Sri Lanka's first-ever distinctive food and beverage magazine,‘Gourmet Circle' was launched recently amid a large and distinguished gathering at the Barefoot Garden Café. Brainchild of Narmada Muller of‘Bistro Latino' and Lanka Oberoi fame,‘Gourmet Circle' finally fills a void in Sri Lanka's burgeoning food and beverage, and culinary industry.
This launch issue sparkles with chats and recipes, journeys and stories, tips and tales drawn from the ultimate gourmet experience while its dazzling images leap out of its 80 pages inspiring a 360° gastronomic indulgence.
Says the Editor Narmada Muller, 'With Sri Lanka's hospitality industry heading for an all time high, we felt that a dedicated magazine of this nature would, in its own way, complement the local food industry. Gastronomy is now very fashionable. It has its own art forms, its own way of life and its distinct 'joie de vivre'.With the creativity, drive and 'savoir faire' of our very own players, Sri Lanka undoubtedly has the potential to one day, be the gastronomic hub of South Asia'.
'Food has been a passion all my life, an indulgent father and a mother who is probably the best cook I know, nurtured that zeal for food in me.With Gourmet Circle we aspire to go beyond dining.We are on a mission to celebrate the broader view of food lifestyles laced with an intelligent and informative tone,' she adds.
‘Gourmet Circle' features the latest news from the local and international culinary scene.
New Zealand’s flagship airline plans to fly aircraft to Antarctica that pilots would land on an ice runway.
But tourists wanting to travel to the frozen continent will need to keep their hopes in check. The chartered Air New Zealand flights would be for scientists and their support crews, and the airline said Tuesday it has no plans to begin commercial trips.
Many countries already fly scientists to Antarctica. But those flights are typically run by government or military agencies, or by specialised companies.
Air New Zealand plans to use one of its regular passenger jets for the Antarctic flights, a Boeing 767-300.
Airline spokeswoman Marie Hosking said the jet doesn’t need any modifications and that the Antarctic ice runway has the characteristics of a regular runway that is covered in dry snow, much like the airline’s pilots might expect to encounter at an airport such as Tokyo.
The airline plans an October 5 trial run. If successful, it would operate two more charter flights during the upcoming Antarctic summer season.
The aircraft would leave from Christchurch and land on the Pegasus runway on the Ross Ice Shelf, a trip of 3,870 kilometres that takes about five hours. Unlike the existing military flights, the Air New Zealand planes could return, in good conditions, without refuelling. Getting fuel to Antarctica is difficult and expensive.
The flights have been chartered by Antarctica New Zealand, the agency that runs the country’s Antarctic programme. Flights would also carry American scientists as the US works collaboratively with the South Pacific nation in Antarctica.
Graeme Ayres, the operations manager for Antarctica New Zealand, said the landing strip needs to be prepared carefully so there’s sufficient granulation to provide friction.
“Obviously you can’t have a slippery ice rink,” he said. “That would be quite hazardous.”
He said the aircraft would be able to transport about 200 scientists and support staff on each trip.
“They have the capability to move mass numbers of people pretty quickly,” he said. “It’s a pretty exciting time.”
Stephen Parker, a spokesman for New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, said the country tries to limit Antarctic tourism and minimise its impact on the environment.
“This is consistent with Antarctica’s status as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science,” he said.
Air New Zealand has never landed in Antarctica but briefly ran scenic flights over the continent. But in 1979, one of its aircraft crashed into Mount Erebus, killing all 257 aboard. That disaster has left a scar on New Zealand and likely factored into the airline’s decision not to return to Antarctica for more than three decades.
Australian company Antarctica Sightseeing Flights charters aircraft to run scenic tours over the continent.
But tourists wanting to set foot on Antarctica must typically travel by boat. The Rhode Island-based International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators estimates about 35,000 tourists visited the continent last summer.
The BBC Natural History Unit (NHU), the department of the BBC which produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme is currently in Sri Lanka to film the country’s National Parks and Archeological Sites for one of its highly regarded nature documentaries, “Monsoon”.Best known for its productions such as The Blue Planet and Planet Earth, each year the NHU produces around 100 hours of television and 50 hours of radio programmes, making it the single largest wildlife documentary production house in the world. In a bid to cover the historic archeological connection to the county’s wildlife heritage, the NHU is currently covering sites such as the Kalawewa, Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa along with the Minneriya and Wilpattu National Parks. Cinnamon `Nature Trails’, the dedicated Wildlife and Adventure Tourism division at John Keells Hotels Group is the official ground handling agent for the NHU tour, whilst the crew is being hosted at a range of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts during their stay in Sri Lanka – including Cinnamon Lodge Habarana and Cinnamon Wild Yala.
Understanding that films and television programs have a significant, positive effect on tourism, the filming tour was organized by Cinnamon Nature Trails with the full approval of the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation with the prime objective of gaining a wider `branding’ for Sri Lanka and its natural world, which in turn will have a very strong influence on creating a desire to travel in the minds of its wide tourist audience.
With over 16 nature parks and wildlife reserves to boast of and only 24 percent of tourists to Sri Lanka visiting these sites annually, the effect that a documentary such as this, produced by an elite unit of the BBC such as the NHU, will only be persistent and long-lasting and will no doubt contribute immensely towards the ambitious vision of the Government to achieve the arrival of high-end tourists into the country.
“Sri Lanka is just one country in the whole series on the monsoon. It is a privilege to be considered amongst the likes of Malaysia and Indonesia in this portrayal of the great ancient world and its links to the irrigational achievements of past kings that hosts the wilderness and natural world at present. Indeed a great opportunity for us,” said Vimukthi Weerathunga, Wildlife Biologist and Operations Director of the Environment Foundation Limited.
According to the BBC, the tour, in essence will bring an estimated 50,000,000 viewers along with them to see Sri Lankan wildlife’s challenges, and solutions in surviving the drought. The crew also intends on filming the Yala National Park once it reopens to visitors by the end of the month.
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