Page 20 - UpperCrust e-Magazine Third Quarter 2024

STARTERS

Waiters on the Run in Paris

He who finishes last has to eat all the croissants and drink as much
coffee as humanly possible! We’re just kidding! But what is true
is that waiters in Paris race to the finish while balancing coffee
and croissants. Call it crazy, but it’s a 110-year-old tradition called
Course des Cafés – that was revived after coming to a halt in 2011
due to shortage of funds – and we would love to witness it from
the sidelines one day.
As it happens, thousands of Parisians gather to watch the race
and root for their favourite waiter, who wears his/her uniform and
sports a number to identify them. In true athletic spirit, the 200-odd
racers cover a 2-km distance around Le Marais, starting and ending
at Paris City Hall, while balancing their salvers and just indulging in
pure fun. It’s quite like running tables in a busy restaurant, darting
from one table to another while ensuring your food and drink stay
intact. The narrow streets of Le Marais pose an additional challenge
to the waiters, but it will only help improve their skill. Just imagine
how the Course des Cafés would have unfurled back in 1914, when
all waiters were male back then, while today you see a mixed gender
bag, that makes it all the more fun and enjoyable.

What! A Rooftop Vineyard in Florence?

You might wonder what the fuss is all
about, just another rooftop restaurant…
Nope, this is a 19-acre vineyard, at an
airport, as part of a green terminal project
in one of the most picturesque cities in
the world! Vining sky-high!
When flying into the Amerigo
Vespucci Airport in Florence, Italy, you
can look forward to a stunning view of
the vineyard to be constructed by Rafael
Viñoly Architects – whose work includes
hundreds of projects across the world. The
structure will serve “as a new landmark
for the city’s sustainable future,” the firm
has said, and as an homage to the region’s
wine-producing heritage. The project is
aimed at creating a heat exchange system
via coils in the berm or the mound which
will be made of soil and earth – making up
third of the length of the building. After to avoid damage to the aircrafts. Instead, two. Ultimately, the airline industry
a lot of deliberation, in consultation with the fruit will be produced on the soil bed as a whole has to work on reducing
wine-growers and engineers dedicated to of the mound. It is also confirmed that aviation emissions, which accounts for
sustainable architecture, it is decided that there will be no pollutant contact from 2.5% of the total 40% of global energy-
the sloping green roof of the vineyard will the aircrafts to the vineyard as a safe related emissions. A green airport is a
be covered with non-fruit-bearing vines distance will be maintained between the contributing factor in itself.

18 | UPPERCRUST | JUL-SEP 2024