At the earlier stages of his illness Patricio had to follow a strict diet and that meant excluding anything  with sugar.  For a gourmet like him that certainly made eating less fun! One of the things he said he had a crazing for was satay sauce and that contains tons of sugar.  And he missed chocolates....!

I set out to make Patricio a homemade satay sauce the traditional way: freshly roasted peanuts and spices grounded using a stone mortar & pestle, and instead of sugar substituted stevia, a sugar substitute made from a South American plant.  Apparently it was a hit! And I had another surprise for Patricio - sugar free chocolate coated almonds from Sees Candies in Landmark.  That was an even bigger hit - I think Patricio went looking for more immediately!

I am forever grateful I was able to make a tiny difference for Patricio at that time. Sadly I cannot see another box of Sees sugar-free almond these days without being overwhelmed by a sense of loss for our dear friend.  RIP Patricio. Forever missed indeed. 

July 2010 Bordeaux, we were lucky enough to join Patricio and his merry team on a tour of some of the magnificent vinyards.  Amongst the invited guests were a mainland chinese couple and their young son.  And of course knowing the Links Concept team there was A LOT of drinking involved!  One early morning from my bedroom window I was surprised to see a runner sprinting up from the valley towards the chateau - it was Patricio who was completing his morning run (AFTER a very inebriated night before)!  But what was even more impressive was the fact Patricio knew that the little chinese boy would be like a fish out of water amongst the boisterous and loud grown-ups.  He took time to swim with the boy in the chateau's pool because the boys' parents couldn't swim with him.  

We shall forever miss you Patricio for your warmth, humour, passion, friendship and most of all boundless humanity. 

Around 23 years ago I came to the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong to create their New Years Eve Ball.  This was my second time doing this event.  As an artist/designer/painter I would cover whole ballrooms in my huge paintings for various themed gala events.  During this time I lived in Houston Texas where I painted for all the big balls of Texas.  
So here I come again for the second time to create a circus themed event.  The first morning there we had a meeting and I was presented with an intern to be my assistant to help set up a painting studio and also act as a liaison between myself and the Grand Hyatt Corporation.  

At this meeting someone says “here is your assistant” and I look up to see Patricio de la Fuente Saez.  There stood a beyond handsome young guy with a huge beaming smile.  He instantly charmed me with his quick wit and confident assurance that he was a super cool guy who would be there for me every step of the way.  It was love at first sight! How could you not... From that moment on I would joke with him “what’s your name again?…Pistachio?  And for the rest of the trip he would put up with me calling him that.  

As I got to know Patrick I confessed that I was a gay guy and that I was 18 years older then him.  This never stopped him from showing me such love and caring that went way beyond his duties as my 21 yr old assistant.  I shared the fact that I was moving to New York soon after I returned to Houston and he was welcome to come and visit me there.

Not only would he help me all day…. but he would take us out at night to experience all that Hong Kong had to offer.  I met his wonderful Parents and Ronaldo and Caroline and was extremely impressed how loving and caring this whole family was.  After working together for a month we became the best of friends.  

Once back in Texas I packed up my studio, shaved my head and headed for New York City.  My friends had rented the whole top floor of a building that housed one of the most notorious night clubs in the world called SoundFactory.  We divided up 14,000 sq ft into huge loft spaces.  My friends were a mix of artists, fashion designers, photographers etc.  A crazy electic bunch of misfits.  

That summer of "95 Patrick made plans to visit NYC and this news could not have made me happier.  During his visit we hit all the hottest clubs and went to all the weirdest themed restaurants we could find.  We rollerbladed in Central Park and explored the city to the point of exhaustion. In our free time would visit my friends in all the various lofts on our floor and they too fell in love with this crazy delightful dutch/chilean boy from Hong Kong.  

Later that year I was back in H"K" for a “Fantasia” themed event and again Patrick who was now part of the Grand Hyatt Team was my loyal assistant.  Again, Pistachio was the best host ever.  For a month we would work all day, ate almost every meal together, then at night go to parties and dance clubs, spent Christmas with his family, visited the big buddah, , we were deep in the throes of a good old fashioned bromance. 

The next year Patrick had transferred to the Grand Hyatt in Jakarta Indonesia.  He scheduled a trip for me there in the summer to sell myself as the premier event guy and we put together a deal which turned out to be one of the biggest projects I had ever pulled off.  We again hung out all over Jakarta.  It was a truly magical experience provided by my best buddy.

That year I painted for both Hong Kong and Indonesia’s New Year’s Eve events so I did the work in my studio in New York and shipped it to both countries.  I then flew to Indonesia to get everything set and confer with Patrick. I then had to fly to Hong Kong for their event.  Patrick made sure all my decor went up seamlessly as well as photo documenting everything.  After the event in Hong Kong was over I immediately flew back to Indonesia to hang with my most fantastic friend.  We went to clubs with members of the Australian mafia, visited the home of one of the then royal family, hung out by the pool….and again had one of the most memorable times of my life.  I did not know it then…but this would be the last time I would see Patricio in person.  

After years of working with the Hyatt and their brand of cut-throat management we parted ways.  

Over time I would keep in touch with Patrick by email and phone calls.  He and Ronaldo both would keep me informed of their great endeavors and I was proud and happy for both of them.  Patrick told me of his love for Alice and sent me the link to see all the wedding photos.  He told me about what a great joy his children brought him ….although they made his apartment messy. 

I was always hoping somehow we would either meet up again in New York or Hong Kong….but it was never meant to be.  The news of his illness was devastating. During this time Patrick and I talked a few times on Facebook and I could see how the illness was taking its tole.  Thank you so much….Ron and Caroline for the updates….they helped more then you will ever know.

In my life I have never met anyone who was more a true and finer GENTLEMAN in every sense of the word….then Patricio Cristian de la Fuente Saez.  His humor kindness and compassion are unsurpassed.  His devotion to family and friends and unbridled joy of life made knowing him a gift that I will cherish forever.  I could have written a whole book here about all the great wonderful fun moments in time we shared. It is through tons of smiling tears that I write this. I will miss you always my dear sweet friend and coolest dude ever...Pistachio.  (i have posted many pics of our journey in the photo section)

About 6 years ago I came to Hong Kong  hoping to do business here shooting food (and wine) for restaurants and hotels.

So here I was with my friend Mike knocking on doors, trying to reach decisionmakers in the business.

After a few weeks we realized Hong Kong was not like Holland where people knew us and it was just not working so we decided to call it quits.

But then...we ran into this Dutch guy who had a "little wine business" as he said. We had a chat and Patricio says "Hey what are you guys doing tomorrow?, Come to my office at 11"

The next day we stepped into his office and were a bit in shock. His little wine business was actually huge and his office amazing. Artworks, winebooks, wine bottles all over and this amazing view looking over to Kowloon. A place where people would beg to be allowed to work.

So it was 11 am but we had to taste some of his wines comfortably seated on the sofa's in the corner of his office. (Very good ones even though I don't remember the names) At about 11:45 after fun conversation and Patricio giving us many leads, casually calling, and setting up a few meetings with restaurant owner friends for us!!, we decided it was time for us to go.

Heyyyy where are you going? We are going out to lunch! And off we were to a great chinese restaurant in the then unkown to me Parkview Hotel, (which I now know so well.)

We were lead in the private diningroom where there were was a mixed group of people of about 12. A winemaker from Australia,  GM's of large famous hotels, restuarateurs.

Patricio introducing me: "This is Jan, an extremely famous (his words :)) food and wine photographer making a book on the best restaurants in Hong Kong. You gotta be in there! You buy a few 100 books and he will come by and take some pictures, easy." He had actually sold the first 500 books for me during that lunch, in such a casual way, between wine and courses, without it even coming near looking like selling anything.

After this absolutely fantastic lunch Patricio was still not done with us and took us on a tour of the island, showing us the beaches, hiking trails, his club etc.

But he was still not done. He took us back to his office introduced us to his partner Man, Pierre and a lot of other very nice people working there. And then he showed us this big empty desk and said "this is your desk whenever you are in Hong Kong".

This was all very overwhelming! So I say to Patricio: But Patricio this is all too much, a whole day with wine (and of course champagne), a fantastic lunch, new customers, a tour of the island, free office space...How can I pay you back?

Patricio looks at me with a grin, shruggs his shoulders and says...Nahhhh.... 

The above has been going on in all the years after. Coming to Hong Kong 4-5 times per year. Becoming closer friends on every visit.

With tears in my eyes I realize he is no longer with us. Will never forget him.