Newsletter of December 2011

Diekirch, December 2011 N°3/2011 1

Dear AEHT Members

‘When you make a sketch, it is as if you are planting seeds to make pictures grow,’ as the Dutch painter Van Gogh (1853-1890) used to say. The Dutch poet and novelist Edouard Douwes Dekker, whose pen-name was Multatuli (1821-1887), used to say that ‘it is not the reward that uplifts the soul but rather the toil that has earned this reward.’ These claims take on all their relevance as we approach the end of 2011, a year in which the Hotel and Tourism Schools of The Hague and of Zagreb have gone to great pains to bring to fruition two exceptionally high quality events in record time. Only a short while ago the two schools were standing before a blank canvas which they had the courage to bring to life thanks to their passion, their will-power, their endurance and their professionalism. With a few waves of a magic wand they led us into amazing new universes. The two schools have emerged all the stronger from these experiences which involved excelling oneself and selfless hard work.

CHRISTMAS IN EUROPE IN ZAGREB

– A REGION WHERE THE WORD

FOR ‘HAPPINESS’ IS DERIVED

FROM THE WORD FOR ‘MEETING'

The 20th Christmas in Europe took place from December 1st-7th in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, a country which is on the threshold of joining the European Union, since the membership treaty, signed in Brussels on December 9th, will come into effect in July 2013. Croatia will thus be the 28th member country of the Union.

The parade of the delegations – an innovation in Zagreb

Christmas in Europe in Zagreb was organised almost in emergency circumstances by the ‘Hotelijersko-turisticka skola u Zagrebu’ with support from the EU’s ‘Youth in Action’ programme; the event brought together 96 partici-pants from 20 Hotel and Tourism Schools located in 15 countries. It was a challenge picked up with great panache by Marija Rasan-Krizanac and her teams consisting of around ten teachers and about 50 students. They were joined by delegations from half a dozen Croatian schools who had come as reinforcements to support the organisers in every aspect of Christmas in Europe. What a fine act of solidarity!

Delegations proud to present their Christmas traditions to the visitors

As is the case each year, the guidelines for the three components of the event – the exhibition, the European buffet and the cultural pro-gramme – were followed to the letter. The exhibition was officially opened by AEHT President Klaus Enengl, by the event’s founder Christiane Keller and by organiser Marija Rasan-Krizanac; located on the 17th floor of the Westin hotel (an excellent establishment


belonging to the Starwood Group), the exhibition once again enabled each participating school to present on its stand the Christ-mas traditions and tourist attractions of their respective regions. Thanks to a well organised publicity campaign on the television and radio and in the newspapers, a number of visitors found their way to the Westin, including pupils and children from an orphanage who were delighted with this opportunity to escape from their daily routine, and who appreciated the sweetmeats that they were offered.

The parade created quite a stir among the local population

The parade through the streets of Zagreb was quite an event: a section of the Guard of the Kravat Regiment in full uniform led the participants, wearing their national costumes and with their flags flying in the breeze, as far as the cathedral to attend a mass, celebrated with fervour. Meanwhile all along the route the police held up the traffic! The crowds of pedestrians really enjoyed this fine spectacle.

The European buffet, which had also been set up of the 17th floor of the Westin Hotel, in the Opera Hall, lived up to - no, amply exceeded – all expectations. Delegates from every school had brought in their luggage everything they needed to prepare some choice dishes. The tastefully laid-out buffets caused the usual rush of hungry and discerning diners. As there was more food than was needed, the excess was presented to the local parish to be given out to the children on the Feast of St Nicholas.

And finally there was the cultural programme laid on by each school and performed in Zagreb’s Gavella Theatre; the programme attracted a large number of the students from the nearby Hotel School, who came along to see the show. The theatre was filled to the very last seat, and the show was as rich as it was varied, and very colourful; the humour, the sketches, the song and dance brought well-deserved applause!

In the Gavella Theatre Irena Domitrović and Sebastijan Ivasović were our masterly compères throughout the programme


As well as these three essential pillars of Christmas in Europe, we should also mention the impeccable organisation which enabled the participants to discover the city of Zagreb, whose centre was only a ten minute walk away from the Westin Hotel. Furthermore, the last day’s excursion to Kaprina and the Neanderthal Museum, and the ‘journey back through time’ in the city were also much appreciated outings.

A medieval show in the ‘Majsecov mlin’ agro-tourism farm in the Medvednica natural park in

the mountains north of Zagreb

The Neanderthals in Krapina

The formal closing of the 2011 Christmas in Europe took place at the traditional final gala evening in the Opera Hall of the Westin Hotel - the true zenith of these five days in Zagreb. The evening’s programme started with a concert from the Zagreb ‘Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra’ and was graced with the presence of Mr Zlatan Muftic, Director for Tourism in Zagreb. After a few words of welcome and thanks from Marija Rasan Krizanac and from Christiane Keller, founder of Christmas in Europe, the AEHT flag was formally handed over by Marija Rasan Krizanac to Mojca Jost from the Bled Hotel School in Slovenia, the venue for Christmas in Europe 2012. Next came the traditional exchange of gifts, then all the participants signed the large poster advertising the Zagreb Christmas in Europe – the signed poster would be displayed in the local hotel school.

The AEHT flag is handed over to Bled; and all the participants sign the Christmas in Europe 2011 poster – what a good idea the organisers had!

The 20th Christmas in Europe is now in the past, but the event will surely remain engraved in the participants' memories for a long time to come - participants both from Croatia and from elsewhere. We can already make a date for December 4th-9th 2012, and another in Marseilles in 2013, for yet more adventures based on Christmas festivities.

A GREAT ANNUAL CONFERENCE

IN THE LAND OF CLOGS, TULIPS

AND BICYCLES!

Thanks to the eager willingness of the ROC Mondriaan Institute and the commitment of its Director Brigitte Engering and of its teams and of its students, we were able to hold the 24th AEHT Annual Conference from November 7th-12th 2011 in The Hague, The Netherlands.

No fewer than 601 directors, teachers and students from 134 school in 32 countries converged on this international city – synonymous with peace and justice – to attend this 24th AEHT Annual Conference, whose programme, while running to a fixed formula, changes every year according to what the organising school can offer. This time the heart of the Conference was the campus of ROC Mondriaan in The Hague (The Netherlands), while the accommodation for the delegates was in several hotels in a suburb, the seaside resort of Scheveningen, a few minutes away from the campus by bus or tram.

Organised around the various competitions in which 294 students took part, this Conference once again demonstrated its amazing impact thanks to all the opportunities it offered everyone to meet each other, to find out about each other, to understand one another, to set up partnerships, etc. A real European melting-pot, in a way.

Jos Leenhouts - chair of The Hague ROC

Mondriaan’s executive committee

Brigitte Engering – Academic Director of the Tourism and Management

Department

Jan Van Zijl - chair of the ‘MBO Raad’

board

The opening ceremony, always the occasion for shared emotions, took place on the morning of Tuesday November 8th in Our Saviour’s Church just next door to the campus. A ceremony in a place of worship? This must be a first in the entire existence of the AEHT! There was a welcome outside


the door from a brass band, the traditional parade by the 32 delegations, the speeches from Brigitte Engering (Mondriaan’s Academic Director of the Tourism and Management Department), from Jos Leenhouts (Chair of ROC Mondriaan’s executive committee), Jan Van Zijl (Chair of the ‘MBO Raad’ board), Bram Gräber (Director General of the Transavia airline) and from Klaus Enengl (AEHT President); but it was the performance of the FIFA dance group that electrified the gathering. What? I hear you say. Superbly lovely dancers dressed as for a cabaret displaying their assets in a church? This was unthinkable for many of the bemused delegates. But for the local priest there was no reason to get upset: ‘There is no offence against public decency’, quoth he. In any case, it was a select and high quality display.

As for the Conference programme, it all ran according to plan, with the briefing of the various judging panels and competitors, the distribution of tasks over the three days of the competitions, while several formal meetings took place: meeting of the AEHT Presidium, meeting of the Executive Board and finally the General Assembly of members (cf. reports published on the Internet site http://www.aeht.eu/en/meetings-and-reports ).

Events advertised for 2012

The 2012 calendar of events was another long-awaited item on the agenda of the meetings in The Hague. The AEHT Presidium has decided to award the maximum grants indicated in the following table to the relevant organisers. For certain events the detailed information has already been sent to member schools and may be consulted on the AEHT’s website under ‘Activities’. We should like to request any organisers who have not yet done so to send us as soon as possible the documents relating to their event, in both English and French (invitation, general information, programme, regulations, guidelines, application form etc.) so that we can forward

these to our Association’s members and publish them on our website.

MARCH EVENT Maxi

grant allocated

March 19th – 23rd AEHT Youth Parliament on ‘reducing carbon footprints – how can today’s tourism services contribute to environ-mental protection?’ Kópavogur (IS)

2.000

APRIL

April 3rd – 5th 7th Bartender G&T Cup Competition, Bled (SLO)

1.000

APRIL

April 16th – 19th Gastro2012, Dubrovnik (HR) 1.000

April 16th – 19th 14th edition of the Bartolomeo Scappi International Competition, Castel San Pietro Terme (IT)

1.000

April 17th – 21st ECO-VET conference and competition organized as part of a Leonardo da Vinci project , Szeged (HU)

n/a

April 19th – 22nd Seminar for teachers and directors on Hospitality and Tourism Management (EQF level 5 and above), Saarbrücken (DE)

1.000

April 25th – 29th Festival entitled ‘Azorean Pineapple Challenge,’ Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores (PT)

1.000

MAY

May 2nd – 5th Seminar on ‘Dining with Eleanora of Arborea - the historical, cultural, social, economic and gastronomic reality of Sardinia during the Middle Ages in the 14th century, Oristano, Sardinia (IT)

1.000

OCTOBER

October 7th – 13th 25th AEHT Annual Conference, Ohrid & Skopje (MK)

3.000

NOVEMBER

November 13th – 16th

Eurocup 2012 – 20th Junior bartenders competition (special edition), Prešov (SK)

1.000

DECEMBER

December 4th – 9th 21st Christmas in Europe, Bled (SLO) 3.100

December 7th – 9th Chocolate festival of the Atlantic 2012 (sculpting, display and contest of chocolate sculptures and bonbons), Praia da Vitória, Terceira Island, Azores (PT)

1.000


Demand for teacher placements in the ACCOR Group has declined since most teachers want their placement to be in an English-speaking environment – ACCOR has been unable to satisfy the demand for such placements. In recent months the Presidium has doubled its efforts to find another hotel group willing to fill this gap. Contacts have been made with the STARWOOD Group and in particular with Ingrid Eras, Vice-President responsible for development and training in Human Resources EAME (Europe, Africa & Middle East - 86 countries and 50,000 partners).

Ingrid Eras, a Vice-President in the Starwood Group, succeeded in wowing her audience

Mrs Eras honoured the AEHT with her presence at the General Assembly in The Hague, where she took the opportunity to present the world's largest hotel group (around 1100 hotels) which is currently opening a new hotel every two weeks in China, a country which accounts for 26% of the group’s growth.

STARWOOD maintains contacts with many hotel schools and would like to do the same with all the AEHT's member schools. For the pilot scheme the following hotels, all of them in the higher category, are prepared to host teachers from AEHT member schools: Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel (406 rooms) Westin Hotel in Dublin (163 rooms) Le Méridien in Brussels (224 rooms) Sheraton Brussels Airport (294 rooms) Le Méridien Beach Plaza in Monte Carlo (403 rooms) Le Méridien Etoile in Paris (101 rooms) W Istanbul Hotel (136 rooms)

The application process will be as follows: The offers of placements in STARWOOD units will be

published on the AEHT website; Those interested will contact the hotel of their choice

and inform Herman Siebens, the AEHT contact, which hotel they have chosen;

After discussion they will draw up a contract with the selected hotel, setting out the conditions and obligations governing the placement, and the availability of accommodation. If necessary Herman Siebens will help

with the negotiations and with seeking accommodation – if possible this would be with the help of a neighbouring school.

The applicants will complete the final application form (in duplicate, one copy to be signed by the applicant’s school director) and will send one copy to the hotel, the other to Herman Siebens.

At the end of the application process all the parties must be in agreement about the arrangements for the placement. As the school director will already have signed the application form, thereby signifying his or her agreement, the hotel manager and the AEHT will still have to confirm their agreement.

Conditions governing the placements: The STARWOOD Group cannot provide free

accommodation for the teachers (as was the case for placements in units of the ACCOR Group);

Teachers on placement will enjoy the same conditions as those granted to employees of the STARWOOD Group, namely discounted room rates of between $30 and $80 according to the category of hotel selected. However the teacher is entitled to seek accommodation elsewhere.

Meals are free in the hotel’s staff canteen, and a reduction of 50% is granted on meals taken in the hotel’s public restaurant.

Further information will be published on the AEHT’s website in due course.

Competitions held in The Hague

As for the competitions there were the usual little ‘differences of opinion’ relating to registration errors and to language problems - despite there being precise rules on the matter. But in general, in the view of several judges, there was an excellent atmosphere during the competitions. Nevertheless a number of suggestions were made in order to avoid irregularities, such as:

- In the culinary arts competition, the menu should be drawn up by the contestants immediately after the briefing and submitted the same evening; this would prevent any teachers from helping their students and from imposing their own menus on their student’s team;

- In the judging panels teachers should be replaced by professionals from industry, thus ensuring that evaluations are carried out impartially.

▲Management competition ▲Pastry competition


▲Culinary Arts competition

Judging panel of the barista competition

▲Restaurant Service competition

Cocktail competition

Seminars, workshops and visits

during the AEHT Annual Conference

Moreover the organisers had laid on a number of visits of a cultural nature, such as the ‘VIP beauty treatment visit to the Savarin Spa’, an excursion to Delft, a visit to the SS Rotterdam, and a trip to ‘Tomatoworld’. Then again there were the lectures and seminars such as ‘The AEHT Goes European VET’, ‘The Dutch Travel Industry,’ ‘Thinking About Quality,’ ‘MBO 15’. Not forgetting the tasting workshops for Dutch cheeses and for Dutch spirits. And the demonstrations with the ‘Culibus’ intended for children, a JAM session by JRE chefs and the display by the Fabulous Shaker Boys. There was no doubt that everyone’s days were very full, and were sometimes rounded off with shopping trips!

Delft – the city of the famous blue

china and of the outstanding painter Johannes Vermeer, whose

‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ may be admired at the Mauritshuis in

The Hague

St Catherine’s Gate, part of the 16th century fortifications, is an entrance to the old city

◄ Tasting workshop for Dutch cheeses

Visit to ‘Tomatoworld’

As for the meals, we should record that ‘La Galleria’ restaurant was invaded on the evening of our arrival in The Hague, while the following evening on November 8th everyone came together – not without difficulty – at the Carlton Beach Hotel. On Wednesday 9th the Dutch Evening was held in the restaurant at the AVO football stadium in The Hague, and guests had a single duty – to wear something orange, which produced a very colourful party!

At the ‘Orange Evening’ all the delegations did their bit,with the Luxembourg delegation outdoing the others –

perhaps because their royal family is related to the Dutch house of Orange-Nassau?

The evening of Thursday 10th was given over to a visit, including a buffet dinner, to a former brewery of the famous Heineken brand in Amsterdam; this included the highly interesting and educational tour, showing the whole process from production to worldwide distribution.


Dominik Gosk and Boguslawa Pienkowska from Warsaw are in their element during the ‘Heineken Experience Tour’

And finally the gala evening on Friday November 11th was held in the superb setting of the Church of Saint James (this one was deconsecrated!) in the centre of The Hague. And instead of the buffet, there were beautifully laid tables, an aperitif at the entrance and a banquet menu to mark the end of this Conference in an admirably festive manner. There was the prize-giving for the competition winners, to the usual applause and outpourings of joy from the delegations concerned (see following column).

The delegations from Simferopol▲ and from Castel San Pietro Terme

▲ The delegation from Trond- heim (N) who never miss the event

Sankt Johann/Tirol ▲ with their prize-winners

There followed the ceremony of the handing over of the flag, conducted by AEHT President Klaus Enengl, between the ROC Mondriaan represented by Brigitte Engering (The Netherlands) and the Lazar Tanev School (Republic of Macedonia) represented by Zoran Nikolovski flanked by his team – a total of 81 Macedonians! The proceedings were enlivened by the same group of dancers, just as dynamic as they had been at the opening ceremony. It was Klaus Enengl who spoke last, to express his thanks to the ROC Mondriaan teams and especially Brigitte Engering and Remco Koerts and the army of students and teachers who had been recruited and put to work on the organisation of the Conference. Klaus’s thanks were echoed by thunderous applause. At around 23.00 the time had come to go back to the buses … The 24th Annual Conference was over, and had now to make way for the 25th version on October 7th-12 in Ohrid and Skopje!

Congratulations to the winners and all the participants!

Barista

The medals were presented by Nadine Schintgen (AEHT) and

Marie-Claire Gambon (ROC Mondriaan)

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place

Name Forename Country Name Forename Country Name Forename Country

Termat Maas NL Pilcevic Milica SRB Prelog Natasa SLO

Cocktails/Bar

Medals and gifts presented by Jacqueline van der Zwan (ROC Mondriaan),

Klaus Enengl (AEHT) and Serge Sevaux (Grand Marnier)



Pertl Stefan AT Repele Anna IT Amizic Paula HR

Cabral Hermano PT Gradisar Metod SLO Fornagiari Edoardo IT

Wine Service

Ana Paula Pais (AEHT) and Bob Schut (SVH) congratulating the winners



Papp Eva NL Johannes Siter AT Stocker Bettina AT

Van Leeuwen

Dimitrie AT Eduardo Ruela PT Walthery Rani BE


Pastry

The winners were congratulated by Asdis Vatnsdal (AEHT)

and Job Wolfslag (ROC Mondriaan)



Bardasi Federico IT Chaudouet Megane FR Heinmets Merit EE

Vandenbroeck Thomas BE Landré Eloise NL Korol Evgenia UKR

Culinary Arts

Medals and gifts presented by Arie Broodman (ROC Mondriaan), Neeme Rand

(AEHT) and Moïse Déglon (Coutellerie Déglon) 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place


Colombo Lorenzo IT Mantovani Eric IT Neri Alessia IT

Heggerick Joeri BE Groeneveld Simon

NL Todic Dusan SRB

Nolan Tracy Bridget

IRL Hainari Jan FIN van

OorschotRob NL

Restaurant Service

Boguslawa Pienkowska (AEHT) and Theo Verhofstadt together with the winners

1st Place 2

nd Place 3

rd Place


de Zwaan Imara NL Wruntschko Philipp AT Janc Barbara SLO

Janti Maija FIN Jaktlund Lukas SE Aigner Joshua AT

Management (EQF level 5 and above)

Eda Veeroja (Võru County Vocational Training Centre), Adolf Steindl (AEHT) and Patrick van Zuiden (Culibus des Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe) were very

pleased with the contestants’ performance in the management competition



Bergler Bernadette AT Jönsson Malin SE Niemi Miika FIN

Cerne Simon SLO Kuthan Samira CH Verboort Angela NL

de Graaf Alissa NL Rácz Erika HU Aguiar Cátia PT

Front Office

Romana Bauer (AEHT) – it was her birthday! – and Harry de Bruin (ROC

Mondriaan) congratulated the winners of the reception competition



Piskula Julian AT Picaud Antoine FR Sirel Carmen EE

Coombs Nikesha NL Golubic Katja SLO Ilic Jovana SRB


Tourism

Juur Kerkvliet (ROC Mondriaan) and Louis Robert (AEHT) surrounded by the

winners of the tourism competition 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place

Name Forename Country Name Forename Country Name ForenameCountry

Sistonen Minttu FIN Pausic Katarina HR Crnjak Marijan HR

Zdravikovik Voislav MKD Vareta Daniel Nunez

CH Rinzema Sanne NL

Dekker Maron NL Raposo Joana PT Heikkinen Emilia FIN

THIS AND THAT News from our AEHT Members

1. News from our prize-winners and from our partners

We have introduced this section for two main reasons: firstly, to publish the reflexions of former competition winners or participants about the importance of the AEHT experience in their personal and professional development and/or 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.

- EUROCUP 2011 Brilliant organisation and an amazing

welcome, writes Hans Russegger, AEHT Treasurer

For the 19th consecutive year the EUROCUP International Young Bartender Competition took place in the charming Slovak town of Prešov from October 18th-20th 2011.

Your reporter has already taken part in large conferences and has often attended competitions organised by hotel schools right across Europe. But this time, in my role as observer, I was most impressed by all stages of the programme as they unfurled before my eyes. The organisation of the competition had been carefully prepared in every detail, and the various parts of the event were a brilliant success. At the opening evening, after the official welcome speeches, the students laid on a magnificent dance and music show. The large hall, with its impressive numbers of delegations and spectators, echoed with enthusiastic applause from the audience.

The following day the various tests making up the competition ran impeccably well and bore witness to the high level of skills mastered by the contestants. The equipment, the ingredients, the time allocation, the decoration of the glasses – all these aspects were governed by strict rules and were evaluated by a highly qualified judging panel. The handball gymnasium, recently acquired by the school, was the ideal venue for this spectacular event. The contestants were loudly applauded by the spectators sitting in the raked seating. At 5pm it was time to announce the winners, and the prize-giving ceremony once again gave rise to scenes of jubilation among all the young people in the gymnasium.

Patricia Haberova - absolute winner in the category of individuals

Zdeněk Brůna – Flair style winner

And finally, it’s no secret that we also like hotel schools because in general the food is so good. And so it was that the quality and rich variety of all the meals served at EUROCUP 2011 in Prešov were undeniable proof of the high level of gastronomy, a level rarely achieved at AEHT


events! But what is the explanation of this extremely high level of performance? The answer is not hard to find: the complete success of EUROCUP 2011 in Prešov was due to the complete commitment of the entire school – of its director, its teachers and all its students. All of them spoke with one voice and all of them worked with dedication until late at night, always attentive to the needs of their guests. In short, if you want to get to know our Slovak friends, then come to this pleasant town of Prešov and discover for yourself their amazing and incomparable hospitality which obviously comes from the bottom of their hearts!

2. The Christmas in Europe 2011 – the Marseille-style

Impressions by Maurice Rohner, Student of the Marseille Hotel School

It all began on Wednesday December 1st. Our departure had initially been scheduled for 13.00 but our flight finally left at 14.00. Then came a series of ‘problems’ (missed connexion, arrival at the hotel at 21.30 instead of the scheduled 16.35, mislaid luggage …). It was a tiring day, but we still managed to get through it without losing our sense of humour. We were treated to a very warm welcome at the Westin Hotel, and our hosts immediately looked after our every need.

This year delegations from 15 countries took part in Christmas in Europe: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxem-bourg, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The colorful stand of the Marseille Hotel School

Each country had to set up an exhibition stand; some countries, such as Italy, even had two stands. The schedule of the week-long event was very full and ran according to a highly enjoyable programme. The second day was very challenging for our delegation. We were supposed to set up the stands in the morning to be sure that they would be ready in time for the official opening at 17.00 – but of course our suitcases had still not arrived. We took the opportunity of this enforced leisure time to

take a trip into town to seek out shops where we could buy items to decorate our stand … just in case we didn’t receive our luggage in time. But at 15.00 our suitcases finally arrived. What a relief! However, we had to work at the double to finish setting up the stand with only two hours to go before the opening of the exhibition.

Over the following days there came a steady succession of events: Parade in traditional dress; mass and prayers said by each delegation; exhibition where we staffed the stands; European buffet; tour of the city; a cultural show put on by all the delegations (the French representatives gave a rendition of the French song Little Grey Donkey); dismantling the stands; visit of the Krapina Neanderthal Museum; reception and final gala dinner.

Delicious specialties prepared by the delegation from Marseille

for the European buffet

Clément Gehin and Maurice Rohner tasting

delicacies of other countries

The Zagreb school organised the event really very well; two Croatian students were allocated to each country as their dedicated assistants to help them with their tasks. For every journey outside the city we had the use of buses (for example for picking up participants from the airport and taking them to the hotel and vice versa, as well as for the Krapina visit).

As far as the meals were concerned, we ate breakfast at the hotel, while lunch and dinner were usually served in the student centre’s canteen just a few minutes walk from the hotel, with other meals being served in a small restaurant linked to the school. During our excursion to Krapina we were treated to a traditional meal in a country inn.

Recitation of a prayer written by each delegation

It was not the Marseillaise, but the song of the little gray donkey that was produced by

France on stage


I personally found this event a very enriching experience in terms of sharing with others, of unforgettable meetings, of strong emotions, but also in terms of stress. It was an experience that I'll never forget: it enabled me to meet people from other countries and to get to know their customs. We all exchanged e-mail addresses to stay in touch via the Internet. I should like to thank my teachers Mr Bernard Vergier and Mrs Dalila Rollet, as well as the management of my school, for giving me the opportunity of taking part in this event.

3. Big Retirement Party at the Diekirch

Hotel School

On October 20th 2011 the Lycée Technique Hôtelier Alexis Heck, location of the AEHT’s Head Office, organised a glittering retirement party for four members of its staff: the Director Louis Robert – who will continue in his role as AEHT Vice-President until 2013 – the deputy director Gerard Bender, the technical studies teacher Roland Kayser who took part in the Jesolo Lido Conference, and the teacher Pol Decker.

Andy Theis, one of the participants in Christmas in Europe in Zagreb, was the compère of the evening programme

The students of the LTHAH hotel school thank the outgoing management for the good times they have spent together

Laurence Franzen looked after the service, Romain Scheer was in charge of pastry and Alain Hostert – once a chef in the Grand Duke’s palace – was responsible for the kitchen; and obeying the magic wands waved by these three, the brigades consisting of grade 13 students supported by some of the more capable comrades from 12th grade, made their remarkable entrance beneath the outlines of the circus big-top which had been erected for the occasion in the school’s training restaurant.

Marc Schaefer, newly elected Mayor of Vianden and teacher with Elisabeth Reisen, the Diekirch Hotel

School’s new Director

The real magicians of the party

The many tributes and anecdotes presented by the retirees’ colleagues were greeted with warm laughter and with loud applause. The schools’s new Director Elisabeth Reisen had discovered, on opening the archives and finding a letter sent by the then school director to his board of governors, the revolutionary temperament of the young Louis Robert who, when he was a trainee, had dared to go on strike to protest against unfair treatment by his employers. The school’s (and the AEHT’s) former accountant Norbert Richartz brought some photographs from the archives showing a quite unrecognisable Louis Robert in the bloom of youth. He has been a teacher since 1978 and Director of the hotel school since 1991, and has always shown remarkable gifts for organisation and for


information technology; for the last 20 years he has unstintingly placed these gifts at the service of the AEHT, and in 2000 took the step of offering his school as the AEHT’s Head Office, while at the same time he negotiated a much-needed grant from the Luxembourg government.

Working without respite, he has put his retirement to good use by setting up, together with directors of the BBI in Brussels, a private higher education institute for hotel and tourism studies in Wilz in the north of the Grand Duchy; in so doing, he has created a second AEHT member school in Luxembourg.

A retirement party with singing, music and humour for Louis Robert, Gérard Bender, Pol Decker & Roland Kayser

We would like to record our thanks to Louis Robert for his very substantial contribution to the development of our Association. We wish him all the best in his continuing role of Vice-President, and every success as director of his new school.

We should like to take this opportunity to thank the new Director of the Diekirch Hotel School for her interest in the AEHT and for the highly original retirement party held in her school.

We wish everyone a very prosperous and happy 2012. Following the example of the language of Croatia (in which ‘happiness’ equates to ‘meeting’), may we derive our happiness from the moments when we meet, when we share, when we exchange, when we discover and explore new countries, new cultures, new traditions and new methods of working. May we all go to school or to work each day with enthusiasm and motivation to carry out our duties. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2012. May every day be like Christmas day, a day for comradeship and sharing with our AEHT friends. This will ever and always be the strength of the AEHT.

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

Text : J. Laengy and N. Schintgen in

collaboration with H. Russegger Pictures :

N. Schintgen, J. Laengy, T. Heck, J. Pawlowski

English translation : J. Rees Smith French translation : N. Schintgen

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Newsletter of December 2011