From the Editor 22 Entrepreneurs are constantly talking about passion, which makes sense: it’s a catchall buzzword that can make any sort of business sound remarkably personal and full of hard-working people driven by inspiration. But when you come across a true passion project, especially in the hospitality industry, it knocks your socks off. In this issue, we turn our attention to a number of such high-concept passion projects around the world, from the coast of sub-Saharan Africa to a pair of unheralded regions of Europe and the deserts of Rajasthan. Take José Avillez, perhaps Portugal’s most decorated chef. He’s already opened two Michelin-starred restaurants in Lisbon, including the two-Michelinstarred Belcanto, and now he’s spreading his wings across the globe, with another acclaimed eatery in Dubai and a buzzy new spot at The Karl Lagerfeld Macau. But, for the past year, the leading beneficiary of the chef ’s ardour has been an estate in the remote Alentejo region of Portugal, where he and his wife, Sofia Ulrich, bought a panoramic piece of land – which they quickly realised they couldn’t keep to themselves. The result, as you’ll read on page 46, is a destination much like Massimo Bottura’s Casa Maria Luigia: a distillation of the chef ’s approach with an extra dollop of personal warmth. Passion also takes centre stage in our features on a singular resort in Mozambique (p90), a familyowned Dutch hotel group reinventing itself (p52) and a perfumer who is making scents from the plants and botanicals he loves (p69). Elsewhere in these pages, we offer a piece on the private-island real-estate market, and the ways in which watch labels are expanding their offerings beyond the wrist into the hospitality realm – among many more thoughtful stories. We hope you enjoy reading the magazine and find inspiration here for stoking your own passions. – Christian Schwalbach On the Cover Gracing this issue’s cover is a mind-bending drawing created by Malta-born artist Matthew Attard using an eye-tracker. This cutting-edge instrument tracks the human gaze and translates it into raw data, which Attard then transforms into transfixing works of art that question conventional notions of seeing and looking – based, in this case, on the graffiti of ships in his native country for a 2023 series called Id-Dghajjes tal-Fidili (Vessels of the Faithful). Attard is representing Malta at the 60th Venice Biennale (20 April – 24 November) in a solo show entitled I Will Follow The Ship. CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
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