Divers

🏄 Aquaventure World, now branded as Aquaventure World, encompasses Aquaventure Waterpark, The Lost Chambers aquarium, water sports, and a host of other attractions including the Dubai hot air balloon. Having secured a Guinness World Records™ title as the largest waterpark, they've launched new daily and annual packages for various adventures this summer. Visitors can choose from record-breaking slides, adrenaline-fueled water sports, or encounters with 65,000 animals at The Lost Chambers, all while enjoying over a kilometer of private beach or a hot air balloon ride over the Palm.

✈ Twin Jet will relaunch its Marseille-Strasbourg flight route on September 30, 2024, operating Monday to Friday to enhance connectivity between the two major economic centers. The airline has scheduled flights tailored for business travelers, with 5 direct round-trip flights weekly: Marseille to Strasbourg departing at 17:30 on Mondays and 06:30 Tuesday-Thursday, with a special 12:00 departure on Fridays; Strasbourg to Marseille departs at 19:35 on Mondays and 08:35 Tuesday-Thursday, with a 17:15 departure on Fridays. Twin Jet's CEO, Eric Moret, expressed enthusiasm for the strategic route's relaunch.

📰 The Peninsula hotel group's latest global campaign "Peninsula Perspectives" features Kam Tsui, a long-serving employee and bellboy at the group's flagship hotel, in an inspiring film. The campaign highlights personal journeys of employees and cities where Peninsula hotels are located, focusing on cultural exchange and meaningful experiences. Kam Tsui, who has been with The Peninsula Hong Kong for over a decade, is deaf and mute, and has welcomed thousands of international visitors.

🏨 Founded in 2004, easyHotel, a European budget hotel operator, is exploring sale options amid expansion across 11 countries. Operating 49 hotels, including 17 franchised with 1,250 rooms and 32 owned or leased with over 3,500 rooms, easyHotel could value at approximately £400 million ($529 million). Advisors N M Rothschild & Sons are guiding the sale, with TPG and Proprium Capital Partners among potential buyers. Majority shareholders ICAMAP and Ivanhoé Cambridge's pre-pandemic investment valued the company at around $170 million.

🏦 Jean-Pierre Bansard, born in 1940 in Oran, Algeria, moved to France in 1962 and founded Bansard International at Orly Airport in 1963. In 1984, he introduced factory outlets in France by creating 11 Usines Center. By 1985, he established Compagnie Internationale Bansard Liagre Entreprises (CIBLE) and appointed Évelyne Renaud-Garabedian as CEO. In 1986, he acquired Drouant restaurant and its building. In 1989, Bansard bought the iconic Paul-Bert and Serpette markets in Saint-Ouen, featuring 420 stands.

🍴 The 12th edition of the Rabelais des Jeunes Talents de la Gastronomie will honor 38 laureates on September 25, 2024, at the Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione in Paris. Aged 17-29, these young talents from various specialties were recognized for their talent, dexterity, creativity, and motivation. They were selected through competitions and assessments throughout the year. The event marks a return to the venue where the first edition took place in 2012.

🌿 Mido Paris, inspired by the Japanese word "Midori" for green, offers a culinary journey from Japan to South America. La Môme Groupe, within a decade, has become a key player in the French Riviera's hospitality. Founders Antoine and Ugo Lecorché from Lyon, after a season in Cannes in 2004, opened their first restaurant, La Môme, rue Florian in Cannes in 2015, envisioning a perfect blend of impeccable service, quality cuisine, and a relaxed elegant ambiance.

🍛 Serving size for 4 as an appetizer: 12 Ostra Regal oysters No. 0-1. Seasoning includes 1 chorizo, sliced into thin petals, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cooking instructions involve gently frying chorizo petals in olive oil, discarding the first water from opened oysters, grilling oysters with chorizo oil until slightly swollen, topping with chorizo petals, and serving immediately.

🍴 Michel Guérard, born in 1933 in Vétheuil, Val-d'Oise, was the first chef on Time Magazine's cover in the U.S. A pioneer of nouvelle cuisine, he won the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (M.O.F.) title in 1958. In the 1970s, he partnered with Régine for restaurant openings from Paris to New York. He met and married Christine Barthélemy, an HEC graduate, in 1975. His cookbook "La Grande cuisine minceur" (1976) and the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Les Prés d’Eugénie (joined in 1974, third star in 1977) were significant successes. Guérard, widowed since 2017, passed the family empire to his daughters, Eléonore and Adeline.

🍽 Chef Michel Guérard, a legend in French gastronomy, passes away, leaving behind a 47-year legacy and the three Michelin-starred Les Prés d’Eugénie. His innovative approach, focusing on quality and simple, natural ingredients, inspired chefs globally. Guide MICHELIN and its International Director, Gwendal Poullennec, extend condolences to his family and collaborators.