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Herald Sun
4 days ago
- Herald Sun
48 hours in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, the ultimate French beach weekend
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News. Around two hours from Paris on the train is the French capital's favourite beach resort, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage. On the Opal Coast in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France, the upmarket resort makes the perfect beach break for anyone visiting the city. DAY 1: Morning I live in Kent in southern England, and Le Touquet has become my favourite – and most convenient – beach getaway. Despite being in a different country, it takes half the time to reach, door-to-door, than Cornwall and as such can be a fun bolt-on trip for visitors to the UK. After a short car-train journey on Eurotunnel LeShuttle and an easy drive along France's gloriously-efficient motorways, we arrive in charming Le Touquet. Taking time to orient ourselves, once more, among its neat avenues full of holiday homes, hotels, shops and restaurants, we check in, this time to a chic Airbnb duplex in the centre of town, two streets away from the enormous beach, and two doors down from the all-important boulangerie. My need for good croissants is real. Beachfront holiday apartments in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France. Noon We head to Le Touquet's beach, a vast stretch of sand lined with apartments and peppered with playgrounds, beach clubs and watersports. This is northern France, so it's not famous for its high temperatures, but we've been lucky each time we've visited and even in October – when it's wonderfully free of crowds – we've been able to enjoy time on the beach. The more adventurous types can try kite-surfing and sand-yachting, which Le Touquet is famous for, but we fly kites we bought from Decathlon, on the main street Rue Saint-Jean. We stop in for a croque monsieur at one of the beach clubs, washed down with Orangina (always tastes better in a glass bottle in France) and coffee (always tastes worse than you remember in France). Tourist crowds on the beach at Le Touquet in France Afternoon A century ago, Le Touquet was a ritzy resort, frequented by a who's-who of visitors, including Edward VIII, Winston Churchill, Ian Fleming and Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth – the town even renamed its airport Elizabeth II Le Touquet-Paris-Plage in honour of the late Queen. But it also has a long war history and in World War I its hotels became hospitals for thousands of wounded and displaced soldiers – many of whom were Australian. The Étaples Military Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in France, is the final resting place of 10,771 Commonwealth soldiers, including 464 Australians. It's a sobering place to visit and in the 80th anniversary year of VE Day, a reminder we should never forget. The Etaples Military Cemetery contains 10,771 Commonwealth burials of World War I. Evening Eventually, following the occupation during WWII, Le Touquet recovered and once again became a holiday destination and now a centre for gastronomy. It has around 70 restaurants, from takeaway booths to brasseries and fine-dining restaurants, such as Michelin-starred Le Pavillon in Hotel Westminster and double-Michelin-starred La Grenouillère in neighbouring town La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil. We enjoyed dinner at Le Touquet's classic brasserie Jean's Café, followed by an ice-cream, then our kids took a spin on the vintage carousel, which sits in the Place du Centenaire on the seafront. Oriental lamb chops, small vegetables and semolina at Jean's Cafe, Le Touquet, France. DAY 2: Morning You could happily spend all your time in Le Touquet, but if you have a car, it's worth exploring the coast. A 50-minute drive away, you come to the pretty town of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, on the Baie de Somme estuary. It's a town of two halves – one ancient section of medieval buildings where William the Conqueror departed from for the UK, and where Joan of Arc was imprisoned, and a second half of old fishermen's cottages. It's a lovely place to explore on foot or to take the steam train which runs around the coast to neighbouring Le Crotoy with its long stretch of sandy beach. Street view in Saint Valery Sur Somme. Picture: Kerry Parnell Noon We walk along the Quai Jeanne d'Arc alongside the River Somme, then through the medieval part of town to the headland, where there's a pretty church, Chapelle des Marins. Back in town, we eat at Brasserie Le Courtgain,where you're reminded that steak frites are so much more sophisticated in French. Brasserie Le Courtgain in Saint Valery Sur Somme. Afternoon Halfway between Saint-Valery and Le Touquet, we call in at another small beach resort, called Fort-Mahon-Plage. With another vast sandy beach (they're huge on this coast), it's a popular family resort and its extremely long main street, at right angles to the seafront, is lined with restaurants and shops. Low tide and beach of Fort-Mahon-Plage. Evening Finally, you can't leave Le Touquet without a spot of shopping, along its sparkling-clean avenues (you can see shop owners wash the street front every morning). There's a mix of clothes shops, chocolatiers (Au Chat Bleu is a must) and eateries, while on Avenue Saint-Jean you find the designer boutiques. After splurging on souvenirs, we save cash by having galettes (regional savoury pancakes) for dinner. Outdoor dining in the beach town of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage. How to get to Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France It's two hours by train from Paris to Étaples-Le-Touquet, or three hours by car. If combining with a trip to the UK, it's around 45 minutes' drive from the Channel Tunnel at Calais. Where to stay in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage The five-star Hôtel Barrière Le Westminster celebrated its centenary in 2024 and is on my wishlist. We have previously enjoyed a family stay at The Holiday Inn Resort Le Touquet, set in a quiet spot, and the Airbnb duplex at 48 Rue de Paris, which I recommend. Cyclists pass Hôtel Barrière Le Westminster in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France. Best way to get around Le Touquet-Paris-Plage Two great ways of seeing Le Touquet are in the saddle – you can either rent a bike from one of the town's many hire shops, such as Bike4You, or go for a horse-ride at the equestrian centre. You can also zip along the seafront on a Segway. Best food to try when you visit Hauts-de-France You'll see 'Le Welsh' in lots of restaurants in Hauts-de-France – the dish is the regional spin on Welsh rarebit and so much more than cheese on toast. The French version is unsurprisingly heavy on the cheese, with Dijon mustard, ham, beer and bread. Originally published as 48 hours in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, the ultimate French beach weekend
Euronews
04-06-2025
- Business
- Euronews
More Than Taste: Reformulating for a Healthier Future
As awareness grows around the importance of balanced diets and healthier lifestyles, actors across society - from policymakers to businesses and consumers - are working together to support positive change. At Suntory Beverage & Food Europe (SBFE), supporting healthier diets isn't a marketing line - it's been a strategic priority for over a decade. Since 2015, we have taken decisive steps to reduce sugar across our core drinks – including beloved brands such as Orangina, Schweppes1, Ribena and Oasis – not because we had to, but because we believe people deserve better choices that still taste great. We've committed to helping consumers make positive choices without compromising on taste, quality, or trust. Reformulating drinks, especially iconic ones, is complex and often costly - but we've embraced the challenge head-on. We've reformulated over 300 drinks and cut added sugar by 30% across our portfolio in the last decade. Today, 60% of our drinks sold are under 5g of sugar/100mL. This isn't just reformulation by spreadsheet. It's a shift that touches every part of our business - from R&D and consumer insight to branding and packaging. And it all starts with one belief: better drinks shouldn't come at the expense of great taste. Our consumer approach is shaped by two Japanese principles: Gemba - going to where real decisions are made - and Seikatsusha - recognising the full complexity of people's lives. We don't just rely on traditional research; we go to the source. This lens helps us innovate drinks that genuinely fit into people's routines, values and expectations. Sugar plays a functional role in taste and texture, and every market has different preferences and regulations. That's why there's no one-size-fits-all solution - and that's exactly the point. Achieving a great taste for sugar reduced products is a bit like a quest for the Holy Grail for every passionate technologist. And even more knowing there is no one size fits all. In France, for example, we gradually reduced the sugar content in our recipes to accustom our consumers palates to less sweet tastes. In 2024, for Oasis Tropical, one of our iconic drinks in France, we launched a recipe with a 15% sugar reduction (v 2023) and a soaring 38% reduction since the original recipe in 2006. This work has been done in 5 stages of sugar reduction moving from 10.7g/100mL of sugar to 6.6/100mL. To support this kind of country-specific reformulation, we've invested in R&D facilities across Europe - including a €2 million lab near Paris and others in Spain and the UK. These centres allow us to fine-tune recipes and flavour profiles with local teams, ensuring consistent progress without compromising what people love. We rely on our strong science and technology capabilities in Japan, home to our innovation centre of excellence, working in close collaboration with our global R&D teams to deliver the local tastes that European consumers love. We also believe in informed choice. That's why we are a keen signatory of the EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, one of the first deliverables of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy. But we did not stop there, and in fact introduced our own Responsible Code of Marketing and Communications in 2024. It includes clear commitments: we don't directly market to anyone under 16, we ensure nutritional transparency on pack and online, ensuring claims are true, proven and non-misleading. It's how we hold ourselves accountable and make our values visible. In addition, through UNESDA, the European Soft Drinks Association, SBFE has also joined industry peers to commit to reduce average added sugars in European soft drinks, and not to sell or market soft drinks with sugar in schools. Lasting change requires a regulatory environment that encourages innovation, rather than restricting it. With our operations across different European countries, fragmented regulation across countries can be a barrier to business growth and development, undermining the EU single market and also causing confusion for consumers. The Commission's ambition to ensure that Europe remains competitive in food innovation is an important step in the right direction, and should be enabled by a science-based regulatory framework. We support frameworks that offer consistency, incentivise reformulation, and empower consumers through clear, science-based front-of-pack labelling. It's essential that these systems also recognise reformulation progress which is why we advocate for a non-discriminatory algorithm that accounts for reformulation efforts in fat, sugar and salt (FFS). In this reformulation journey, it is essential to have certainty about the safety and efficiency of our ingredients. That is why we actively support the ongoing re-evaluation of the sweeteners used in our drinks. At SBFE, our vision of Growing for Good means making choices that create lasting, positive impact; for people, for the planet, and for the communities we serve. Sugar reduction is just one part of that journey, but it's a powerful one. It reflects our commitment to evolve what our drinks can be, and to support healthier, more sustainable lifestyles. By the end of 2025, we expect to reach a 32% reduction in added sugar - just shy of our original 35% target. But this is not a finish line. By 2030, we aim to reduce total sugars across our portfolio by more than 35%, building on the momentum we've created. We believe that the bigger we grow, the greater our ability - and responsibility - to do good. That's why Growing for Good isn't just a company ambition. It's a mindset. It shapes how we act as a business, and how we grow as individuals: learning new things, trying new things, and constantly striving to be better.
New York Times
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Michelle Williams, Sofia Coppola and Fran Lebowitz Get a Seat at Donald Judd's Table
Michelle Williams stood in the cast-iron, lever-operated elevator in a beautiful sheath dress and long black leather gloves. Pink catering crates were stacked up behind her. 'This elevator!' she exclaimed to her friend, the stylist Kate Young. 'You don't see elevators like this anymore.' It was a blustery spring evening, and guests had arrived for the Judd Foundation's annual benefit dinner at 101 Spring Street in SoHo. The five-story industrial loft is open only for guided tours made with a reservation, its spare interiors often a source of mystery to the tourists who crowd the neighborhood's streets. The property was once the home of Donald Judd, one of the last century's great minimalist artists, and it has been preserved almost exactly as he left it after he died in 1994. Mr. Judd purchased the building in 1968, slowly renovating it over the years, adhering to his strict principles of design by keeping the space nearly as it was. The night was a rare chance to step into the artist's world, part of a continuing effort to preserve his legacy. The Judd Foundation, a nonprofit organization, is run by Mr. Judd's two children, Rainer (its president) and Flavin Judd (its artistic director). But maintaining the building — as well as the artist's 21 other properties in the rural town of Marfa, Texas — is expensive. The evening raised $250,000. The fashion designer Cate Holstein, of the fashion brand Khaite, was the evening's partner. Her husband, the architectural designer Griffin Frazen, cited an influential trip to Marfa in 2012, where he saw firsthand the effort that went into preserving Mr. Judd's work and buildings. Khaite's flagship SoHo store, just a few blocks away — which Mr. Frazer designed — was inspired by the neighborhood's history and by the foundation's in particular. 'I can't really believe that we're here,' said Ms. Holstein, whose New York-based brand is a fashion darling among celebrities. But that was precisely the point. The room — filled with artists like Carol Bove and Anna Weyant and top curators including Alexandra Cunningham Cameron — lent a kind of historical patina to the glamorous Khaite dresses worn that evening. Mr. Judd's home offered a kind cultural legitimacy that the fashion world was often searching for, noted the stylist Vanessa Traina. 'I remember hanging out here in the kitchen,' said the filmmaker Sofia Coppola, who became friends with Rainer Judd when they were teenagers. The two met in Paris. Rainer recalled their nights clubbing at places like Le Bains Douche. 'We drank Orangina,' she said. Later, they became pen pals, sending each other faxes. The evening had a more intimate air than most fund-raisers, partly because many guests were seated around Mr. Judd's actual kitchen table from 1985, made of pine and joined together at right angles with little embellishment. The iconic but simple design has become something of a status symbol among the elite. Just last year, Kim Kardashian claimed her SKIMS office table was a Judd piece, which the foundation disputed with a lawsuit. Mr. Judd was known as something of a stickler when it came to his aesthetic preferences. The loft's floors were assigned different activities (eating, working, sleeping) and sparingly decorated with furniture and sculptures or paintings by the artist and his contemporaries (Dan Flavin, Frank Stella). This month, the ground floor was hung with a series of paintings from the 1950s and '60s by Mr. Judd. The foundation offers a legitimate tie to a generation of artists who may command hefty prices in the market now, but who made art largely because, as Mr. Judd — a prolific essayist and critic — put it, it was 'something you do if you need to do it and like to do it.' 'I'll tell you what, if my father left me a building like this, I wouldn't have restored it,' said the writer Fran Lebowitz. 'I'd have sold it! All my father left me when he died was my mother.' The evening's Italian dinner was prepared by the chefs Rita Sodi and Jody Williams, who together run several West Village restaurants (including Via Carota and I Sodi). In the kitchen, a basket of bright green peas, still in their shells, was artfully placed on Mr. Judd's original chopping boards alongside punnets of vivid red strawberries from California. The duo cooked an elegant meal, starting with salami and fried green olives, followed by roasted carrots, asparagus, porchetta with fennel and a seafood couscous, with stewed spinach and fresh chickpeas. 'We must pace ourselves,' cautioned Ms. Coppola to her husband, the musician Thomas Mars. The filmmakers Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, whose film 'The Brutalist' picked up three Academy Awards in March, were also in attendance. What would their fictional midcentury Hungarian architect, László Tóth, have thought of Donald Judd? 'Oh, I think I need a few more drinks for that!' Mr. Corbet said. The couple, he added, were exhausted from the lengthy awards season. At the end of the night, guests descended to the ground floor for espresso martinis. 'We grew up in this building with our mother,' said Flavin Judd. 'It took us three years to restore it. It better be here for hundreds of years longer.'
