newsletter of december 2010

Diekirch, December 2010 N°4/2010 1

Dear AEHT Members

In the words of Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States, Christmas is not a day nor a season, but a state of mind. This spirit of sharing, of conviviality, of harmonious contact with family and community - all of this was again in evidence at Christmas in Europe, celebrated this year from December 2nd-8th in Ponta Delgada on the island of San Miguel, the largest in the Azores archipelago. Torrential rain and winds of up to 100 kms/hour had not dissuaded the mythical figures of Christmas from making their way there from the four corners of Europe.

Christmas in Europe 2010 in the

Azores – the land of

anticyclones (or the weather-

forecast’s ‘areas of high

pressure’’!)

Long live Christmas in Europe 2010!

16 schools from 11 of the countries where the AEHT is present took part in this 19th Christmas in Europe: since the start, the three pillars of the event have been: a stand presenting the Christmas specialities of each country, a European buffet with the Christmas fare of each country, and finally a cultural programme in which each delegation presents an aspect of its skills, again in relation to the traditions of Christmas. This year the backdrop for this splendid event was Ponta Delgada, administrative capital of the autonomous Portuguese region of the Azores, and its hotel and tourism school.

Coming after Poznan in 2009 and before Rhodes in 2011, this Christmas in Europe celebration was once again a resounding success, thanks undoubtedly to the dynamism of the Ponta Delgada hotel and tourism school, of its director Filipe Rocha and of the teams fielded by the school. The Amphitheatro and the Pavilhao do Mar, as

well as the accommodation provided, were greatly appreciated by everyone, since it was possible to travel from one place to another on foot with no difficulty at all.

The following schools attended the event: Znojmo (Czech Republic), Bonneville (France), Reggio Emilia (Italy), Maribor (Slovenia), Lund (Sweden), Diekirch (Luxembourg), Senigallia (Italy), Semmering (Austria), Ponta Delgada (Portugal), Azorean Tasting (Portugal), Zagreb (Croatia), Rhodes (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Orebro (Sweden), Bled (Slovenia), Algarve-Lamego (Portugal).

The opening ceremony took place on the afternoon of December 3rd, presided over by Lina Mendès, Regional Secretary for Education and Training, who was accompanied by many local personalities as well as by AEHT President Klaus Enengl and by Christiane Keller, founder and inventor of Christmas in Europe. A prelude to the ceremony was provided by a rendering of the European anthem from the children’s choir of the Regional Music Conservatory.

Klaus Enengl accompanied by Lina Mendès and Filipe Rocha

Mass was celebrated in the Church of San Pedro

As usual the exhibition, set out on 16 stands, was richly laid out to illustrate certain aspects of Christmas celebrations that are traditional in the different countries. And of course these included specialities of Christmas fare which were always much appreciated by the public who attended in large numbers, especially on Sunday after the inaugural parade in the old town which had followed Mass celebrated in the nearby church of San Pedro. We should also mention that on the previous day around 200 young children from the town’s primary schools visited the exhibition; and that there was excellent media coverage of the event through television, radio and press reports.

The European buffet – deserving five stars according to one participant – once again excelled itself thanks to the contributions of each delegation, which had made it a point of honour to offer to the many visitors a range of flavours that many of them had not encountered before. Guests of honour at this evening celebration included Rodrigo Oliveira, Regional Secretary for European Affairs, and Luisa Schanderl representing the Vice-President of SATA, the airline based in Ponta Delgada


and one of the event’s sponsors. Louis Robert, an AEHT Vice-President and former President, had also travelled from Luxembourg for this occasion. Filipe Rocha had also invited to this European feast around 30 young people from various charity organisations, in order to emphasise the spirit of sharing which characterises Christmastide.

The European buffet - a cornucopia of culinary surprises

The cultural part of the event, held in front of a large audience in addition to the other participants, also lived up to its promises: there was a succession of sketches, singing and dancing, with the usual last-minute improvisations, laughter and thunderous applause. It all took place in an informal atmosphere, just for the pleasure of showing yet again the diversity of European customs relating to Christmastide.

And finally Filipe Rocha and his team had also organised a tour of the island, enabling all the participants to gain an impression of its natural riches – such as the lakes, the geysers, the gastronomy - ah the delights of this dish cooked directly in the heat of a ‘caldeira à Furnace’ – and the tea plantation. » ! The crowning glory of the event was the gala evening, superbly organised by the teachers and students of the Ponta Delgada school, with the traditional highly solemn handing over of the European flag from Ponta-Delgada to the team from Rhodes headed by Loizos N. Soroniatis, president of the General Secretariat for Tourism which will host the 20th Christmas in Europe in Rhodes in early December 2011.

The AEHT flag is handed from the Ponta Delgada team to the team from Rhodes

Villeroy & Boch

Culinary World Cup – a

fascinating trip

around the culinary

world in five days

Jules Verne would have been fascinated by what took place on November 20th-24th 2010 at the Expogast international culinary arts exhibition which has been running since 1972. It would certainly have made him want to write a sequel to his novel, which might have born the title ‘Around the Culinary World in Five Days'. He would have had his character Phileas Fogg, the English gentleman, accompanied by his French valet Jean Passepartout, wander around among the crowd of 44,500 visitors and 170 journalists who had come here from 35 countries to take part in an unparalleled gastronomic adventure. After moving around among the stands of the 150 exhibitors set out in an area of 20,000 square metres, Verne’s two characters would have discovered the exhibition’s leading event, the Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup, which has been running since 1986, and is held every four years. Imagine their reaction as they saw that this 11th World Cup hosted around 2,400 chefs and pastry-cooks from 53 countries in the four corners of the world. For five days they would have watched the various teams locked in fierce culinary combat, in various categories: national teams, military teams, junior teams as well as teams from community catering.

◄ The stand of the German national team – a real feast for the eyes


Verne’s characters would have been less astonished by progress achieved in the field of transport, than by what has been achieved in gastronomy. They could have noted the excellence of the six national teams – namely those of Canada, Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden and the United States - who all won gold medals in the two contests on offer: cold dishes for the exhibition stands, and menus of hot dishes served in the gastronomic restaurant. The refined dishes on display had been prepared the previous day by the teams in their hotels or in the Diekirch hotel school. Phileas and Passepartout would probably have gone on a detour to Diekirch to watch the Canadian and Mexican National Teams as well as the Swiss Military Team, all of whom were training there. They could have observed that the teams spent a night without sleep, working in the kitchen, before setting off to set up their stands when the exhibition hall doors opened at seven in the morning; that the dishes on show were covered with a thick layer of gelatine to ensure that they kept well; that at 09.30 the members of the judging panel filed into the exhibition hall to proceed with the evaluation. They could then have watched ten or so people studying the dishes while a member of the judging panel gave them detailed explanations of the strengths and weaknesses of their work. This highly instructive session was intended to help the competitors to perfect their performance, and it would be very interesting to organise such sessions as part of the AEHT Annual Conference.

Detailed explanations and advice given by a member of the judging panel

The judging panel was made up of 55 members, all of them approved by the committee of WACS - World Association of Chefs Societies; all of them are highly experienced and have taken part in numerous international competitions. In order to judge the chefs and the countries in the various categories, the judging panel was sub-divided into eleven teams of five, and worked every day from five in the morning to eleven at night. Evaluation included the different stages in the preparation of the hot dishes, as well hygiene, food-handling and working methods. When the judging panel went to the restaurant, they chose at random five dishes out of the 105 which had been prepared.

The fans are in attendance – in this case to support the Swedish national military team, which went on to win

first place in their category

A little folklore and public relations – so when is Canada

going to join the AEHT?

By eleven in the morning the exhibition was open to the general public, who could thus wonder at the dishes which looked more like ‘haute couture’ than ‘ready to eat’; they were photographed from all angles by the opposing teams as well as by foody visitors. Phileas Fogg would have much admired the organisers’ efforts, by arranging contests between the world’s many cooking styles, to contribute to the exchange, the innovation, the development, the launch and the spread of new ideas and trends, and to encourage and inspire young chefs.

Rezsö Breitenbach - fourth place winner in the ‘best lone chef’ contest - poses with Attila Gonda, chef at the Hotel Silver in

Hajdúszoboszló (H)

- The Norwegian national junior team (above) busy preparing their menu of hot dishes. Here their salmon au gratin.


For the hot dish contests, the teams started preparations at midday, and the menus for 105 people had to be ready to be served by 18.00 in the gastronomic restaurant. Phileas would have been able to reserve his seat by internet. Perhaps he would have allowed himself to be photographed with one of the teams which around 14.00 met up around the glass column located in front of their kitchen cubicle, where a sample of the dishes to be prepared for the restaurant were presented to the visitors.

Students from the ‘Alexis Heck’ hotel school , including Joy Simon (middle), who took part in the Lisbon conference,

staff the reception desk and serve the meals in the gastronomic restaurant.

He would have congratulated the national team from Singapore which, just like Phileas himself, won their bet by gaining the title of ‘World Champion 2010’ with a total score of 566,238 points, more than any of the 26 teams in the competition, thus winning a superb 27kg bronze sculpture. The Singapore team had already won the ‘Lion Trophy 2010’ in April, and was ahead of Sweden – the 2002 winner – and the United States. We should mention that the team which wins this trophy currently enjoys great fame in their own country.

Winners among the national teams

The national team from Singapore gave a high-class performance, from

the exhibition stand through to the

gastronomic restaurant

2nd place for the Swedish National Team

3rd place for the United States National Team

With its two gold medals Sweden entered the best military team, beating Switzerland and Germany. We should mention that several teams in the same category could win the same medal according to the number of marks obtained.

Winners among the national military teams

Switzerland in 2nd place

The Swedish Military Team savour their

victory

Germany in 3rd place

The Germain Gretsch cup, which is awarded to the best of the ten national junior teams which competed this year, was won by Switzerland, which beat Norway and Portugal to first place. Members of these teams must not be over 25 at the time of the competition.

Winners among the National Junior Teams

The Swiss National Junior Team – placed first in their category – show their joy at their success


Norway in 2nd place Portugal in 3rd place

For the first time in the history of the competition, community catering teams competed for the Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup; initially most of them took part just to have fun with their mates, but later they entered into the spirit of the contest and fought tooth and nail to win the Community Catering Award. The Compass Culinary Team Switzerland (gold medal) beat the Agö Team (silver medal) and the Luxembourg Civil Defence Team (bronze medal). Among the members of the Luxembourg team Phileas would have had the chance to congratulate Kim De Dood, a former student of the Luxembourg hotel school, who had already taken part in a culinary arts competition at the AEHT’s Dubrovnik Annual Conference. Clearly Kim seems to be getting a taste for international competitions.

Winners of the ‘Community Catering Award’

3rd place for the Luxembourg Civil

Defence Team

1st place goes to the Swiss Compass Culinary Team

2nd place for the Agö Team from Austria

We had the opportunity to talk to Gilbert Welter about his impressions. Gilbert is the chef-manager of the Melusina Restaurant and a member of Euro-toques who, as a member of the X-treme Art Cooking team, has worked, among others, with Joël Schaeffer, a Luxembourg contestant in the Bocuse d’Or in 2005: ‘Because of a cancellation the Vatel Club contacted our group, X-treme Art Cooking, asking us to take part in Expogast to compete in the ‘community catering’ category, an area which is completely outside our usal daily work. And indeed, not everyone is capable of drawing up, in record time, 105 menus at a cost price of €5.00 per menu.

The ‘ X-treme Art Cooking’ team produced the best dishes in their

category

All our members are chefs and restaurateurs and our objective is to arrange exchanges. Participating in this event represented for us the opportunity of working together, and above all of improvising together, on a project outside our usual activities. It turned out to be an amazing experience because there was a great team spirit despite the stressful conditions and the lack of preparation’.

Winners of the ‘Junior Show-cooking’ contest

2nd place was awarded to the team

from Limassol, Cyprus

The Danish team, winners of the Junior Show-Cooking

contest

3rd place went to the ENAIP Vocational Training Centre in Tione di Trento (I)

The Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup for the 44 regional teams was won by Aargauer Kochgilde (Switzerland), the cup for individual competitors was won by Jung Sang Kyun from South Korea (best pastry cook) and by Karoly Varga from Hungary (best chef).

The South Korean Jung Sang Kyun from the Lotte Hotel was awarded the trophy for the best pastry cook in the individual

contest

Károly Varga – best chef in the individual contest among around a hundred contestants

Whereas in the preceding categories (A, B and C) the emphasis was on nutritional and economic factors, in the D category, ‘international artistic cuisine contest –


exhibition pieces’ the important factors were presentation and artistic impact. This category is subdivided into two sections: - Category D/1 included the decorations and

exhibition pieces of ‘cold cuisine’ such as sculptures in margarine, ice and salt, decorative garnishes made of fruit and vegetables, etc.

- Category D/2 or confectionery included various ornaments in sugar, nougat, gum Arabic and/or chocolate, sculptures in chocolate, paintings in cocoa, sugar paste and marzipan sculptures, and decorative cakes.

If you would like to see for yourselves one of the amazing pieces which gained full marks in this category, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-pLqYC6nrc&feature=related. The sculpture in question represents dancers and musicians and was produced by the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Sedat Yaman's chair

in sugar paste Queen Mary of

Romania – bust in chocolate

Native American flutes, dream catchers and

peace pipes

These creations are to pastry what ‘haute couture' is to ‘ready to wear’

Pietà in margarine St George and the dragon made from

vegetable margarine

Morning in the savannah – sugar

sculpture

‘The Queen' made from sugar paste and rock-candy

Marzipan sculpture by Oktay Özgün – Turkish

National Team

In order to qualify, these exhibition pieces had to be made exclusively from edible ingredients, with the exception of the internal support components. It is certainly a very difficult task to evaluate these creations, and the judges used a number of criteria to help them in their work:

- Degree of difficulty in the execution (personal skill, time invested and originality);

- Mastering the materials and execution (professional working technique);

- Artistic impact (overall effect in terms of ethical and aesthetic principles);

- Publicity impact (original development and implementation of personal ideas using culinary products).

For each of the above criteria the competitor could be awarded a maximum of 25 marks, 100 marks in total. 100 marks entitled the participant to a gold medal with distinction, 99-90 marks led to a gold medal, 89-80 meant a silver medal, 79-70 a bronze medal, and 69-60 the award of a certificate. Across the whole of the ‘Culinary World Cup 2010’ thousands of medals and certificates were presented.

It certainly isn’t a piece of cake to put on a competition of this scale, and if it had not been for the contributions of people willing to roll up their sleeves and pitch in, it would certainly not have taken place. The members of the Vatel Club Luxembourg’s organising committee as well as members of Luxexpo and Brain & More really pulled out all the stops, and today they can be proud of their achievements. They have managed to get together a broad-based judging panel of 55 members with international standing. Several of them, like Ilan Robert, have been taking part for the last 20 years in this competition.

Armand Steinmetz –

President of the Vatel Club

Luxembourg, thanksIlan Robert (left) for

his dedication in being part of the

international judging panel

(right)


Great success of the first

youth parliament in Bad Ischl

At the 2009 General Assembly Dubrovnik, the Executive Board of our association decided to introduce a new event entirely dedicated to the students of our member schools. In October 2010 this event, the first AEHT Youth Parliament, took place in Bad Ischl, Austria, and it was a great success.

Participants in the 1st AEHT Youth Parliament

The organizing team

Thirty-three students from 15 European countries registered for this event, a simulation of parliamentary sessions. Unfortunately two students could not attend because of visa restrictions and one student fell ill. The event was organized by 5HLa, a senior class at the Tourismusschulen Bad Ischl, their teachers and Klaus Enengl, headmaster of the school and president of AEHT. The organization was perfect and it was clear from the very beginning that it was a good idea to delegate the organization to students. On arriving in Austria the participants were met by fellow students of the same age, and from this moment the atmosphere was relaxed and congenial.

The participants were accommodated in international teams in the local youth hostel and meals were taken alternately at the school and at the youth hostel. The four parliamentary sessions (one three-hour session a day) took place in the council chamber of Bad Ischl town hall in the mornings and in the afternoons the Austrian students organized excursions and visits for their colleagues.

The opening ceremony was very formal but cordial. Klaus Enengl, president of the AEHT, welcomed all the participants and stressed the importance of our Association. Hannes Heide, the mayor of Bad Ischl, emphasized the significance of tourism in Austria, in Bad Ischl and in Europe and officially opened the youth parliament. Then all the participants introduced themselves briefly and expressed their expectations. After a short lunch break the group visited the Bad Ischl School and then resumed their session. A president, Nick Marlier from Belgium, and a vice-president, Ingela Grupe from Germany, were elected and the topics for the next meetings were selected.

Day 2 started with a panel discussion led by three Austrian tourism experts, Ronald Felder, CEO of the Salzkammergut Tourism Marketing company, Andreas Murray, managing director of the Lake Traunsee holiday region, and Roland Ballner, owner of the Cortisen Hotel in St. Wolfgang and vice-president of the Austrian Hotel Association (ÖHV).

The mayor Hannes Heide welcomes the participants

1st parliamentary session

1st session led by 3 Austrian tourism experts, R. Felder, A. Murray and R. Ballner

The three experts explained the situation of tourism in Austria and supplied the students with statistics, numbers and figures and they readily answered the varied questions on trends and visions of the tourism industry. In the afternoon the students visited Hallstatt, a UNESCO world heritage site, an exceptional example of unique beauty and special scientific importance, and had a guided tour of the largest operational Austrian salt mine in Bad Aussee. The day ended with a superb dinner at the school.

Hallstatt – a UNESCO world heritage site


2nd parliamentary session 3e parliamentary session

The focus of the third parliamentary session was on multifaceted national education patterns, national and individual employment problems, personal visions and worries. It was an extremely lively discussion led by the two presidents and gave everybody an interesting insight into the different national conditions and circumstances.

In the afternoon the Austrian students guided the international guests through Bad Ischl including a tour of the Imperial Villa, the summer residence of Emperor Franz-Joseph, and a visit at the Konditorei Zauner, a world-renowned pastry shop and café in Bad Ischl.

Those who have already tasted Zaunerstollen know that Zauner has a well-deserved world-wide reputation

On Saturday, the last of the parliamentary sessions resulted in a press conference, the founding of a Facebook group named Youth Parliament and very positive feedback for the organizing team and the AEHT. The members of the first AEHT Youth Parliament were enthusiastic about this event and encouraged the president to hold the parliament every year. They also expressed their willingness to cooperate with the next organizers.

Presentation of the attendance certificates

Press Conference

The first AEHT Youth Parliament ended with a traditional meal on Bad Ischl’s local mountain. The students were taken to the Katrin alpine pasture at 1415 meters and were offered a fantastic panoramic view of the Salzkammergut mountains. Half of the participants even dared to climb the highest peak of the mountain range.

Some fearless climbers pose for a photo 1400 meters above sea level

Many thanks to the organizing team of 5HLa, their teachers, the sponsors of this event Salzkammergut Touristik Bad Ischl and VOÖS, the society of Upper Austrian school sponsors, and the members of the AEHT executive board for supporting the idea of organizing the first AEHT Youth Parliament.


In a mountain hut

Some feedback:

György Resz, Giorgio Perlasca Secondary School,

Budapest, Hungary

‘I’m writing on behalf of Mrs Csilla Dévényi, the Principal of Giorgio Perlasca Secondary School, to express our sincere appreciation and grateful thanks for your superb kindness and hospitality during our student’s stay at the AEHT Youth Parliament in Bad Ischl.

Our student Márk Szűcs thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the visit and was very impressed with your school as well as the topicality of the issues raised during the sessions of parliament. Márk found it stimulating to share the common themes the students experience in their schools and was fired up with ideas on his personal professional development. We are also grateful for the opportunities for exploring the tourist and cultural references of Austria with special emphasis on the Bad Ischl region.

All in all, we firmly believe that the events of the AEHT Youth Parliament will provide the participating students with opportunities for expanding their horizons, learning new methods of work and opening up new professional perspectives’. Vedrana Brajković, School of Tourism, Catering and

Trade, Pula, Croatia

’Just a few words to thank you for the great hospitality and organization of this year's AEHT Youth Parliament. My student David is truly impressed by all that he saw and experienced, especially the hospitality of school students who prepared and served your fine delicacies.

Both at the bar and at dinner at the school, a good atmosphere reigned everywhere

The debates, as he said, will be something he'll remember with pride, since this was a chance to speak in front of a multi-national auditorium and confirm his English language knowledge. As a good skier, David was delighted by the wonderful scenery of majestic mountain tops. Also, once again thank you for organizing his transfer from the train station in Salzburg and making this entire event a positive beginning. I hope that in the years to come, too, there will be such great opportunities for our students to take part in AEHT events’.

Carolina Trigo and Pedro Conde, Hotel and Tourism school of Porto, Portugal

‘First of all, we would like to congratulate the AEHT, its president Mr Klaus Enengl, and our colleagues from the Hotel and Tourism School of Bad Ischl for the excellent organization of the "1st AEHT Youth Parliament".

It was a great opportunity to meet young people from different cultures and, most importantly, their perspectives, expectations and problems of their countries in the Tourism and Hospitality area.

Above Bad Ischl

The organizers struck a perfect balance between cultural and leisure activities. We had the possibility to check on the spot the magnificent use of natural resources without destroying nature. Among several visits, we would point out the Salt Mines of Altaussee.


Now, we realize how little we take advantage of our fantastic tourist potential and how much more we could do to benefit from the immense wealth it represents’.

The Altaussee salt mines

Elizabete Andersone, Riga Food Producers

Vocational School, Riga, Latvia

‘It was a great pleasure for me for the first time to be abroad so far and so long from my house and to meet so many nice, different, young people. It was wonderful possibility of exchange of experience, getting new friends, seeing picturesque landscape and mountains. I liked Bad Ischl Tourism school premises, the delicious food and the creative sessions which gave me deeper insight into tourism in Europe. Thank you very much for your hospitality’.

A visit to the Bad Ischl school – making the famous ‘Kaiserschmarren’

Participants: Elizabete Andersone – Latvia, Simona Margitová, Oliver Wallach – Slovakia, Simona Slut’ákovà, Pavel Vesely, Ladislav Loy, Jaroslav Kula – Czech Republic, Patricia Celinder – Denmark, Eleriin Mänd, Douglas Pelin – Estonia, Julia Zöllner, Ingela Grupe – Germany, Enikö Pákozdi, Mark Szücs – Hungary, Mark Kelly, Stephen Featherstone – Ireland, Carolina Trigo, Pedro Conde – Portugal, Isabell Schopper – Austria, Steven Maes, Laura Somers, Abigail Polley, Nick Marlier – Belgium, Paola Grubica, David Pletikos, Paola Sirotic – Croatia, Sandra Vitasovic – Finland, Isaac Osei Bimpong, Gaia Tramonti – Italy, Dany Östreicher – Luxembourg.

Group photograph taken in front of the Imperial Villa in Bad Ischl

THIS AND THAT News from AEHT members

1. News from our prize-winners and our partners

We have introduced this section for two main reasons: firstly, to publish the reflexions of former competition winners about the importance of the AEHT experience in their personal and professional development and in the careers which may have opened up for them as a result of their winning performances at the Annual Conference; and secondly, to publish interviews with our partners. And more generally, to contribute to the pleasure of being an AEHT member.

- Florian Malfent, a restaurant owner in

Feldkirchen, gives us his views

Florian Malfent, a 27 year old graduate of the ‘Tourismusschulen Bad Leonfelden’ in Austria, lives in Feldkirchen, a pretty village about 25 kms from Linz, where he has been running his own restaurant "Wirt in Pesenbach" since July 2005. During his five year school career in Bad Leonfelden, he got the chance to work for several well known and very professional hotels and restaurants such as ‘The Hotel Faust Schlössel (Feldkirchen/Upper Austria)’, the ‘Restaurant Schloss Aigen (Salzburg/Austria)’ and the ‘Hotel Bayerischer Hof (Munich/Germany)’. After completing his A-Levels in Bad Leonfelden in 2002 and after his military service, he worked in London for the 5* Goring hotel, which he considers to be for sure the most exciting working experience in his life. After his return to Austria, he had the opportunity to take over the "Wirt in Pesenbach" restaurant.


1. a) In 2000 you won the wine service competition at the Annual Conference in Berlin, Germany. How did you prepare for this competition? Do you still have contact with other participants? It certainly was a special experience for me to compete against international participants in an international and lively city like Berlin. To win the wine competition was absolutely great. As I can remember I worked together with my former service teacher Mr. Angermair who trained me in the necessary skills and knowledge, and my language teacher Mrs. Büsser to perfect my presentation in English. Unfortunately, I lost all contact with participants due to my long and intense working hours over the last 5 years since opening my restaurant.

Winner of the first prize for wine service at the AEHT Annual Conference in Berlin in 2000

b) Did winning this competition affect your professional and private life as well as your personality? It was a great success for me and as far as I can remember also for the HLT Bad Leonfelden. My performance had been reported in most of the newspapers of my home area and I had the impression that people took my knowledge of hospitality, service and especially wine seriously - even if I was only 17.

2. What do you think about the AEHT and the Annual Conference experience today? Did you experience the European spirit at the Annual Conference in Berlin? As I said before, to experience such an intercultural event like this competition gives you the chance to get the spirit you need in our real business.

3. Have you won other medals at international competitions? If so, why was it important for you to participate in all those competitions?

Due to my extremely tight timetable, I unfortunately did not get the chance to participate in other competitions since my graduation from the Tourism School in Bad Leonfelden.

4. What made you open your own restaurant ‘Wirt in Pesenbach’ in Feldkirchen/Donau? What were the objectives and what are the results so far? Could you describe your company to us? What are your future projects?

The Bad Leonfelden delegation at the AEHT Annual Conference in Berlin in 2000

The two main arguments for changing my lifestyle and opening my own restaurant were time & money. Opening your own restaurant is in my opinion the only way of making the necessary sense of the long working hours, which are a reality in our line of work, in order to stay motivated and to get the output you expect.

Florian Malfent at his"Wirt in Pesenbach" restaurant

5. What are the professional and personal qualities required to succeed in your profession? In your view, what are the most important qualities required to be a waiter/waitress and a restaurant owner? What recommendations would you offer to aspiring waiters/waitresses and a restaurant owner? What advice would you give to hospitality and tourism students about their future careers?


For me the most important requirement in our business consists of treating staff members and customers as you would like to be treated yourself. From my own experience, I can conclude that if you combine a high respect for your customers with a good quality product, you'll be busy serving guests. To these key qualities you still will have to add a certain stamina, social knowledge, etc. Whatever you are planning in your career, you should carry out a longer working experience in an intercultural and cosmopolitan city like London or New York.

- Interview with Armand Steinmetz, President of

the Vatel Club Luxembourg

The origins of the Vatel Club Luxembourg and therefore also the origins of Expogast date back to the creation in 1931 of the Cooperation of Professional Chefs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which in 1935 and 1938 organised the first gastronomy exhibitions in the capital. The body was dissolved during the Second World War, but the chefs then got together with the waiters to form the Ganymed association. A few years later the chefs again founded their own association which in 1958 adopted its definitive title of ‘Vatel Club of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg’. Thanks to the efforts of one of the founder members, Germain Gretsch, this association quickly made a name for itself, gave a considerable boost to gastronomy in Luxembourg, and in 1972 finally launched the first Expogast (with the title of ‘First Exhibition of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts and Confectionary’ which was changed to Expogast only in 1974), as well as the First World Culinary Arts Championship in 1986. Armand Steinmetz has been President of the Vatel Club Luxembourg since 2003. After completing his studies at the Alexis Heck Hotel School in Diekirch, over the next three years he undertook his ‘tour of Switzerland’, where he carried out numerous practical placements in world-famous hotels, followed by a placement in France at Roger Verge’s three-star ‘Moulin de Mougins’ restaurant. Thus on his return to Luxembourg he could boast a rich professional experience, and in 1973 he embarked on his career as a lecturer in technical subjects, a post from which he retired this year. Since 1980 he has been the owner of the Restaurant Steinmetz in Bech (Luxembourg) famous for its exceptional traditional cuisine.

Armand Steinmetz addressing the audience at the prize-giving ceremony

1) You are currently the President of the Vatel Club Luxembourg. For the benefit of those who may not know their French history, François Vatel was a confectioner and caterer of Swiss origin who then became a French household steward and maître d'hôtel, in turn to Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s superintendant of finances then to Prince Louis II of Bourbon-Condé (also called ‘le Grand Condé’). He had a remarkable talent for organising feasts and grandiose banquets at the château of Vaux-le-Vicomte then at the château of Chantilly during the reign of Louis XIV; he is best known to posterity for having committed suicide during a reception given by le Grand Condé (one of the leaders of the revolt against the power of the monarchy known as the ‘Fronde des princes’ or the Princes’ Revolt) held to re-ingratiate himself with King Louis XIV – because the delivery of the day’s catch of fish was late in arriving! Thus by adopting the name Vatel, your Association is giving out a message of both genius and tragedy. Please would you explain to us the objectives of this club, who was the instigator of its foundation, and how it has evolved over time.

The Vatel Club has a number of objectives: - Firstly it fosters the development and promotion

of good cuisine and of Luxembourg culinary specialities;

- It promotes innovative cuisine and attempts to ensure the quality of dishes produced;

- It encourages young chefs to remain in the profession by various means, for example by organising Annual Culinary Arts contest or the François Vatel Cup, etc;


- The Club participates in other competitions abroad and organises updating courses for chefs and pastry-cooks;

- It encourages a close relationship between its professional members and those who are interested in gastronomy;

- At least once a year it makes a point of organising a gathering of gourmets to offer them culinary specialities from Luxembourg and from around the world.

From left to right: Johny Wirtz, Arthur Sauber, Aloyse Jacoby and Armand Steinmetz have made an enormous contribution to the success

of the‘Culinary World Cup 2010’

2) In what year did you join the Vatel Club Luxembourg and when did you become its President? What was the attraction of this post that made you to stand for election? I’ve been a member of the Vatel Club since 1974 and its President since 2003. My main ambitions were to ensure that the club continued its work, and to provide it with new initiatives. Another important objective for me was to reenergise our collaboration with young people, to stimulate their interest and to encourage them to join our club.

3) Since 1972 the Vatel Club Luxembourg has been organising the Chefs’ World Cup, every four years, together with the WACS. Who instigated this competition and for what reasons? How do you explain the ever-growing success of this event? The ‘Culinary World Cup’ was created thanks to the innovative spirit of Germain Gretsch, who for many years was the mentor, secretary and president of our association. Germain was a great visionary and thanks to him the competition quickly evolved from being a gastronomic exhibition in the ‘Grande Région’ (Luxembourg, Wallonia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Sarre, Lorraine) to become a transnational competition, and then rapidly acquired a European and even a worldwide reach. This evolution is due to the fact that the competition has attracted a lot of

international interest and has been highly successful.

4) Hosting 2,400 chefs and pastry cooks is no mean feat. How does the organisation work? Who provides the ingredients for the dishes on display and for the menus of hot dishes? Where do they prepare the dishes and the sculptures for the exhibition? The event involves an enormous amount of organisation, including: - Finding accommodation for the teams in hotels,

preferably hotels which are prepared to make available their facilities such as the kitchen, fridges, deep-freezers, etc;

- Finding 65 professionals to make up the judging panel, and arranging accommodation and transport for them. We have to arrange a shuttle service to operate from 04.30 in the morning to 22.00 at night;

- Handling the applications and the registrations of the national and regional teams and of the individual exhibitors from 53 countries across the world;

- Drawing up plans for all the installations that are needed: seven kitchen layouts for the national team contests; two for the kitchens to be used by the military teams; two for the community catering contest; then the demonstration kitchens, the chef’s corner, the 930-seat gourmet restaurant, and the 400-seat restaurant for community catering. Among other things we have to deal with equipping these various premises;

- Contacting and looking after the sponsors and the media, and installing a bistro for the VIPs;

- Organising and selecting the wines and other drinks;

- Planning the various receptions, the opening show followed by a cocktail party, the daily ceremony for the presentation of medals and certificates, and the closing ceremony followed by a stand-up buffet.

- Managing 80 volunteer workers; - Supervising the stowing of equipment and the

various check-lists etc. As for the ingredients, some of them are imported, but most are bought from suppliers in Luxembourg. Though it varies according to the national origin of the team or exhibitor, the sculptures are partly prepared in the country of origin, while other sculptures are entirely made in Luxembourg. For the hot food competitions in the Restaurant of the Nations, the candidates produced the 105 menus entirely on the premises between 12.00 and


18.00, by which time everything had to be ready to serve. The cold buffets and the menus of cold dishes at the exhibition were prepared either partly or entirely in Luxembourg.

During Expogast 2010, thousands of certificates and medals pass through Armand Steinmetz’s hands

5) What are the main evaluation criteria for the two exercises carried out by the teams? What was the particular strength of the Singapore national team, which was world champion in 2010? As for the masterpieces exhibited by the master confectioners, what were the evaluation criteria, and why do you think that the young confectioner Sang Kyun Jeaong from South Korea stood out from the others? The allocation of marks was made easier by the use of marking sheets; the main criteria set out on the sheets were: composition, proportions, presentation, dietary balance, variety of ingredients and colours, general appearance, etc. To win the ‘Culinary World Cup’, a competitor has to win one of the two first places in the cold and hot food categories. As I was not a member of the judging panel, I’m afraid I can’t tell you exactly in what respect the Singapore team and Sang Kyun Jeaong from South Korea stood out from the rest.

6) Have you ever taken part in this contest as a competitor? If so, what do you most remember about it? I’ve competed several times: in 1974, in 1978, in 1982 when we won silver and gold medals. In 1976 I competed in the IKA in Frankfurt as a member of the national team, which won the gold medal. In 1986, 1990 and 1994 I was a member of the judging panel with the task of judging the cold dish contest.

In 1998 and 2002, I took on the role of President of the judging panel with the task of judging the hot dish contest. Participating in a competition like this requires an enormous investment in time. First of all you have to draw up a programme, then engage in training, put the finishing touches, then exhibit the product. I felt great personal and professional satisfaction from acquiring new techniques and ideas for preparation and presentation, as well as through meeting friends from other countries and making new professional contacts from all over the world. Taking part in events like this is the equivalent for all of us of real updating courses in gastronomy.

7) Personally I think it’s a shame that this

magnificent event, so instructive for young people, should have taken place without the involvement of member schools of the Association of European Hotel and Tourism Schools. Do you think that at the next Expogast it might be possible to collaborate more closely with the AEHT, either by setting up a seminar for teachers and/or students on the fringes of Expogast, or by introducing a competition for aspiring chefs and confectioners who are still training? In the future the Vatel Club, working with the WACS, will be reorganising the competitions and the exhibition programme so that it includes activities with international reach for young people, and particularly for young students in hotel schools, to ensure that they are more and better integrated into the individual and team contests. Let us keep in touch to see through this idea – though of course it will have to be approved first of all by the Ministry of Education.

8) And finally, please could you let us have some career guidance for aspiring chefs and confectioners in our hotel schools?

In order to be successful, aspiring chefs need to be creative and flexible, to like their work (even the irregular parts of it), to appreciate the creative aspects of it, to enjoy excellent health, to like international contacts; and to improve themselves by working for several different businesses after their training and while they are still young, and to undertake their professional 'Tour de France' or even their 'Tour of the World'.


One of Armand Steinmetz’s main objectives is to ensure that young people stay in this demanding profession.

Above, the Luxembourg national team which competed at Expogast 2010

May 2011 bring prosperity to all our young graduates, and may it bring them success in their chosen profession. May they go to work each day with joy in their hearts, and achieve great things. We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Wherever your fancy takes you in 2011 you will be welcomed everwhere with open arms by your AEHT Friends. Therein lies, still and always, the real strength of the AEHT.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Nadine SCHINTGEN AEHT General Secretary

Text : N. Schintgen in close cooperation with J. Laengy, K. Enengl, F.Malfent, M. Sotak, A. Steinmetz andG. Welter

Photos:

N. Schintgen, J. Laengy, ©ts-badischl, F. Malfent, A. Steinmetz, G. Welter and the organisers of Eurocup 2010

English translation :

J. Rees Smith

French transation : N. Schintgen

Our professional partners :

newsletter of december 2010

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