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Basel chef Peter Knogl gains third Michelin star By Caroline Bishop

The Basel region now has its first three Michelin-starred restaurant after chef Peter Knogl at the Hôtel Trois Rois received his third star in the 2016 Michelin guide to Switzerland, published on Thursday. German chef Knogl, who arrived to run the Cheval Blanc restaurant at the famous Basel hotel in 2007, achieved his first star by the end of that year and his second a year later. The 47-year-old now joins only two other chefs in Switzerland – Benoît Violier at the Hôtel de Ville in Crissier and Andreas Caminada at the Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau – in holding three Michelin stars, generally acknowledged as the highest accolade possible for a chef. Revealing the new guide, Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin guides, said in a statement that Knogl’s cuisine “hasn’t stopped evolving over the last few years”. He praised the chef’s “refined ideas” which make dining at his restaurant “a unique experience”. Reacting to the achievement, Knogl said it was “a life-long dream come true”. “The choice of our inspectors, who work independently and anonymously, confirms once again for 2016 the high level of Swiss gastronomy and reflects the huge culinary diversity in the country,” said Ellis. He also praised Switzerland’s mix of traditional restaurants and innovative, modern establishments. The Local Switzerland

Why Leonardo DiCaprio should win an Academy Award By Héctor Llanos Martínez and Martin Delfin

The eternal nominee might finally pick up his first Oscar for Iñárritu’s ‘The Revenant’

He is infallible as an actor; his conservation work fills the pages of newspapers, while at the same time hundreds of magazines are quick to publish photos of him and his latest girlfriend.
So why hasn’t Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar? The 40-year-old actor has spent half his life trying to win an Academy Award, and now many are saying his time has come with his role in The Revenant, a western-thriller directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The new film by the Mexican director – whose Birdman scooped four awards at this year’s Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director – focuses on the survival of a fur-trapper who is left for dead and abandoned somewhere in the Dakota mountains by his hunting companions. As well as being one of the favorites for next year’s awards ceremony, the film is almost entirely carried by DiCaprio and in certain ways is centered on his brilliance. Both the director and actor undertook a filming odyssey in the snow-filled landscapes of Calgary, Canada, and will be hoping to be recognized for their efforts when the Oscar nominations are announced in mid-January. EL PAÍS

The Revenant Inspired by true events, THE REVENANT is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man's epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption. THE REVENANT is directed and co-written by renowned filmmaker, Academy Award (R) winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman, Babel). (C) Fox Rotten Tomatoes Photo… More

Rome's Spanish Steps Closed for Bulgari-funded makeover

ROME (AFP) - Rome's famous Spanish Steps closed to the public Wednesday for a restoration project funded by luxury jeweller Bulgari that is expected to last several months. Bulgari, bought in 2011 by French luxury giant LVMH, is putting €1.5 million (S$2.3 million) into the refurbishment. The 18th-century Baroque-style stairway, which has 144 steps, was last restored 20 years ago. The work, which will be carried out by local restorer Il Cenacolo, is expected to be finished by spring 2016, at which point the steps will be "restored to the whole world in all their beauty and splendour," Rome mayor Ignazio Marino said. The steps will be closed to pedestrians until Dec 7 - the start of a special Jubilee year expected to draw millions of Catholic pilgrims to Rome - after which a side ramp will be opened to allow access to tourists. "Rome has always been the number one source of inspiration for Bulgari, so it is right to give back to Rome what Rome has given Bulgari," the jeweller's CEO Jean-Christophe Babin said as work began. The work includes re-levelling the steps to repair natural wear and maintenance of the rainwater drainage system, as well as restoring the original lamps which illuminate the steps by night. The Spanish Steps, which links Bernini's "boat" fountain with the Trinita dei Monti church at the top, were made famous in the United States by the 1953 film Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Bulgari pledged the money last year in response to a government plea for help in financing Italy's heritage monuments. The private sector is already helping restore other Unesco monuments: in Rome, luxury shoemaker Tod's is financing works at the Colosseum, while high-end fashion house Fendi is refurbishing the Trevi Fountain. The Straits Times Photo

Roman Holiday By Paula Diperna

With some time to kill waiting in Rome for a bus to Abruzzo, I was planning on a nice Sunday lunch in the city center. I took a taxi from the station to the Via Margutta. The cab approached my destination and the streets were throbbing with tourists. I was suddenly gripped by the need to get far away. “Never mind, let’s leave,” I said to the taxi driver, who had been gently threading his way through the ancient pathways of the eternal city. “Let’s go instead to the Piazza Bologna,” I said, which was near the bus station. “I’ll have lunch there.” “But do you know that’s the other direction completely?” the driver asked. I said so be it, and I would explain en route. I explained that even though I was a tourist, I preferred not to be surrounded by them. I added that I was headed to Abruzzo to visit relatives. His face broke into a huge smile, “I also have relatives there, signora.” With that, he unleashed a cascade of helpful hints: Abruzzo was “wild and known to be tough but gracious;” the bus station could be dangerous and I should be very careful. The driver took me to a restaurant in the Bologna neighborhood. He kindly put my bags on the sidewalk and we said goodbye. The day was unrolling perfectly, thanks to this fellow. When I later told my relatives about his niceties, they said it had to be a miracle. Ten days later, I was back in Rome, this time with a full-day. I had no agenda, but a Dutch couple I had met had raved about a sculpture they had seen by chance — “Il Pugile,” a first-century A.D. bronze of an exhausted boxer. So contagious was their passion for it that I decided I should see it too. My hotel concierge spent about 30 minutes on the Web trying to locate the piece. He found it, but when I got to the museum, the guard told me the Pugile was elsewhere, in another museum on the other side of the city. Not to be thwarted, I crossed town. The Dutch woman had eloquently called the piece “a kind of time machine, defying any moment.” And she was right. The spent hero sat slumped, hands wrapped, nose broken, head turned in amazement at his survival, it seemed, though one couldn’t actually tell whether he had won or lost his match. I couldn’t take my eyes off “Il Pugile.” I, too, was awed by its silent drama. Still reflecting on my good fortune of receiving this tip from strangers, I stepped onto the street, and decided to go back to the “wrong” museum, which I had given short shrift. I hailed a cab. The driver squinted with disbelief at me, me at him. “You!” we exclaimed in unison. Here was the very same fellow of my Sunday afternoon escapade nearly two weeks ago. He went on about destiny: “Signora, this is impossible. It has never happened to me before in all my years of driving. Do you know how many cabs there are in Rome? Eight thousand at least! Only fate could have brought you to my cab again.” Indeed. I’ve never gotten the same taxi driver twice in any city, and it seemed incredible that a search for Sunday lunch had somehow connected Abruzzo, a random Dutch couple, “Il Pugile,” me and him. Ever helpful, he recommended I not miss the Caravaggio paintings at San Luigi dei Francesi, which was near where I was headed. He dropped me off and again we said goodbye, both delighted with the turn of events. Friends have asked me why I didn’t take his name, but I think it’s because our calling card is not who we are, but the indelible joy and memory of the unexpected experience we had shared. Paula DiPerna is an environmental policy adviser and author who lives in Cooperstown, New York. International New York Times Photo

Gold Standard Oscar Watch: 'The Martian,' 'Steve Jobs' and 'Bridge of Spies' make their cases By Glenn Whipp

Days are getting shorter, pumpkin spices are contaminating our coffee and beer, and the temperatures in L.A. are dropping into the 80s.All of which means it's high time to roll out the season's first Oscar Watch column, where, every Monday, I'll chronicle the smiles, the frowns, the ups, the downs of the film awards season, culminating with the Academy Awards in February.

'Bridge of Spies'

Steven Spielberg's Cold War thriller premiered Sunday at the New York Film Festival, but not as one of the event's prestigious opening, closing or centerpiece slots. That put expectations in check and, it would seem from the initial response, correctly so, as words such as "low-key" and "unassuming" were bandied about when the closing credits came up. There would appear, initially at least, to be a generation divide at work here with older critics, those who have been around long enough to remember, you know, the Soviet Union, showering the movie with respect and love, while the youngsters are having none of it, calling "Spies" a "schmaltzy bore." Fortunately for Spielberg and actors Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance (who has a showy role as a Soviet spy), the academy is made up of people predisposed to love this kind of classical filmmaking. And the story, chronicling lawyer James B. Donovan’s negotiations for the release of downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, is a stirring celebration of personal integrity ... with a Coen brothers co-authorship credit. There are going to be a lot of older academy members eager to line up behind that.   

Movie Info

Tom Hanks stars as the American attorney tasked with negotiating the release of a U-2 spy plane pilot who was shot down over Russia at the height of the Cold War in this historical drama from DreamWorks Studios. Steven Spielberg and Mark E. Platt produce a film written by Matt Charman. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi Los Angeles Times Rotten Tomatoes

Happy Birthday Kate Winslet !! - turning 40

Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" Photo