THE EUROPEAN BUFFET
A MOMENT FOR SHARING
A MOMENT FOR SHARING
Another firmly established tradition of Christmas in Europe is the European buffet. This is a gastronomic meeting place intended to allow all the participants to discover the feast-day dishes generally served in the region where the school is located. And yet again the delegations excelled themselves, not only in their choice of dishes but also in the way they presented them!
On the afternoon of December 6th the four kitchens of the Bad Ischl school become like so many bee-hives, a pleasant and amusing tower of Babel, while at the same time the occupants of the kitchens concentrated on the desired result. Teachers and students worked away to decorate, kneed, cook, peel and garnish to make sure that the dishes presented were worthy of the reputation of the school represented.
The teachers from Kuressaare hard at work!
The art of slicing smoked salmon the Swedish way.
The teachers from Kuressaare hard at work!
The art of slicing smoked salmon the Swedish way.
As evening came in the magnificent foyer of the Bad Ischl Tourismuschule where the tables had been tastefully laid, Klaus Enengl took pleasure in welcoming the delegations and guests. In his welcoming speech in which he did not conceal his pride, the director of the Tourismuschule greeted several dignitaries: Johann Panhuber deputy mayor of Bad Ischl, Louis Robert, AEHT vice-president, Christiane Keller, Gilles Honegger of the ACCOR Group, Dr. Peter-Paul representing the Chamber of Commerce, Helmuth Ramsebner from the VOÖS, the main sponsor, and the delegation from the Bad Leonfelden tourism school among others.
Pride in a successful buffet!
The Bad Ischl school was also on duty.
Marseille and Château Chinon joined forces to prepare their buffet.
Vice-president Louis Robert also spoke on behalf of the AEHT. He gave warm thanks to those who had organised this flagship event that is Christmas in Europe: ‘Without Christmas in Europe the AEHT would be that much poorer’, he emphasised, and thanked in particular the young students for attending, but also and especially those from the Bad Ischl school and their teachers who had truly worked like Trojans!
A prestigious guest: Arch-duke Markus von Habsburg,
great grandson of the emperor Franz-Joseph, being greeted
here by Christiane Keller.
View of the hall.
A high-quality ‘house’ band reinforced by Zvone Baskovc’s magic accordion!
The evening was truly successful in every respect, and obviously the expressions of praise were much appreciated by the organisers. After a frantic farandole and an unexpected visit from a Krampus, Louis Robert briefly took the floor again to present apologies for absence from Alfonso Benvenuto, AEHT president, and to greet Sören Christiansen Kühlwein, director of the Copenhagen school and president of the EUHOFA international association. He then once again repeated his thanks to the organisers of this magnificent evening, which was rounded off by dancing and a well-deserved standing ovation.
A standing ovation for those who prepared this European buffet.
