Love card by Yves Saint-Laurent
Born and raised in Moscow, the Sybaritic Single is in love with caviar. He remembers the time when he enjoyed it for breakfast every single day as a child, spoonful at a time from one kilogram – yes, ONE KILO – tins. Those days are gone but he still keeps record of the luxury hotels to go – or fly to – when he feels like caviar.
Earlier this week, he very travelled all the way to the Far East to dine at the world’s highest caviar bar at The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong. Soaring high on the 102nd floor and with seven seats only, this Caviar Bar by Caviar House & Prunier venue became famous for serving the Caspian delicacy to the second generation of Chinese tycoons in a seriously glittering ambiance.
Being, as is undeniably obvious to all his many fans, a caviar connoisseur, the Sybaritic Single took a few moments to select his meal, which happened to be dinner as this Caviar Bar does not open at break-the-fast time: Paris (sturgeon from France by Prunier), Classic (oscietra from Italy by Caviar House) and Beluga (from Iran by Caviar House). The entire selection represented all farmed caviar and was quite steeply priced. Beluga vodka and a selection of six labels of champagne by flûte were offered to complement the caviar – but who kills the delicate flavour of caviar with vodka or, God forbid, chopped onion?
Although some think that the Caviar Bar was the idea of the luxury hotel’s financial guru, all praise must, apparently, go to Peter Rebeiz. He inherited the Caviar House brand from his father, gourmet and businessman of the world Georges Rebeiz, a Lebanese who, when Consul to Denmark in 1950, had the idea of importing Russian caviar (Georges Rebeiz, who linked up with Hans Gerd Kübel’s balik salmon in 1972, died in 2009, at 82). It is Peter who linked up with Prunier, owned by Pierre Bergé, partner of the much-missed Yves Saint-Laurent, and today you can buy 125 gram or 250 gram tins of Prunier caviar in Love tins inspired by one of Saint-Laurent’s famous cards.
This obviously makes good business sense as you see Caviar House & Prunier bars airside at most of the best airports in the world. But those sizes of presentations are a far cry from the amount the Sybaritic Single was used to as a child. Anyway, this experience at a luxury hotel’s sky-high Caviar Bar has satisfied his appetite for his home delicacy – but only for some time, until his favourite breakfast eggs with caviar are served at Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris next week.
