye, with commentary. I do not plan on doing this every week, but what are your thoughts? Also, drop me a comment with more detailed thoughts. It’s always appreciated!
Champagne’s “Harvest of Shame” convicts human traffickers.
A criminal court of Châlons-en-Champagne sentenced labour provider-cum-human traffickers following The Guardian’s reporting eight months ago.
Undocumented migrant workers were lured out of Paris with the false promise of €250 in wages per week in exchange for working the grape harvest were “treated like slaves” and kept in deplorable conditions.
As The Times reported in June:
They were forced to sleep between ten and 15 to a room, using inflatable mattresses on gravel-covered ground. There were no showers and three toilets for them, which were blocked when inspectors arrived. They worked from 6am to 8pm, received little water and only two meals a day — sandwiches — and were so hungry that some ate the grapes off the vines or potatoes found in neighbouring fields for sustenance, the court heard. When they complained, foremen threatened them with knives and tear gas.
The court sentences included a four-year prison sentence to one trafficker and two-year prison sentences for two accomplices, plus fines calculated at €4000 per victim (€228k for 57 victims), plus an additional €57k to a wine-producing cooperative who used the trafficker’s services.
This follows an ongoing 2023 inquiry into migrants working a scorching 2023 harvest, resulting in the death of four grape pickers, including a 19-year-old who fell from a tractor to a 54-year-old woman who reportedly died having lost consciousness during picking. This November, a labour provider and its manager go on trial for suspicion of housing 40 Ukrainians in unfit conditions.
This despicable business is horrific. As someone who has worked with consumer goods supply chains for nearly 20 years, I am stunned that this happened in Europe, where the champagne houses under an obligation to investigate their supply chains, including (and especially) outsourced services like third party labour providers.
I hope those remaining inquiries are properly seen through and let this be a warning shot not only to the inhumane labour providers but also to those who procure their services.
Also, if you’re interested… listen to The Wine Conversation Omnibus #39.
Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, not even at The Fat Duck.
Two weeks ago I shared that Dubai’s the Banc serves “lighter and more intentional portions” for punters two days deep into a dose of Ozempic, Wegovy etc.
Now Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck launches The Mindful Experience where, in their words, is:
an expression of more than a decade of Heston’s explorations of our complex relationship with food and how eating can promote contentment, health and wellbeing. A way to savour the satisfaction of slowing things down and really experiencing your own gastronomic moment.
Marketing tosh. This is the usual Fat Duck menu with portions reduced by about 20-30% per dish, and in some cases by up to 50%. The price is £75 a head cheaper at £275.
The Guardian reports that Blumenthal was afforded this insight as he is prescribed Mounjaro to manage his weight as a side-effect of bi-polar medication. Blumenthal said:
I still wanted to eat, but I didn’t feel that drive. It made me think – this is going to kill the restaurant industry, because if people aren’t eating as much, restaurants won’t be as enticing.
These two stories in the last month may be indicative of a growing trend of restaurants pivoting to meet this latest consumer demand, or lack thereof.
Great Substack Reads.
A truly excellent paid piece in Vittles about The Last Critic in Paris (I read it twice, and it’s LONG.)
It’s the one year anniversary of The Bristol Sauce.
Phylloxera hits Tenerife, plus a short (fascinating) history of European wine and American vine prejudice by Andy Neather
The Usuals.
You can find out more about me here, together with my Substack page.
Flick through my Dubai Restaurant Guide here.
Find weekend inspo in one of Dubai’s best breakfast spots.
Visit the best spots in Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Dubai Hills, two Dubai dining IYKYK hotspots IMO.
Some of world’s great dining spaces.
Find me on Substack, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky or Facebook.
Liam is a restaurant critic, food and travel writer based in the Middle East. He owns EatGoSee and contributes to other publications.
That lighting is stunning! We've been blessed with similar skies across the way in Portugal this week. Can't wait to see how the house renovations come together!!!