Media Contact: Lori LaDu
September 17, 2004

Fred Tibbitts & Associates First Annual
“An Autumn Evening in Shanghai with Very Special Friends”

WESTIN SHANGHAI, SEPTEMBER 16, 2004

Shanghai, PRC – The First Annual “Fred Tibbitts & Associates (FTA) “An Autumn Evening in Shanghai with Very Special Friends” proved a memorable event for the fortunate few invited to this FTA spectacular.

All guests at the reception, held at the Westin Shanghai, were formally introduced by a Mandarin Court Official and enjoyed Champagne Piper Heidseick.

The five-course dinner, prepared by Executive Chef Karlheinz Ritter and his culinary team was preceded by Loyalty Toasts by: Ernesto Lagos de la Cuadra, Director, Commercial Office, ProChile Shanghai; Peter Alastas, General Manager, Westin Shanghai; Martin Jones, General Manager, W Seoul Walker Hill and Director of Food & Beverage, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific; Reggie Shiu, Senior Vice President, ACCOR Asia; Steve Shellum, Editor & Publisher, Hotel Asia Pacific; Kevin Murphy, Senior Vice President, Development, Langham Hotels International; Kaye Chon, Chair Professor and Head, School of Hotel & Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University; David Henderson, President, Montrose International Corporation; Tommy Lam, Proprietor, Café de Amigo-Singapore; and Christopher Bachran; President, Jin Jiang Hotels.

The wines with the dinner were artfully paired by Lisa Denham A.W. with guests receiving a first-hand commentary on the Calama Chilean wines by Pablo Morales.

The sponsors for the Dinner included, Calama Wines; IBM Retail Store Solutions; Les Vins Skalli; Maxxium Shanghai Limited; Southcorp and Montrose Food & Wine.

Fred Tibbitts announced that the 2004 FTA Hospitality Award for Excellence as a Humanitarian will be presented at the FTA Fall Dinner in Hong Kong on 29 October to Kevin Murphy, Senior Vice President, Development, Langham Hotels International.  A scholarship in his name will be awarded to an exceptional student for the Masters in Management Graduate Studies programme offered in Hong Kong by Australia Macguarie University in conjunction with the International College of Tourism and Hotel Management Sydney.

The 2004 FTA Literary Award for Excellence in Writing on Food or Beverage will be presented in Hong Kong on 29 October to Steve Shellum, Editor & Publisher, Hotel Asia Pacific and a scholarship in his name will be given to a worthy student at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Media correspondents attending the FTA Shanghai Dinner included Joshua Shi, Senior Editor, Metropolis; Elaine Yang, Associate Social Editor, Shanghai Tattler and Nazo Lu, Editor, How.

Fred Tibbitts & Associates – headed by President & CEO, Michael Charlton – is the pre-eminent, global consultant and facilitator on wines and spirits to some of the world’s leading hotel and restaurant groups.  The company is based in New York.