What happens when the “The King of Nitrogen” and the “Ambassador of Produce” meet in the kitchen? Well, curious foodies need only head down to Gran Melia’s Acqua to check Week Nine of the Spanish Pavilion’s epic Gastronomy Fiesta. Germany’s Michael Hoffman and Spain’s Dani Garcia have joined forces to showcase the fresh flavours of Andalusia, the alleged home of tapas.

Michael Hoffman is known as the Ambassador of Produce thanks to his unbridled love affair with vegetables, more specifically organic ones, at Margaux in Berlin. Meat lovers, never fear! The Frankfurt-born chef is no slouch with fish and he’s got a pigeon on the menu just squawking to be eaten. With his wife by his side in the kitchen, Hoffman churns out impressive and creative dishes that will make even the pickiest kid eat all their greens. Sample his rice with cuttlefish ink and cabbage ash (don’t ask questions – just do it!) or prawn with sobrasada chutney and bok choy to see why this chef is on his way to his second Michelin star.

Dani Garcia is not only the King of Nitrogen, he’s the face of Andalusian cuisine with quite the reputation. After beefing up his molecular gastronomy chops with the world’s top chefs (Ferran Adria, Heston Blumenthal), Garcia was awarded a Michelin Star and the Spanish National Gastronomy Prize. Oh yeah, and the Spanish Better Chef and  European Better Chef titles. When he’s not on a whirlwind award collecting tour, you can find him at Calima in Marbella. Like all good chefs who call Andalusia home, Garcia is a whiz with olive oil, fish and Iberian ham, not to mention the region’s most famous dish: gazpacho. You can slurp on Garcia’s spin on the classic dish – a cherry gazpacho with fresh cheese flakes and anchovies – at Acqua. The caramelized coconut torrija with strawberry juice and mint is another winner.

The “large menu” features a total of 10 courses – five each from the King and the Ambassador for RMB788 +15 per cent surcharge. Smaller menus are on hand for those foolish enough not to spend a couple extra RMBS – RMB 658 and RMB 528, plus service charge.

Following on the overwhelming success of their Xintiandi location, Pizza Marzano recently added a second location – an oasis of pizza at the Shanghai Centre. Tastefully decorated with artwork and furnished with beautiful Italian chairs, Pizza Marzano fits right into its new, elegant location. The decor is nice, but a little less-than-authentic – the place doesn’t exactly recall a Mom & Pop pizzeria of Italy.

The food, on the other hand, does. Countless different pizzas are offered with a choice of either Roman or Neapolitan crust, each garnished with the freshest of ingredients. And then there’s the tomato sauce – sweet, tangy, delicious sauce. It’s the ingredient that makes or breaks a pizza and in Pizza Marzano’s case it’s an absolute victory.

If the Pizza Marzano name sounds familiar to you it’s because they’re not exactly dough-spinning neophytes. If you are from UK you will recognize this place as the ubiquitous Pizza Express (they adopted the Pizza Marzano name for Asia). The Shanghai Centre location is expected to be the first of five new outlets opened in Shanghai over the next few years.

Pizza Marzano. Shanghai Center, Suite 107, 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu. www.pizzamarzano.cn

Tickets for the 2010 Shanghai Sevens Rugby Tournament are now on sale. Sanctioned by the International Rugby Board, China Rugby Football Union and the Asian Rugby Football Union, this fast and furious competition features some of Asia’s best international and amateur athletes competing in non-stop, bone-jarring matches at Wai Gao Qiao in north Pudong. The three day event takes place on the weekend of 3 – 5 September. As is tradition with rugby tournaments worldwide, Shanghai Sevens will be complimented by high quality corporate entertainment, kicking off on the Friday with the official Long Lunch at the new Guoman Hotel in Changning District at RMB 880 per head or RMB 8,000 for a table of ten.

Corporate Hospitality continues on the Saturday and Sunday with an exclusive VIP area featuring five star food and beverage, premier pitch-side seating, air conditioning and priority access – One-day VIP passes are RMB 1,200, two-day VIP passes are RMB 2,000. VIP table and seating are in limited supply for this popular and exciting sporting event, so do not delay in reserving space. An all-encompassing ticket that includes the Long Lunch and Two-day VIP access is RMB 2,500. Standard admission tickets will be on sale the day of the event, RMB 70 on Saturday and RMB 100 for the Sunday finale; a two-day pass is RMB 150. All children under 1.4 metres enjoy free entry. For more information on the tournament, please visit www.shanghai7s.com. For booking contact Sammy Zhu at 021 5132 5122 or email at [email protected].

Every summer, the fostering resources of Second Chance Animal Aid (SCAA) become overrun by the demand of kitten season. At the moment there are over 50 cats and kittens in foster homes around Shanghai, waiting to find a permanent, loving family to call their own. Unfortunately, the summer season (when there are the most cats and kittens), coincides with the most popular time of year for people to leave Shanghai for their annual summer holidays, which leaves the SCAA foster program stretched even further.

Fostering is a great option for people who love having animals around, but can’t commit to life-long adoption because they’re not sure where they’ll end up next, or those who travel often, or those from countries such as Australia and New Zealand, which have very strict animal importation laws.

Over three years of fostering animals through SCAA, I have played foster mum to 28 cats and kittens and one (cat-loving) puppy dog. Being from Australia, where it’s virtually impossible to take animals from China, fostering with SCAA has been a great option.

I have always had pets and fostering gives me the opportunity to continue to enjoy the companionship of animals, even though I’m working in China with a demanding job that requires a fair bit of travel. The animals my husband and I have fostered over the years have stayed with us for a matter of weeks, or sometimes many months, but they have consistently proven to be extremely sweet and affectionate (although some take more patience and getting-to-know-each-other-time than others).

Being a foster parent involves caring for rescued animals in your own home. This means taking responsibility for feeding, watering, cuddling, littering and occasionally administering medication to your foster animals, as well as taking them to SCAA’s vet if they get sick, or when they require routine veterinary care (such as vaccinations or spay/neutering). Veterinary expenses are covered by SCAA, but we still have to be on the ball about getting our foster animals to their vet appointments when necessary.

SCAA’s animals find permanent homes through meeting potential adopters at our monthly adoption day at O’Malley’s (this month’s adoption day is this Sunday, 18 July), so it’s important that our foster animals make it there to have the best chance of finding their happy ending.

There are times that I have been unavailable to take our animals for adoption day, or have been away from Shanghai for either work or pleasure, but by giving SCAA enough notice, they have always been able to work out alternate arrangements for my animals while I’m gone.

People often ask me whether I’m sad when our animals are adopted. In all honesty, I almost always feel a little pang of sadness, particularly when saying goodbye to a kitty we have bottle-fed since infancy, or a previously sick animal we have nursed back to health. But the overwhelming feeling I have when our animals are adopted is happiness. Finding these little critters a permanent, loving home is what it’s all about, and it’s very rewarding to see animals you have grown to love find their happy ending. Besides, there are almost always more animals on the horizon to distract me from missing our adopted ones.

If you are interested in finding out more information on fostering animals through SCAA, visit the website or email me with any questions.