Latest news with #LeBlanc
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Four Seasons Hong Kong turns 20 with Michelin-starred dinners and special events
It is billed as the culinary event of the year: the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong's 20th anniversary celebrations include three evenings of guest chefs from around the world, bringing an extra 20 Michelin stars to the hotel's eight. Guillaume Galliot , executive chef at the hotel's three-Michelin-starred Caprice , will host the spectacular dinners on September 18, 19 and 20. To commemorate the anniversary, Galliot has invited 15 top executive chefs and pastry chefs from across Asia and Europe for a once-in-a-lifetime set of tasting menus. 'I'm thrilled to bring together friends I've met at various points of my career to cook together, and celebrate the hotel's and restaurant's 20th anniversary,' says Galliot. 'Food is about generosity, conviviality, and where the best produce comes together perfectly on the plate through precision and technique.' Caprice will host celebrated chefs from across Asia and Europe over three spectacular anniversary dinners in September. Photo: Handout Galliot will present one dish each evening, alongside five chefs each serving one of their signature dishes. His dishes include his roasted Challans duck with dolce forte sauce, celeriac and red berries, and his mum's garden tomatoes in verbena elegance. His third dish, a classic French recipe reimagined, is roasted pigeon with French figs and eggplants in fig sauce. He uses the Racan breed of pigeon from the Loire Valley, where he was born. The pigeon is cooked in a cocoa pod from Vietnam and served with salsify, puffed potatoes and cocoa jus. Two lauded chefs will come over from the UK: Claude Bosi from Bibendum in London, and Sat Bains of his eponymous restaurant in Nottingham. Both restaurants have two Michelin stars, while Sat Bains also has a Green star. Other noteworthy chefs include Alan Taudon of two-star L'Orangerie at the revered Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris, and Jordy Navarra of award-winning Toyo Eatery in Manila, which is No 42 on the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list this year. The dining room at three-Michelin-star restaurant Caprice. Photo: Handout Desserts will be equally multicultural, with Jean-François Feuillette of France's Boulangerie Feuillette serving his pistachio Paris-Brest. This year's Asia's Best Pastry Chef Dej Kewkacha, who is known for his innovative take on pastry, will offer his creation Le Blanc, made with cacao juice, jasmine flower and caviar. Andrea Bonaffini, the Italian executive pastry chef at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, will present his chocolate lemon dessert.
CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
N.S. helping fund more affordable housing units in Cape Breton
Nova Scotia has announced it is providing nearly $3 million in funding for projects that will add dozens of affordable housing units in the Cape Breton communities of Port Hawkesbury and Arichat. In a news release Tuesday, the province said DC Developments is constructing 40 new housing units, including 20 affordable units, on Reeves Street in Port Hawkesbury. The development features a mix of studio and one-bedroom units and is within walking distance of the Nova Scotia Community College Strait Area campus. The project will cost around $7.82 million, with the province providing more than $2 million in forgivable loans through the Affordable Housing Development Program. In Arichat, Lennox Place Ltd. is converting a commercial building on Veterans Memorial Drive into residential housing. The project will see the addition of 10 new housing units, nine of which will be affordable. Total development costs for the conversion project are about $2.1 million, with the province providing $990,000 in forgivable loans. Speaking from outside the DC Developments project on the outskirts of Port Hawkesbury on Tuesday morning, Growth and Development Minister Colton LeBlanc said housing and economic growth go hand in hand. "You can't attract doctors, paramedics, nurses, skilled trades people, teachers — people that want to call Nova Scotia home — without having a safe and affordable place for them to call home," said LeBlanc. "These are truly fundamental issues that impact all of our communities across Nova Scotia and that's why we're doing everything in our control as a government ... to create even more housing even faster." The province said community housing organizations and private developers can apply for forgivable loans from the Affordable Housing Development Program to help fund the construction of new housing or the conversion of non-residential buildings. MORE TOP STORIES
Global News
6 days ago
- Business
- Global News
Trump says Canada could have to ‘just pay tariffs' as trade talks continue
U.S. President Donald Trump signalled Friday that he may not reach a deal with Canada, suggesting the northern neighbour will 'just pay tariffs.' 'We haven't really had a lot of luck with Canada,' Trump told reporters outside the White House. 'I think Canada could be one where they'll just pay tariffs, not really a negotiation.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Trump made the remarks while discussing other trade deals that had been reached with countries ahead of his Aug. 1 deadline. The remarks come just a day after Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters he was feeling 'encouraged' following meetings with both Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and American lawmakers. However, LeBlanc had also suggested a new economic and security deal would not be signed before Aug. 1. 'Canadians expect us to take the time necessary to get the best deal we can in the interest of Canadian workers,' LeBlanc said. Story continues below advertisement More to come.
National Observer
6 days ago
- Business
- National Observer
LeBlanc says he's 'encouraged' after meeting with Lutnick, lawmakers ahead of tariff deadline
Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday he's feeling "encouraged" after meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and American lawmakers in Washington ahead of next week's tariff deadline. But LeBlanc also suggested that a new economic and security arrangement with the United States may not materialize in time for US President Donald Trump's latest deadline of Aug. 1. "Canadians expect us to take the time necessary to get the best deal we can in the interest of Canadian workers," LeBlanc said outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. "So we are only going to be in a position to accept a deal when the prime minister decides that it is the best deal we can get in the interest of Canadian workers and the Canadian economy." Trump has sent letters to multiple nations, including Canada, saying that if no deal is made by Aug. 1, he will impose high tariffs on imports to the United States. While Trump's letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney threatened Canada with 35 per cent tariffs, the White House has said the levies will not be applied to imports that comply with the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement on trade. Canada is also being hit with Trump's tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, and will be affected by copper duties that are also expected to kick in on Aug. 1. The Trump administration has announced only a handful of trade deal frameworks with other nations since the president first threatened his so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs in April. Trump this week said his administration made deals with Japan and the Philippines, adding to previous agreements with Indonesia, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. While many details of the frameworks remain vague, all of them include some level of tariff - and it's not clear whether they would shield countries from Trump's plan to impose further sectoral duties on things like semiconductors and lumber. LeBlanc said "complex negotiations" are continuing between Canada and the United States and he will be returning to Washington next week. He described his meeting with Lutnick as productive and cordial. LeBlanc, who was joined in the meetings by Canadian Ambassador to the US Kirsten Hillman, also had face time with Republican senators Kevin Cramer, Roger Marshall, Shelley Moore Capito, Todd Young and Tim Scott. LeBlanc said they discussed border security and defence issues and the American lawmakers shared a "desire to see more stability and predictability in the relationship with the United States." "My conversations have focused on how we share so many priorities of President Trump's administration that we should be able to figure out together a deal that's in the best interest of Canadian workers, and obviously they are going to do their side of the table in terms of the American economy and American workers," he said. Federal officials have remained tight-lipped about what Trump's team has said it wants from Canada. After this week's trade deal frameworks were announced, Trump boasted on social media that he would only consider lowering tariff rates if countries open their markets to the United States. The president also said Japan would invest $550 billion in the US at his "direction." Trump said Thursday that Japan "bought it down basically," referring to the lower tariff rate. "I would let other countries buy it down," he said. When Trump first threatened Canada with tariffs, he claimed it was due to the cross-border flow of deadly fentanyl. Ottawa responded with a boosted border plan and named a "fentanyl czar." Ottawa walked back its digital services tax last month after Trump threatened to halt all trade talks. Carney last week announced measures to stop China from dumping steel in Canada. Hillman said those efforts help Canada in its ongoing negotiations. "In our discussion with the American senators this week, the American administration, the measures that Canada has taken on steel in particular... are some of the strongest in the world," she said. "And that has been recognized and very much appreciated. So we are making some positive progress." Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined a bipartisan group of American lawmakers in Ottawa last week. The Republican said Thursday that "we would all like to get to a better place with our trade relationship with Canada" but suggested it's not likely to happen before Aug. 1. Canada cannot be treated "as yet one more country that we need to reconcile tariffs on" because of shared economic and national security issues, she said. "I wish that I could say, 'It feels good,' that this is all going to be taken care of before the first of August, but I'm not sensing that," she said.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Canada's trade team downplays chances of deal with Trump by Aug. 1
With the clock ticking on U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to boost tariffs on some Canadian exports to 35 per cent starting Aug. 1, Canada's top trade negotiators are downplaying the likelihood of reaching a deal by that deadline. Dominic LeBlanc, minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, and Canada's ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, wrapped up two days of meetings with Republican senators. These included a brief sit-down between LeBlanc and Howard Lutnick, the U.S. secretary of commerce and Trump's point man on tariffs. "We've made progress, but we have a lot of work in front of us," LeBlanc told reporters outside a Senate office building on Thursday. LeBlanc said he had a "productive, cordial discussion" with Lutnick and plans to return to Washington next week. He also added some caveats about the path to reaching a deal. "We're going to continue to work toward the Aug. 1 deadline,' he said. "But all of these deadlines are with the understanding that we'll take the time necessary to get the best deal that we think is in the interest of the Canadian economy and Canadian workers." Hillman, who was appointed Canada's chief negotiator with the U.S., also suggested an agreement with the Trump administration is not imminent. WATCH | Dominic LeBlanc speaks after meeting Trump's point man on tariffs: "It's important for us to recognize that there is a time when the deal is the right deal, and it's important for us to be in a position to continue negotiating until we get to that point," she said. Their comments are the latest evidence that Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is not in a rush to sign a deal with the U.S. Carney said Tuesday that his objective is "not to reach a deal whatever it costs." Following Carney's meeting with Canada's premiers earlier this week, Nova Scotia's Tim Houston said the prime minister isn't dead set on signing a deal by the deadline. Other countries reach tariff deals with Trump This comes amid Trump's announcements this week of framework agreements on tariffs struck with Japan and Indonesia, and reports the U.S. is closing in on a deal with the European Union. Canada may be less panicked than other trading partners about the Aug. 1 deadline because only a small portion of Canada's exports to the U.S. would be affected by Trump's threat of 35 per cent tariffs. That's because most goods enter the U.S. tariff-free under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA. Officials say LeBlanc and Hillman met with five Republican senators in Washington: Kevin Cramer (North Dakota), Roger Marshall (Kansas), Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia), Tim Scott (South Carolina) and Todd Young (Indiana). Another Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, told reporters in Washington on Thursday that the U.S. shares a lot of security and economic interests with Canada and shouldn't treat it as "just another country" when it comes to tariffs. "I wish that I could say it feels good, that this is all going to be taken care of before the first of August, but I'm not sensing that," said Murkowski, who visited Ottawa on Monday to meet Carney and some of his cabinet ministers
