newsletter of november 2010

Diekirch, November 2010 N°3/2010 1

Dear AEHT Members

If Montesquieu could say that ’the Portuguese have dis-covered the world but they don’t know the country where they were born’1, that was because he hadn’t been at the AEHT Annual Conference which was held in Lisbon on October 5th-10th this year. If Montesquieu had known back in the 18th century of the remarkable work being done by Turismo de Portugal I.P since it was set up in 2007, in the areas of promotion, improvement, sustainable develop-ment and tourism activity, as well as in professional train-ing for the hospitality and tourism industry, then he would have shouted from the rooftops that the Portuguese have a marvellous gift for exploiting their wealth of natural, gastro-nomic, cultural and professional resources when they organise promotional events on an international scale. Or that they are good at packing enthusiasm into the organisation and execution of events, at filling their dishes with sunshine, at giving a good measure of enchantment with their socio-cultural displays, at putting on their competitions with great professionalism, and at including excellence and magic with everything else they offer.

Portugal – an extraordinary country with 1001 facets which has just celebrated the centenary of the founding of its 1st Republic on October 5th this

year. But, amid all this activity, where on earth has the Zell am Ziller delegation disappeared to?

1 Up Magazine TAP – published 1/10/2010 – Lovely Luzitania

More than 700 participants from 136 schools in 31 countries took part in this 2010 event, described by AEHT President Klaus Enengl as a bumper year. In the beautiful Portuguese capital of Lisbon the conditions were perfect for a highly successful conference, which took place in the Marriott Hotel, the venue for both the accommodation as well as for almost all of the competitions – except for the culinary arts and pastry contests which were held in the newly renovated premises of the Hotel School, located in the city centre.

The delegation from the College of Hotel Management, Belgrade

in front of the Marriott Hotel

All seats were taken in the Great Hall of the University for the opening ceremony

The conference organisers, the ‘Turismo de Portugal’ team headed by Paulo Revés, really bent over backwards to make sure the participants had everything they could possibly need during their stay in Lisbon. As usual the conference programme included the opening ceremony which took place in the University of Lisbon’s great hall in the presence of a number of distinguished guests, many of whom made speeches to the audience after the always impressive parade of the delegations, each headed by their national flag. Victor Costa (Director for Tourism of the City of Lisbon), Lídia Serras (Director of the Lisbon Hotel School), Nuno Santos (Member of the Board of Directors of ‘Turismo de Portugal’ – they all joined AEHT President Klaus Enengl as he declared the official opening of this 23rd Annual Conference. Interludes were provided between the various speeches by excellent renditions of popular music performed by the Orchestra of the Portuguese Army.

The excellent orchestra of the Portuguese Army

The ‘flying brigade’ of the Lisbon and Estoril schools


But the Annual Conference is also the opportunity for students to compete together according to their professional specialisms in the competitions which had been planned well ahead; in 2010 these were in the follow-ing areas: culinary arts, bar, restaurant service, pastry, management, tourism destination, front of house, hospitali-ty management, wine service. Competition was fierce between the teams of two or three students: the contests were a great success, being judged by a number of teachers who were pressed into service on the judging panels, while watching from the wings were directors and teachers who had come to watch and encourage their protégés at work!

Liina Lõhmus, Helena Agnita Voorn and Katrín Ósk

Sigurgeirsdóttir busy preparing for the tourism contest

A faultless performance by Fia Erika Wahlbäck, Eline Sara-Anne de Jong and

Júlia Gschwentner – placed second in the restaurant service contest

For several years the AEHT has been endeavouring to extend what it offers to member schools which include Higher Education departments (levels five and above in the European Qualifications Framework). As part of this effort the AEHT’s Council of Elders had organised the first in a series of seminars for school directors and teachers of hospitality management at the end of April 2010 in Chur (Switzerland) at which the guidelines for a new management competition in Lisbon had been drawn up.

On October 6th, 7th and 8th 2010 two management competitions took place, one at EQF level four and one at EQF level five and above. The case study on which the second contest was based related to a new business idea for a hotel in Lisbon, and had been drawn up by our colleagues John Carey (Ireland) and Eda Veeroja (Estonia). Rui Santos and Nelson Carvalho (Portugal) organised the contest in a most professional way, and Jürgen Clausen and Adolf Steindl (Council of Elders) were present as the competition took place. The 22 competitors, working in teams of two, produced some highly interesting results; the process involved not only an evaluation by teachers from other countries and by hotel directors from Portugal, but also – and for the first time – an evaluation carried out by the competing teams themselves.

The next steps will include further development work by a small working group in preparation for the tests for the management contest at the 24th Annual Conference in The Netherlands, as well as a workshop for hospitality management teachers in April 2011. No doubt about it, the AEHT’s work on its Higher Education portfolio is moving fast in the right direction!

In addition to the competitions, the organisers had also laid on cultural excursions to Obidos, Fatima, to the SL Benfica stadium, to St George’s Castle, to the Tower of Belém, as well as to Evora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition there were several seminars, on the subject of Port wines, Portuguese cheeses, and the ethics of tourism. It’s true that attendance at the seminars was rather variable, but they were nevertheless very interesting.

- a UNESCO World

Heritage Site

Evora - where time has stood still at just the right moment (here on

the ‘Praça de Giraldo’)

- a wonderful play of colours in a church

In addition to all these activities, the Annual Conference also provides an opportunity for the AEHT’s leadership to meet: thus there were meetings of the Presidium and of the Execu-tive Board bringing together the national representatives of those countries present, and, most important of all, the Annual General Assembly chaired by Klaus Enengl, in the presence of Bernardo Trindade, Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism. On this occasion – this was the only change in the AEHT’s leadership structure - Annie Collinet, retiring as Vice-President representing France, handed over to Hermann Siebens from the Campus Wemmel School in Belgium.

First AEHT General Assembly for

Herman Siebens in his role as Vice-President, and for Brigitte Engering as Dutch national representative


Events advertised for 2011 The 2011 calendar of events was another vital item on the agenda of our Lisbon meetings:

MARCH EVENT Max. grant

allocatedMarch 16th – 20th

Seminar on ‘Ston oysters – the Mediterranean gastronomic challenge’, Dubrovnik-Ston (Croatia)

700

March 25th – 26th

Competition entitled ‘Il piatto verde – Witches’ herbs’, Riolo Terme (Italy)

-

APRIL

April Seminar on ‘Dining with the Uragica people - their gastronomy, culture, history, art and music, Oristano-Cabras, Sardinia (Italy)

700

April 1st Junior bartenders competition, Bled (Slovenia)

-

April 4th – 7th

13th Bartolomeo Scappi Competitions, Castel San Pietro Terme (Italy)

-

April 6th – 8th

Flavours & Film - Algarve’11, Faro (Portugal)

700

April 7th – 10th (to be

confirmed)

Seminar for teachers of Hospitality Management (5-7 EQF) on ‘a practical example for a hotel industry business plan’, Athlone (Ireland)

1.000

April 17th – 20th

Gastro2011, Supetar on the island of Brač (Croatia)

700

MAY

May 3rd – 6th

Claudio Ventimiglia Trophy on typical regional gastronomy and wines, Alassio (Italy)

700

May 5th – 8th

6th competition for Hotel Receptionists & 4th City tourism competition (Topic: mountains),Giulianova (Italy)

-

SEPTEMBER

September Seminar on ‘Wine culture for youth’, Maribor (Slovenia)

700

OCTOBER

October (?) AEHT Youth Parliament 1.000 October Seminar on the relationship between

school and work, Ischia (Italy) 700

October 24th AEHT Annual Conference, The Hague (The Netherlands)

3.000

October - November

Eurocup 2011 – 19th Junior Bartenders competition, Prešov (SK)

-

DECEMBER

December 9th -11th

Chocolate Festival of the Atlantic, Praia da Vitória, Terceira Island, Azores (Portugal)

700

December 20th Christmas in Europe, Rhodes (Greece)

3.100

Once again this year we have received a large number of proposals, and when it came to allocating the AEHT subsidies we had some trouble making our decisions. We decided to grant 700 EUR to all 2011 events that did not benefit from any AEHT subvention in 2010, except the Annual conference (3000 EUR allocated), the Christmas in Europe event (3100 EUR granted), the Youth parliament (1000 EUR) and the seminar on Higher education. It was indeed essential to continue to subsidize these key events of our Association and even to allocate higher grants, in order to ensure that they continue. The organisers have now been informed of our decisions. We would ask them 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.

João Fernandes presents ‘Flavours and Film – Algarve’11’

Annie Collinet leaves the Presidium with a heavy heart

Please note that all the events mentioned in the attached calendar which have not been allocated any funding in 2011 will nevertheless be supported by the AEHT Head Office, which will send out any relevant documentation by e-mail, as well as publishing it on its website. For this purpose, we request organisers to provide the same documents as those required for subsidised events.


An excellent performance from the

’Rancho folclórico da Casa do Concelho’ folk group

As its French title ‘Rencontres’ – meetings - indicates, the Conference is also an ideal opportunity for convivial networking, and throughout the Lisbon conference this was very much in evidence on all occasions: around the excellent buffet tables of course, prepared by the teams from the Marriott; then at a Portuguese evening at the hotel where there was a performance, despite the persistent rain, from the ‘Rancho folclórico de Casa do Concelho de Pampilhosa da Serra’ folk group; but also after the lunch which followed the opening ceremony, and above all during the gala evening at the Convento do Beato Monastery; this was indeed a superb setting for the prize-giving ceremony which was accompanied as you would expect by the explosions of joy as the names of the winners were announced.

We should emphasise that a conference like this, involving contacts between more than 700 people over four full days, requires the organisers to be enormously cool-headed and to be able to handle the unexpected. Paulo Revés and his team certainly managed this with a smile; the financial support of twenty or so sponsors was also a great help.

After the prize-giving, AEHT President Klaus Enengl warmly thanked Paulo Revés, Lídia Serras and Ana Paula Pais, the key players in the 23rd Annual Conference. And in this atmosphere of general euphoria, he also announced that next year, in 2011, the 24th Annual Conference will take place in The Hague (NL).

◄The organisers are warmly thanked and applauded

Her first conference is a great success for Ellen Sieberer, Director

of the ‘Am Wilden Kaiser’ hotel schools in St Johann/Tirol centre of

picture)

With three medals to its credit, the Ponta Delgada School, with only 180 students, has

every reason to be proud of itself.

Congratulations to the winners and all the participants!

Management

1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place

Surname Forename School Surname Forename School Surname Forename School

Altestam Karl S58 Kostic Eva CR12 Kacziba Edina Ágnes H07

Goldfuß Sebastian A07 Jong, de Audrey NL25 GrubmairChristoph Peter

A04

Hospitality management



Pretnar Blaž SLO01 Inglisa Angela D04 Wendt‐Sørensen

Pernille DK02

Pulliainen Ossi FIN07 Miettinen Johanna FIN16 Aerts Michiel NL29

Tourism


Surname Forename School Surname Forename School Surname ForenameSchool

Traulsen Cecilie DK02 Ramada Fernando P02 Schranzhofer Verena A03

Curutchet Unanua Katixa F89 Lešković Klara CR11 Jong, de Audrey NL25

Klisarić Zeljka CR16 Gams Rudolf A01 Popinciuc Gheorghe

PetricaI06


Front Office



Marinucci Sofia I53 Amaral Sónia P12 Rämmar Katerin EE06

Papaoikono‐mou

Antigoni GR01 ter Beek Dennis NL01 Vos Mitchell Andrew

NL05

Wine service



Majstorovic Mina SRB02 Nitsch Lukas A01 Henriksson Jenni FIN05

Siller Selina A10 Mišič Janja SLO02 Lupini Simone I53

Restaurant Service


Name Forename School Surname Forename School Surname Forename School

Silva Marco P02 Gschwentner Julia A03 Heinmaa Taago EE04

Nulpponen Alexandra FIN08 Wahlbäck Fia Erika S50 Medeiros Eliseu P07

Osmanovic Ahmed D04 Jong, de Eline Sara‐Anne

NL05 Leijtens Daisy NL01

Bar



Vanti Frederica I48 Mršol Maruša SLO01 Koskas Simon F76

Oliveira Filipa P07 Gerardo André P02 Wittmann Magdalena A10

Pastry


Surname Forename School Surname Forename School Surname ForenameSchool

Legrand Thomas F20 Kristjánsson Andri ISL01 Correia Alexis P07

Barbera Jessica I87 Sahnova Anda LV01 Sjøbakk Trude N01

Culinary Arts



Costa Hélio P02 Porcaro Ferdinando I06 Santagiuliana Andrea I15

Shiwan Kozeen FIN10 Brantz Cedric L01 Lukas Turk A07

Here ans Tina B01 Nobre Milene P11 Callery Mark IRL06


Throughout the Conference the AEHT had the privilege of the support of a number of distinguished guests: Bernardo Trindade (Secretary of State for Tourism) Vítor Costa, (President of the Tourism Department of the City of Lisbon, and representative of António Costa, the City’s mayor), his Excellency Paul Schmit (the Ambassador of Luxembourg in Portugal), Theodor Siegl (Director of Vocational Training at the Austrian National Ministry of Education) and Mehmet Afsarogullari (Head of the General Directorate for Commerce and Tourism Training in Ankara) – to cite but a few.

Theodor Siegl from the Austrian National Ministry of Education

is proud of his country’s winners

Vitor Costa – President of the Tourism Department of the City of Lisbon – and

Bernardo Trindade – Secretary of State for Tourism - honoured the Conference with

their presence.

His Excellency Paul Schmit and his wife were present at the opening reception and at the closing ceremony at which the culinary arts student from Luxembourg, Cédric Brant, had the honour of being presented with his silver medal by the Ambassador himself. On Thursday October 7th the Ambassador’s wife took the opportunity to bring the Embassy cook to the culinary arts contest in order to give her some ideas for future embassy receptions. The following day the entire Luxembourg delegation, accompanied by the members of the presidium and several representatives from Turismo de Portugal were the guests of the Embassy; for a couple of hours they enjoyed the Ambassador’s homely and kindly hospitality, and were offered petits fours and various drinks including sparkling wine, produced in Luxembourg of course. They had the chance to admire the fine paintings and the bronze black panthers by August Trémont (1892-1980), one of the Grand Duchy’s best-known sculptors, who specialised in creating sumptuous animal sculptures, including the two famous lions which stand guard outside the Luxembourg City Hall.

His Excellency, who had taken up his post only a short time ago, expressed his pleasure at welcoming his first guests to his Embassy, and the hope that their work at the Lisbon Annual Conference would be fruitful. President Klaus Enengl, clearly delighted with this

respite from the Conference, was very pleased to offer to Mr and Mrs Schmit some small presents as a souvenir of the AEHT.

The Luxembourg delegation at the inaugural reception and at the

Embassy, in the company of Paul Schmit, Luxembourg’s Ambassador to

Lisbon, and his wife.

Not everybody is fortunate enough to serve the Ambassador’s wife: Fia Erika Wahlbäck was luckier

than Klaus Enengl, who ended up emptying the glass instead of her

For competition winner Cédric Brantz, things did not stop there after such a promising start: he was invited, together with his classmate, to stay at the Luxembourg Embassy from November 25th-28th and to contribute to the preparation of the gala dinner to be held in Lisbon on November 26th as part of the Portuguese, Belgian and Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce Gastronomy Week; there he will prepare ‘crayfish Luxembourg-style' under the watchful eye of Gaëtan Colin, chef-proprietor of the Jaloa Restaurant in Brussels. In June 2010 Gaëtan won second place out of 11 contestants at the 10th ‘San Pelligrino Cooking Cup’ contest in Venice; the competition attracts participants from the four corners of the earth (Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirate and the United States) – all of them fearless representatives of the great international gastronomy of the future.

▲ Milene Nobre (P11), Fernando Porcaro (I06) and Cédric Brantz (L01),a brilliant team which won the second prize in the culinary arts competition ◄Gaëtan Colin in his new restaurant, the Brasserie Jaloa


The highly gifted 32 year-old Gaëtan, a member of the Young Restaurateurs of Europe, beat all these chefs except for Chris Keung, the chef at Bo Innovation in Hong-Kong – with his dish of hot-and-cold fish (line-caught sea-bass, couscous m’hamsa, almond and seaweed espuma, King Crab with crunchy leeks, herring caviar and cloud of green apple).

Villeroy & Boch and Broggi – their commitment and their passion in helping the

disaster-stricken L’Aquila School

In July, bearing gifts of crockery and cutlery in their luggage, Louis Robert, director of the Diekirch Hotel School (Luxembourg) and an AEHT Vice-President, together with Georges Schmitz, a representative of Villeroy & Boch and with Aldo Palaoro representing the Italian cutlery manufacturer Broggi – these three men made their way to L'Aquila – the town located in the Abruzzi Mountains where just over a year and a half ago the IPPSAR IIS ‘LEONARDO DA VINCI’ vocational hotel school suffered considerable damage during an earthquake.

On April 6th 2009 Central Italy was devastated by a violent earthquake which according to official figures caused more than a hundred deaths. So many people remember the dramatic pictures of L'Aquila, capital of the Abruzzi region, located around 100 kilometres north-east of Rome, which bore the brunt of this natural catastrophe. The thousands of buildings destroyed in this medieval town included the IPPSAR IIS ‘LEONARDO DA VINCI’ vocational hotel school.

For many years Villeroy & Boch has supported the vocational training of young people in the gastronomy and hospitality sector through a number of partnerships across the world.

Thus the request to help with re-equipping the badly damaged L’Aquila School found a sympathetic ear with the Villeroy & Boch management. In collaboration with their Italian partner, the Broggi cutlery manufacturer, they arranged for the delivery of a complete set of crockery and cutlery to this beleaguered school.

During a visit to the L’Aquila School, the representatives from Broggi and Villeroy & Boch, accompanied by Louis Robert, had the opportunity to see for themselves the extensive damage caused by the earthquake. In many places they could still see cracked and collapsed walls, even though reconstruction work had already started. Since the classrooms could no longer be used, the classes were at that time being held in containers. ‘To avoid serious disruption to the teaching programme, the first thing we did was to repair the damage to the kitchen and restaurant’, explained Domenico Evangelista, director of the L'Aquila School, before continuing with his expressions of gratitude: ‘In these difficult times it is touching to receive this aid and to know of people’s support for us. We are so glad that we have not been forgotten. Just like the knight of the Abruzzi, we too have the obligation to accomplish our duty, with honour and passion, in rebuilding our town, even if it requires a long time.’


Following the official ceremony at which the new crockery and cutlery were presented to the school, the visitors had the chance to see for themselves the extent of the devastation in the centre of L’Aquila and the surrounding area, as well as the on-going programme of reconstruction.

Paolo Placidi, owner of a porcelain business in L'Aquila, not only conducted the visitors around the devastated residential areas, but also proudly showed them the new residential blocks which had been built in the space of only four months. ‘All of the 19 residential quarters were built using a new earthquake-proof technique, and now provide new temporary homes for thousands of people who had been forced to abandon their homes. Now no-one is obliged to live in a tent, and all the children can go to school again’, said the businessman with more than a hint of pride.

Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup

2010 about to break allrecords!

Every four years, the international gastronomy fair, EXPOGAST (http://pro.expogast.com/en/), opens its doors to the general public at the Luxembourg exhibition and conference centre (Luxexpo) on the Kirchberg plateau, the European Institutions district of Luxembourg City, where the gastronomy industry and the hotel trade will all be present and where 50,000 visitors are expected. The Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup is undoubtedly the highlight of the fair. It runs from November 20th to 24th, and involves

45 national teams (26 national teams, 9 national military teams and 10 national junior teams), 7 institutional catering teams, 6 junior teams involved in the first `Show Cooking Contest', 54 regional teams and 420 individual exhibitors. A large number of the 2400 cooks present, from 53 countries on five continents, will compete in front of an international judging panel of 80 members, including 55 master chefs.

Organised by the Vatel Club Luxembourg under the auspices of the ‘World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WACS)’, the Culinary World Cup is considered to be the second most important international competition of its kind (after the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany).

Shellfish in sugar, flowers and vegetables and many other marvels are created at the world cup for chefs

The chefs cook in cubicles with windows that allow all visitors to the fair to watch them prepare menus, providing a fascinating insight into the workings of a professional kitchen under pressure and to discover the know-how and skills required to be one of the greatest culinary artists in the world.

The kitchen cubicles allow the general public to observe the contests as they unfold

Please note that culinary menus prepared by these great chefs will be served in the evening by the students of the Alexis Heck Hotel school in Diekirch under the supervision of their teachers in the `gastronomic Restaurant', offering 900 places as part of the competition, to anyone who has reserved a table online at http://www.luxexpo.lu/index.php?id=898. At the


same table, it will also be possible to taste dishes prepared by chefs from different countries.

The exhibition of cold dishes organized alongside the competitions is an attractive space, where all regional teams, individual chefs and pastry cooks will showcase all their creativity in astonishing displays. These true masterpieces, renewed every day, will be displayed to the public who cannot fail to be dazzled by all this beauty and skill. Professionals as well as casual visitors can thus see for themselves the latest techniques and trends which are now transforming the international culinary world.

This exceptional roundabout dessert delighted both children and adults in 2006

The 2010 Gold Medal in the 'cold cuisine' category among others, was awarded to the

German National Military Team.

‘Expressions’ by Alex Neumayer displayed at

Expogast 2010

Who is going to win the 2010 competition? The winners in 2002 and 2006, Sweden and Norway, will try to defend their title in the `national team’ category and will have to compete against teams not only from Europe, but also from South Africa, Canada, South Korea, the United States, Israel and Singapore.

South Korea joins Turkey in celebrating the winning of the latter’s silver medal in 2010

An Israeli competitor proudly shows off his

2010 gold medal

For the occasion, Villeroy & Boch, the event’s largest sponsor, had designed a special series of ‘Expogast 2010’ plates, on which all the chefs will have to serve their creations. These plates are on sale and may be won during the fair. The prize-giving ceremony will take place on November 25th at 10.00 am, where Luxembourg Minister of Middle Classes, Tourism and Housing, Mrs. Hetto-Gaasch, will present the trophy to the winners.

The Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup 2010 is certainly an exceptional culinary event not to be missed. We look forward to receiving your visit!

Virtex4all– The final meeting in Zaragoza (Spain)

The last Virtex4all partners` meeting took place in Zaragoza, from September 9th to 12th 2010. Over the period of two years, the partners from the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey, worked hard to further refine and supplement the materials of the original award-winning Virtex project and to clarify the levels using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEF).

Virtex4all partners – the last official picture

The FASE organization, the host of this last meeting, was represented by María Martín. Since its creation, FASE has specialized in developing ICT (information and communication technologies) solutions for training programmes and has been a pioneer in the development of e-learning methodology for lifelong learning. FASE has participated in more than 40 European projects implementing the use of ICTs in educational and training fields.

While cold weather dominated most parts of Europe, Zaragoza welcomed the project partners with a bright blue sky and high temperatures. Back in their summer dresses, the participants met in Hotel Romareda for their first dinner together.


The partners at work

On Friday morning, María accompanied the group to the University of Zaragoza, where the meeting took place. It was going to be a long day. Final adjustments to the competence tests had been made followed by 15 minute presentations by each partner on how to use Virtex4all as an intercultural communication tool in preparing students for their placement abroad. After lunch at the University cafeteria, the meeting continued with a lecture and workshop led by Carmen Boogaard from the University of Amsterdam on marketing strategies - an inevitable step in going beyond the walls of the meeting rooms and spreading Virtex4all to the whole world. Marketing strategies were explained and the partners from each country were asked to fill in the form on how to approach the matter in their own country.

To lighten up and to relax a little, Natalia Komanicka presented a movie on intercultural incidents, “The Tourist Trap”, a British reality show from 1998, where four different nationalities (the British, the Americans, the Germans and the Japanese) find themselves exposed to identical incidents in order to analyze the reaction of each nationality and to see if they behave in an identical way. Obviously, this was not the case.

Wide choice of tapas in the Las Palomas Restaurant

Zaragoza by night

The participants felt like they really needed a siesta. After a short rest they were eager to go to downtown Zaragoza, where they strolled along with the natives who were clearly enjoying pleasant weather and charming atmosphere of the main square, Plaza del

Pilar. A short peek into the famous Basilica del Pilar, one of the most visited churches in Spain, and they were off to the Las Palomas Restaurant to taste tapas in buffet style.

Tapas, as explained by María, is a name given to a wide variety of appetizers and meals. It is not a particular type of food. Anything can be tapas - paella, ham and cheese on toast, meat or vegetable dishes, as long as it is small. It was nearly midnight and the partners were sitting in a Café at the Plaza watching people who didn`t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere.

The Saturday morning meeting took place on the new premises of FASE. Financial tasks were finalized as well as all the tests which were now ready to be posted on the website both in English and in German. The tasks were completed. Feeling satisfaction from a job well done and a little relief at the same time, the group headed off for lunch to taste the original Spanish paella.

The afternoon was free with a lot of options – discovering old Zaragoza from a sightseeing bus, shopping or just sitting on the banks of the river Ebro and enjoying magnificent views. The final dinner in Club Náutico was an unforgettable experience. Top level cuisine with seven courses was a true pleasure for all taste buds.

The famous Spanish Paella María Martín flanked by Elzemien Warnink and Corine Horstra from

Colorez

It was almost midnight and time to say good-bye after a final toast to the success of the project and to its future!


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 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.

- Turismo de Portugal will have to manage

without one of its valiant knights

Nuno Santos – Board member of Turismo de Portugal

Integrated within the Ministry of the Economy, Innovation and Development, Turismo de Portugal is the national tourism authority responsible for promotion, enhancement and sustainability of tourism activities, combining within a single entity all the institutional competencies related to stimulation of tourism activities, from the supply sector to demand.

We took the opportunity to interview Nuno Santos, 33 years old, and a member of the executive board of Turismo de Portugal, who at the end of the month will be leaving his post for pastures new.

Could you tell us briefly about your academic and professional background? In what year did you join Turismo de Portugal and how did you first make contact with them? What fascinated or challenged you about the post you were offered?

I graduated in Economics in 2000. Since then, up to 2006, I worked mostly as a consultant and project manager in technology-related assignments, first in the private sector (2000 to 2002) and then for the government (2002-2005). From 2005 to 2006 I worked for Microsoft. In 2006 I was invited to join the board of one of the agencies that would be involved in the merger process that would lead to the creation of Turismo de Portugal, in May 2007. For that period, 2006 to 2007 (exactly 12 months) my role was to manage all aspects of the integration process. In May 2007 I was appointed as board member of this new agency, as executive for the areas of education and technology. From 2007 to 2009 I still managed to find time after work to be one of the first cohort of the Lisbon MBA, a programme offered by two of the best business schools in the country in collaboration with the Sloan School of Management at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

The president of this board, Luís Patrão, knew my work from past assignments. We met each other when I was the project manager of www.portaldocidadao.pt, a single entry web portal for more than 700 Public Administration services. It was Luís that explained to me what Turismo de Portugal could be. It was Luís that suggested my name to the Government. The Secretary of State, Bernardo Trindade, interviewed me and made me a proposal that I accepted with great enthusiasm.

Turismo de Portugal was founded in May 2007, following the merger of four different bodies. Please could you tell us which ones? And what are its missions?

Turismo de Portugal resulted from the merger of the following institutions: Instituto do Turismo de Portugal (ITP) was in

charge of promotion and support to investments in tourism;

Direcção Geral do Turismo (DGT) was in charge of all matters regarding licensing of economic activities in tourism;

Instituto de Formação Turística (INFTUR) was in charge of projects and policies that could improve the qualifications of human resources (initial training and lifelong training) in tourism;

Inspecção Geral de Jogos (IGJ) was the inspection body for casinos and bingo halls, from which taxes are used as revenue for public policy in tourism.

From the start, Turismo de Portugal’s objectives were defined as follows: enhancing and developing tourism

infrastructures;


developing human resources training; supporting investment in the sector; coordinating Portugal’s domestic and

international promotion as a tourism destination;

regulating and inspecting betting activities. Using its privileged relationship with other public bodies and economic agents in Portugal and abroad, Turismo de Portugal is dedicated to fulfilling its objective of strengthening tourism as one of the core growth engines of the Portuguese economy.

Lectures and debates have become a regular feature of Nuno Santos’

professional life in recent years

More and more governments tend to have a more global approach and regroup several portfolios within the same ministry, often tying together tourism with several other portfolios such as economy, innovation, development, employment, foreign affairs, town and country planning, environment, sport, arts and/or culture. However it remains unusual in Europe for these ministries to be also responsible for the initial and continuing vocational training in the tourism sector. Vocational training usually remains the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. Therefore, the approach of Portugal (as well as of Ireland) is quite interesting and allocating to Turismo de Portugal (and Fáilte Ireland), the national tourism authority, the task of developing initial and continuing hotel and tourism vocational training is and will certainly be in the future a major asset for Portugal in its bid to become a high-quality, competitive tourist destination, whilst also addressing sustainable development concerns. What is your opinion in this matter?

It is true that in most countries public agencies that somehow aim to enhance projects and policies for the development of tourism do not include education in their responsibilities. However, it is also true that in most cases there is not a single authority at a central level that may compare, in terms of their portfolio of responsibilities, to Turismo de Portugal. Including training and education within the agency gives a

strong signal to the country about how relevant this dimension is for the sustainable development of the sector. Moreover, it gives the agency an additional and very effective means not only to contribute directly, through its 16 hotel schools, to the increase of qualified professionals for the sector, but also to interact with other public and private structures to decide on the approaches needed to strengthen capabilities in this respect.

In your opinion, what are the most innovative parts of the strategy currently being implemented by Turismo de Portugal (useful link: http://www.turismodeportugal.pt/Portugu%C3%AAs/conhecimento/planoestrategiconacionaldoturismo/Anexos/PENT%20VER%20INGLES.pdf)?

Turismo de Portugal promotes a very significant set of projects that are in line with the National Strategic Plan for Tourism (PENT) that the Government approved in April 2007. This was a landmark document in Portugal as for the first time there was a single document, with long term vision, that combined a very large number of perspectives through which tourism would consolidate its status as one of the most relevant economic set of products and services in the country.

Beyond this, PENT raises the key question of what tourism should be about in Portugal: not only sun and sea, but at least nine other strategic tourism products that would enrich the offer, and not only Lisbon, the Algarve and Madeira, but 7 other very relevant tourism destinations within the country. Therefore, products to be strongly developed were: cultural and landscape tourism, city breaks, meetings and incentives, nature tourism, nautical tourism, health and wellness, golf, residential tourism, gastronomy and wines. The new destinations were: Azores, Douro, Serra da Estrela, Oeste, Alqueva, Litoral Alentejano and Porto Santo.

One of the missions of Turismo de Portugal consists in defining strategic guidelines for the development of the tourism sector and putting forward plans and actions to implement them. The strategic guidelines have been structured around five action plans and 11 intervention projects. In this field, what was your major area(s) of intervention (development of new strategies, definition of new plans and actions, coordination of services, follow-up of building sites, introduction of new technologies into the schools, budgets ...)?

My focus was on education and technologies. In education, the agency has been working hard on improving the quality standards of tourism education in the country through several projects, with special


emphasis on international programmes such as the certification programme with the ‘Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne’ and collaborative ventures with the University of Central Florida or George Washington University. Special care was taken over the transfer to other Portuguese schools of programmes run by schools controlled by Turismo de Portugal. Regarding technologies, there was a strong focus, in the first place, on creating the conditions for the agency itself, together with the schools, to be seen in the country as cutting edge structures on using information and communication technologies. We are now entering a new strategic period where the focus will shift towards projects with third parties.

What types of tourism does Portugal target (ecotourism, beach and spa tourism, cultural tourism, business and congresses, tourism for sport and leisure, adventure, discovery, escape…)? Which are its major outbound markets? Which outbound markets do you target in the short or medium-term?

As mentioned before, Portugal is running a strategic plan to enrich strongly its offer so that tourists take all the potential the country has to share beyond its great sun and sea. As an example, a new project was recently put in place to better promote Portuguese gastronomy and wines, where schools are also a strategic partner. Have a look at www.tasteportugal.com. This approach of what there is to experience in Portugal is also described at length at www.visitportugal.com. Traditionally, the country has been visited by tourists from the UK, Spain, Germany, France and The Netherlands. There are now projects not only to increase the number of tourists coming from these markets but also to convince citizens of new countries to visit the country more often; these include Brazil, Scandinavia, Russia and the United States. There are also joint programmes with Spain to address Asian markets.

When and why did Turismo de Portugal start its close cooperation with the Lausanne Hotel School? What kind of collaboration is involved, and in what fields?

Collaboration with Lausanne Hotel School has been in operation since 2006, led by INFTUR, the structure that was managing education and training projects in Portugal before Turismo de Portugal. Turismo de Portugal decided to give that partnership (at the time the collaborative venture was addressing quality issues in one of the Portuguese hotel schools) a wider scope, aiming to accelerate the consolidation of international standards in all the 16 schools in the

network through a deeper involvement of an international team from Lausanne and a regular immersion of Portuguese trainers and staff in the Lausanne environment. Since then, important changes have taken place: training programs were reviewed, there were training assignments for many people from our schools, facilities were audited and we are now moving towards a new phase where, amongst other initiatives, some of our students may spend part of their training in Lausanne.

Do you also have partner schools in the United States? If so, who are they and in which fields do you collaborate with them?

Turismo de Portugal is proud of having supported the creation of a partnership between the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE) and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management from the University of Central Florida, resulting in the offer of a joint masters program between the two schools.

More recently, the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management from George Washington University has developed an important project with one of our schools (Lamego), consisting of developing a strategic analysis of competitive strengths of the Douro Valley for international tourists.

Innovation is said to be the best way to win in an increasingly globalized world. Strategic Innovation is the creation of growth strategies through new categories of products, services or business models that will connect competitive business to the real market opportunities. The GSI Program (Global Strategic Innovation) is an initiative aimed at promoting business with the Portuguese market through accelerators, located in USA (Silicon Valley and Boston) and Singapore. A set of workshops on the themes of Internationalization and Strategic Innovation were organized in March 2010 in Boston and San Francisco. Why was it


important for Turismo de Portugal to attend this programme?

Your understanding of innovation as blue sky strategy to face global challenges in the 21st century is spot on. Therefore, since tourism is a risky wager for the development of the country, we considered it important to participate in such an innovative programme where business networks could be developed to increase the possibilities in Portugal for important public and private players to consider that region to be a strategic partner in new projects on innovation.

When leaving for pastures new, it is always advisable to review one’s past activities and actions, to identify the positive and negative aspects in order to be able to trade on these assets in the future. Professionally speaking, what achievements are you particularly proud of today?

I really enjoyed these three and a half years with such challenging responsibilities. It is clear for me that education is a key driver in improving the quality of life in Portugal. Having the opportunity of making a contribution to this has in itself been a great honour for me.

I think that the way that this was carried out by the team makes the group feel proud of so many achievements: the consolidation of new programmes at post-secondary level, the birth of new schools in Lisbon and Oporto with top level facilities, the internationalization process, the innovations in communication, the financial sustainability governed by very demanding and effective rules, the stabilization of the legal environment that supports the network of schools, the several training programs that were set up internally – these are some examples of great projects that a very focussed team was able to achieve. This was possible because the team believed in the strategy and in the action plan for it. Several times we faced terrible obstacles but we were all firmly convinced that we had to stick to our guns. Tenacity, energy and objective reasons to justify choices were the key values that led this transformation process.

Now that the change is close, I feel really good about what has been achieved, and will never forget the determination of my fellow-travellers on this epic journey.

Nuno Santos delivering his speech at the opening ceremony

In October, you took an active part in the AEHT Annual Conference in Lisbon, your first active collaboration with the AEHT. In such a short time, it is certainly difficult to get a precise opinion of our association and our Annual Conferences, but we would appreciate it if you could give us your first impressions. Would you have any suggestions for us to improve our services and activities or to improve the relations between the AEHT and the Portuguese school members?

It was an unforgettable experience hosting the 23rd AEHT Annual conference in Lisbon, a city that in these recent times has been hosting so many historical events (just to name the most recent one, the NATO summit – over 40 presidents and prime ministers of the countries that constitute the alliance coming together in Lisbon for two days – a meeting taking place on November 19th and 20th.)

It is true that we put all our energies into showing the Association and its members what our country and our project was about and it is clear that it really paid off, that amazing effort from such a great team, made up of executives, staff, teachers and students, with a team spirit that none of us will ever forget.

During those days, I could appreciate the galactic impact of the Association in influencing the pattern of training hundreds of thousands of qualified youngsters and professionals for the hospitality and tourism professions. Moreover, it is of special significance that most of what it achieves comes from a bottom-up approach, that is, schools all together creating a wave of change that is a true proof of what society can bring to society.

Following on my presentation during the general assembly, I would urge the Association to keep developing, with even more intensity and passion, the initiatives that allow people to spend exchange periods abroad. There is no doubt that those who


take part in programmes abroad become much better prepared to face new challenges. If the AEHT helps with that, it moves even higher its relevance for the development of a better tourism in Europe.

Nuno Santos in conversation with Bernardo Trindade and Klaus Enengl

You will leave for pastures new in December 2010 and start work for a leading IT service group specializing in the field of new information technologies (in data-processing and in technological expertise). What will you miss most at the moment of your departure from Turismo of Portugal I.P. and what new challenge awaits you in the future? Your new employer targets mainly large companies, public bodies and local authorities. As a new director of the Lisbon agency, do you plan to continue your collaboration with Turismo de Portugal and the Portuguese hotel and tourism schools?

It is not the time for regrets. Why? Because 1) I will address different but also very exciting new challenges and 2) I will keep close to all those who, together with me, sailed such demanding waters during this time at Turismo de Portugal!

The company that is hiring me did some research on my work at Turismo de Portugal and I am pretty sure that the invitation is also a proof of recognition of the results achieved at this great agency. Therefore, I thank all my team for the new opportunity now ahead of me and I know that, in a different way, they will still be there for any relevant support I may need.

In the future we may see how collaboration may work between the institutions. Independently from that, I will be always available to share my knowledge and energy to keep helping the project moving further.

In the XVIII century, Montesquieu alleged that the Portuguese have discovered the world, but do not know the country they are living in? What would you reply to him nowadays?

Perhaps you like to give a message to the colleagues whom you will soon leave behind.

If Montesquieu could return, he would no doubt agree with me in realizing that the world has changed more in the 20th century than in all the previous ones taken together. During that period, Portugal lived in a political environment where education was blocked for the majority of the population. Transformation started in the 70s and is now enjoying a period of great recovery, despite structural problems that need to be addressed. And, once again, Education is leading the change. As for the project I had the privilege to lead, I have no hesitation in saying that the pace of change increased and conditions are still in place for it not to be slowed down. This was possible, not because of me, but because a great team of people believe in it and ensured its implementation. Being such a great team, it is impossible to name all of them here as fortunately there were so many champions, at central level and at school level and they all know how thankful I am to them for this project we carried out together. Organizations are what people want them to be. During this period I saw, at the level of this project, all that is needed for a country to reach high levels of prosperity, equality and happiness. After me, the show will go on and I will be there applauding them, with my soul full of joy. Thank you, once again.

Nuno Santos’ colleagues greatly valued their collaboration with him, so did not hesitate to sing his praises:

Hugo Sousa, Director of the Technologies Department at Turismo de Portugal

Nuno is one of the brightest people in Portugal. I am very happy to have had the wonderful opportunity to work with him in helping to transform Turismo de Portugal into a 21st century agency in just three years (more than 67 projects!). Nuno is the very leader that large organizations (and even countries!) need. Not having him is a competitive disadvantage that is very difficult to overcome. Maybe impossible … yes, impossible to overcome! Nuno, if you read this, it has been tough to work with you, but it was the best real-time adventure of my life! Nothing was impossible! :-)


Elisabete Mendes, Director of the Planning and Certification Department at Turismo de Portugal

‘Do not bring me problems but solutions; nothing is impossible!’ Among other encouraging words, these were the ones repeatedly heard by all who worked with Nuno over these three years. I have a significant experience in project management, running schools and managing people and, therefore, I feel comfortable talking about Nuno as leader of the largest tourism organization. Working with Nuno Santos’ requirements meant change and innovation. Only then can we achieve new training projects, new courses, new national and international partners, new methodologies, new schools, that helped put tourism training on the map. In short, we achieved a lot more in less time and it was only possible with a great leader for the future. It was a pleasure! Thanks Nuno.

Dora Araújo, Director of the Oporto Hotel School Nuno has an exceptional talent and insight for quickly analyzing problems and coming up with pragmatic and logical steps to solve them. He is a highly energetic and creative leader, driving others to perform the same way. He is passionate about several areas of life, both professional and personal, and he does his utmost to inspire those around him to believe in his vision and achieve the goals he sets for the organization. He sees possibilities rather than problems and possesses the drive and follow-through to make positive changes. In other words, where some see the dull reality, he sees the attainable dream! He recognizes the value of his team-mates. He shines and he wants us to shine too. He has skilfully updated all the Schools with very serious tangible and intangible investments and knowledge, that will endure in the upcoming future which is full of challenges. No better example of this is the new premises of the Oporto Hotel and Tourism School, that after being an endless dream for more than 3 decades, finally became a reality! Much of it is due to Nuno’s already mentioned drive and commitment to projects. Those characteristics were paramount in pushing this project ahead, and, more than that, in finishing it on time. I warmly thank Nuno on behalf of the students, the city, the industry, and ultimately the country, who will always owe him a debt of gratitude. Besides being a great leader, he is a friend with an amazing sense of humour and candour.

Nuno is a wonderful person to work with and will remain a friend, even after the professional bonds are severed. At the Oporto Hotel and Tourism School I will always remember these years as BN and AN – Before Nuno and After Nuno.

Ana Paula Pais, Director of the Coimbra Hotel School

and AEHT Vice-President These three years of working with Nuno were of an unforgettable intensity! Thanks to his dynamism and energy, the Hotel and Tourism Schools of Portugal made changes that had been talked about for many years: they have reorganized their structures and their teams, were modernized technologically, gained in administrative efficiency and effectiveness, and gained national and international prestige. Today we have a more equitable and cohesive network of schools, with management models clarified, with strategic goals and a vision for the future. All we did was the result of constant ambition to do more and better, a constant incentive to be surprised and to overcome! We are now faced with the challenge of continuing to keep on with the same force, with the same enthusiasm, with the same energy! We wish you all the best Nuno!

The AEHT joins all these colleagues in offering to Nuno Santos their best wishes for a brilliant future career!

2.Restolingua translates your restaurant menus

We should like to take this opportunity to remind you that by going to www.restolingua.com you can now translate any professional menu into the following eight languages: Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Restolingua is still seeking coordinating schools, both to translate the 22,000 expressions in the system into all the languages of the countries with AEHT members which have so far not been included in the system, and also to add expressions relating to regional specialities, dishes and ingredients. With your help, all menus could be effortlessly translated, such as, to give an example, the menu for the gala dinner of the 23rd Annual Conference in Lisbon on Saturday October 9th 2010.


Bird’s eye view of the magnificent hall of the Convento do Beato Monastery in Lisbon

A sea of desserts served by a wave of students, loudly applauded by the delighted guests

1° Entrada :

- Sopa de abóbora com citrinos almondegas de queijo com pevides e especiarias

2° Entrada : - Robalo corado sobre migas de legumes e coentros

Curso principal : - Peito de frango recheado com alheira e espinafres,

batata gratinada e legumes assados

Sobremesa: - Doces de Sonh

Chicken breast stuffed with Portuguese sausage and spinach, potatoes au gratin and roasted vegetables

The English translation might be as follows:

1st Starter: - Pumpkin soup with citrus cheeseballs

with pips and spices

2nd Starter: - Roasted sea bass on a bed of vegetables and

coriander ratatouille

Main course : - Chicken breast stuffed with Portuguese sausage and

spinach, potatoes au gratin and roasted vegetables

Dessert: - Sweet dreams

Anyone interested in working with Restolingua is asked to contact Arike Vermazen (email: arike.vermazen@ gmail.com) and to look at the rates of pay and the cost of using the system, as well as the agreement signed between the AEHT and Restolingua at www.aeht.eu..

We hope you enjoy the newsletter! Nadine SCHINTGEN AEHT General Secretary

Text: N. Schintgen with contributions from J. Laengy, N. Komanicka, N. Santos, G. Schmitz and A. Steindl

Photos: N. Schintgen, J. Laengy, N. Komanicka, N. Santos, G. Schmitz

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

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newsletter of november 2010

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