ATHENAEUM HOTEL & APARTMENTS, LONDON
Location central on Piccadilly, Mayfair W1, the Athenaeum Hotel is one of the few family -owned 5 Star luxury hotels in the West End, It is opposite Green Park and is within walking distance of iconic shopping, art galleries, restaurants , theatres, palaces - everything that is the best of London . National Geographic’s Traveler has described it as “a top London Hotel you’ll love”.
The Athenaeum is now a green landmark! Its park-facing corner is garlanded by an eight -storey “Living Wall”, designed by famed botanist Patrick Blanc. Time magazine have declared the vertical garden one of the top 50 worldwide inventions of the year.
Interiors have been extensively renovated, including rooms, the foyer, the elegant Garden Room, the famous Whisky Bar with its 200 plus malts, and the restaurant now titled “Damask”.
The Athenaeum Apartments offer all the amenities available within the Hotel popular with guests on lengthy stays and who require, like show business folk, that extra degree of privacy. The apartments are contained in a tight block of three storey Edwardian townhouses, facing into the property’s side street. There is a secret passageway for those cold night forays to the Whisky Bar!
For guests travelling with children, the Athenaeum’s Kids Concierge sweeps all cares away.
www.athenaeumhotel.com
BURCH FAMILY WINES – WESTERN AUSTRALIA
West Australians Jeff and Amy Burch co-own two major wine labels, Howard Park Wines and Madfish Wines which both produce from vineyards across the Margaret River and the Great Southern Region of Western Australia. Jeff Burch also has a co-venture with Burgundian wine maker Pascal Marchand - labeled Marchand & Burch Wines.
The Burch’s are passionate about the West and elevating privately owned Australian wine labels to premiere positioning – both in Australia and overseas. They are the only West Australians in a very successful marketing campaign www.Australianfirstfamiliesofwine.com.au. The First Families of Australian Wines were a strong presence at London’s International Wine Fair 2010 as were Jeff and Amy Burch and their individual labels.
The Burch Howard Park/Madfish cellar doors and wineries are architecturally designed – Margaret River’s is at Cowarmup in the Great Southern at Denmark (50 kilometers west of Albany)
The Margaret River cellar door stands on top of the most elevated point of its Leston Vineyard with impressive views over the Wilyabrup Valley. Built in 2000, the building has been acclaimed for its incorporation of feng chui principles. It is the location for many cultural events, including Tropfest screenings. (Madfish is a national sponsor of the world’s biggest short-film festival)
The Denmark cellar door has a 1000 tonne capacity winery attached and is on a historical 100 acre property surrounded by spectacular Karri and Marri forest. Its grassed amphitheatre is also used for musical events, screenings and concerts throughout the year.
The Burch’s are also wine sponsors under the Madfish label, for the Sydney Writers Festival, the sassy IF Film Awards and the television industry’s star Logie Award dinners. In October this year an International Pinot Noir Festival will be held at Cowarmup in the stunning Howard Park/Madfish vineyards.
HOTEL PLAZA ATHENEE, PARIS
Recent winner of The Best Hotel in Europe Award, this privately owned luxury property has the best address in Paris @ 25 Avenue Montaigne - at the very heart of fashion, entertainment and corporate Paris.. It has incomparable charm and features 188 guest rooms including 43 suites plus the Dior Institute spa in its elegant basement. (Dior virtually lived at the Plaza Athenee at the peak of his career).
La Bar du Plaza Athenee combines classic and daring modern features and has the most daring cocktail menu in town. It was designed by Starck protégée Patrick Jouin.
Alain Ducasse is the Executive Chef of the hotel, supervising all dining venues and his own restaurant, Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee. There is also La Galerie des Gobelins, with gentle harp music and velvet sofas for teas, cocktails and chocolates; Le Relais Plaza the meeting place of Paris’ elite – an exquisite brasserie and La Terrae Montaigne for light snacks and cocktails. The Plaza Athenee is part of the Dorchester Group.
www.plaza-athenee-paris.com
HOWARD PARK WINES
Howard Park is proud to be one of Western Australia’s leading boutique family wineries producing a range of fine wines from the State’s premier grape growing regions of Margaret River and the Great Southern. Since 1986, Howard Park’s philosophy has been to craft outstanding wines of great subtlety, character, balance and elegance with an uncompromising commitment to quality
The flagship 2008 Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon has been named Cabernet of the Year in the 2010/11 Big Red Wine Book.
www.howardparkwines.com.au
MADFISH WINES
Madfish Wines are produced by Howard Park. The wines are pure, clean fresh and fruit driven and like all things West Australian, are created with a philosophy that disregards pretention. They are approachable in their youth with flavours that make them an integral part of a healthy, happy lifestyle involving food, friends and family. There is a wine type for every occasion. <br /><br />
A new “Sideways” range, showcasing Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and Shiraz are all exclusively from the Margaret River. (“Sideways” vineyard blocks are planted with a north south orientation rather than the original Madfish plantings which are east-west - hence the label name.) These wines are produced using sustainable and organic viticultural practices<br /><br />
www.madfishwines.com.au
MARCHAND & BURCH WINES
Marchand and Burch is a wine making joint venture between Jeff Burch, Vigneron and owner with wife Amy of Howard Park and Madfish Wines, and Burgundian winemaker and biodynamic ambassador Pascal Marchand.
Marchand is famous in wine circles for his performance in taking over from Comte Armand in Pommard as winemaker at Burgundy’s Premier Cru ‘Clos-des-Epeneaux and as ex regisseur for Boisset’s Domaine de la Vougeraie.
The first vintage for Marchand & Burch was in 2007 when hand-crafted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz were produced from carefully selected fruit parcels from small vineyards in both Margaret River and the Great Southern Region of Western Australia and a Meursault, Geverey-Chambaertin, a Grand Cru Chambaertin-Clos de Beze and a Grand Cru Mazis-Chambertin were produced in Burgundy.
The House of Marchand & Burch Wines continues its journey including small quantities of fine wines produced in Burgundy. A white Meursault, a Geyrey-Chambertin Pinot Noir, a Grand Cru Chambertin Clos de Beze and a Grand Cru Mazis-Chembertin are made with the same commitment to the rhythm of nature and traditional winemaking practices.
The wines have been well received in the Australian wine press, listed in James Halliday’s 2010 Australian Wine Companion in the Top 10 Best New Wineries and judged as the country’s top Chardonnay 2010.
www.marchandburchwines.com.au
Created by the TRIGANO family (co-founders of Club Med) and French philosopher, Cyril Aouizerate, MAMA SHELTER was designed by Philippe STARCK to offer an eclectic, electric ambiance. It is egalitarian, its staff friendly, warm, multi linguists. Its public spaces are very modern and very inviting. 
Paradise Beach Purveyors is the nation’s premium dip and pita bread maker. Born on Sydney’s northern beaches it is the brain child of two cuisine - passionate advertising industry executives who wanted to make a difference, Their product has strong national distribution and is available at major and boutique fine food outlets, including David Jones , IGA and Coles stores. 
Reine Sammut is the known as the queen of Provençal cooking and has twice been honoured with the title of France’s Best Female Chef. Her cuisine has been described as ‘sunshine on a plate’. 
RFMedia handles Food & Beverage publicity for the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. Australia's largest and premier venue for conferences, exhibitions and special events it is superbly located on the waterfront in Sydney's most popular visitor precinct, Darling Harbour, the venue is renowned for its flexibility, which enables it to manage events of any size and complexity