“My late father, H.E. Nuhu Bamalli, held the princely title of Magajin Garin Zazzau. In the English translation it is much like lord mayor. The title is given to the second most senior royal family member in the Zaria emirate.

“On October 1, 1960, Nigeria became an independent state. My father was an important figure in the struggle for independence. He was appointed a junior minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in 1960 and in 1965 became the Foreign Minister. In fact he addressed the UN General Assembly in New York that same year.
“After his passing in 2001 at the age of 84, I took over the Magajin Garin Zazzau title. However, since I am still pursuing my career I don’t stay in the emirate to oversee a district like most of the title holders. Therefore, I only retain the title and then advice the emir from time to time when the need arises. The emir assigns some responsibilities to me, especially representation in functions that he is not personally attending.

“I took my primary and secondary education in Kaduna city and then went to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to study law. That’s my first degree; I also have a Master’s degree in international affairs and diplomacy, and I’ve taken courses at a number of educational institutes at home and abroad, mostly for short programs on leadership. I attended Harvard and Oxford universities as well as Northwestern University in Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania. 

“Most of my professional life has been in the banking sector, even though I studied law and international relations. From conventional banking I moved to Nigerian Security Printing and Minting, which produces our currency as well as security papers for the Nigerian government. I held two positions there: executive director of corporate services and general administration, and subsequently, managing director on the board of directors, where I served for almost two years.

“After leaving the minting company, I went back to Oxford University to study. I was at the university when the present government invited me to be a part of the transitional committee in Kaduna State. After the transition period I was appointed to the Electoral Commission in my state, and a few months down the line I was nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari to be Ambassador to Thailand. So as you can see, I came to diplomatic service in a roundabout way.

“I joined the Nigerian foreign ministry in late 2016. 

This is the ministry where my late father and other top pioneer diplomats laid the foundation of foreign service in Nigeria. I accepted because I’ve always felt a connection with foreign services, and with my family and educational background I’ve found it very easy to adjust to this position. My younger brother is a career diplomat. He is currently an assistant director at the MFA’s Trade and Investment Department. He has served in Ireland and Ghana and is now back in Abuja (Nigeria’s capital), waiting for another posting.”

Starting with a single pig ten years ago, selling his products in local farmers’ markets and to friends, Joe Sloane has grown his food business into one of Thailand’s leading and most recognizable suppliers of artisanal meat products.
 
The line-up includes sausages, bacon, hams, pies, burgers and a range of aged goods like salamis and chorizo. Today, ‘Sloane’s’ gets through four tons of meat a week, all from “high welfare” sources dotted around the country which UK-born Joe visits on a regular basis.
 
Most of his beef, for example, is from farms in Korat, while the pigs are sourced from a family cooperative in Ratchburi, and chickens from Khao Yai. Other suppliers are based in Sisaket, Chantaburi and Chiang Rai. All supplies are processed by 40-strong staff in the company’s Bangkok factory.
 
In addition to supermarkets popular with Thailand’s expat community, Joe supplies a number of leading hotels such as Hyatt, Marriott, St Regis, Kempinski, Anantara, Sheraton and the Minor Group as well as outlets like Starbucks.
 
In fact, it was Starbucks that helped to give his business a major boost when it added Sloane’s Cumberland sausages with Gouda cheese and egg on its menu as a breakfast special. The product was a surprise hit and almost overnight his Cumberlands went main stream.
 
Sloane’s goods are also available in restaurants in Luang Prabang, Laos, while plans to export to Singapore were shelved because the island republic only allow heat-treated pork products. Here in Thailand, some restaurants now make a point of highlighting the ‘Joe Sloane’s’ products as a sign of superior quality menu items.
 
To make his recently introduced range of pies, which include steak and kidney, steak and stout, mince and onion, chicken and ham, chicken and asparagus, traditional pork, cranberry and gala, Joe uses a traditional pie making machine from John Hunt of Bolton, a huge 80kg cast-iron contraption, some 60 years old, which he brought into Thailand in sections from the UK.
 
In terms of price, Joe reckons his products are roughly 20% more than the competition – “typically 250 baht against 290 baht for Sloane’s and 600 baht against 500 baht for other products.” 

A new drama series documenting the crimes of Charles Sobhraj, a French- Vietnamese serial killer linked to over 20 murders of mostly young hippies across the world - including Thailand - during the 1970s is about to be screened on Netflix.
 
Award-winning French actor Tahar Rahim will play Sobhraj in the eight-part series called The Serpent, based on the astonishing true story of how one of the most elusive criminals of the 20th century was caught and finally brought to trial.
 
Nicknamed ‘The Serpent’ due to his knack for changing his identity and escaping several international prisons, Sobhraj was once deemed Interpol’s most wanted man. In Thailand, he would befriend young hippies and allow them to stay at his apartment in Bangkok, where they were fatally drugged. Their bodies were later disposed of in Pattaya and other still unknown locations.
 
Sobhraj was interrogated by Thai police in connection with the murders, including two Dutch students, but apparently released because of possible collateral damage to the country's tourist industry.
 
Meanwhile, Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg who had been investigating the case was given police permission to search Sobhraj's Bangkok apartment, a full month after the suspect had left the country. Knippenberg found evidence, including victims' documents and passports, as well as poisons and syringes.
 
Sobhraj was eventually jailed in India twice – the second time deliberately to avoid extradition to Thailand - before settling in France. On a visit to Nepal, he was recognized and arrested. To this day, the 75-year-old remains in prison in Kathmandu.

​Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School
Le Cordon Bleu was founded in Paris in 1895 by the journalist and publisher of La Cuisinière Cordon Bleu magazine, Marthe Distel
 
• January 14, 1896: first cooking demonstration ever to be held on an electric stove was staged at LCB to promote the magazine and launch the Paris cooking school
• Presence in some 20 countries
• Students are taught by LCB Master Chefs, the majority of whom come from Michelin-starred restaurants.

Cuisine Programme:
• Grand Diplôme: ‘An intensive and comprehensive programme in classic French culinary techniques.
• Basic: French culinary terms and definitions, professional knife handling and diverse cuts, food prep and mise en place, and classic French techniques.
• Intermediate: Introduction to the heart of French cuisine.
• Superior: Learn the intricacies of dishes required at the highest level of food production for contemporary and haute cuisine menus. Classical and contemporary dishes are included.
• The Professional Thai Cuisine: More than 200 recipes of traditional, regional, royal and modern contemporary Thai dishes.
• Pastry & Confectionery
• Basic: French pastry terms and definitions, introduction to creams and fillings, traditional dessert, classical techniques and basic decoration, masking and glaçage.
• Intermediate Pâtisserie: classic and contemporary French desserts, traditional desserts, cakes and yeast goods, hot and cold restaurant desserts, chocolate.
• Superior Pâtisserie: Gateaux, tarts and contemporary cakes.
• Hotel, Restaurant & Culinary Management: Culinary Innovation, F&B cost food safety and hygiene, restaurant business plan, menu concept and marketing, kitchen management.
• Food Safety
​
Location: 4, 4/5 Zen Tower, 17th-19th Floor, CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Road, Pathumwan Subdistrict, 10330
Contact: +6622378877, +6622378878

Glen Grant single malt has arrived in Thailand, bringing with it the 180-year-old unmistakable house style that is sure to entice whisky lovers.
 
It’s not the typical Speyside single malt you would have in mind because Glen Grant is anything but typical. It all started in 1840 when two whisky-loving brothers, John and James Grant, acquired distillery license to set up one of the earliest distilleries in Rothes, Speyside. The two went on to make history when the engine house at the distillery was equipped to drive dynamo, making Glen Grant was the first distillery in the northern Scotland to have electricity.
 
That’s not all. Their successor, James “The Major” Grant, who was known as an avid traveler and an ingenious innovator, revolutionized the craft of whisky making in 1872 in a major scale at only 25. He did away with the original pot stills in use at the time, replacing them with the tall slender stills and purifiers which created the light malty flavor and clear color that defines Glen Grant whisky to this day.

“Glen Grant is soft and smooth, a gentler single malt that doesn’t burn and is easy to drink. It’s also malty, fruity and rich which, in the past, made it an ideal single malt for blending as it is packed with characters and complexity and not overpowering. In fact, whisky from Glen Grant’s distillery used to be the main single malt for a few renowned blended whisky brands. Now all the whisky that we produce goes to Glen Grant. We don’t sell to other brands anymore.”
 
According to Robin, the distillery is small and well maintained with highly experienced small team in a traditional way, partly to honor the age-old craft of Scotch whisky making and partly to preserve Glen Grant’s long-treasured characters and structures that have made it the pride of Speyside for the past 180 years.