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China Chapitre

Bailliage of China
Beijing, October 27, 2018

Held jointly with the Bailliage of Tianjin

Almost 100 members and their guests arrived at the “House of Astor” in the St. Regis Hotel for our 2018 Chapitre held jointly with the Bailliage of Tianjin.

The Induction Ceremony presided over by Steven Kahn, Member of the Conseil Magistral from Hong Kong. He inducted 20 new Chaîne members and three new Ordre Mondial members, presented seven Silver Commandeur (10 years) pins, awarded three promotions and recognised two Bronze medal recipients. It was a busy evening indeed!

We welcomed special guests: Cam Dobransk from Calgary, Canada, supporting the induction of a former apprentice; CM Tsang, Argentier of the Bailliage of China; Wally & Sheila Lau and Peter & Angela Chiu from Denver, Colorado, USA.

The original St. Regis Hotel was built in 1904 New York by John Jacob Astor IV. He perished when the Titanic sank in 1912. This traditional hotel has grand staircases, personal butlers, five-star service 24/7 every day of the year, not to mention a famous daily sabrage ritual for champagne to start the evening's festivities. These traditions made our evening even more sumptuous.

On arrival we were feted in the hotel lobby which was converted into a grand dining hall par excellence. We dined under a ten-metre ceiling strewn with crystal chandeliers whilst live piano music was played on the Steinway.

The St. Regis is the birth place of the legendary cocktail, the “Red Snapper” - a Bloody Mary derivative made with gin instead of vodka. A special “Red Snapper Champagne” cocktail with a floating peeled cherry tomato which was macerated in the gin and spices was created for us.

For the dinner, newly-appointed Executive Chef Anupam Banerjee created an outstanding menu inspired by the flavours and foods of the upcoming winter season creatively accentuated with hints of spices from India.

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Organic quinoa, oysters, capers raisins
Champagne Duval-Leroy Brut NV

Slow roast quail
fourchette potatoes, garden peas, 15-year-old balsamic
Château d'Esclans ‘Whispering Angel’ Rosé - Provence

Sea bass and lobster ‘en papillote’
fennel slaw, heirloom tomatoes
Pascal Jolivet Pouilly Fumé - Loire Valley

Roast venison
Nantes carrot, red cabbage, sloe gin sauce
Silver Heights ‘The Summit’ 2015
Helan Mountain Eastern Slope, Ningxia, China

Passion fruit sorbet

70% chocolate, hazelnut, lemon, pistachio
Kracher Beerenauslese - Austria

Our thanks went to Maître Hôtelier Richard Deutl, General Manager of the St Regis, Bastian Kuhnt, Director of Food and Beverage, and Executive Chef Anupam Banerjee who is a Maître Rôtisseur. Together with their teams - seemingly thousands of pairs of helping hands - they made this event a very memorable experience.

James O’Neill
Vice-Chancelier/Argentier

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