Michele portfolio

1. 97september/october2012
T h e i n - f l i g h t m a g a z i n e o f e t h i o p i a n a i r l i n e s
Selamta
The innocence of the Seychelles Islands.
after eden
september/october 2012

2. 8 selamtamagazine.com
| Aboutselamta
Contributors
Selamta — meaning “Greetings” in Amharic
— is published bimonthly on behalf of
Ethiopian Airlines by JourneyGroup+C62, LLC.
JourneyGroup+C62, LLC
418 Fourth Street, NE TK Building
Charlottesville, VA 22902 Office #102
U.S.A. Bole Road
+001 434 961 2500 (phone) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
+001 434 961 2507 (fax) +251 116 180365 (phone)
EXECUTIVE GROUP
Managing Director Philip De Jong
Executive Editor Amanuel Mengistu
Creative Director Greg Breeding
Marketing Director John Baltes
EDITORIAL
Managing Editor Diane J. McDougall
Photography Editor Phil De Jong Jr.
Associate Editor Jodi Macfarlan
Sr. Writer/Photog. Ron Londen
Writer/Researcher Hope Voelkel
Researcher Kalkidan Mulugeta
DESIGN
Design Director Mike Ryan
Digital Director Zack Bryant
Production Designer Lindsay Gilmore
PRODUCTION
Production Director Brad Uhl
Lead Developer Josh Bryant
Production/Sales Belsabe Girma
Printing Emirates Printing, Dubai
EDITORIAL BOARD
Yeneneh Tekleyes Philip De Jong
Mengistu Adelahu Amanuel Mengistu
Tsedenia Tadesse Diane J. McDougall
ADVERTISING
Journeygroup+c62, LLC
International sales
Azariah Mengistu
TK Building
Office #102
Bole Road
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
+251 116 180365 (phone)
+251 116 180367 (fax)
azariah@C62media.com
As the continent’s premier carrier and a member
of the prestigious Star Alliance, Ethiopian Airlines
brings Africa to the world and the world to Africa.
Selamta does the same, celebrating the adventure
of travel, the vitality of Africa’s role in global busi-
ness affairs, and the richness of culture across all of
Ethiopian Airline’s many, varied destinations. This
complimentary copy is yours to keep.
While every care is taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher and
Ethiopian Airlines assume no liability for error or omissions in this
publication. All advertisements are taken in good faith, and the
opinions and views contained herein are not necessarily those of
the publisher. All copyrights and trademarks are recognized. No
part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form
without written permission by the publisher. An exemption is hereby
granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. © 2012.
North America Sales
John Baltes
418 Fourth Street, NE
Charlottesville, VA 22902
U.S.A.
+001 434 961 2500 (phone)
+001 434 961 2507 (fax)
John.Baltes@journeygroupc62.com
V o l u m e 2 9 | N u m b e r 4
LindsayGilmore/Journeygroup
Glenna Gordon is a freelance documentary writer and
photographer who splits her time between West Africa and New
York. In addition to her own photo projects, she also covers news
and features, does work for NGOs and trains photographers in
Africa. See her story, “Boxing Dreams,” on p. 39.
Rooted in: New York City, though she's working on long-term
documentary projects in Liberia and other stories throughout West
Africa
Dream destination: Namibia—“the beauty of desert climates speaks
to me”
Michele Koh Morollo is a freelance travel, dining,
architecture and design writer for numerous print and online
publications across Asia, the U.K. and North America. Her
works appear in Lonely Planet Asia, AFAR magazine, Epicure
magazine and Yahoo Asia. She is also a published author and
poet who spends her free time tinkering with short stories.
Follow her to Hong Kong, where she shares the joys of eating
locally, in “From Farm to Plate” on p. 32.
Rooted in: Hong Kong
Dream destination: Bhutan
David McIntyre is an American photographer who, though
originally from Los Angeles, has lived in Hong Kong and
Beijing for the past 18 years with his wife and two children.
Some of his more memorable experiences have been covering
Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China; photographing the
2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, as well as the Beijing and
Vancouver Olympic Games; skydiving in New Zealand; and
traveling by train through nine Asian countries. See “From
Farm to Plate” on p. 32.
Rooted in: Hong Kong
Dream destination: Bangladesh (where he has already been four times)
Simi Bhagwandass is a travel blogger and avid
adventure seeker. So far she has added sharing a homestay
with baby alligators in Egypt, camping in the Sahara and
jumping off mountains in Austria to her list of experiences.
Read about her experience encountering a mobile waffle
truck in Brussels on p. 57.
Rooted in: Canada
Dream destination: Summer backpacking trip through Mongolia
SamImende is a summer consultant at Dalberg, a global
development-consulting firm, and is a managing partner of
a start-up African brand, ENZI Footwear. He was born and
raised in Kenya and holds an MBA from the University of
North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and a bachelor’s
degree in economics from Wake Forest University. Read his
review of ReverseInnovation on p. 56.
Rooted in: Nairobi
Dream destination: Brazil, for the 2014 FIFA World Cup

3. 32 selamtamagazine.com
F r o m F a r m
N ew c uisi ne on the m e n u
by Michele Koh Morollo
shutterstock.com/Mazzzur

4. 33september/october2012
t o P l a t e
i n Hon g Kon g
photos by David G. McIntyre
Basil is incorporated
into an organic
Caprese–style salad
at Hong Kong's Posto
Pubblico restaurant.
33september/october2012

5. 34 selamtamagazine.com
With more than 11,000 fine dining restaurants and
casual eateries, Hong Kong is certainly one of the
world’s best cities for food. Unfortunately, its love
affair with shark fin and turtle soups has received
much criticism from animal rights groups in recent
years; at the same time, cases of contaminated meats
and vegetables imported from mainland China, as well
as the liberal use of MSG in Cantonese-run restaurants,
only add to the perception of an irresponsible and
unhealthy dining scene. ¶ But things are looking up,
as local organic farms and restaurants celebrate the
pleasures of eating ethically and homegrown.
Both commuters and
tourists enjoy ferry
crossings from the
more-than-100-
year-old Star Ferry
Company — connecting
Hong Kong Island
and Kowloon, across
Victoria Harbour.

6. 35september/october2012
One of the Star Ferry
piers plays host to
a twice-weekly
farmer's market,
boasting carrots and
other fresh produce.
Leo Chung, below, is
sourcing supervisor of
Homegrown Foods, a
direct-to-household
servicefromlocalfarms.
(FAR RIGHT) Chung and
Ng Ping Leung, owner
of Zen Organic, check
romaine lettuce at
Leung's farm.
Homegrown goodness
While socially conscious eating has gone
mainstream in Europe, North America
and Australia, it is slower on the uptake
in many Asian countries. In Hong Kong,
agricultural space is limited, so most
foods are imported and sustainable din-
ing has taken longer to gain momentum.
“I can never quite tell if my oranges,
which might have been picked too early
from a farm in Florida, will be sweet and
juicy or dry and tasteless,” says Hong
Kong local Vickie Chan, who enjoys
cooking and throwing big weekend par-
ties for her friends yet finds the markets
to be a gamble.
Although Hong Kong isn’t exactly an
agricultural nation, there is still much
arable land in the New Territories, a low-
density, 952-square-kilometer region (368
square miles) stretching from Kowloon
to the border of China, where much of
the city-state’s food is produced.
Before the 1980s, the New Territories
consisted mainly of old villages, open
fields and duck farms. Since then, it has
become more urbanized, thanks to mas-
sive, government-subsidized housing
projects. Yet it still retains much of its
rural character as compared to other parts
of Hong Kong. Here, wide-open spaces,
countryside and rugged mountains stand
in stark contrast to the urbanity of the
main island and Kowloon. So you’ll be
forgiven if, upon visiting, you think
you’ve stepped into another world.
Organic farming started in Hong
Kong in the 1990s with just 10 farms, but
today there are more than 400, and the
government has an assistance program
for conventional farms that wish to con-
vert to organic practices. Since 2004, the
area has witnessed a threefold increase in
such farms.
Hong Kong has arrived late to the
party, but at least it has arrived.
Going green
Consumers in Hong Kong are becoming
far more conscious about where their food
is sourced, because of the recent food
scares and scandals.
“Of course, our land is limited, but that
doesn’t mean we can’t get more imagina-
tive with our farming techniques,” says
Christine Smith-Mann, spokeswoman for
Integrated Hospitality Management, a
group that has started multiple restau-
rants with a commitment to local, “clean”
(pesticide-free) food.
IHM works with farms like Zen
Organic that use no chemical fertilizers,
herbicides, pesticides or genetically modi-
fied seeds. Additionally, organic farming
values greater crop rotation than tradi-
tional farming, explains Joey Ng, owner of

7. 36 selamtamagazine.com
Hong Kong's Central
Market is a bonanza of
fresh produce from local
farmers. The owners
of Posto Pubblico, a
New York–style Italian
osteria, source their
ingredients from 10 to 12
such farmers to produce
healthy dishes like this
ready-to-serve organic
vegetable salad.
Zen Organic. That way, he says, “the soil
gets to rest and remains nutrient-rich for
generations to come.”
Ng’s 250,000 square-kilometer farm
is one of the pioneers in Hong Kong’s
burgeoning organic movement. There,
in the greenest area of Ta Kwu Ling in
the northern New Territories, you’ll find
Mediterranean varieties of heirloom and
cherry tomatoes, rainbow carrots, gor-
geous sweet peppers and creamy egg-
plants. Visitors are welcome Tuesday
through Sunday.
Otherfarmsacrosstheregionalsooffer
educational and interactive experiences,
including Rainbow Organic Strawberry
Farm, Kadoorie Farm, Lavender Garden
and Wing Woo Bee Farm. Some even have
cafés, BBQ pits and petting zoos, so visi-
tors can easily make a day trip to one or
more farms in the New Territories to get
better acquainted with the land.
Less is more and
fresh is best
In 2009, the responsible food movement
in Hong Kong got a much-needed boost
when New Yorkers Todd Darling and
Rob Spina, the duo behind Integrated
Hospitality Management, opened their
dream restaurant. Posto Pubblico is a New
York–style Italian Osteria that uses only
local, organic produce.
Best friends since age 5, Spina and
Darling grew up in New York and had
always wanted to open a business
together. Spina’s family has owned and
operated Italian restaurants since they
emigrated from Italy to the U.S. in the
1940s. Following Posto Pubblico’s rapid
success, IHM launched two new Italian
restaurants, Linguini Fini in 2011 and
Pizzeria Pubblico in June 2012.
The approach in the Posto Pubblico
kitchenislessismoreandfreshisbest.There’s
no need to complicate things when you’re
using only the freshest goods, so most
dishes comprise four or fewer ingredients.
Posto Pubblico’s chefs serve up hearty
Italian classics such as veal piccata, egg-
plant parmigiana, cacio e pepe (a minimal-
ist pasta dish with cheese and pepper)
and desserts like Sicilian cassata icebox
cake. To further enhance the flavors and
nutrients, Posto Pubblico uses clean cook-
ing methods (baking, shallow frying and
grilling) for lighter and healthier meals.
“Before we opened,” Spina says, “Hong
Kong had never heard of New York Italian.
We saw a real opportunity to cut through
the clutter and do something completely
new in this city. Much like the way Italian
immigrants made the most of the pro-
duce available to them when they arrived
in New York, we are taking the same
recipes and working with local producers
as much as possible.”

8. 37september/october2012
“You just can’t compare the taste of
local produce versus imported produce,”
Darling says. “It’s a remarkable difference.”
More than 90 percent of the vegeta-
bles are served within 48 hours of being
harvested. Bread is baked daily in onsite
ovens and the mozzarella cheese is hand-
made every afternoon.
Friends of the Farmers
Darling deals with about 10 to 12 local
farmers and knows them all on a first-
name basis. They all have their own spe-
cialties and for many, what they produce
and how they produce it is a family legacy.
“At first they thought we were a little
crazy,” Darling says, “as none of our com-
petitors were taking the time to go out
to the farms and get produce. They just
weren’t used to it.”
Spina and Darling spent a year seek-
ing out and nurturing relationships with
these farmers, to develop a wider range
of crops and to keep an eye on the quality
and integrity of their food sources.
“Being able to look your local pro-
ducer in the eye, and personally seeing
the conditions in which your ingredients
are grown, is truly rare in Hong Kong,”
Darling says. “But having this luxury gives
you greater peace of mind that what you
are serving in your dishes is the best qual-
ity it can possibly be. And it’s important
that diners are confident about the qual-
ity of the ingredients too.”
Of course, sourcing locally affects a
restaurant’s menu. Some fruits and veg-
etables — like bok choi, choi sum, pump-
kin, beetroots and okra — only grow in
Hong Kong’s winter months; sweet corn,
lychee, mangoes, white eggplants and
spinach only grow during the summer.
So the menu at an organic restaurant is
never static, and diners can always expect
to be surprised by a new invention when
they return.
But Spina and Darling are not the only
ones making a difference. Margaret Xu, a
good friend of the duo, is a well-known
locavore and celebrity chef in Hong Kong
who whips up stunning Cantonese ban-
quet meals using local organic produce in
her private kitchen restaurant, Yin Yang.
There is also Life Café, a trendy little space
in the SoHo (South of Hollywood Road)
district that serves only organic vegetar-
ian fare and is almost always packed dur-
ing lunch. One of the newest kids on the
block is Teakha, an organic teashop and
bakery opened by Hong Kong food writer
Nana Chan in January this year.
Perhaps it’s only a matter of time until
Hong Kong’s reputation as a mecca for
fine cuisine will be replaced by a different,
healthier recognition entirely.