CAPITAL CLUB EAST AFRICA APPOINTS STAR CHEF LUIGI FRASCELLA AS EXECUTIVE CHEF

…Kitchen mastermind brings to Capital Club years of experience working in some of the best upmarket restaurants and hotels in the world

East Africa’s premier private business club Capital Club has appointed Luigi Frascella as Executive Chef. The 36-year old chef originally from Taranto, Italy brings with him years of experience in catering to the refined tastes of some of the world’s most famous people, having cooked for celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino and Tina Turner.

Luigi, who joins the Club from Giannino Restaurant at Meydan Beach in Dubai, has previously worked for multiple Michelin-star restaurants, starting off his illustrious career at the two-Michelin Star restaurant Albereta in Italy under the tutelage of a man considered to be the founder of modern Italian cuisine, Gualtiero Marchesi.

Prior to joining Meydan Beach Luigi worked at the famous Bice Restaurant in Monte Carlo, celebrity haunts Zuma, Locanda Locatelli and La Petite Maison in London, and the 5-star luxury Palazzina Grassi hotel in Venice among others. In a career spanning close to two decades Luigi has built a reputation for bringing together styles of cooking from different world cities, culminating in a culinary offering that has seen him ranked as one of the most celebrated chefs in Europe and the Middle East today.

Speaking when making the announcement Capital Club East Africa General Manager Andrew Christon expressed his excitement at Luigi’s appointment, saying the Club’s members are in a for a treat from Luigi’s kitchen.

“We are delighted at Luigi’s acceptance of our offer to join us here in Nairobi, and look forward to introducing our members’ palates to a world-class dining experience and tastes only offered by his cuisine,” he said. “Luigi has worked with everyone from celebrities to business influencers creating a rapport between himself, his food and his diners with every meal he serves, something that arguably no other chef can beat.”

Described by one of the most renowned travel and restaurant guides Mr. and Mrs. Smith – one of the best restaurant critics in the world – as “incredible Mediterranean cooking delivered with Asian precision,” Chef Luigi’s style is inspired by a mix of informal izakaya-style Japanese dining learned during his tenure at Zuma (London), and coupled with classic influences from his Italian heritage.

On his newest assignment in Nairobi, Luigi says: “I cannot wait to create new dishes to be served along with my signature plates, and I look forward to experimenting with the fresh ingredients and cooking styles native to this region.”

“I want to give my diners an experience unlike any other they’ve had before, and to do this I intend to not only cook, but to interact with Club members so as to get their feedback. It would also be very interesting to learn which flavours work here and which ones don’t as this is my first time working in East Africa, and to incorporate local dishes in Capital Club’s menu” added Luigi.

Once the Club opens up the doors to its new facility Luigi will head operations at the Club’s restaurants namely: The Signature, serving authentic Italian cuisine, and The Rooftop Grill Restaurant, an all-day dining menu for casual and private dining and event menus.

Members of the Club can look forward to original menus and interesting flavours created by the Chef, whose reviews by leading publications such as Luxury Travel Magazine, The Telegraph and The Independent have placed Luigi at the top of his class. As quoted by The Independent’s Mark  O’Flaherty – one of the most notable restaurant critics in Europe – during Luigi’s tenure at the Palazzina Grassi in Venice: “You can sit at the counter while chef Luigi Frascella cooks with a mix of Japanese and Italian styles resulting in what many…claim is the best food in all of Venice.”  

Nokia introduces Mail for Exchange on Asha smartphones

 

Many Nokia Asha users can now send and receive office e-mails from the comfort of their mobile phones.

This follows the introduction of the Mail for Exchange app in the Nokia Store. The new app, which is compatible with the Nokia Asha 311, 310, 309 and 308, allows users to sync their email, calendar and contacts data with Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010 Servers and Microsoft Office 365 Mobility Online Service.

“The introduction of the new app makes your Nokia Asha 311, 310, 309 & 308 ready for business. It will enable users to take their office wherever they go, enhancing their overall mobile experience for work,” said King’ori Gitahi, Nokia’s Head of Product Marketing for East Africa.

To give users a full office experience, Nokia has also introduced further apps, Editori text and sheet, which allow users to view and edit Microsoft Word and Excel documents on the go. This is expected to add huge flexibility for mobile phones to modify, save and share documents or spreadsheets for quick review right from your Nokia Asha phone.

The Editori text and sheet also comes with other great features including rich text formatting; bold, italic, colors and underline to keep track of the changes made. The app recognizes hyperlinks, can enable users to view pictures, tables and save the document to memory card immediately.

“Nokia is committed to enhancing the user experience by delivering more capabilities on the Asha smartphone range,” added Gitahi. “Last month, Nokia introduced LINE messaging app in the Nokia store and we continue to build the app ecosystem for Asha, which we introduced in 2011 to connect the next billion people in emerging markets.”

Sony Unveils Multifaceted Expansion Plans in Africa

 

·        Pipeline of Top-end Product Launches, Unique Sony Concept Stores and Extensive After-sales Service Planned to Revolutionize Customer Experience

• Sets Three-year Target to Achieve US$1.4billion Market Share in African Consumer Electronics Industry

Sony, the leading consumer electronics and entertainment brand, today unveiled its extensive blueprint for expansion across the African continent. Defined by a rigorous 360 degree immersion plan, Sony will look to transform the African consumers’ experience in the electronics sector through launching the latest technology products, introducing experiential Sony brand stores, and setting up authorized service centers in almost every country in Africa.

On the operational front, Sony plans to establish new zonal offices in Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria and Angola, employing local human resources and identifying new business partners with the capacity to compliment the Sony growth strategy in Africa.

The announcements, which came at an exclusive dealers’ conference in Cape Town, South Africa, highlight Sony’s global ambitions and the significance it places on Africa in the international marketplace.

Speaking at the conference, Hiroyasu Sugiyama, Managing Director, Sony Middle East and Africa, said: “Africa is undoubtedly one of the most important markets for Sony. By 2015, we hope to achieve a $1.4 billion share in the consumer electronics space, including the fast-growing mobile phone business. The numbers certainly look exciting, but our immediate focus is to identify tactics that help us move towards our target. The Sony roadmap for Africa constitutes a four-pillared strategy based on ‘product’, ‘customer’, ‘community’ and ‘operation’.”

Recognizing the demand for its top-of-the-line products in local markets, Sony aims to synchronize its international launches to include the African continent in its entirety. From the award-winning Sony Xperia Z smartphone, the XPERIA tablet and the BRAVIA 4K TVs to the world’s most powerful audio system, the Shake 7 stereo, Sony will look to reduce the wait-time and increase the availability of its products, especially those tailored for African consumers. Incidentally, Sony stands number one in the audio products category in Africa, commanding a market share of over 40 per cent. In South Africa alone, one in two customers seeking audio products has been found to opt for Sony.

Looking to transform the experiential prospects for African consumers, Sony is also set to roll-out its unique branded stores, Sony World, in key markets to give potential buyers a chance to see and feel the unmatched quality of its products. The first of these open-display stores has been successfully launched in the Ivory Coast.

Sony’s attention to quality does not end at the point of sale, with the brand announcing the launch of 67 authorized service centers in Africa this year that will be increased to 87 centers by March 2014.

Sugiyama added: “Africa is a vast continent, and we understand that it is made up of different and diverse countries with many languages and cultures that require localized communication. We are moving fast to satisfy these requirements and preferences through vehicles such as a multi-lingual Sony website in Africa’s predominant languages including French, Portuguese, English and Arabic. We are also looking to launch a dedicated Sony Facebook page for Africa.”

Over the years, Sony has extensively engaged with the African community with campaigns that propose the company’s goal to work ‘With Africa’ as opposed to ‘For Africa’. These include initiatives such as the South Africa Mobile Library Project in partnership with non-profit organization South African Primary Education Support Initiative (SAPESI). In addition, Sony has partnered with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, and Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) to implement highly successful public cinema-viewing projects in Tanzania, Ghana and Cameroon.

Other community support projects include Folktales in Malawi, a joint initiative with the Malawi National Commission for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Global Future Charitable Trust (GFCT), to protect and preserve the heritage of intergenerational story telling in print and audio formats. The widespread Eye See Digital Photo Project headed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was additionally extended to children in Rwanda, Liberia, Madagascar, South Africa, Ethiopia, Mali and Tunisia to give them a voice of expression through photography.

Speaking on Sony community initiatives, Sugiyama said: “We at Sony believe that we must be a part of the local community wherever we do business. Ever since its inception in 1946, Sony has endeavored to provide amazing entertainment experiences through our products that inspire and fulfill our consumers’ curiosity. We continue to replicate this guiding philosophy that is embedded in our DNA across all the community-focused initiatives that we deliver globally.”

Sony’s new expansion plan is just the tip of the iceberg with regards to its long term vision for Africa. At a time when the region’s electronics market is evolving rapidly, with more and more users looking for intelligent solutions to match their entertainment needs, Sony is poised to deliver an extraordinary offering to suit varied expectations, and bring the ‘Best of Sony’ to every corner of the African continent.