Food For Thought

Michelin New York STARS

2012-02-16T13:27:00.001+01:00

In the latest edition of the MICHELIN Guide — the MICHELIN Guide New York City 2012 — Eleven Madison Park and Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare have joined five otherNew York restaurants at the Michelin three-star level, the highest recognition in the culinary world. In addition, nine restaurants have achieved two Michelin stars, including new additions L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and SHO Shaun Hergatt. Forty-six restaurants earned one Michelin star.

Being included in the MICHELIN Guide is a sign of excellence and quality. In fact, 805 restaurants were selected for inclusion this year. Among them, MICHELIN inspectors included 58 different types of cuisine. The MICHELIN Guide New York City 2012 has also added a new symbol indicating those restaurants serving breakfast.

Social Media

2012-02-13T20:39:00.002+01:00

Ideally, social media outreach must embrace all departments of an organisation. The best social media outreach usually engages multiple departments within an organisation. In one of its reports, EyeforTravel was recommended this: one solution would be creating the "social media committee" that should be a team made up of –ideally- six people: one from the marketing department, one from sales, one from communication & PR department, one from digital marketing/e-commerce, one from operations and one from human resources. And very important: high level positions are a must.
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4054850.html

Service!

2012-02-13T20:38:00.000+01:00

PLEASE light my candle! All the other table candles in the restaurant were lit, except ours. The time was twilight and we had a water view from our table. PERFECT timing for a lit candle. Our nice setting quickly became an incomplete experience. None of the waiters or waitresses noticed nor could we get their attention until several minutes later. Why use the space for a candle that only sits in darkness? We were disappointed that this little gesture was an oversight and a detail that did not seem important.

Big service opportunities come in little service gestures. Little efforts can score big with guests. Those hotels and resorts that do take the time to invest thought and effort in the smaller moments and gestures will score big in the overall guest experience.

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4054840.html

Beachbars guys... Beachbars!

2012-02-12T11:04:00.002+01:00

http://strictlyfashion.be/sfweb/category/beach-bars/

Social Media

2012-02-08T20:46:00.003+01:00

Myth #1 – Social Media is a passing fad and usage will decline

Whenever I hear a comment like this I start by stating the facts about where we are and then discuss where we are going. So, here’s where we are:

Over 20% of all the time spent online is spent on Social Media
Facebook is now approaching 900 million global users.
One in every seven minutes spent online are spent on Facebook
Twitter has over 100 million users – a 59% increase in the last year
Google+ has been in existence for seven months. It now has over 90 million users and adding 625,000 each day. Estimates are for it to exceed 300 million users by the end of this year

Now look what’s coming. Have you seen Pintrest – the latest social media phenomenon. Pinterest is a visual sharing site growing from 20 million page views last May to over 421 million in five months despite the fact it still is in an invite only beta mode.

In travel we have TripAdvisor where people share their experiences with hotels, restaurants and attractions. It is one of only a few travel sites integrated with the new Facebook Timeline. This will further raise the level of awareness, importance and influence for the leader among travel review sites. After recently having been spun off by Expedia, the company has a similar size market cap of $4 billion as their former owners.

These numbers speak for themselves and even if the leaders would stop growing, or fail, which is hard to envisage, they have created an entire ecosystem of innovators that would take their place and continue to enable social interaction on the web.

Those companies and marketers who think social media is a passing fad or will decline are only fooling themselves and will wind up as road kill on the highway to profitability and sustainability.

Myth #2 – My customers are not using Social Media

Looking at the numbers mentioned above, this seems a moot argument especially when the highest growth numbers over the past few years have come from the 50+ age group. Boomers are spending increasing time on Facebook to enjoy never before possible options for communicating with friends, family and distant relatives.

In addition, the introduction of business pages on Facebook, and Google+ the B2B use of these social networks in addition to Twitter has not only become possible but essential.

As people become more familiar with the use of these social tools in their personal sphere, they are discovering that interacting with companies and brands can be as easy and often more fun as well.

Does this mean that every business on earth needs to have a Facebook page or Twitter account? Probably not, but for the vast majority in travel and tourism, an outpost on the largest communications platforms on the globe where hundreds of millions of people interact has become an essential part of the marketing mix.

Myth #3 – Social Media is about Technology and Tools

If that were true, then the rapid rise in the number of users of social networks over the past few years would not have happened. Social media is more about sociology than technology.

People have an innate desire to communicate and share information. With easy to use web based tools this is so much easier and for many very compelling. To sign up for an account is easy, free and without a long-term commitment.

Of course, for many, the initial fascination wears off but for millions more; it becomes a regular and welcome activity. The time spent on social networks mentioned earlier is ample proof and the curve continues to point upward. This phenomenon is occurring at the same time use of other media including newspapers and television continues to decline.

This has serious implications on businesses of all kinds and in all industries. There is no alternative to getting involved on the social web.

Before doing so, however, it is important to remember the purpose of these social networks. It is about communications and interaction between individuals. People do not sign up for social media to be bombarded with incessant and irrelevant advertising messages. Most of those are ignored.

To use social media effectively requires the right mindset before getting engaged. Just because you embrace the technology doesn’t necessarily mean you automatically have the social skills to have an interesting conversation about your brand online.

Myth #4 – Social Media is Free

The fact that the tools are free is a great advantage for many, as it levels the playing field. Any small business can be on an equal footing with major corporations, or even have an advantage over them by being more authentic and personal.

Although the tools of social media are free, it should become increasingly clear that being an active participant on the social web is not free.

To take advantage of social media it’s necessary to spend time and effort to manage and maintain an active presence, to listen, learn and then engage in a meaningful manner. This is not about a campaign or two, but an ongoing long-term commitment.

Before making that commitment it is essential to ask the key question “Why?” If there is no clear answer, success will be difficult to achieve. Once the purpose is clearly defined and is compatible with the business culture, one of honest and authentic communications, it is time to address the “What?” and “How?” and start down the path of integrating social engagement into your overall business and marketing plans.

To be successful this cannot be dished off to an intern or a junior staff member. This is too important so you will need to resources and time against it and that means social media is not free!

Myth #5 – There is no ROI for Social Media

Now, we come to the last, and in many respects the largest myth. This is the perennial question about the return on investment (ROI) for all this social media activity and engagement with existing and potential customers on the social web. Here is how the dictionary defines “investment”:

investment |inˈves(t)mənt|

The action or process of investing money for profit or material result
An act of devoting time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result

Take the first definition, which is what those with a financial bent are bound to do, the answer is less than straightforward. Marketing activities are not considered investments but expenses on a corporate P&L. For decades, based on this narrow definition there have been those who claim that for this very reason, there is no measurable ROI for marketing.

Using the second definition, however, the issue should become much clearer. As mentioned earlier, for social web engagement to be successful, it needs to be based on overall business objectives and integrated with other marketing activities. Once those objectives and goals are clearly defined it becomes possible to measure all activities against them, and that includes social media.

Social media is still relatively new too. They didn’t have Nielsen ratings for television and radio when they first started and few people doubted the effectiveness of those media. Companies have spent billions in print advertising will little real measure of performance. In time you will find ways to measure to even better measure the effectiveness of social media, but you won’t be around to see it if you don’t get seriously involved before that time comes.

In other words, to be able to show a positive ROI is mainly about the definition of key performance indicators. This then, is no different and no less possible for social media than for any other marketing activity. Is there an ultimate benefit to the bottom line? If we assume there is one for marketing in general, then the answer for marketing on the social web is also clearly yes.

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4054782.html

The Bank Guys... The Bank

2012-02-07T22:50:00.000+01:00

Driven by debt restructuring deals, hotel investment activity is expected to remain stable across EMEA during 2012 with $11 billion worth of deals forecast for the year, reflecting transaction volumes similar to 2011 levels of $10.9 billion according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels' latest Hotel Investment Outlook report. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels' anticipates that single asset transactions will continue to drive the majority of activity for 2012.
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4054755.html

Sabre Guys... Sabre

2012-02-07T22:47:00.002+01:00

“We’re always on the lookout for new partners in the market that can help our customers grow their business. RateGain’s innovative technology complements our product suite, and supports the commercial and distribution goals of all our customers at a chain, group and individual property level,” said Stephen Fitzgerald, chief operating officer for Sabre Hospitality Solutions. “By integrating their capabilities into our portfolio, we are able to offer a more comprehensive distribution and customer insights that hotels can leverage to improve how they serve guests.”

With the new suite of products in place, Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ hotel customers will gain:

Improved decision making due to a single point of entry. Integrating comparison shopping data provides business insight by channel where it is actionable.
Enhanced revenue management toolkit that combines competitive rate shopping with Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ existing, industry leading revenue management functionality.
Expanded, two-way distribution through direct connections to more channels globally, ultimately reducing the need for faxes, emails and extranets.

http://www.ehospitalitytimes.com/?p=33052

Guest Satisfaction Guys... Guest Satisfaction...

2012-02-07T22:45:00.000+01:00

The question of how much demographics play a role in the way people evaluate personal experiences is one that customer satisfaction researchers have asked for years. Are men tougher to please than women? Who is easier to satisfy? Younger people or mature people with more life experience? Are those with a higher income more demanding customers? Or are those to whom money is a more precious commodity more rigorous in their evaluations?

Hotels direct their offerings to a wide variety of customers. Some target younger guests; others pursue business travelers; still others go after families on leisure vacations. Hotels are designed to reflect value propositions based on the traveler's budget, as well as preferences for amenities. While hotel categories can be expanded further, there are four broad types of offerings: budget, midscale, upscale, and luxury.

To better understand the various categories of hotel guests, Maritz Research investigated guest satisfaction scores as part of a larger cross-sector benchmarking effort, CEBenchmarks™. Many of the findings were unexpected. The data underscore that sometimes guest demographics have a significant impact, while in other cases, the impact is minimal. While budget hotels receive the lowest ratings by all demographic groups, men appear to be much more tolerant of the shortcomings sometimes associated with budget properties than are women. Basically, most men want a clean, comfortable place to sleep, regardless of the amenities. The majority of women want more from hotel properties.

The opposite is true of luxury properties. Men do not seem to perceive added value from luxury hotels beyond what they experience at upscale properties. Women, however, do appreciate the extras a bit more. Clearly, the luxury segment needs to direct more marketing efforts, especially about extra amenities, toward women.

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4054769.html

Marketing That Works

2012-02-03T13:22:00.000+01:00

1. Embrace Your Local Constituency

2. Create an Event to Increase Property Profile

3. Turbo-Charge an Existing Event

4. Segment Planning: Going Beyond FIT to ES

5. Extending Your Brand Into All That You Do

Conclusion

Notice that these programs were creative solutions and they did not rely on a price discount to achieve success. Furthermore, each activity builds the property's brand reputation; something especially important to help fight the commoditization of the hotel industry. In looking at your own marketing program, examine your property's situation and features. See what guest benefits can be derived from talking about your key points of distinction in fresh, new ways. Then start talking about them. Now that's marketing!

http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=D22576_0_11_0_M&utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2012-02-02%3A+EH+Daily+News+-+new+send+time

Google Guys... Google

2012-02-03T13:16:00.000+01:00

Google clearly has the potential to alter the dynamics of how people shop for hotel rooms. Being on the supplier side of the industry, how do you think hotels need to be in the sync in the manner in which customers are shopping, and how to market to attract those customers directly to brand websites, which is what Google Hotel Finder can do?

James Harrower:

Traditionally with hotel chains the size and quality of Hilton Worldwide, Marriott, IHG, Accor, etc, it's quick and easy to market quality and quality alone, marketing how good a product is to a customer regardless of spend.

Nowadays and it has been the case for a while, hotels, like airlines, have no frill type / economy brands, such as Premier Inn or for Hilton Worldwide, Hampton.

Marketing quality hotel rooms, turned into marketing price led hotel rooms, which is where these hotel types benefited. With OTA's and resellers easily outnumbered hotel brands by at least three to one and the inclusion of sites such as Groupon or Quidco that offer more than the brands can, the next step is personal service.

Tying in with social media and digital channel retargeting, personal service is where the future of hotel online bookings lie. Offering a customer, the right room, in the right area at the right price, for the right reasons, is where the advantage lies over a competitor.

Brands need to be more in touch with the customer as opposed to the sale, by that I mean look beyond flexible prices and dates and reference in both creative examples and on site activity the reasons for that individual to book with you and you alone.

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4054697.html

Noah guys... Noah

2012-02-03T13:12:00.001+01:00

Ryan Gosling enthusiast and Akiva Goldsmanrescuer Russell Crowe is Darren Aronofsky's ideal leading man for his upcoming Noah's ark film, Deadline reports. Aronofsky may be looking at Liam Neeson for another role, as well. Hey, has anyone said Darren Aronoahfsky yet?
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2012/02/darren-aronofsky-russell-crowe-noah.html?mid=379811&rid=422702217

JayZ guys...JayZ

2012-02-03T13:09:00.002+01:00

Rocawear has had a rough few months, what with their sputtering attempts to piggyback onto the Occupy movement followed by major layoffs at their New York office. But if you're worried the brand is struggling — or, worse yet, that Jay-Z might be drifting away from it — well, don't be. The company's executives did some damage control with a lengthy interview in today's WWD, in which they asserted that Jay-Z is still fully invested (he's just renewed his contract to endorse the label for another three years, and still owns 51 percent stake in Roc Apparel, the men’s licensee). And to clear up any lingering doubts, Jay-Z will appear in a commercial for Rocawear, out later this month.
Source:http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2012/02/jay-z-is-not-abandoning-rocawear.html?mid=379808&rid=422702217

The Cherto Referral Program

2012-01-30T18:53:00.003+01:00

You lead us to business and you earn incentives during the process.
Contact us!
http://www.cherto.be/contact/partner

Consulting

Total Quality Drive is our core expertise

Cherto applies a holistic approach

Training

Knowledge and Skill Development

Cherto training in innovation and control

Cherto´s consultancy and training are aimed at the hospitality and services industries

Cherto is a specialist in total quality drive, skill and knowledge development, creativity, innovation, control in operations, feasibility, concepts, creative products, business development and efficiency improvement in the hospitality and services industry.

Karl

2012-01-28T20:50:00.004+01:00

Several items from Karl Lagerfeld's new eponymous collection have already sold out on Net-a-Porter, and still more have popped up on eBay — a true indicator of popularity, if there ever was one. His new collection's inevitable success also merited a video interview with Vogue's Hamish Bowles, who asks Karl why he went after the bridge price point — that is to say, much cheaper than Chanel and Fendi, but pricier than his previous collaborations with Macy's and H&M. "The middle has not enough class that I think about the middle class," Karl explains matter-of-factly. "Right," says Bowles, evidently understanding what he means by this. So does Karl feel a new sense of duty to make the "middle" classier? Or is he still not thinking about them? (We're leaning toward the latter, since most middle-class folks would certainly never consider buying a $120 cotton T-shirt.) In related news, Karl — or, well, his PR team — started up a Twitter account.
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2012/01/karl-lagerfeld-talks-about-the-middle-class.html?mid=379695&rid=422702217

Face IPO

2012-01-28T20:49:00.002+01:00

The wait for the Internet's most highly anticipated initial public offering is coming to an end, at least as far as paperwork is concerned. Or it could be a few more weeks! Either way, a lot of people are getting quite excited about Facebook Inc., according to The Wall Street Journal, which says the IPO filing could happen as soon as Wednesday. The same report says that Mark Zuckerberg's company is "close" to choosing Morgan Stanley as the lead underwriter for the IPO, which will likely value the social network between $75 billion and $100 billion, with hopes, as previously reported, of raising up to $10 billion.
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/01/facebook-ipo-might-be-filed-next-week.html?mid=379696&rid=422702217

Tech Drive

2012-01-28T20:47:00.000+01:00

A new report from Amadeus puts automated airport check-in and mobile technology at the forefront of industry development.

An interactive poll conducted by Amadeus revealed that APAC’s travel professionals continue to regard technology as a key driver of business performance.

The survey revealed that the introduction of automated airport check-in processes will be the next big thing to change the travel industry. Some airlines have already identified this trend and are making key infrastructure investments to manage surging passenger numbers more efficiently and to deliver better services to travellers.

Mobile technology will play an important role in this context and technology development in general. David Brett, President of Amadeus Asia Pacific said; “In Asia Pacific, there are approximately 2.6 billion mobile phone users, creating huge opportunities for agencies and airlines to use this channel to enhance the entire traveller journey.”

The survey found that over 60% of respondents are planning to use technology to get ahead in the market. Meanwhile 64% believe that technology plays an integral role in increasing revenue and decreasing costs.

Source: traveldailyasia.com

http://www.ehospitalitytimes.com/?p=32730

Cherto.be

2012-01-28T12:31:00.000+01:00

Cherto.be: Optimizing your company

III MINERALS

Calcium

Needed for bones, teeth and muscles. Adequate Vitamin D is necessary for its absorption.

Sources:

Dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, and canned fish with edible bones, pulses.

Especially Needed by:

Pregnant and lactating women, children, junk-food eaters, dieters, women on the Pill or HRT or undergoing the menopause, insomniacs and the elderly.

Chromium

Necessary for blood sugar control.

Sources:

Whole grains, shellfish, nuts, mushrooms, and wheatgerm.

Especially Needed By:

Those under stress

Cholesterol guys...Cholesterol

2012-01-28T12:26:00.000+01:00

Cholesterol is not a deadly poison, but a substance that is absolutely necessary for you to be healthy. High cholesterol itself does not cause heart disease.
People who have low blood cholesterol have the same rates of heart disease as people who have high blood cholesterol.
The cholesterol found in your blood comes from two sources: cholesterol in food that you eat and cholesterol that your liver makes from other nutrients. What's interesting is that the amount of cholesterol that your liver produces varies according to how much cholesterol you eat. If you eat a lot of cholesterol, your liver produces less. If you don't eat much cholesterol, your liver produces more. This is why a low cholesterol diet does not decrease a person's blood cholesterol by more than a few percent.
Drugs that solely lower your cholesterol do not decrease your risk of dying from heart disease, nor do they increase your lifespan. These drugs pose dangers to your health and may decrease your lifespan.
The newer cholesterol-lowering drugs - called statins - do reduce your risk of heart disease, but through mechanisms that are not related to lower blood cholesterol. Unfortunately, statins like lipitor mevacor, zocor, pravachol, and lescol are known to stimulate cancer in rodents.

Source:

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I hope that you will consider the work of Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD, author of The Cholesterol Myths : Exposing the Fallacy that Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease. I consider Dr. Ravnskov to be the world's leading expert on the relationship between cholesterol and human health.

Chertoproducts.be

2012-01-27T15:30:00.000+01:00

Chertoproducts.be: Creative with products

Cherto.be

2012-01-27T15:13:00.000+01:00

Cherto.be: Optimizing your company

Report

2012-01-27T12:04:00.002+01:00

Prices, Price Elasticity and Demand

Finding highlight: In the mature U.S. lodging market, the primary expectation of hotels from their distribution channel partners will be in shifting demand share, rather than generating new incremental demand.

· Individual Channel Profiles

Finding highlight: Brand.com continues to capture a larger share of both the absolute number of rooms booked and the percentage of total rooms booked in year-over-year comparisons representing (in 2010) 16.4 percent of the demand and 18.5 percent of the revenue. OTA share of room night bookings grew substantially in 2010 over 2009, representing almost 11 percent of all room night demand and 7.7 percent of the revenue. GDS share of room nights grew steadily in 2010 capturing 8.3 percent of the room nights and 10.8 percent of the room revenue. The share of the voice channel dropped slightly in 2010 but rose again by June of 2011 to 13.7 percent of room demand and 17.3 percent of room revenue.

· Marketing and Distribution Strategy

Finding highlight: The three greatest emerging forces in online distribution are: search, social media and mobile. These new media are rapidly becoming popular points of entry for travel shoppers.

http://www.hsmaieconnect.org/download/152004781.pdf

Marketing Plan

2012-01-27T11:57:00.002+01:00

Keep these questions in mind when you are planning your marketing activities for the next year:

• What would you REALLY like to accomplish? Setting clear and SPECIFIC goals for the next year is the first step to filling the gaps in your business. You need to know exactly where you want to be in the next year in order to outline the steps you’ll need to take to get there. If you didn’t reach your goals from the previous year, that can be a good starting point for next year.

• What are you currently doing to market your solutions? Look back over the last year and analyze the steps that you’ve taken. Does your marketing plan support your goals? What kind of results did you get from your marketing activities in the past year? Using your current plan (or lack thereof!) is a good starting point for developing a new plan. You can see exactly what went well for you and what didn’t based on your previous results.

• What will you do differently in the next year? Identify opportunities to make changes in the way that you do things so you can be more consistent and more effective with marketing. For example, you can use a tool like Postling.com to schedule your social media updates. You can create a content calendar so it’s easy to put together blog posts each month. You can hire a Virtual Assistant to take care of some of your follow-up activities or handle admin tasks so you have more time for marketing.

Priorities guy...Priorities...

2012-01-27T11:55:00.001+01:00

Travel managers' top four priorities focus on cost control
The top four priorities for travel managers in 2012 concentrate on driving air and ground transport savings, improving travel compliance, optimizing hotel spend and online adoption. In an evolving market, these areas represent opportunities even for the most mature travel programs. To achieve these objectives, travel managers use a wide range of measures, including improving communications on travel policy and compliance (previous CWT research shows that only 50% of travelers are familiar with their company's travel policy), helping employees to better understand online booking processes, and mandating the use of preferred suppliers. Communication on preferred suppliers and booking channels will be particularly important as travelers use mobile applications more and more.

Wouter Liekens

2012-01-25T18:44:00.001+01:00

Wouter Liekens

My professional biography in a nut shell

As a young man, I expatriated from Belgium, on my own. Not supported by any company.

From Belgium to the UK (London), after mission accomplished: to the UAE (Dubai), later to China (Beijing) and finally to the Baltic States (Vilnius). In each expatriate station I stayed about three years. I returned home to Belgium, where I am still based now. However the story has not finished…yet.

This Exodus, or shall I call it Odyssey, was not invented by myself, but originated and guided by vacant positions with increasing challenge and responsibility, for which I applied and got the job.

Based on my growing experience and knowledge of hotel management disciplines, mainly via competence in F&B , training, people management, quality insurance, industrial work flow scheduling, and hard work in difficult situations, I went also for a specific new objective, each time on a higher level.

In the Hilton on Park Lane and in the Royal Garden Hotel (two five star hotels) in London, I was in charge of the Classical French fine dining and later on also of a multicultural kitchen with even Arabic and Asiatic specialties.

My specific objective was the organisation and running of promotional events, like theme nights and food specials with guest chefs of even 3 Michelin stars European restaurants. The underlying hotel objective was of course to increase the revenue of all the restaurant and banqueting operations.

“Everybody can cook with unlimited means”, but my responsibility was soon extended to cost of goods, food ordering and supplies, and relationship with the suppliers.

In these positions I also started, on my own initiative, to train the whole kitchen staff, mainly on quality improvement and cost-consciousness, and thought them that waste is the enemy of the kitchen and just in time delivery a must.

Our team succeeded: we improved the revenue substantially, and I was awarded for my contribution in the outcome.

My mission was accomplished and I had to go for something new.

Based on a vacancy in the famous Hyatt Regency hotel (with the big revolving restaurant on top), in Dubai, my next expatriate-move was easily decided upon.

My specific objective was here to re-establish the Focaccia restaurant. It was a mess. Nothing of the former glory and fame of Mediterranean Cuisine was left when I arrived.

I started to do a real management job by bringing all the necessary means in function: staff, food supply, the menus, the promotional activities, the training. I thought Indians, Pakistani, Arabic and even a few Chinese on how to cook and serve delicious Mediterranean dishes…

Of course, I did all the jobs first on my own in order to show them how to do it. And after that I delegated systematically all the tasks and responsibilities to them.

Focaccia was there again.

Not only my staff was happy, but also my boss. He promoted me to the respectable responsibility of all banqueting operations, which means a lot in the UAE.

The Hyatt was housing a ballroom for up to 1400 people. Serving them succulent dinners with each and every course hot and at the same time for all participants is a

hell of a job to organize.

External events in the desert, for several hundreds of Arabic High Society People and their guests, invited by the Sheik, were other of our activities. Many times they did not consider me as “the cook”, but as the inventor and organizer of their events. They looked at me as one of them and were grateful, not only for the delicate dining and desserts, but also for not finding one single grain of sand in the food.

My boss was in heaven and I could not find enough hours in a day to continue to pour all my personal engagement in all the activities: cooking, menus, supply, training, demonstration cooking like for TV, and so on… And he decided to promote me to a manager: Executive Sous-Chef.

In this responsibility, and as from then, I had to focus my attention more to company economic figures and results and less to lambs and lobsters, but still and even to a larger extent also to people and their assembled work-flows.

The spoons and knifes were taken away from my hands and I had to communicate, lead and convince a large brigade of people how to use their skills and motivation to serve the objective of making others happy, by fine dining … at acceptable food costs and maximum revenue for the hotel.

There was not any possibility for further growth for me in Dubai.

I found a vacancy on my level in Beijing and decided to move. This brought me to be “the” Executive Chef of The Great Wall Sheraton. This is a mammoth hotel with five stars and thousand rooms, five top-quality restaurants; Giga-multicultural. I headed an army of 140 cooks and 45 stewards. I was their boss.

Many of them of course authentic Chinese, not knowing one single word of English, not really liking Western food and not knowing how to eat with fork and knife. My task was to teach them everything. This was so difficult and so demanding that I compared it with how to learn a cat to milk a cow; without hurting the cow. I thought them hygiene, safety, constant quality and quantity, decoration of plates Western style, the concepts of Western cooking, roasted beef , medium rare with baked potatoes … the Chinese run away from this. I managed to keep them in position. I redesigned all the menus, including those of the Chinese, Japanese, Italian and Indian kitchens. I was lucky to have a good Chinese and a good Japanese sous-chef and later on I could also engage a real Indian Chef and an Italian Chef. I could delegate full responsibility to them and was happy with their job satisfaction.

We were recommended by the Belgian Embassy to receive and lodge our prime minister with the Belgian delegation on their tour trough China. After his dinner Guy Verhofstadt asked me to sit next to him for an evening drink. We had excellent Italian wine. When I finished my story he said with a large gap-toothed smile: “Fantasties joeng”.

I started to organize “Theme nights”. One week Chinese, the next week Indian, then French, and so on. I did even a Belgian night, with “stoofvlees met frieten” and with “Gentse waterzooi”, and “witloof rolletjes in kaas saus”, and of course: our well known typical Belgian chocolates were not absent on the buffet of desserts.

More than ever before I did the management job: the budgeting, the staffing, the supplier-relationships, I implemented systems like HACCP. I was always active to improve my performance figures and managed to increase the F&B revenue (8 % up) and lowered the cost of goods (6% down) and consequently the gross margin of our department increased like never before.

I became also a regular member of the management committee and contributed in defining and effectuating the tasks to reach the highest company objectives, as a team player.

But after three years, I felt that the “end of my line” was coming. I could not do more than what I did and decided to look for something closer to my home.

Back to Europe

I found a position in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, one of the “new” European countries. And I was employed as executive Chef, banqueting and F&B manager. From day one I was a member of the management committee and directly referring to the GM and to the owner of the hotel; The Le Meridien Villon of the Baltic States.

It is if not the biggest, then one of the biggest Convention and Conference hotels of Lithuania.

When I arrived, I was surprised by its size and glamour. The hotel is very nicely positioned in the Northern territory of Vilnius. The accommodation was excellent, the rooms and suites well-equipped and decorated with real wooden furniture.

But what I found in the kitchens was disappointing.

After the first shock, I realized that I had to start from scratch to bring this F&B operation to advanced level. Although European… the situation was still like in the former USSR period.

The staff was not work-minded, not flexible, and certainly not customer-oriented. The infrastructure and the equipment of the kitchens were far below the level of Western standards.

The kitchen staff did not match average requirements to perform. Their hygienic maturity below what I expected. And not matching the European Le Meridien standards.

Some of the cooks (all women) could cook; but everybody on his own. Not organized. They helped each other incidentally but were not organized at all in an industrial workflow, not disciplined and unprepared to tackle the arrival of three buses with 150 people at once for lunch or dinner.

My specific objective was to bring the level of all tasks of all F&B operations to Western standards, change the communistic mindset of the staff and make them aware that the customer is the first and most important asset of the company.

By the way, in the restaurant, there were no adequate dinner-service tools. Many of them were “lost”…

I convinced the owner to invest in infrastructure and equipment. I reshaped and reorganized the kitchens and divided responsibilities in workflows. I introduced seasonal menus, local dishes and international classics. We convinced the management committee to promote the “new“ restaurant ‘Le Paysage’ in all the Baltic lifestyle magazines, we contacted the embassies in the capital, to convince them of the new generation of wining and dining in the Le Meridien Villon… The customers came back and also new visitors from overseas. The hotel room occupation went up and events like a worldwide cardiologist’s convention took place in our hotel. Even once the Belgian national football team lodged on our premises on the occasion of an encounter with the Lithuanian team.

I continued to train my ladies in the kitchen. I managed to organize a staff canteen for all the hotel workers so that everybody could have at least one decent meal every day. They started to trust me and came to me asking for help from their own accord. We implemented the highest hygienic standards. Organized workflow of different kinds adapted to the size of the operation. We hired temporarily people in case of a big “coup de feu”.

My ladies are now in a position to run the operation on their own under the leadership of one of them. They can do everything without me. I managed myself out of the picture.

They feel confident and still ask me politely for inputs as a consultant; especially on the design of the menus. They are aware of the fact that I know more than just cooking good food. I give them inputs on nutrition, on what the influence of food-components is on the human body. Including blood-circulation, heart and liver… I know what fatty-acids are, and how they have to be “managed” by healthy food. I redesigned many menus to reduce fats, sugars and salts, replacing them by natural herbs. And this is done without killing but even improving the taste. My ladies trust me in all this and they are convinced because they now taste themselves the “food“ they prepare. And they are capable of self controlling the quality of their end-products.

Because I could delegate more and more in the course of last years, I could organize my own time management in such a way as to use some hours to study.

I was accepted by the University of Liverpool for an MBA program. I could finalize this rather demanding program successfully with a distinction. I have finished all the courses, case studies, and tasks and improved my company management skills in other disciplines like marketing, quality insurance, management accounting, finance, organization theory and production.

I can speak now in terms of cash flow, return on investment, marketing mix, efficiency, effectiveness and so on.

This expertise enabled me to change course and become the food and beverage manager at the Hilton Brussels, one of the top flagship Hiltons in Europe. The strong team needed a strong leader and having worked hard on the leadership skills I was able to turn ideas into profits. Motivation was high, lots of creativity going on and the results for the first year as a manager were promising. I was then promoted to the person that runs the hotel, the Operations Manager; a key player in the “4D” structure at Hilton. For almost two years I managed 16 direct reports and a full operational team of over 250 team members. All the skills I had were used in order to keep this rather old and outdated building shine. Which it did! The second year 2008 was a top year, in regards of revenues, creativity and motivation. Again here during this period I coached and managed different individuals and teams and was internship mentor for several interns. Most of them are now themselves in interesting hotel careers.

At the Hilton things started to change, we managed several due diligences and just after I left it was bought by Pandox which turned it into The Hotel.

The move that came after; General Manager at Hotel Metropole, this would become a mind changing experience. In the first 3 months I had to find a full new sales team, a financial director and create a budget; there was none. This extreme situation made for me to become very fast fully integrated in the structure. However the owning families ruled over and in their hotel in such a way that I could not use my creativity. Actually nobody in the team was able to do so. In an environment like this I could not prosper nor was I able to motivate the individual members of the team. Being more occupied with details and nitty gritty stuff made for me to leave after a year. To be honest I was de-motivated and disappointed of myself and the environment I was in. I was not happy and knew that I could do a lot more.

It is here that in me the reality of things became clear and that I had to break out.

Then a new idea came to mind the creation of my own company CHERTO!

Vitamins

2012-01-24T21:04:00.002+01:00

Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamine)

Essential for the functioning of all cells, in partnership with folic acid, helps to regenerate bone marrow and maintain nerve tissue, and play an important role in the metabolism of protein, fat and carbohydrate. It is water-soluble, and is relatively stable in cooking, although up to 50 per cent can be lost if cooking water is discarded.

Richest Sources:

Cod’s roe, eel, heart (beef), herrings, kidney (beef), liver (beef, lamb), mackerel, oysters, sardines, cod, chicken liver, egg yolk, heart (lamb), trout. There are no vegetable sources of vitamin B12, so vegetarians and vegans may need to supplement.

Especially Needed By:

Pregnant and lactating women, vegetarian and vegans (B12 is found only in animal foods.) and the elderly.

Folate (Folic Acid)

Involved in cell growth, particularly red blood cells. Also important for proper function of the thymus gland. Important in pregnancy to prevent birth defects such as spina bifida. It is water-soluble, and can be lost easily in cooking by overcooking, by prolonged cooking and by reheating.

Richest Sources:

Yeast extract, wheatgerm, egg yolk, liver and kidney (beef, lamb, pork), wheat bran, almonds, beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peanuts, sesame seeds, wholegrain cereals, pulses.

Especially Needed By:

Pregnant and lactating women, by women on the Pill or HRT, by children during times of rapid growth, by those who are stressed, and by the elderly.

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Maintains collagen, connective tissue in the body, promotes healing of wounds, burns, injuries etc., helps to promote the integrity of the capillaries, and is essential for the specific metabolism of amino acids and iron. It increases resistance to infection. It is water-soluble, and a powerful antioxidant. C is easily lost in cooking, as heat, light and oxygen affect it; even cutting up vegetables can reduce their C levels. Cook whole vegetables if possible in minimum water for the minimum time.

Richest Sources:

Black, currants (raw), grapefruit, guavas, lemons, spinach, kiwi fruit, orange, parsley, rocket, sweet and chili peppers, cauliflower, watercress, blackcurrants (cooked), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, dark green leafy vegetables, red currants, blackberries, gooseberries, mustard and cress, papaya, liver, kidney, potatoes, sprouted pulses, whole grains and seeds.

Especially Needed By:

Infants, children, those suffering from stress women during the menopause, and the elderly.