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UBS Representative
Craft matters in small ways like how a coffee is brewed, and in not so small ways like how your money is cared for. Which is why for 160 years, UBS has elevated banking to a craft, tailoring unique strategies that combine human expertise with the latest technologies, all happening across 24 time zones and and 12 key financial hubs. With you at the heart of it all, UBS advice is our craft.
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Fionnual Aswini
You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on the 15th of May, 2026 on Monocle Radio. The Globalist in association with U. Live from London. This is THE Globalist. I'm Fionnual Aswini. Coming up, this is an incredible opportunity
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Andrew Muller
for us to rely on the relationships to build a much, much better partnership.
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Fionnual Aswini
So far, so good as President Trump and China Xi hold a summit. But but what did it really achieve?
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Andrew Muller
And we learned that there is one thing that the man who has everything does not have, which is a Trump phone, as nobody does.
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Fionnual Aswini
Andrew Muller tells us what we've learned this week. That's ahead on THE Globalist, live from London. But first, a look at what else is happening in the News. In Kyiv, 16 people, including two children, have been killed in overnight Russian drone strikes. Meanwhile, Latvia's prime minister has resigned after the political fallout of the crash of two drones in the east of the country last week. And the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, has held talks with his Cuban counterpart in Havana shortly after the country said it had run out of oil. Stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on those stories. But first, at the summit held in Beijing between President Trump and President Xi Jinping, no major trade agreement was reached, though both sides agreed to maintain the trade truce that has been in place since last year. Semiconductors, AI and Chinese export controls on rare earths were among the key issues discussed alongside the situation in the Middle east and Taiwan. I'm joined now by Peter Landers, Asia business and finance editor at the Wall Street Journal. Thanks for joining us, Peter. So first of all, what would you say were the biggest takeaways from this summit?
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Peter Landers
I think the message sent by Xi Jinping over Taiwan was one of the big takeaways. He jumped the gun, you might say. He started right off by warning the not to interfere or disagree or disagree with China's position on Taiwan, which is that it is an integral part of China. And Trump didn't really make a substantive response, but certainly Xi Jinping took the initiative on that issue.
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Fionnual Aswini
And what do we expect might come? I don't wish to speculate, but Obviously Taiwan is a very sensitive issue. And what do you make of President Trump's non reaction to it?
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Peter Landers
I think the U.S. and as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, the U.S. position has not changed. So I think maybe they agreed not to have a big fight over the Taiwan issue at this summit. There's lots of talk of the two countries getting along and having a great trip and a great partnership and so on and so forth. So I think the US Wanted to avoid conflict over Taiwan at this summit.
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Fionnual Aswini
And yet neither side, despite the good relations and the friendly show or at least appearance, neither side seemed to push for a major trade break through.
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Peter Landers
That's exactly right. And one of the big takeaways so far, we haven't quite seen the final moment yet and and President Trump is expected to leave quite shortly. There may be announcements about trade afterwards, but so far we have not seen major trade deals. And it despite the presence of all these big US CEOs like Elon Musk of Tesla, Tim Cook of Apple and others, there really has not been much substance on the business and trade front.
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Fionnual Aswini
Well, can we focus in a little on rare earths and semiconductors? They were major topics. What has this summit revealed about where those industries now stand in the U.
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Peter Landers
S. China relationship since the president, the two presidents met about six months ago in South Korea. There has been a truce underway and China is not strangling US Access to rare earths as it had done earlier in 2025. And the US has not proposed any additional major curbs on semiconductor exports to China, although going back to the Biden and even the first Trump administration, there are quite tight restrictions on certain semiconductors and semiconductor making equipment that cannot be sent to China under US Rules. So they kind of have a true a truce. And I think that is maintained after this meeting and may even be maintained up until at least the planned visit by President Xi to Washington later this year in September.
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Fionnual Aswini
And so what should businesses and markets, especially in tech and manufacturing, manufacturing be watching most closely now as President Trump flies home?
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Peter Landers
Boy, I think China is still a really tough place to do business. And we've had some stories in the Wall Street Journal recently about companies like Nike or Starbucks that have had trouble doing business in the, in the Chinese market. So much local competition, what the Chinese call involution, this maybe excessive competition that drives down prices and relatively lackluster consumer spending. So I think for US Businesses it's a tough place to do business. And I don't think we can expect a big opening in U. S China trade relations, but perhaps they won't get worse in the next six months.
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Fionnual Aswini
So potentially steady as she goes. But what about the Iran conflict and the impact of what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz are not happening as a backdrop to all of this and going forward?
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Peter Landers
Well, according to the US Side, President Xi did express his commitment to an open Strait of Hormuz, you might say a return to the status quo before the war broke out on Feb 28, when the Strait was international waters and accessible to all ships of nations. Freedom of navigation. We haven't heard as much from the Chinese side about their position on the Strait of Hormuz, but I suppose President Trump did achieve a little something on that point. Just that China agreed, he says, to the principle of freedom of navigation.
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Fionnual Aswini
But of course, just before President Trump visited Beijing, Iran's foreign minister was there in a perhaps not so subtle reminder that China does have some sway over its partner in the Middle east, certainly.
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Peter Landers
And China is the main customer for Iran's oil, or has been right now it's difficult for Iran to export any oil and, and the closest partner in that sense. And so on the other hand, China also has partnerships with countries like Saudi Arabia who are on the more or less on the US Side of this conflict and have been attacked by Iran. So China is not purely a supporter of Iran in this conflict, but certainly has has some sway. And if President Trump was hoping that Xi Jinping would somehow intervene and stop the war on his own, well, that, that didn't happen and I don't think we could have expected it to happen.
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Fionnual Aswini
And how much influence did the White House have on its objective of trying to pressure China, which is a key buyer of sanctioned Iranian oil, to cut back on that support of Taiwan?
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Peter Landers
I don't think that's something that China certainly has not publicly agreed to any, any such measure. And I think they would prefer to continue buying Iranian oil. Of course, officially they don't do it. It goes through intermediaries. And so there's this gray market or gray zone where China is officially observing the sanctions, but at the same time, through intermediaries and ship to ship transfers off Malaysia is getting access to the Iranian oil. And I don't think China is inclined to give in to any US Pressure on that point, at least from what we've seen in this summit.
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Fionnual Aswini
And if we were to zoom out a further from Beijing to the region itself, what are countries like Japan thinking as this summit has drawn to a close?
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Peter Landers
Well, Japan and Taiwan and others in the Region are certainly watching that Taiwan issue that we discussed earlier and hoping that I think it's concerning for Japan, Taiwan and others if the US and China create what is sometimes called a G2, as China seems to imagine sometimes, that there would be sort of an executive committee that's running the world between the US And China, and everybody else is left behind or subject subservient to those big two. That's not the kind of world that a country like Japan would like to see. And we haven't seen too much rhetoric in that respect from the summit. But it's always a concern that the US Would go over the heads of its allies like Japan and make deals with China that might not be in their interests.
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Fionnual Aswini
And as we look at the potential for a global recession, Peter, I mean, this is something obviously President Trump would be keen to avoid and China too. But how would it affect China in terms of its exports?
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Peter Landers
It would affect China if there was a global recession. And China's economy now, as before, is very export dependent, less so to the US because of Trump's tariffs. But to the rest of the world, places like Southeast Asia and Singapore, where, where I live, I see many Chinese cars on the road today, even then two years ago when I first moved here. So exports are very important to the Chinese economy. If there is a global recession caused by higher oil prices, some kind of stagflation, that would certainly be bad for China as it would be for everyone else.
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Fionnual Aswini
And just to move on to another topic, that used to always in the 90s and the noughties be quite dominant in Western relationships with the Chinese leadership, you know, human rights, jailed leaders. Did the case of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai come up at all?
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Peter Landers
As far as I know, it has not come up. President Trump suggested he might raise it with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but it hasn't come up. And Jimmy Lai was convicted in Hong Kong. He remains behind bars, you know, perhaps for the rest of his life if nothing changes. And so that is perhaps the most likely human rights concern to be raised by the US Side. But I have not seen any progress on that so far.
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Fionnual Aswini
And just a final question, if you can just cast your mind back to the Biden administration. It was kind of hawkish on China. What is the arc, the trajectory you're seeing of can you discern from President Trump's administration with China as he flies back to the US Right now after the summit?
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Peter Landers
Well, in a sense, one could have imagined that the US Would get ever tougher. And there is a fair amount of continuity in US Policy towards China from the first Trump administration where he imposed tariffs and Biden kept those tariffs. And then Trump, too, comes along and at one point increased them. And export controls under Biden were getting ever tighter on chips and so on. And so one could have imagined a trajectory that the US Would just get ever tougher on China and really has not happened in the last year or so, and perhaps because China fought back with, for example, rare earth export curbs that we discussed previously. So I think we're kind of at a, at a standing or still point here and where there's kind of a truce and a complete decoupling doesn't seem to be happening on the ground, certainly. Yes, exactly.
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Fionnual Aswini
All right. Thank you so much, Peter Landes, Asia business and finance editor at the Wall Street Journal, for joining us this morning. This is the Globalist. Now, it's 11 minutes past eight in Paris and of course, that means it's 11 minutes past seven in London to India. Now, the Prime Minister, Narend Modi, has embarked on a visit to European countries following talks in the uae. This is a tour increasingly regarded as vital to his country's economic interests. The conflict in the Gulf, of course, has had a negative ripple effect on the Indian economy, with Modi urging his fellow countrymen and women to practice austerity. So what is going on with the world's sixth largest economy in GDP terms and what is at stake for the prime Minister's tour of the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy? I'm joined by Maya Sharma, journalist based in Bangalore. Maya, could you paint a picture for us of what the economy is like in India and how Narendra Modi is having to cope with the changes that perhaps he hadn't even anticipated could be happening right now there?
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Maya Sharma
Well, yes, of course, the war in West Asia has certainly hit India's economy as it has hit economies around the world. And what we are seeing here is higher prices. I mean, just today, the price of petrol, diesel fuel has been hiked. It was hinted at. We heard, of course, Prime Minister Modi talking about the need for austerity, asking people to use public transport, to go easy on gold purchases and to not travel abroad unless it was necessary, asking everyone to be a little bit more careful, even talking about being careful when it comes to the use of cooking oil. So there was anticipation, anticipation that there would be a hike in fuel prices. And that has happened just now. Today it's been announced that fuel prices are up and that, of course, has a ripple effect on everything else. That when the price of fuel goes up, everything else becomes more expensive. So India, yes, has been hit that way. The markets have been hit. The markets have fallen ever since the conflict in West Asia began with, of course, the problems of receiving stuff through the Straits of Hormuz. Some Indian ships have made it through, but of course, there is a lot of stress there as well. So India's economy is certainly taking a hit. And the thrust of the visit to these five countries, really, for Prime Minister Modi is to try and get things going again in a better way.
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Fionnual Aswini
So before we go on to the European tour that's about to take place, could I ask what has been the reaction of Indian people to this call for austerity and not to travel abroad, particularly when the Prime Minister himself is obviously travelling abroad?
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Maya Sharma
That has been interesting. India, as you know, is very, very divided politically. And the fans and the followers of Prime Minister Modi have said, absolutely, yes, let us do this. Let us be easy. And they praise the fact that his convoy, his official convoy, is now down to two vehicles. They have praised the fact that the Home Minister, Amit Shah, actually went with just one car to where he needed to go. So they have been very, you know, flattering about the decision and saying, yes, we need to do what we can. But there have been a whole range of memes regarding this, indeed, because the day the Prime Minister actually asked for this austerity measures, he held a roadshow in one of the cities in his home state of Gujarat. There was a roadshow, there was a motorcase, and there was also an air display to mark the progress on a temple, of reconstruction of a temple. And there was an air display with aerobatics. And those planes, as many of the memes said, did not run on water. So there has been a mixed reaction here from the opposition from many people, but many, of course, who feel that Prime Minister Modi can do no wrong and that India needs to kind of tighten its belt.
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Fionnual Aswini
So there will be a lot of eyes on his visit to Europe. The main themes being trade, investment, technology, and, of course, strategic cooperation. What can we expect in the Netherlands, where he's hoping to build on a $27 billion trade relationship?
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Maya Sharma
Well, really, yes. The focus in all of the countries will, of course, be bilateral relations, which is a nice catchphrase with the Netherlands. He's looking at technical collaboration. He's really trying to get more tech collaboration between the Netherlands and India. There are several companies based which have offices in India as well. And India, of course, has that connection as well. Right now, of course, before heading to Europe, I'll just bring this in. Prime Minister is in the United Arab Emirates and that is being extremely important because like I said, fuel, the huge issue of fuel, energy cooperation and of course, a huge Indian population living in the uae. So that really is where he is right now. He'll be leaving after a few hours. It's a very short visit. It's like a stopover on the way to Europe. And his first stop, as you said, is the Netherlands.
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Fionnual Aswini
And then it's on to Sweden where he'll be making a major address with the Swedish Prime Minister alongside the EU Commission President, Von der Leyen. So, I mean, obviously trying to strengthen relationship. Can I ask how much of a shock has this downturn in the Indian economy been on Prime Minister Modi as he tries to build relationships and increase trade between Europe and India?
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Maya Sharma
Well, there has, of course been that recent free trade agreement signed between India and eu and that will be the stress in Sweden as well. As long as talks about innovation and meeting with the EU president there and the Swedish Prime Minister, it has been a shock in the sense it is obvious with the markets falling, with the prices rising, that India is not doing quite as well as it was even a short time ago. But it must also be said that the government tends to put a positive spin on everything. They don't often say that there's a crisis or there's trouble. It's very interesting the way the media is managed for Prime Minister Modi and his government. So, yes, while he does know, he does know it's very important that there should be an improvement in trade and improvement in the economy. Officially, it's almost like business as usual, that things are fine, that everything is good and that, of course, EU is a very important trading partner. More so, with the increasing unpredictability of Prime Minister Trump, India is looking elsewhere and especially to Europe to try and get trade up and to try and get to boost its economy. So it is very important and they know it. They may not always admit that the economy is in some need of help.
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Fionnual Aswini
Yes, it's quite unusual. Let me ask you about Norway because not only will he be meeting the Norwegian Prime Minister and he's the first Indian Prime Minister to Visit there in 43 years. There'll also be a summit in Oslo with the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden. What is it that India brings to the table?
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Maya Sharma
Yes, this is the third India Nordic Summit, the first, as you said, in 43 years. And it will discuss business and it will Discuss research. Now there are Indians living everywhere around the world. So there is always that people to people connection. Norway, of course, as part of Europe, as part of the European thrust of when it comes to Modi's interest in increasing trade is very much there. What India brings to the table is of course a large educated population when it comes to technology, when it comes to it, it is of course a huge market. The lorries remain a massive market for anyone. Which is why many countries abroad do look towards India as well. Because the size of the domestic market here is massive. It's the most populated country in the world. So the market, the fact that there are a lot of IT savvy people here, lots of IT workers here who could also be working in Norway or who could be working on projects here for Norway. So that really has been India's USP when it comes to that, the educated tech population and also that market.
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Fionnual Aswini
Well, thank you very much Maya Sharma in Bangalore for teeing this European visit up as Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves the uae, a lot of eyes on this upcoming visit by the Indian delegation. Thank you very much. Still to come on the program, I
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Sally Abbe
want, you know, young people to be able to come and experience the food. And I think what I wanted to do with Teal is similar to the bistronomy movement in the 90s in Paris.
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Fionnual Aswini
Award winning chef Sally Abbe tells us about launching Teal, her first standalone restaurant in London. This is the globalist.
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UBS Representative
Craft is a matter of perspective, a unique outlook, an obsessive attention to detail. With UBS's Chief Investment Office, Houseview, we're focused on identifying the latest investment opportunities and market risks to help you achieve your financial goals. So you get the big picture broken down into thought provoking insights delivered daily and curated by over 200 globally connected, locally active analysts. UBS banking is our craft.
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Sally Abbe
Sam.
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Fionnual Aswini
Let's continue now with today's newspapers. Joining me is Inga Thordar, chief catalyst officer at Kanaloa and former senior editor with CNN and the BBC. Well, hello to you today.
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Inga Thordar
Hello, good morning.
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Fionnual Aswini
We're in London where it just seems non stop coverage of politics, politics and more politics.
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Inga Thordar
It's totally inescapable. Every newspaper is leading on this. But I thought, you know, we can endlessly talk about are going to contest the leadership. But I thought that the poll in Politico was really interesting because it's not just about sort of party management but it's the verdict that that poll delivers is that, you know, Keir Starmer just hasn't delivered the change that they were all expecting after all the years of Tories, of the austerity, the Brexit and then Covid, you know, the Britons are just not believing that this Labour government with Keir Sama in charge can actually deliver the change that they needed. Certainly not quick enough. And I think that that's damning for Keir Starmer than the politics inside the Labour Party.
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Fionnual Aswini
Well, and then there is the argument that some are making that if another leader takes over and becomes Prime Minister, they'll be really emboldened to call an election. They'll be obliged almost to call an election because the opposition will start saying, you know, you didn't win that huge seat majority, Keir Starmer did. Is there anything Keir Starmer can do to turn the tide?
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Inga Thordar
I don't think that he has to follow the process. And now it's going to be a lengthy one because now we have to wait for the by election which Andy Burnham is now going to contest. It looks like he will be allowed to do so, although that's not 100% clear. So we could be in a very long process now of first waiting for the by election result, then the challenge from, well, Andy Burnham most likely and possibly we're treating. So we could be in a very big political limbo for a very long time. And in the meantime, you know, the program that this government was supposed to deliver is kind of on hold. So, you know, whilst Keir Starmer might have been seen a little bit successful in the sort of macro sense around international diplomacy, the cost of living crisis here in the UK and you know, the NHS waiting list and other things have just not moved at the speed that everyone was expecting.
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Fionnual Aswini
And of course, Andy Burnham is to the left of Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting, who resigned yesterday as Health Secretary, is to the right of Keir Starmer. And it just seems that the big winners in all of this seem to be again, Nigel Farage and reform.
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Inga Thordar
Correct. And I think that the leader that will be chosen, whoever, which one of these three men it will be, is going to be the one that they believe is most likely to beat Farage at the next election. But, you know, that's a very dangerous game to play in politics. And, you know, so, yeah, I think we're in for a very long time of these headlines in the uk and
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Fionnual Aswini
it seems to be also. Let' swe'll move on to Cuba in just a moment. But a final word, it really does seem to be these days all about communication. If you can't communicate as a prime minister. It's not like the old days when there was less media, when. And you didn't have to be media savvy or seem to be media competent.
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Inga Thordar
Yeah, correct. And I think that, you know, Keir Starmer was sort of voted in as the sort of stable candidate, but he's therefore also seen as a bit boring and a bit stagnant. And that doesn't work very well in today's politics.
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Fionnual Aswini
Well, let's move away from London and to Cuba now, which has run out of oil. There have been talks there with the CIA director who's saying that they will ease, they'll deliver an aid package, basically, if Cuba changes its ways. What are the papers saying?
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Inga Thordar
Well, the papers are saying that, you know, that the Cuban government has basically said that diesel and fuel supplies have fallen so low that now the parts of the countries are enduring blackouts that are lasting 20 or even 22 hours. I mean, at that point, you know, everything's failing. Refrigeration, food despoiling, factories are shutting down, transport running to a halt. There is a complete breakout. Exactly. Hospitals and water systems. And that's, of course, also because Cuba is running on a very ancient infrastructure that is constantly breaking down. And the source of this crisis, although there are many, but main source, was of course, this blockade by the US of Venezuelan oil, which used to prop up the domestic product. But I think that now Cuba has realized that they are probably in need of help. And frankly, the US is also realizing that the crisis in Cuba is also a crisis for them. Increased migration and the regional instability right on their doorsteps. So we had the CIA director, John Ratcliffe in Cuba, and it looks like the President, the Cuban president has now said that they might even accept some aid from the us so it has not been verified or we don't know if that's offer, but 100 million has been talked about, so we'll wait and see. But it looks like Cuba really needs help and the US is probably the most likely to deliver it.
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Fionnual Aswini
And it pains to say after the meeting with the CIA director that Cuba isn't a threat to US national security. I'm sure as well, Washington getting pressure from the large number of Cubans. Cubans. Influential Cubans in America as well, about the situation.
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Inga Thordar
Yeah, I'm sure they are. Although the Cuban Americans in Florida, for example, have normally been very anti the regime, but, you know, in Cuba. So it will be interesting to see how it sort of plays out. But I don't think that The USA wants any more migrants on its doorstep. This administration there has not looked favorably upon that. So more crisis like that is not going to play well.
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Fionnual Aswini
Let's go to the Pacific now, where El Nino is expected to start developing later this month. And it's anticipated that this be a very, very, very powerful El Nino by the time September comes.
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Inga Thordar
Yeah, correct. So NOAA, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration in the US, is saying that there's now an 82% chance that El Nino would develop between May and July. That's much earlier than predicted. And that's in the Southern Hemisphere. And there's a 96% chance that it persists through the Northern hemisphere winter. So we could be in for quite the storm. As I said, it's a much the timeline than they were expecting. And the critical point is that El Nino is returning. It's not that it's returning, but it's arriving so much earlier and so much stronger than models were predicting. And it's overlaid on an already stressed system in the ocean. So it will definitely affect weather and we will all feel it. But I think that what is really critical is to think about what's going to happen underneath the surface. The overheating of the ocean, the acidification is already a problem and this stress on top of that is going to wreak absolute havoc. And especially I want to mention what it will do to the corals, for example, which are under immense stress right now. And after the bleaching event in 2023, this is just going to be catastrophic if there's nothing that can be done.
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Fionnual Aswini
A much bigger impact than just perhaps being the warmest year on record.
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Inga Thordar
Much so, because as I said, it's not hitting in the same as 2023, when there was less stress on it. We already have had the world's hottest year in 2020. The, you know, sort of context that this El neo nasitic is taking place in.
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Fionnual Aswini
Let's move to Italy now. And amorous peacocks, no less.
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Inga Thordar
Yes. So the Italian seaside of Punta Marina on the Adriatic coast is really suffering from this. They believe that there is around 150 Picos roaming free around the streets and they are causing quite a lot of havoc against humans, cars and their gardens. So now the residents are calling for a resolution to this. And it all started with one peacock, one lonely peacock in the forest. And then somebody felt sorry for him and introduced a mate. And since then, the population has grown massively and now they're becoming a problem. So there are many solutions that have come up one was that a zoo offered to take 30 of them, but then animal activists were outraged. So the solution hasn't been found to what's going to happen to these peacocks? And in the meantime, the residents of the town are going to have to
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Fionnual Aswini
put up with the oh my goodness, I wonder how that individual feels who made it the first one. Thank you very much indeed, Inga, for having helping us. Have a look at the news headlines in the papers today. You're with a Globalist on Monocle Radio. First, a look at what's happening elsewhere in the News. In Kyiv, 16 people, including two children, have been killed in overnight Russian drone strikes in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Latvia's prime minister has resigned after the political fallout of the crash of two drones in the east of the country last week. The CIA director, John Ratcliffe has held talks with his Cuban counterpart in Havana shortly after the country had said it had run out of oil and El Nino. The natural warming of the Pacific is expected to begin developing later this month. It could help make 2027 the warmest year on record. This is the Globalist. Stay tuned. It is 8:30 in Zurich, 11:30 in Moscow. Award winning chef Sally Abbe, recognized for her work in the top kitchens of the world under names such as Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Waring. Well, she's finally opened her own restaurant in the makings for years. Teal, Sally's first standalone restaurant, which opens on Wilton Way in Hackney, London, is a celebration of British ingredients and nostalgia for classic dishes. Monocle's Tom Webb caught up with Sally after the opening to get into the business of starting a new restaurant.
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Sally Abbe
I think the thing that makes Teal so special to me is that I have taken that little bit of extra time and really grounded in what I wanted it to be and what I wanted it to feel like and how I wanted the menu to be. And then, yeah, we get to teal and here we are. We opened seven weeks ago.
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Tom Webb
Go now. What are those things that you really wanted to hone in on? It's probably all of them. Location, atmosphere, food choices, the decor, the staff. I mean, what is your number one priority? All of them, I could imagine.
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Sally Abbe
I mean, yeah, obviously, you know, they all play a part in making a great restaurant. For me, it's about how you make people feel. I think people come for the food, but they come back for the way the restaurant makes them feel. And it's about making every single guest feel special and feel like they're exceptional. And I kind of wanted it to feel like an extension of my own living room, which actually quite a lot of the guests have commented that it does feel like you're sat in someone's living room, especially with it only being, you know, eight tables and 25 covers. It's a really small site, so it does feel really intimate and it's been lovely to see, you know, because it is so small, the guests on tables are talking to one another and everybody's interacting and the floor team are really personable and I think the, the sort of feeling of being able to, you know, come in and out of whatever weather it is and sit in a restaurant and just forget the world exists for a few hours is, is a lovely place to be.
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Tom Webb
You've worked for people that know you, people you've cooked for. May associate you with fine dining and the Michelin experience. You certainly get that in the quality of teal, but the prices do not reflect that. I personally think you've managed to keep. Keep prices low.
- [33:02]
Sally Abbe
Yeah, it's really important to me that the restaurant is accessible as possible. I want, you know, young people to be able to come and experience the food. And I think what I wanted to do with teal is similar to the bistronomy movement in the 90s in Paris where these chefs that had worked at these two and three Michel style restaurants sort of threw off the shackles of that and they've still got all of this know how and this skill and this technique and you can apply that to food that is slightly more relaxed. So what you end up with is this delicious, delicious food in a non stuffy environment where you're not worried about which knife or fork to use or whether you're going to make a stain on the tablecloth. You can come and, you know, splatter as much red wine around as you want. Well, within reason. But you know, to come and not feel like you're in this sort of cage. You can just come, let go, have a good time, eat some delicious food.
- [33:55]
Tom Webb
You've certainly achieved that.
- [33:57]
Fionnual Aswini
Thank you.
- [33:58]
Tom Webb
Let's dive into the menu. We're looking ahead to October. We've already mentioned teal. That's getting me rather excited. How wedded are you? Winter seasons. This is May now we have. We got a spring menu.
- [34:10]
Peter Landers
Yeah.
- [34:10]
Sally Abbe
So I mean, we obviously opened last week of March. I've already changed, I think six dishes since we opened. I'm not very good at sort of standing still and I get a dish and I love it. But you know, I'm plating those same 12 dishes day in, day out. So I'm Just like, right, let's. What can we do? What's new, what's exciting? And I think, you know, coming into end of spring, start of summer. Summer, that's the best time of the year for any chef. You know, you come in to spring, asparagus starts, you've got wild garlic, you've got Jersey royals, you know, so, you know, the menu kind of writes itself, really. But now we're moving towards summer. So tomatoes are coming through now, and then we're going to be getting berries soon. Moving further into summer, you're going to be getting stone fruits. So this time of year is really, really exciting. And I'm definitely led by the seasons, like, very much so. So.
- [34:57]
Tom Webb
And what's been the. The big hitters, the big sellers so far?
- [35:01]
Sally Abbe
Gosh. I think the crab tart that we've got on starters is. Is flying out the door. Like, we can't actually roll the pastry fast enough. Some services, we had venison on at the very start when we opened, but that's that season's come to an end now. So we've changed the. One of the main courses actually to a poached chicken with a verju and sherry sauce, which is. It's actually really good because people are ordering extra bread to mop up the sauce with, so that a sign that somebody's enjoying themselves. And then dessert wise, I think probably the marmalade ice cream sandwich is one of the. One of the hot hitters for the desserts is Teal.
- [35:38]
Tom Webb
The. The place. The restaurant that you've perhaps had in your mind for a very, very long time. And has it come to life the way you'd always imagined?
- [35:46]
Fionnual Aswini
Yeah.
- [35:47]
Sally Abbe
I think it's funny because I've wanted this restaurant for many, many years, and this particular restaurant came about so quickly. I actually only went to look at the it for the very first time in November and then opened in March, which, in opening a restaurant timelines, is really fast. Like, super, super fast. And I think for me, I tend to go with my gut on these sort of big life decisions, and everything along that process felt right and it felt correct. So I knew that I was doing the right thing, and I just sort of let my, you know, instinct guide me. I suppose I would say that I probably never expected to have quite such a small space, but actually I'm really enjoying it. I think what's nice about it being only eight tables is that I can have eyes over everything. So everything that goes out of the kitchen, I see and I taste. So I know that it's exactly the way that I want it to be. I think all of the sites that I'd looked at prior were more on the sort of 50 or 60 seat side. But the thing that is so sort of special to me about this restaurant is the fact that I've done it on my own. So I don't have any investors. There's no big corporation or, you know, anything behind it. It's literally my life savings that have gone into teal and I think when it's 100 yours that, you know, naturally makes it so much more personal and everything matters. And all of the books on the shelves are my books from my house. And a lot of the crockery is stuff that I've been collecting, like the penny lit glasses. I've been collecting them since about 2017. So it's very, very personal and I think that def comes across when you sit and eat in the restaurant, you can feel that it's somebody's sort of love and sweat and tears gone into it.
- [37:32]
Fionnual Aswini
Award winning chef Sally Abbey in conversation with Monocle's Tom Webb there you're with Monocle Radio. Now, TV critic and media contributor for Monocle, the Guardian and the New York Times. Scott Bryan joins us now for a look at what's making news in the TV world and news of a big deal happening in Britain between two major networks.
- [37:58]
Scott Bryan
Scott yes, sky, the sort of satellite provider could be actually making a purchase for itv, which is the long established, very well known commercial TV channel. I mean this has been very much in the news now for quite a while. I'd say nearly six months, up to a year. There had been sort of water, some dashed hopes, but maybe there actually being a deal taking place. But according to ITV yesterday, it looks, looks as as if such a deal would actually be happening now, if you're unaware about how the UK ecosystem is sort of placed. Sky is normally a satellite operator, does a lot of live sports. ITV is a very long established TV channel with brands such as Britain's Got Talent and also Coronation Street. But quite different businesses really. Sky, I think have been weathering challenges, challenges in the fact that our consumer habits are maybe relying on rivals such as Netflix rather than paying 40, 50 pounds a month for a cable operator, whilst ITV obviously have been suffering challenges due to the decline of linear tv. So I think this idea is to possibly position sky to make it more relevant, but also for itv, perhaps give them more money and have more programs to rival the likes of the BBC channel.
- [39:23]
Fionnual Aswini
I mean the devil is always in the detail with these kind of contracts and massive deals. But what could ITV be expected to continue doing afterwards if sky is putting in the money?
- [39:34]
Scott Bryan
Well, I think ITV will have to continue doing public surface broadcasting because of the, the regulatory sort of obligations that has to carry out. So, for example, around news and around current affairs, I think that will can continue. I think what it could do is, is essentially give a cash boost to programs, but also for sky, perhaps have more viewers watching their, their programs. I can imagine there being quite a lot of consolidation and possibly some redundancies, but, but also I think the opportunity for, for there to be sort of greater awareness of, of Sky's programs. I mean, one such example in the last few weeks is Saturday Night Night Live uk, which has had favorable reviews and also been given an extension for a second season that's currently available on sky, which is quite a low viewership and you have to basically have a paywall or pay a payable to get through that. I think what it would do is potentially down the line, you know, I'm saying this is all hypothetical, but actually have it on ITV2, which has an audience of about 10 times that. So it could certainly give more visibility. There's also a lot of synergy in terms of advertising as well. Sky is one of the biggest advertisers within the uk. Itv of course, have advertising heavily too. So I think some people are saying that this is more of a kind of a purchase for advertising space as much as it is for actually making TV programs.
- [41:01]
Fionnual Aswini
But of course, as much as the talks are going on between sky and itv, it is Comcast, the US media giant that owns sky, that presumably will have the final word on signing the ink.
- [41:12]
Scott Bryan
Yeah, and also regulatory issues as well, in terms of whether sky or Comcast in this case would have too much of a share of the broadcasting business for it to be anti competitive. I think there's also sort of wider questions of would they be able to adequately complete fast enough compared to the likes of Netflix and Amazon, which of course don't have to deal with such legacy businesses because they're able to grow at such scale.
- [41:39]
Fionnual Aswini
Well, staying with television, but moving to Europe. Eurovision, of course, is taking place the final tomorrow night. It's being boycotted by five countries, including Ireland. And one of the stories that's making headlines is not only that bars in Ireland are not going to show Eurovision, but the rte, the national broadcaster, isn't going to show it in protest, I think, at the voting that took place last year and how it operated. But Irish TV is going to show a sitcom and a Eurovision episode of that well known sitcom from the 90s and naughties.
- [42:14]
Scott Bryan
Yes, Father Ted. They're going to be be showing a song for Europe, you know, which is where the two main characters send a song to Europe for My Lovely Horse. Which of course does not get a great reaction from the crowd. I mean this is a move that has created. There was certainly quite a lot of interest. I mean, I think, think as you pointed out, Ireland are not competing in Eurovision. They're also not showing Eurovision on RTE along with four other countries that, that have pulled out because of Israel's inclusion in the contest this year. I think what has that has caused though is a bit of an unexpected backlash in which the creator of Father Ted, Graham Lin, has come out against them showing his own show because he's the writer of Father Ted, because he believes that Israel should be included in it and he believes that it is inappropriate for ITV to be pulling out of the contest. So it's rather surprising, I find to have a show and creator of a show not wanting their show to be aired. But that's, that's the circumstance, it seems to be.
- [43:17]
Fionnual Aswini
Yeah, it's a platform, I think on which it's being presented. Let's move to the US now. Conan o' Brien hosted the Oscars this year, not for the first time, but he's now going to return return to hosted for a third year in a row and yet the ratings dipped this year. But I'm beginning to think it's not about the TV ratings, it's more about the social media engagement.
- [43:37]
Scott Bryan
You're exactly right. I mean Colonel o' Brien, of course, late night host, very well known within the US has a cult audience. The ratings have dipped not massively because the ratings for Oscars have been quite low for quite some time. But essentially if you look onto social media clips and things that then get talked about, they reckon that it had more than a 40 uplift in the time that he's been doing. I mean it tends to be from the skit. I think also he's just a very formidable host. The, the whole broadcast seems to be, I think a much cohesive watch than it has been before. But this is an interesting thing is currently on ABC they're going to be having it for the night, 99th year but in 2029 it's going to be leaving linear TV all together and we'll be joining YouTube internationally. So you won't be able to, to actually watch it on linear TV unless Of course there is a deal made in place, so perhaps part of it is just trying to have some consistency before a big change in only a few years.
- [44:36]
Fionnual Aswini
Well, Conan o' Brien is probably starting to get those scripts out and start writing them with his his increasingly massive team. Congrats. Congratulations to him and thank you so much. Scott Bryan, TV critic and media contributor for Monocle, the Guardian and the New York Times. This is the globalist on Monocle Radio,
- [44:59]
UBS Representative
Iq, EQ and AI. Three components key to the craft of innovation at ubs. Because to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving age, you need a of piece partner with decades of experience, endless passion for the work and a finger on the pulse of leading technologies. Bridging human expertise with artificial intelligence all to elevate you. UBS banking is our craft.
- [45:38]
Fionnual Aswini
Time now for our usual Friday look back at the last seven days. Here's Andrew Muller.
- [45:47]
Andrew Muller
We learned this week that words which sound the same can have two different meanings.
- [45:53]
Sally Abbe
I can't wait to tell me more.
- [45:55]
Fionnual Aswini
See where this goes.
- [45:56]
Andrew Muller
We were pretty excited as well. We learned this from US President Donald Trump, who and not for the first time time. And we're glad he did it again because we wanted to run with this last week but ran out of room. Wanted us to be very clear about the difference between sea and sea.
- [46:13]
Paul
What a job our military and others are doing with respect. Is that right, Paul? With respect to drugs coming in by sea, meaning drugs coming in by water. By the ocean. By the sea. A lot of people don't know what I mean by sea. They think I'm talking about vision. I'm not. I'm talking talking about sea like the
- [46:30]
Andrew Muller
sea sniffing a lot there. Terrible thing. Hay fever. Anyway, we learned therefrom that drug trafficking is conducted primarily by stacking the merchandise on boats rather than by looking at it, perhaps applying some manner of telekinesis, which is not a point we for one humorous news review believed required clarification. But perhaps President Trump knows his voters better than we do and we learn to anticipate just tremendous things when Trump acquaints himself with the full range of homophones of this ilk, sends the Coast Guard to intercept a drug boat and therefore seize a seas on seas. And we surely have a Spanish or Italian speaking staff member on hand who will concur.
- [47:15]
UBS Representative
Si.
- [47:16]
Andrew Muller
Thanks, Anita. We learned however. That it may just be that the President is growing somewhat deaf in his dotage, as we learned, and also not for the first time that when people clamour for him to release the Epstein files, he Hears something else.
- [47:37]
Fionnual Aswini
The Pentagon releasing photos, videos and reports
- [47:40]
Maya Sharma
of some 400 unresolved UFO sightings from
- [47:43]
Scott Bryan
the past 80 years.
- [47:45]
Andrew Muller
Epstein Marsheen. Easy mistake to make. We learned therefrom, and as usual, that most of the encounters with extraterrestrials thus detailed do rather read as the gibbed hallucinations of the hapless moonshine soused yokels for whom the super intelligent emissaries of alien civilizations so advanced as to have mastered hypersonic intergalactic travel always seem so keen to interact with. Like, you never see them landing their flying saucers in the corner at Trinity College Cambridge and asking for a yarn with the professors, do you?
- [48:21]
Inga Thordar
Yeah, yeah.
- [48:23]
Andrew Muller
But we learn to set aside such cynicism, for we learned that one prominent conservative thinker, specifically Colorado Congresswoman and idiot Lauren Boebert, had divined what was really going on.
- [48:35]
Fionnual Aswini
The more I look into this, the more I see the Old Testament and what was told to us there of fallen angels and nephilim. I mean, this is in the Bible. There's nothing that says that fallen angels, that nephilim just disappeared.
- [48:54]
Andrew Muller
And who can argue with that? Well, you could, but what would be the point? We learned anyway that a cohort of Congresswoman Bobert's fellow Christians were in in the process of busily rethinking their adherence to the Old Testament, specifically to Exodus 20, better known as the Ten Commandments, particularly Commandments 1, 2 and very arguably 3.
- [49:20]
Fionnual Aswini
The pastor who unveiled a 22 foot golden statue of. You know, who is defending himself against critics who are comparing it to the
- [49:32]
Peter Landers
golden calf style scene from the Ten Commandments.
- [49:35]
Andrew Muller
Yes, we learned that at the Donald Trump owned National Doral Miami Golf Club, a bunch of alleged religious eminences had gathered to adore a six and a half meter golden statue of the 45th and indeed 47th president who called to make a characteristically self effacing contribution to the kind of ceremony more commonly associated with countries where the President has renamed the dark days of the week after his pet herons and the months of the year after his own toes. Though on that thought, he does have another two and a half years to go, so nothing's impossible.
- [50:07]
Paul
I want to thank you so much for being there today and more importantly for what you did. The. The statue is beautiful. You know, I saw it during the weekend. We had a big PGA tournament with a great champion and all great champions actually, but it was a great tournament. I got to look at it very
- [50:26]
Andrew Muller
closely and people accuse him of phoning it in, but. Yes, that's the original by the nerves. Not even the better known cover by Blondie. That's just how cool we are at the what We Learned news review every Friday on Monocle Radio. Because from the very fact that Trump did dial in to this extremely normal and absolutely dignified and not in any way demented dingbat jamboree, we learned that there is one thing that the man who has everything does not have, which is a Trump phone, as nobody does.
- [51:07]
Fionnual Aswini
You know, it's been nearly a year since the announcement of this new wireless service called Trump Mobile. But so far it seems like customers have been left on hold.
- [51:16]
Andrew Muller
Very good. Does your scriptwriter want a job? We learned that nearly a year since the gold plated Trump branded Trump Mobile phone was launched amid considerable ballyhoo.
- [51:27]
Inga Thordar
Yay.
- [51:28]
Peter Landers
Yay.
- [51:30]
Fionnual Aswini
Wow.
- [51:30]
Maya Sharma
Yeah.
- [51:31]
Fionnual Aswini
Oh my God,
- [51:34]
Andrew Muller
what a result. Okay, so our ballyhoo game needs work. Nobody among the reported 590,000 queen incredulous rubes, sorry, decent, earnest, misunderstood, left behind heartlanders who laid down their $100 deposit for a Trump Mobile phone has yet taken delivery of same. Well, quite imagine a gap between promise and delivery involving the hitherto absolutely 100% rock solid Trump brand, a name at least as synonymous with all American dependability as Enron, Madoff or Ponsse. But we learned of a development.
- [52:18]
Fionnual Aswini
Introducing the new T1 phone from Trump Mobile, a powerful device designed for performance, reliability and real American value.
- [52:28]
Andrew Muller
We learned via a replies switched off social media post attached to the almost certainly not AIG generated pitch you just heard that those discerning consumers who had pre ordered the Trump phone will this week receive. An email, though they won't be able to read it as they don't have a phone. For Monocle Radio, I'm Andrew Muller.
- [53:02]
Fionnual Aswini
Thank you Andrew, with what we learned. You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio. To Vienna now, where Fernando Augusto Pacheco, Monocle's Eurovision correspondent, just went to the competition semi final which took place overnight. So tell us, what are the Results of the 2nd Semi Final? Any highlights, any surprises?
- [53:26]
Inga Thordar
Rises.
- [53:28]
Fernando Augusto Pacheco
Well, first of all, good morning Fula, great talking to you. I'm talking to Eurovision royalty, as I like to say this all the time, a former host of Eurovision Ful, I have to say no massive surprises in terms of which countries did go through. Did not. But the interesting thing about semi finals is that kind of you readjust the table of favorites to in the competition. So Finland, you know, they're still the runaway favorites. We might even play a clip of them a Little bit later. But the Australian entry, Delta Good Eclipse, the audience absolutely loved it. Now it jumped as the second favorite song to win the competition. And maybe Australia is in with a chance for the first time. They never. Since they entered the competition, they never won the event. And I have to say to all the Australian fans, I'm not sure if Eurovision will be indeed hosted in Australia itself, so the EBU will have to decide in case they win this year's competition.
- [54:26]
Fionnual Aswini
But she is such a strong performer, and I can imagine that it must have been really an eclectic performance live in front of the audience. What is Vienna shaping up to be as a competition host this week?
- [54:39]
Fernando Augusto Pacheco
Well, Vienna has experience with it. It's the third time they're hosting the event. In fact, the last time they did, I was here as well in 2015. It's a bigger city as well. So the difference that I see from, you know, from Basel, Liverpool as well. So, of course the city is packed. You have this kind of Eurovision, massive kind of gathering of Eurovision fans. But at the same time, it's quite interesting. I was walking, my hotel is very close to Steven Plots, a very central area here in Vienna. I think there's also a group of tourists who have no idea, you know, what Eurovision is. You know, there's like, you know, that we have a lot of people from the US here as well. So, you know, it's a big city, you know, so. So you can feel the Eurovision. But at the same time, if maybe you might not even know that there is a competition happening, very different from smaller cities of Basel and Liverpool as well.
- [55:30]
Fionnual Aswini
Okay, so let us review. Who are the favorites to win again? Finland, you say. And I suppose something we can't really avoid in this is the five countries boycotting the Eurovision because of the presence of Israel and some questions about voting last year that they're not happening, happy with.
- [55:48]
Fernando Augusto Pacheco
Yeah, and listen, in all the press conferences that I've been attending, you know, I think journalists are only asking about this. And Martin Green, you know, the director of the Eurovision Song Contest, he had to kind of answer that many times as diplomatically as possible. He even defended Israel's inclusion because, you know, the broadcaster in Israel is. Is Khan, you know, independent, you know, kind of state broadcaster. And he says. Said that that's a good thing. You know, that they're independent, you know, they can also criticize the government. You know, I think he's trying his best because it is a very difficult situation for the contest. You know, as you said, five countries are out this Year, you know, it's been one of the most challenging years for the song contest since it started, in my opinion. But returning to your question about the favorites, Finland is excellent. I mean, they have the drama on stage. They have this mix of classical music and pop. It is my personal favorite as well, I have to say. In fact, we do have a clip that we're gonna play. It is Linda Lampanions and Petty Parkonen with Lickenheiting, which means flamethrower in Finnish. Let's have a list.
- [57:06]
Sally Abbe
How you feel.
- [57:12]
Fionnual Aswini
Finland there with what? I think Fernando is expecting to be a hot favorite to win tomorrow night. And just going back to that Israel question, where do you think this is going to go after the competition is over? Is it something you think that might go stretch on until next year?
- [57:28]
Fernando Augusto Pacheco
Well, let's see what's going to happen at the big final. I think last year was quite dramatic because although Austria won at the very, very last minute, literally at the end was between Austria and Israel. So Israel was in with a chance to win. So let's see. The televoting will go, you know, to Israel, as it did last year. Again, if it does, I have a feeling that the controversy will remain. Who knows, maybe more countries will boycott. As I say, it's a difficult situation, but it will all depend on the results because let's be honest, you know, if Israel doesn't do as well, well, let's say if they end outside the top 10, I do think it would be less controversial. But last year it was so tense in the arena, there was a chance that Israel was going to win. There was lots of booing inside the arena. It's funny that on the first semi final when Israel was performing, usually you don't listen to the bowing on tv, but this time I actually did hear and. And the first semi final I watched on tv, so it's, you know, and then some people had to be removed from the arena. So there. There's a little bit of tension in the air. You know, of course it fun. It's a camp extravaganza, as we all know. But, yeah, it's a challenging year for the contest.
- [58:44]
Fionnual Aswini
All right, and we'll hear more from you as the contest progresses over the weekend. Fernando, Augusta Pacheco, Monocle's Eurovision correspondent, thanks for joining us from Vienna. And that is all for today's program. Thanks to our producers, Hassan Anderson, Anita Riota and Ryuma Takahashi, our researcher, Josefina Gomez, and our studio manager, Elliot Greenfield, with editing assistant assistance by Mariella Bevan. After the headlines. There's more music on the way. The briefing is live at midday in London. The Globalist returns at the same time on Monday. I'm Foola Sweeney. Thank you for listening.
- [59:38]
UBS Representative
With ubs, you have a truly global partner incorporating new technologies, innovative approaches and unexpected opportunities, leading you to insights that help answer the questions that matter. Delivered with passion, care and unmatched expertise. Because it's about rising up with the dawn each day, knowing that we can do even better. That's what banking is to us. Not just work, but a craft. UBS advice is our craft.