|From the Editor| In 2020, there was talk of a global exodus to the countryside: everyone from clued-up Manhattanites to au fait Sydneysiders was not just spending additional weeks in their country homes, they were making plans for a full-time, four-season transition to the fresh air. The past few years have proved the prognosticators of this rural revolution both right and wrong. A number of urbanites have indeed left the cities, apparently for good, but at the same time, certain metropolises have blossomed with a new verve and creativity not seen in decades. This duality is the focus of Centurion this season, with stories that showcase both trajectories. Chefs were among the first to take to the country, some even a decade ago, when farm-to-table dining first became a buzz phrase. The opportunity to grow one’s own ingredients in one’s own gardens, matched by curation opportunities of the whole dining experience, often including rooms for overnight stays, appealed. On page 78, former chef Bill Knott examines the diaspora of top London chefs who have left the British capital in recent years to settle into the English counties, where they have crafted their own dining paradises that put the focus not just on local produce but on being a sustainable part of local communities. Thankfully, this flight from our cities hasn’t diminished their ambition. In Cape Town (page 66), a burgeoning creative class is bolstering the art, culinary and hospitality scenes like never before. And, as renowned fashion designer Brett Johnson reveals in his guide to his adopted hometown, Milan is still very much at the top of its game – and welcoming a clutch of new luxe hotels this year (page 50). Whether you find yourself in a city or the countryside as you read these pages, I hope you take inspiration for future journeys. — Christian Schwalbach On the Cover GRACING THIS issue’s cover is a work by Giles Revell, an internationally acclaimed English photographer whose work often questions the boundaries between science and art, metaphor and reality, and stills photography and moving image. Inspired by photographers like Muybridge, Marey and Edgerton – all famed for their high-speed photographs and motion studies – Revell treats a movie camera like a strobe to beautifully capture a principal dancer in full flow at the Royal Opera House. The result: a record of pure artistic beauty. gilesrevellgallery.com 18 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
