Classic Group’s CEO at Under Grain

 

Coryse Borg, Newsbook journalist sat down with Karl Micallef, CEO of Classic Group at the, one MICHELIN star restaurant, Under Grain to talk about Micallef’s favourite pastime – running. This interesting conversation took place while both of them ordered exquisite dishes from the menu – the ‘warm salad of oyster mushrooms, parsley and hazelnut pesto’ and the ‘slow-cooked supreme of corn-fed chicken’.

 

‘Running has managed to change the way I see life’, claims Karl. With just seconds into the interview, you can already sense that running is an integral part of this CEO’s life. ‘I started working from a very young age, and later on, my wife suggested that we need to find something to take our minds off things’. That is how Karl Micallef discovered his passion for running.

His Sunday runs along the promenade are one of his favourite things in the world. ‘I run every day and I am a long-distance runner. I feel that with running you can switch off and meditate at the same time. There’s this sort of chemical reaction that happens in the body that I cannot describe. Sometimes I run 2-3km without even realising because my mind just switched off’.

 

Karl Micallef explains that his mantra is to do what is right and not what is easy. This applies to both his business and his running. In fact, he thinks the two of these go hand-in-hand!

 

‘When I wake up and it’s cold, I just put on a beanie and off I go running. There’s a lot of similarity with real life. At times you need to persevere in both. In both running and in business, you need to start slow and then increase your pace and prepare yourself for challenges. In life, if you go fast, you get tired too quickly. This also applies to running’. Karl Micallef believes that ‘running is a lesson for business’!

 

Karl, we just might start running after this conversation! Thank you for taking the time to talk with us over at Under Grain, and we look forward to welcoming you again!