MEP link_no17_juin. 98

EDITORIAL 

BSc. Degree Class of ‘97-’98. 

Congratulations on your excellent 

achievement! Persistent and meticulous 

throughout, your handling of 

the tension of the finals was admirable. 

This accomplishment is fully 

merited. Your parents and the School 

are justifiably very proud. Bravo! 

Honour where honour is due 

Les Roches scores another first 

Moving and moved 

Mr Marcel Ch. Clivaz, Founder of the 

School and President of the Board of 

Governors was both very moved and 

moving in his words of congratulation 

to the graduates, their parents 

and guests at the BSc. Ceremony. 

The full text of his address appears 

inside this edition. 

Exquisite buffet 

Chef Bider, Maître d’Hôtel La Sala 

and their colleagues dazzled BSc. 

Day guests with their superb ‘gardenparty’ 

Buffet, at the swimming-pool. 

Everything was almost too good to 

eat! Congratulations! 

Kenya and Thailand 

Two more local Alumni committees 

have been launched. It is gratifying to 

know that the strong feeling of belonging 

to the School still prevails so far 

from Bluche. 

School Representatives 

The follow-up on graduates is never 

finished. From recruitment to postgraduation 

the representatives are 

always there. They check on scholastic 

progress, help to organise local 

meetings and keep track on the career 

progress of their protégés. All praise 

and thanks go to Mr & Mrs Brawand, 

Mme Martine Charpenet, Mrs Di 

Nicholas, Mrs Mieke Nelwan, Mr R. 

Bartholomew, Mme Arlette Palmer, 

Mr S. Durwalla, Mrs Wanjala Sio, 

Mme Suzanne Kaloudis, Mr S. Kantaros, 

Mr George Zhao Nanxing, and 

to the many others whose names we 

have not mentioned for lack of space. 

The Guests of Honour salute the first ever Les Roches BSc. Graduates 

Right to left: Mr Alfred Urfer, Mr Francis Clivaz, (inset) Me André Viscolo, Mr Heinz Probst, Mr Marcel Clivaz, 

Mr François Ducry, Me Guy Fontanet and Mr Jacob Haeberli. 

Professor Mike McKechnie, 

Executive Development Director 

Wednesday 20 May. The first BSc. 

(Honours) International Hospitality 

Management students from sixteen 

countries were awarded their degrees, 

at a Graduation Ceremony held at 

Les Roches. 

The majority of the graduates previously 

completed the Swiss Hotel 

Association Diploma in Hotel Management 

at Les Roches, but four came 

from other international hotel schools 

to pursue their studies. 

These are the first students to graduate 

with degrees, since the School was 

successful in gaining full four year 

accreditation from the New England 

Association of Schools and Colleges 

Inc. USA., (NEASC), in late 1997 - 

the first hotel school in Europe to 

gain this prestigious recognition. 

Mr Alfred Urfer, President of the 

Swiss Hotel Association, officially 

awarded the coveted Degree scrolls 

to the Graduates. 

To match the occasion, the Graduates 

were dressed in full academic regalia 

- gowns, hats and hoods. The hoods 

were of gold velvet and red and white 

silk - one colour representing the 

United States BSc. award, and the 

others, our pride in being a Swiss 

hotel school linked with the Swiss 

Hotel Association. 

In addition, they received a Hospitality 

Information Technology Association 

(HITA) Certificate, for work 

completed during the year. 

Les Roches is the first hotel school in 

Europe to pilot this new Certificate 

which indicates the strides the school 

has made in terms of information 

technology systems and courses.

the link Souvenirs June 1998 

Cultural Night - Alumni join the festivities 

Julie Gut-Dee. 

A special invitation to Cultural 

Night on April 25, went out to the 

Alumni living in Switzerland. They 

travelled to attend the evening from 

as far away as Zurich. On the night, 

there were even some who came 

from farther away! 

The response to our invitation to 

attend Cultural Night was very 

encouraging. Among those who 

excused themselves because of 

prior commitments were Edwin 

Baer, Karim El Ghazzawi, 

Murielle Sermet, and René Marc 

Wenger. 

Our photos show some of the graduates 

who were present. Others 

included Samuel Einhorn from 

Israel who was on a short skiing 

vacation; Sonia Scholz-Lagger 

(Sum ’91) with her husband also 

came from Engleberg by car and 

drove back the same evening! 

The farthest travelled Alumni were 

Kristo Paloglu and his little family, 

all the way by car from Luxembourg 

especially to be with us. 

There was also Ioannis Vamvukakis 

from Four Seasons in Boston. 

He (so is the Editor) is desperately 

looking for a copy of the CN video, 

April ’96. (Can anyone oblige Ed) 

Sunny Yumuk also dropped in on 

the dinner. 

The grads all agreed that it was a 

fun evening and they thought 

nothing of having travelled so far. 

We hope the word will spread and 

that even more of our Swiss Alumni 

will come along to the next Cultural 

Night which is scheduled for Friday 

October 16. Please note the date in 

your diaries. 

Emilie Hummel-Smith and her 

husband. 

Mr Berry, Mme Bérard-Poggio, 

Alex Paléologue. 

Christony at Sanya Hainan 

Island, China 1997. 

Nostalgia overwhelmed me when I 

returned to Les Roches from which 

I graduated 15 years ago, in the 

summer of 1983. 

A Trip to Yesterday: Petit Paradis 

with the ever-so-maternal Madame 

Mounir, the Famila grocery (now 

known as Vis-a-vis), the little chapel, 

the funicular station just next 

to the popular Restaurant La Gare, 

(the “Chinois” restaurant) now 

CDV, Café du Village - “the place 

to be” a student-run meeting-point 

and a dormitory for girls. So the 

sites have remained, although some 

are not the way they used to be. 

Still, scene after scene of those 

bygone days appear before me. 

Like the times when... we used to 

wait for and many a time missed, 

the funicular, (now no longer 

Les Roches 15 years on 

moving like a snail, but going like a 

rocket!) to go up to Crans-Montana 

for groceries at Coop or Migros 

(there’s now a cheaper supermarket 

Denner) or to La Pacha Disco (still 

exists), or down to Sierre to shop at 

Innovation (now taken over by 

Inter Discount), or just horsing 

around in the snow or sun tanning 

by the swimming pool (there is 

now a second one). 

Where there used to be Mr Clivaz’s 

office-cum-chalet, the à la carte 

salle à manger and the spartan 

library which doubled as a recreation 

room with a petit piano, pitifully 

in need of tuning, in the corner, 

there now proudly stands an 

imposing, white chalet-style building 

boasting state-of-the-art facilities 

beyond the dreams of the Pioneers. 

Like a typical Swiss clock that 

never misses a second, everything at 

Les Roches is “zak zak” (a familiar 

expression which used to be uttered 

by our Service professors fifteen 

years ago when we moved a little 

slower than usual). The student’s 

load is much heavier now. Technology 

has moved fast. Students now 

have individual copy-cards, laptop 

computers with Internet included, 

personal e-mail addresses, computer 

rooms, video players, overhead 

projectors and screens, sturdy 

desks, monogrammed cutlery, a real 

main kitchen, a separate à la carte 

kitchen and dining-room, plus two 

demonstration kitchens. Truly, how 

much more can one ask for a total 

hospitality education 

After thoughts: Being ‘home’ 

again is overwhelming. But after 

the initial nostalgia settles down, 

reality sets in. All that Les Roches 

has been, is, and will be, can never 

take the place of the constant latenight 

or last minute toil to obtain 

the much coveted Diploma and 

now also the BSc. Degree. The 

pioneer groups never had the 

opportunity to pursue it but may do 

so if they enquire through the 

School. 

Whether one has spent a meaningful 

time at Les Roches or whether 

one chooses to impetuously while 

away one’s youth here, one fact 

remains. You may graduate from 

Les Roches but you can never graduate 

from Life, and Les Roches is 

a way of life that stays with you, as 

it has with me, even after all these 

years... 

Christony Lau (otherwise known as 

Pet - ‘83 Sum) 

Christony recently lent a helping 

hand to Les Roches for a while. He 

is back in China again. Contact 

address: Block 914 # 07-37, Tampines 

Street 91, Singapore 52091 

Bye Bye... 

Hello... 

Mr Jean-Claude Hugi, a graduate 

of Lausanne Hotel School, was deeply 

involved in hotel activities in 

Africa. There he developed several 

Tourism projects in Kenya, Botswana 

and Ghana. Before joining Les 

Roches in 1990, he successfully 

prepared a Swiss Hotelier Master’s. 

His enthusiastic and knowledgeable 

teaching made subjects like Marketing, 

Accountancy and Tourism 

interesting to follow. A sports 

enthusiast himself, he devoted much 

of his spare time to co-ordinating 

sports and extra-curricular activities. 

He prepared and passed a 

second Master’s in Marketing. 

Latterly, as In-training Co-ordinator, 

Mr Hugi did much to galvanise 

School/industry relations. In addition, 

he paid multiple visits to 

“stagiaires” who appreciated his 

counsel and advice. 

Mr Hugi is returning to his beloved 

Ghana to open an Education and 

Consultancy Company. He will 

keep in touch with the School by 

representing it in West Africa. 

2

the link Cover story June 1998 

Bachelor of Science (Honours) 

in International Hospitality Management 

Honours qualifications 

The BSc. is awarded in four honours classifications: 1st Class, 2nd Class 

Upper, 2nd Class Lower, and 3rd Class. 

This year, the number of graduates in each classification was as follows: 

Honours 1st Class - Summa Cum Laude (4) 

Honours 2nd Class - Magna Cum Laude (5) 

Honours 2nd Class - Cum Laude (25) 

Honours 3rd Class (2) 

These classifications allow for the recognition of various levels of 

academic achievement, and are an adaptation of well-proven European 

and North American honours systems. 

A speech by Mr Nicholas 

Mutton, Senior Vice President 

of Four Seasons Hotels and 

Resorts, was an important 

representation of the continuing 

development of working 

links between Les Roches and 

the hospitality industry. This is 

reflected in our graduates, 

many of whom are joining 

companies like Four Seasons. 

Les Roches Principal, Mr Eric 

Favre, President of the SHA, Alfred 

Urfer, with happy valedictorian 

Anna Amundson. 

Chef Rudi Bider who has followed 

the students over the years and who 

supervised the superb Graduation 

Luncheon at the swimming-pool, 

admires a new “ menu ” - the BSc 

parchment. 

Dear Alumni, 

Principal’s Corner 

The first Les Roches BSc. Degree 

Graduation Ceremony was held 

yesterday, May 20. 

You can read fuller details about it 

elsewhere in this edition. What an 

impressive, important and beautiful 

day it was for Les Roches ! 

Les Roches is now a four year institution 

delivering its own official 

Bachelor Degree in International 

Hospitality Management. This will 

certainly impress quite a number of 

Thomas Pauly who graduated 

in Winter ’89 was delighted to be 

back in Bluche to recruit for Inter- 

Continental Central America. The 

interviews were successful and he 

plans to return next year. 

former students who studied at Les 

Roches in the early years and have 

seen the many developments in their 

old school. 

We have expanded our links with 

the industry this semester, since we 

have welcomed the following establishments 

for the first time at Les 

Roches : 

- Shangri-La International Hotels 

- Ritz Carlton Hotels 

- InterContinental Central America 

in addition to all the hotel companies 

which now recruit every year at 

Les Roches. 

More and more students are finding 

stages or employment opportunities, 

before departing from Les 

Roches. This is one of our main 

objectives. 

A new feature as well, is that graduates 

are being invited to be Guest 

Speakers at the SHA Diploma Graduation 

Ceremony. As the picture 

shows, last December, we had the 

privilege to welcome back Suzanna 

Invernizzi, who graduated in June 

1990 and now works in Italy. 

Suzanna Invernizzi (Winter ‘90) 

Assistant Manager at the Hotel 

Count Cavour in Milano. 

If some of you are interested or will 

be in the area at graduation time, I 

will be pleased to discuss this issue 

for future graduation ceremonies. 

You all well know that it takes place 

twice a year, around the middle of 

June and December. Please do not 

hesitate to contact me. 

Paquito Giles, GM at the 

Ramada in Dubai, met Mr Favre 

at ITB this spring. 

I regularly attend the World Travel 

Market (WTM) held in November 

in London, and the ITB in Berlin in 

the spring. If any former students 

are also there at these times, please 

let me know. It would be good to 

meet and discuss your experience at 

Les Roches and your career. 

I wish you all the best for your 

career development and look forward 

to hearing from you. 

With my warmest regards, 

Eric E. Favre, Principal 

3

the link International June 1998 

Thailand 

Regent Resort, Chiang Mai 

Les Roches is well represented up 

north in Chiang Mai, in this absolutely 

luxurious 5-stars hotel, The 

Regent Resort, finished just a few 

years ago at a cost of 650 million 

Baht! The superb architecture of 

the individual residences is really 

breathtaking and blends the cultures 

of India, China and other 

foreign conquering powers in the 

period of the Lanna Kingdom, back 

in the 1300’s. 

Lilly and Suparie. 

ning in Swiss style is scheduled for 

Friday, May 29th. The theme is the 

Swiss Graduates Party at the Royal 

Brasserie Restaurant, Royal Presidential 

Service Apartment, Sukumvit 

15. The Guest of Honour will be 

Mr Bernard Freymond, the Ambassador 

of Switzerland. More about 

this event in the next ”link”. 

From Les Roches is the Residences 

Manager Prapa (Sum‘89 ) 

seen here with her cute, little son 

Koy-Teaw (rice-noodle). 

School. Mr Pete is studying for a 

Master’s in Tourism and Computer 

Communication in Hawaii. Ms Ann 

Tongsima is the Director of a hospital 

in B/KK. Ms Susanne is a corporate 

trainee in Grand Hyatt Erawan, 

B/KK. Ms Sweety is now a Banquet 

Sales Manager. Gianluca Sparacino 

(Sum ’90) and Alexandra Joeckle 

(Sum ’92) are married. Luca is F&B 

Director at The Peninsula, Bangkok. 

maintains close contact with the 

School which he visits regularly. 

Some 25 former students from 

Bangkok and its surroundings were 

present. Mr Prasert Faisaikram was 

elected President. This first evening 

was basically a social get-together 

to launch the Alumni movement. 

The next meeting-cum-social eve- 

Mr Pichet and Mr Sherry, 

all square after 72 holes, 

at the Les Roches Veterans’ 

Golf Cup in Bangkok. 

Also in Chiang Mai are the Conference 

Co-ordinator Lilly (Win ’93) 

and Suparie (Win ’92) who 

teaches at a private university and 

is F&B consultant at the new and 

successful ‘Good View Restaurant’. 

Moric is Sales Manager with 

the Regent Chiang Mai and has his 

office in Bangkok. 

Latest news: Mr Pla is F&B teacher 

at the Bangkok Oriental Hotel 

“Les Roches Alumni Establishment 

Night” was held last October 17th 

in the Narai Hotel. This hotel is 

owned by Mr Pichet Nithivasin 

who attended Les Roches International 

School in the Seventies. He 

Back row L to R : Otto, Suporn, 

Oliver, Pairuch, Ravivan, Nuntavit, 

Suan, Chaitip. Front row L to R: 

Dejantee, Raksaporn, Noparat, 

Paneewan, Sweety, Saranyn, 

Prasert,Yaowared, Nantiya, Absorn, 

Ke, Wilfred and Rosalin. 

Philippines 

We have received the following 

snippets of information about some 

of our Philippine graduates. 

Czar Dimayuga and James Estrella 

are together in what sounds like a 

lovely business. They cater for parties 

and provide the food, drinks, lights, 

music, DJ’s, etc. Inky Dario has 

extended his restaurant “Julio’s” and 

has opened up two more in Metro 

Manila, one of them with Troy Sy. 

Fritz Weber (85) is still at “The 

Giraffe”. Bayan Alcoseba is the 

manager at TGIF at Ortigas. “Château 

1771” is jointly run by Nina 

Sanchez and two other Les 

Roches graduates and has a new 

location at St Francis Square, in 

Ortigas. Ines Ligones is in the 

States, New Hampshire College, 

finishing her Bachelor’s. Patricia 

Puyat was promoted at the Intercontinental 

to Banquet Manager. 

Matt Lim is doing a lot of travelling 

for the moment. Jimmy Montenegro 

is doing very well at the 

Manadarin. 

Paolo Campillo has this to say 

about some Les Roches students he 

met or worked with recently: 

“I haven’t done a great job of keeping 

in touch with the Les Roches 

graduates. Jimmy Montenegro and 

I were together at the Mandarin. 

He’s now Banqueting Manager. Eli 

Abela was Banquet Sales Manager 

at the Shangri-la. Suszette Montinola 

is doing a Management Training 

Programme with the Intercontinental 

and my immediate boss 

Charlie Dang from Malaysia, is the 

F&B Director.” 

Thanks for all this news. We look 

forward to getting more for the next 

“link” Editor. 

4


African Tour - March 1998 

Kenya 

Mark, Aron, Eliana and 

Jacob ABBEMA. 

Eliana (Win’88) and her 

husband Mark split their 

time between running their 

Fairview Hotel in Nairobi 

and bringing up two sturdy 

young boys. 

Botswana 

Presidential Encounter 

On a promotional trip to several African countries, Mme Marie-Christine 

Clivaz was delighted to be with our many Kenyan graduates on the occasion 

of the Launching of the Kenyan Chapter of the Alumni Association. 

Representing the School were Mme Marie-Christine Clivaz and Mr Emilio 

Lavarini. Among the invited guests from the local Hotel & Tourism industries 

were Mr Borlin, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Switzerland, and 

Mr John Kariuki Executive Director of Sarova Hotels, Mr. Jerry Okungu, 

Marketing Manager, Nation Newspapers, Mr David Namu, Kenya Airways 

External Director, Mr Williams IB Co-ordinator, St Mary’s School. 

Most of the graduates had been introduced to Les Roches by Mrs Wanjala 

Sio, a long-standing friend and representative of the School. She was accompanied 

by her spouse, Mr Mwakai Sio, Principal of Utalii College, Nairobi, 

and a leading figure in hotel education on the African continent. 

Secretary Kim Mwai’s convocation resulted in an excellent turnout of 

Alumni keen to maintain their affinity with Les Roches. The towering presence 

of Bill Omamo -‘‘The man, the mountain, the legend’’ is captured in 

our souvenir photo. Jilesh Patel, Janet Gatere Maina, Kevin Dantas were 

among the many others present. They all signed the visitors’ book and our 

Christmas edition will have more details of this inaugural event. 

Mme Clivaz with Mr S. Sinha Jnr Asst. F&B at the Grand Palm 

Casino Resort. When President Clinton recently toured Africa, the 

logistics were nothing short of amazing! These containers are but a 

part of the several hundred tons of material that accompanied him. 

When you add to that the small army of advisers, security men, press 

and TV reporters, it makes the mind boggle! 

South Africa 

Durban Hilton Opening 

Yannis Anagnostakis 

with Mme Clivaz, Durban Hilton - 

April 1998. 

His warm smile, his firm hand-shake, 

his eyes sparkling with intelligence, 

Yannis is a person who knows what 

he is doing and loves doing it! 

After serving with the Greek Air 

Force, Yannis toyed with the idea of 

becoming a plot before embarking 

on a hotel career which he began at 

Les Roches, in 1987. 

Since joining Hilton International he 

has worked in Athens, London and 

now in South Africa. Switzerland is a 

second home because he studied languages 

at Collège du Léman and in 

Bluche where he graduated with Merit. 

About opening the Durban Hilton 

Yannis says: “We worked round the 

clock to put this monster up and get 

the outlets ready on time.” There was 

also the recruiting and training to be 

done, not forgetting the many meetings 

with the builders. 

Yannis has developed a love for the 

local wines of which he says there is 

no such thing as bad South African 

wine. In less than one year he has built 

up a personal collection of 180 bottles. 

He says that he will eventually return 

to Greece where he wants to open up 

his own spot - a buzzy, stylish restaurant, 

massive and ultramodern with a 

minimalist, back-to-basics approach 

to food. 

Whenever he can, Yannis explores 

South African game reserves and enjoys 

the theatre, opera, art and literature. 

An Athens “city kid”, he loves the 

wide open spaces of Africa and says 

that the crime situation is nowhere 

near as bad as he feared, but much on 

a par with any other major metropolis. 

He smiles and says “ The lifestyle 

is great here and I’m really 

enjoying it.” 

Cape Town 

Alex von Ness is F&B Manager at 

the free-standing and well-known 

‘Blues’ Restaurant Nicolette Lockyer 

(Win ‘96) is working very hard 

as Staff Co-ordinator with Inn Staff in 

Cape Town. Tanya Wagner is the 

Restaurant Manager at the five star 

“Table Bay Hotel”, a deluxe Sun 

International Hotel. 

5


Malaysia 

There was a good turn out of “Alumni 

Malaysia” for the meeting at the 

Kuala Lumpur Regent in March. 

Les Roches former students have 

really made their mark in the different 

segments of the hotel industry 

throughout this country. With the 

help of Mme Arlette Palmer and 

local Alumni, the renewed contacts 

augur well for the future interactive 

activities of Les Roches graduates in 

this part of the world. News of them 

is now coming in frequently and our 

Malaysian database is growing longer 

and longer. 

Mme Palmer and Nicholas 

Phoon at the Les Roches Stand, 

Salon Culinaire Hotel Asia ‘90 

Seen together above with School Representative Mrs Arlette Palmer, are: Kevin Chang, Marketing Exec., Helen Lim 

(Housewife ’83), Francis Chin, Lyn Loh,Senior Ops. Exec., (’81), Kimberley Tien, Christopher Tang Chi Munn GM. 

(’91), Cheng Mun Kid Sales Manager (’92), Tony Goh, GM (’80), Harry Huang Ops. Manager (’80), Eddie Chang 

and Jennifer Ho, Jeffrey Koo, Manager Real Estate (’82), Catherine Lui, Senior Catering Sales Manager (‘81), Agnes 

Chong Training Manager (’81), Chow Soon Cheng, Sales Manager (’81) Alan Piruz, Tham Foo Kim, (Head of Technical 

Studies.) Alan Kay, GM. (’81) 

Our Singapore Alumni continue to 

meet regularly. The latest report received 

before our printing deadline 

covers a social get-together at the 

Marché Mövenpick on March 3. 

Newly inscribed members included 

Mohammed Imran (‘94), Khew 

Kok Seng (‘86), self-employed travelling 

chef, Victor Yap (‘91). Sales 

Exec., Sharon Tan (’83) new baby 

and housewife for the moment, David 

Wong, Kit Lim, Marketing Exec., 

Chris Sim Han Ming, Risk and 

Resource Manager, Amy Wee (’91), 

Regional Account Co-ordinator, Vina 

Tay, Duty Manager, Rena Tan, Sales 

Exec., June Wee, Banquet Sales 

Manager, Leo Teng Jung, Product 

Management. Siah Li Yan Helen, 

Assist. Outlet Manager. 

Over 60 graduates have enrolled in 

the Alumni Association over the last 

two years. The meetings continue to 

be held on the first Tuesday of each 

month at the Provinage (Tel. 834 

1490). However, plans are afoot to 

Hong Kong 

We have been asked to inform all 

returning Hong Kong students and 

Alumni visitors to the island that the 

HK Alumni meet every second 

Wednesday of the month at La Cité, 

Admiralty Subway, Pacific Place, 

Hong Kong (18h00 - 20h00). A very 

warm welcome awaits everyone. 

hold the next one or two meetings at 

other sites. This is part of the interactive 

activities of the members. So, 

please contact Mrs Palmer (764 24 

25) or Lionel (3346 8433) about this. 

The contact with Bluche is excellent 

and the efforts to boost our latest 

addresses’ campaign is exemplary. If 

the dates coincide with their visit, graduates 

travelling through Singapore 

are more than welcome to get in 

touch. Alex Paléologue did this last 

year and was really chuffed to meet 

up with Les Roches Alumni so far 

away from Switzerland. 

William Jacques announces his engagement. 

He would like to contact 

contemporaries from (Win ’92 & ’93). 

Kelly-Webb-Heath (Win ’92) After 

two years in London, Kelly is now 

back in Singapore. Married to Marc 

Brimblecombe, they expect their first 

child in December. Meanwhile, Kelly 

retails CD’s. 

Grace Ng ‘92 Visited 

Bluche with her 

parents last month. 

Just married, she lives 

in Thun. It’s a small 

world... Grace’s new 

mother-in-law prepared 

the Swiss Maître 

d’Hôtel Maîtrise with 

Mr Peter Müller, our 

Service teacher! 

Singapore 

Alumni Singapore on a win-win streak. 

Singapore Alumni at the Marché Mövenpick, 3rd March. 

Back row - left to right: Vina TAY, Helen SIAH, Tena TAN, Amy WEE, 

GOVIN D. R., Alex HOON, Lionel CHEE, Sharon TAN, David WONG, 

John LEO, Denny AW, Christopher SIM and Victor Yap. 

Front row - left to right: Amanda TAN (in-trainee 1-year Associate Dip.) 

Violet Heng, June WEE, and Kit Lim. 

Evan Chan, Language 

Class ’82, is now with 

the Ching Chi Industrial 

Co. Evan always 

takes in the annual 

Basel Watch Fair. This 

was his first trip to 

Bluche since leaving 

the School. He’ll be 

going to Alumni meetings 

in HK. 

6


Malta 

Jean Pierre, Etienne and Sandra 

Saliba send their regards and best 

wishes to everyone. They would like 

to hear from their friends. 

Jean-Pierre tells us that Malta is so 

small that no one ever comes there. 

However, by chance he was invited 

to dinner one evening and met Anna 

from Germany. They had not been to 

school at the same time but as J-P 

says : “It’s amazing that Les Roches 

students have so much in common.” 

J-P says he has sort of left hotels 

after a busy time in the industry. He 

did the opening of a Westin Resort in 

Malta where he was responsible for 

Rooms Division, with 95 employees. 

Malta 

J-P found this a great experience, 

setting up everything, interviewing 

hundreds of people, the training, etc., 

not to mention the actual opening! 

Two months later he was sent as a 

Pre-opening Assistant to the Corporate 

Office in Seattle. This was followed 

by a stint in Germany where 

he ensured the standards and training 

at two Westins in Berlin and Dresden. 

The pace was a bit too much and he 

decided to sit back and take a breather. 

He describes his work now as 

less stressful, more rewarding financially, 

and still connected with 

hotels. He is with Hotel Software 

Fidelio and offers his services as a 

consultant. 

Brasil, Denmark, Equator, Germany, 

Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and 

the United Kingdom... 

...in the steps of Marco Polo 

Eleven students from the School are off on a grand professional adventure at 

the beginning of July. They are going to do their “stages” in the People’s 

Republic of China. These first, second and third year students will be working 

in top establishments in the cities of Beijing, Chengdu and Shantou. 

Worthy of notice is that the GM’s of the hotels where they are going are all 

Les Roches graduates. It is with the cooperation of these Alumni that the 

in-training periods have been arranged. 

Juan Mario Herrero, 

Stephan Boswell, Jean-Pierre 

Bizzari, Claudia Kurten, 

Juan-Antonio Bueno, 

Gabriella De Carvalho, 

Farquar Olaf Michael, Marc 

Steinback, José Antonio 

Garcia Montoya. Missing 

from the photo: Emmanuelle 

Valette, Lucy Wyatt. 

Minas and Tina 

Greece 

Dear Marie-Christine, 

It was very nice to hear from you 

and Les Roches. I was very happy 

to find the Les Roches site on the 

Internet. When I finished Les 

Roches in 1986, I spent the winter 

of ‘87/88 in the South of France 

improving my French. Then I had to 

do military service and finished up 

as a Second Lieutenant. Since April 

1990, I have been working in the 

Cosmopolitan Hotel on Kos Island, 

in Greece. 

The Cosmopolitan is a 3 star hotel, 

just 100 metres from the beach. 

There are 180 beds, swimming 

pool, tennis courts, cocktail bar and 

a small tavern by the swimmingpool. 

It is only 1.5 kilometres from 

the town centre of Kos. 

I got married last year to Tina Diakanastasi 

who is Greek-Canadian and a 

specialist in computer graphics designing. 

We came to Switzerland on 

our honeymoon so I could show Tina 

the place where I spent three of the 

best years of my life. That was in 

April ’97. As the tourist season will 

soon be finished, we are going off on 

our real honeymoon in December to 

Florida, USA. 

I shall be very happy to hear from 

you soon and I would like to receive 

“the link” regularly. 

With my best regards, 

Minas N. Hazimmail 

Dear Marie-Christine, 

I was very glad to hear from “Les 

Roches” after so long. Congratulations 

on your effort to create 

contacts all over the world with 

students from our school. 

After graduating from Winter 

Batch 1992, I started my career in 

Greece in Thessaloniki. I worked 

for 4 years as Housekeeping Manager 

in the 5-star hotel Electra Palace 

and then resigned to go and 

work with the Hyatt Corporation. 

Hitting the Jackpot in Europe’s biggest casino 

Hyatt opened the biggest Casino 

in Europe - the Casino Regency in 

Thessaloniki. This was in August 

1996 and I have been there ever 

since and now I am the Housekeeping 

Manager. 

The Casino Regency provides 

plenty of table gaming. It has 1,200 

employees, 700 slot-machines, 

theme restaurants, a 600-seat 

theatre for shows, and other amenities. 

A new hotel unit of 250 rooms 

will be opened in the Spring of 

1999. 

In Hyatt, training procedures, the 

latest management techniques, and 

computer applications are common 

practice in all departments. 

On talking with the Training Officer 

she showed great interest in contacting 

the school for stages and 

seminars. 

There are many former Les Roches 

students in Thessaloniki such as 

Dimitra Karanthasi, Win ’93 who 

is now Sales Manager of the Macedonia 

Palace Hotel. 

I miss Bluche and its snow and especially 

Petit Paradis and San’Nick’s. 

We loved those places. 

I wish every success to the Alumni 

effort and I am sure you will find a 

positive response from all the Les 

Roches students who are now professionals. 

Yours respectfully, 

Stavros Papegeorgiou 

PS I’d like to hear from Sandeep 

Magdoul and Albert 

7


Germany 

Hotline 

Stefan Buchs 

Radisson SAS’s ‘Hotline’ newsletter 

ran this article: 

“Stefan Buchs has been appointed 

Director of Sales & Marketing 

for the Radisson SAS Hotels, 

Praha, Chekoslovakia. Stefan is 

from Germany and worked with 

Hilton International from 1992. 

Before joining Radisson SAS he 

worked as Director of Sales and 

Marketing in the Prague Hilton 

Atrium. He graduated from the 

Hotel Management School Les 

Roches, Switzerland.” 

Hearty congratulations, Stefan ! 

Editor 

Mirko Sosnowski, Sales Manager, Four Seasons Hotel, Berlin, 

Mr Eric Favre, Hannes Borchers at ITB, Berlin ’98. 

from Russia 

with love 

Mini-reunion in St Petersburg. 

Daniella Freund Klumbis with her 

husband Jorg and Petra Steinle paid a 

surprise visit in April on newly-weds 

Karen (Née Honsberg) and Valerio 

Antonioli. The latter are now working 

in “The Grand Hotel”, managed by 

Kempinski Hotels. Daniella is Marketing 

Director and Valerio is Rooms 

Division Manager. The beautiful hotel 

is luxurious and cosy at the same time. 

St Petersburg is extremely interesting. 

Its castles, museums, churches, gardens, 

bridges (more than 300 of them), 

and theatres, make it a marvellous 

place for a cultural trip. 

Daniella and Valerio are now well 

integrated after two years in St Petersburg 

and were perfect hosts giving us a 

good ‘inside look’ at this wonderful 

city. Staying with them in their apartment 

building gave us a real feeling 

for the ‘Russian way of life’. The 

country is undergoing many changes 

and it is especially interesting to see 

the transition. 

Over a good vodka we shared memories 

of times in Bluche, The passing 

years and long distances have deepened 

our friendships. When we were 

in School, it never crossed our minds 

that one day there would be a mini- 

Les Roches Reunion in St Petersburg! 

From Russia with love, Karen, Valerio, 

Daniella, Jorge, Petra. 

Our happy group met up recently 

in Copenhagen. Christine Hassel 

is Assistant Rooms Division 

Manager at Radisson SAS Scandinavia 

Hotel and Dorte Buck 

Kemp is Assistant Reservations 

Manager, Radisson SAS Falconer 

Hotel in Copenhagen. Mette Larsen 

has a little son and has started 

work again with “Vincard” 

(Electronic Hotel Keys Company). 

Alexandra (Sasha) Haman 

is a BSc candidate at Surrey University, 

UK. 

Denmark 

Dorte, Mette, Sasha and Christine 

Hi Mr Sherry, 

Just got your message now. I’ve 

returned all the Christmas questionnaire 

papers but I was a bit late 

sending them. You see, everything 

went via my home address in 

Madrid and took a while to get to 

me, here in Denmark! 

I still think about the good ol’ days 

at Les Roches and how privileged 

we all really were. 

All the best to you Mr Sherry. Gotta 

go. Speak to you soon. 

Claudia Nielsen (Win ’92) 

Norway 

This small group of graduates 

recently got together at the Radisson 

in Oslo. They sent us the following 

updates about their careers. 

Kristen Hansson ’94 was in London 

for a year as a Receptionist with 

the Stafford Hotel. After two years 

as a private chef, Kristen now 

runs her own catering company - 

“KIKKI’S” and is very happy. 

Catherine Bakerud ’95 started in 

Reception with Radisson SAS Park 

Hotel and is now a Sales Consultant 

with Radisson SAS Worldwide, in 

Oslo. Karin Jaderqvist ‘95 worked 

as a Maître d’ in the South of France 

for two years. Currently, she has the 

same position at the Bristol Hotel in 

Oslo. Per Ahren left Les Roches in 

1992. The first item on his agenda 

was an extended summer vacation(!!), 

and then he completed his 

Management ‘stage’ at the Grand 

Hotel, Oslo. Since then he has been 

with Rainbow Hotels Slottsparken 

Apartment and is now the Assist. 

GM. Margarethe Sibbern Beschi 

’91, has squeezed a lot of experience 

into a short time. After Les 

Roches she completed an MSc in 

International Hotel Management at 

Surrey University. She was a Maître 

d’ with the Grand Hotel in Oslo 

before becoming Sales Executive 

with Holmenkollen Park Hotel 

Rica, Oslo. 

At the Radisson in Oslo: 

Left to right: Karin, Kikki, Per, 

Margarethe, Catherine. 

8


Dubai U.A.E 

5 Alumni in 1992 - 55 in 1998 

The Les Roches Alumni Association 

has quickly developed from a first, 

tiny group of 5 founder-members to 

an amazing assembly of 55 representing 

15 nationalities in U.A.E. All 

this in just a few short years. Sunny 

Dubai, a fast developing, cosmopolitan 

city, is a major trade, commerce, 

shopping and tourism attraction 

drawing in tourists from all over the 

world. Hotels and Franchise Restaurants 

mushroom here every month. 

Les Rochians have flocked to Dubai 

in response to the excellent career 

opportunities which its hotel industry 

has to offer. 

Our 3rd Alumni Night in 12 months 

was organised at the World Trade 

Club, Dubai World Trade Centre on 

April 23rd . This elegant club on the 

33rd floor with a breathtaking view 

of Dubai, was a spectacular venue. 

Sethu Menon (Sum ’91), F & B 

Manager of Dubai World Trade 

Centre welcomed us warmly and 

laid on the excellent cocktail reception. 

Merci. 

in the promotion of the School. Mr 

Niser was overwhelmed by the warm 

welcome he received and particularly 

impressed by the very spontaneous 

and active helping hand given by the 

Alumni. He told us how grateful he 

was and how happy he had been to 

find such a strong School spirit so far 

away from Bluche. 

The attendance was high. 35 of the 

55 Alumni turned up and most of 

them were on time, thereby maintaining 

Les Roches traditions! For some, 

however, the customary 0.2 had to be 

deducted!! 

The atmosphere was pleasantly nostalgic 

with everyone swapping stories 

and recollections of their “good 

old, bad old days” and of all the 

pranks played at Les Roches. Of 

course, when you bring hoteliers 

together you must expect that they 

will “talk shop’’. So, rack rates, 

sales trips, guests, F & B promotions 

and other topics were bandied 

around. 

Les Roches is by far the best represented 

Swiss Hotel School in the 

Gulf. The 55 of us outnumber students 

from other schools which only 

have 2 or 3 Alumni here. Our next 

meeting will be held in September 

‘98 when we shall have more Gulf 

news for you. Till then, bye-bye, and 

hello to all Les Rochians wherever 

they are, from the U.A.E Alumni. 

Ravi Chandran, President. 

Ravi, we greatly appreciate the time 

and effort you devote to the fluid 

organisation of U.A.E. Alumni Association. 

It is reassuring to know that 

the Presidency is in very good hands. 

Merci beaucoup. Marie-Christine 

Clivaz, Mr Sherry. 

Michel Allard, Ravi Chandran, Marco 

Rabbia - Waiters’ Race, Montana 

This meeting coincided with the presence 

of School representative and 

Guest of Honour, Mr John Niser. In 

Dubai for the Gulf Education Fair, he 

was, as is customary, aided by the participation 

of the locally based Alumni 

Respecting the ‘party tradition’, 

Kaizad Patel took a group of 

‘volunteers for extra duty’ to the 

49ers Night Club, in his Hotel “Seashali 

Inn”. There the fun lasted until 

the wee small hours. 

Some of Les Roches Alumni in Dubai during their “night shift” 

at the 49ers Night Club. 

Alpine World Cup Finals 

Top service 

for top events... 

Reception for New Federal Minister 

The Final of the World Cup Alpine Skiing held 

this winter in Crans-Montana was an outstanding 

success. While efficiently carrying out their duties 

in the exclusive VIP Lounge, the Les Roches 

students were able to rub shoulders with political 

and sports personalities, notably Mr Adolf Ogi, 

Federal Minister of Sports, Switzerland and stars 

like Alberto Tomba. 

The excellent organisation of the week-long 

event won the repeated praises of the International 

Ski Federation, the national teams, the 

media, and the large public in attendance. 

It was the genuine warm welcome they received 

which left the deepest impression. The smooth 

organisation and the spirit of friendliness prevailing 

at Crans-Montana are valuable assets for the Sion 

Valais Switzerland 2006 Olympic Candidature. 

Claudia, Kjerscia, Marina, Manij and Ajay 

on World Cup duty. 

The House of Parliament in Berne. 

Les Roches Service students capably handled 

the catering for the seven hundred political and 

civic representatives at the official home-coming 

reception for Mr Pascal Couchepin. He was 

honoured on that day by the population of his 

home town, Martigny, following his brilliant 

election to the Swiss Federal Council. 

The presence of the School Service Department 

is frequently solicited for events of this nature. 

The students are constantly congratulated on their 

professional expertise and polished performance. 

9


USA 

April 27, Bluche. A Mrs Roundtree 

had announced her intention to visit 

the school. We thought: “ Mrs who” 

No one here had the slightest clue 

who Mrs Roundtree was, least of all 

the Editor! What a happy surprise to 

walk into the Main Lobby and see 

Maile Hunt with her husband Brian! 

Maile attended Les Roches in 1991 

and was quite amazed to see so many 

changes. Top of her list of favourite 

innovations was the mock-up Reception, 

up on the 3rd floor. She just 

couldn’t believe it! The library and 

the multimedia amenities also came 

Mrs Maile Roundtree and 

her husband Brian 

in for a lot of praise. Maile had no 

idea how much lap-tops have become 

an irreplaceable part of school 

life. 

Over lunch, Chef Bider explained 

how the old weekly kitchen class 

projects are now more oriented to 

on-the-job performance. This is 

done in the fast-food set-up of the 

Café du Village (CDV). 

Maile came back to Bluche for personal 

reasons and left feeling very 

satisfied that she had returned. To 

conclude, she insisted on this ‘family’ 

photo. Thanks for your visit Mr 

and Mrs Roundtree. It was a real 

pleasure! - Editor 

Michelle and Vincent Da Costa write: 

Thanks for “the links. It’s great to see 

how friends are doing now. 

It seems just like yesterday when a 

few years back we visited the School 

and saw all the on-going changes. 

Judging from these newsletters we 

received, this seems to be a constant. 

We were thrilled to find the Les 

Roches Homepage on the Web. 

Michelle: “I’m still working as a 

flight attendant. I’ve been doing this 

for 12 years now and enjoy it very 

much.” It’s a great way to meet interesting 

people.” SaysVincent: “It was 

nice of you to offer to try and put us 

in contact with some of our classmates. 

A couple of people we would 

like to contact are Iona or George 

Huntley (‘84), Reza Ghazali (‘85), 

Maria or Carla Rodrigues (‘85) 

Brian Dorairajah (‘85). I could go on 

and on here....but I’ll leave it at that.” 

Mme and Mr Favre 

with Cynthia and Kieth. 

Kieth Birch ’83 and Cynthia 

Recio (’82-’83) got married, in 

1985. They have four daughters 

Tiffany, Nicole, Kimberly and 

Michelle, aged 11, 9, 6 and 2 respectively. 

To date Kieth’s career has 

been highly successful and he is 

currently G.M. at the Red Lobster 

Restaurant, where he supervises 7 

managers and some 70 employees. 

They have 800 guests per day (up to 

1200 on special holidays). His 

company is part of Darden Restaurants, 

the largest Dinner House 

chain in the world. 

Over the years Kieth has kept in 

touch with Sam Kapadia in N.Y., 

Abadan (Elvis), Sydney, Marie 

Tan, Robert Tay and Alvin Nuh. 

This is but a brief summary of 

Kieth’s news. I hope it will encourage 

Pioneers to get in touch with us 

and with each other. So, please write 

sooner than soon. Editor. 

Sabine Smith spent the first two 

years away from Bluche doing her 

‘stage’ and working in Toronto as a 

Guest Services Manager. Thereafter, 

she went to Cornell where 

quite a group of Les Rochians was 

studying, including former teacher 

Jeffrey Catrett. 

Les Roches postgraduates at Cornell 

Sabine is back in her native Toronto 

at the Intercontinental where, she is 

Assistant Front Office Manager. 

Many thanks for your news, Sabine, 

and especially for the photo. We 

look forward to hearing from the 

others in the photo too. Editor. 

Les Roches Reunion Dinner at Cornell Hotel School 

L to R : Andrea Ehrenberg (Win ‘93), George Nicholas (Sum ‘92), Javier, 

Harris Theocharus (Win ‘94), Sabine Smith (Sum ‘92), William Aw 

(Win‘95), Jeffrey Catrett (former Les Roches teacher), Shirlynn Lim (Win ‘94) 

Argentina 

There is good news from Carl & 

Sabine (née Steverlynck) Emberson 

(Win 89). They have two little 

girls, Tatania (6) and Chiara (3). Sabine 

manages the top Buenos Aires 

“Katrine Restaurant” and Carl has 

just sold the “Due”, the fourth restaurant 

they have sold since leaving 

school. Carl runs his own Consulting 

Agency and working with him is 

Veronica Medina (Sum ’95). 

Brasil 

Catherine Debbaud got married to 

Marcelo Hannud last December. She 

has been with the ‘Bar des Arts’ and 

10 

South America 

‘O Leopoldo’ group for nearly five 

years. Inspired by Cultural Night, 

their reception was complete with 

belly-dancers and a mixture of Arab, 

Japanese, Italian and Brazilian food. 

Artur H de Mendonça Lima (Sum 

’82) has picked up a lot of news 

since receiving “the link”. He 

wants to contact his close cool friend 

Javed and others from ’82 on 

menlima@ax.apc.org. Artur is Marketing 

Director of a major food service 

company. Married, he has a 

five-months-old son. He has applied 

for MBA programs in the USA and 

Europe, with the help of Les Roches. 

Mihir Thacker (Win ’95), on a recent 

visit gave us this interesting account 

of his career to date : 

After graduation in June 1995, I worked 

briefly in Bombay at The Oberoi 

(Sales and Marketing ). I left soon 

after to become Executive Assistant 

to the Managing Director, Rugby 

Hotels and Resorts. Here, my job 

involved developing the Sales and 

Marketing plan for the Company’s 

foray into the Timeshare Industry. 

They launched this division with 2 

Resorts in July 1996, with an inventory 

of 130 rooms resulting in a potential 

inventory of 6500 weeks for sale 

India 

(sales target - over $10,000,000 

within 3 years). 

In February 1997, I was promoted to 

Director. My responsibilities include 

overseeing the ongoing projects, 

supervising renovations at an existing 

property and planning a new 80 

room resort. I also oversee the 

restructuring of operations and establishing 

standard operating procedures 

along with the GM. 

It’s been a hectic and tiring three 

years but it’s been exciting and I 

wouldn’t change for anything.

the link Grads write in... June 1998 

Dear Editor, 

What a great way to end the day by receiving “the 

link”! It is always nice to get news from Les 

Roches. Although I haven’t been back in Bluche 

in 4 years, I often wonder how the place I used to 

call ‘home’ is doing. 

I am in Arizona looking at various business 

opportunities right now. Before this I worked in 

the fast food business in London with the Compass 

Group, UK. Now, my plan is to open my 

own business but I haven’t yet decided on its location. 

I am in touch with a few Alumni from the Graduating 

Class of ’91. Regis Cholat is in Geneva; 

Felicity Campbell is in Zimbabwe and has a gorgeous 

little son (my godchild); Christina Zorn is 

married and working in Germany; Elliot 

Machold is in Hong Kong. 

I remember how you and I tried to set up “the 

link” 1991. You have done a great job. 

If anyone has news of John MacDonald, I would 

love to hear about him. 

Hoping to make it back to Bluche soon. 

Jane Marks ‘91 

Les Roches certainly provided many opportunities 

to the students. One, noticeably, was the 

chance to work and travel around the world and 

almost always be able to find someone from 

the school at a new destination. Currently, I am 

working in my fifth country, namely Malaysia, 

and have caught up with quite a few friends from 

yesteryear here at a local Alumni meeting. (see 

Malaysia article). 

In my days we represented 55 nations! Amazingly, 

I still keep in contact with over 25 students 

outside my ‘home base’ in Australia! 

Keeping the data base current is a full time role in 

itself! Please count on me for any assistance you 

need. 

Looking through “the link” I can see that the 

School is in good hands and on track. Good luck 

to you all and keep up the good work. 

Please give my regards to any present staff who 

were in school in my days. 

Nicholas Phoon (Win. ’91) 

I have been working in Belgium for the Brussels 

Hilton (a pilot hotel for all new Hilton products, 

positions and software). 

My professional life is going very well. I started 

here just over three years ago. First, I was with 

reception for 8 months and then moved to Night 

Auditing for 6 months. This led to promotion to 

Night Manager and then to Duty Manager for 12 

months. 

At this point, I was offered one of two vacant 

positions as Yield Manager. This has been a very 

successful experience. The world-wide yield roll 

out will take place soon. I have now been offered 

a new position which would be Regional Yield 

Manager in charge of 6 hotels. I will keep you 

informed as this has still to be made official. 

Anyone from the School who is passing through 

Brussels is welcome to call on me. 

Cheers and take care 

Pierre ALBAN (Sum ’92) 

P.S. The Brussels Hilton is always looking for stagiaires 

for all Departments. 

I think...therefore, I am 

.......I think. 

If I am, I think 

.......I think 

I think I think 

At least if I think 

Then I think, I think. 

.......I think. 

If I don’t think 

I can’t think, I think. 

If I don’t think, 

I am not. 

.......I think. 

But I am 

At least I think I am 

.......I think. 

From a “Les Roches” 

Year Book, 

What you are doing about the Alumni Association 

is great! There are a number of Les Roches 

Students here at Johnstone & Wales and we 

constantly bump into each other. 

We all agree that Bluche was the best time of all. 

Keep up the good work and let me know if you 

have any Sum ’92 grads’addresses. Especially 

those in the States. 

I wish you all the best and I’ll keep on checking 

out LR on the Web. For anyone who would like to 

contact me, please contact: 

mmunywok@exodus.jwu.edu 

Have a blast! 

Mutuku Munywoki (Sum ’92) 

Time flies so quickly! Five years have already 

gone by since I was in Bluche on holiday with my 

wife Lily and son Alfred. But it is seventeen years 

since I first set foot on Swiss soil. I have so many 

fond memories of those times. 

With the World Cup coming up, I remember how 

we cheered on Scotland in Espana ’82 in the Buffet 

de la Gare. I’ll put my last dollar on Scotland to 

defeat Brazil and go on to the second round. 

When the economy picks up again, I hope to be 

back in Bluche after France ’98. 

Greetings to fellow Alumni from far and near and 

thanks for the memories. 

Arthur Chin - Sum ‘83 

I’m so happy to have been able to find ‘our`site 

on theWeb. What a pity that I didn’t look for it 

before ! 

I am hoping to get in touch with some fellow Les 

Roches grads. from my year of Win ’89. It’s hard 

to believe that it’s been so long ! I hope this letter 

will help. 

Nine years ago I purchased a small Swiss Army 

knife from the School store. On it was engraved 

‘Les Roches - SHA’. Well to cut a long story 

short, (with the missing knife!) my husband lost 

it ! Now I’m trying to replace it. 

Is there any other merchandise I can purchase 

from the School store to add to my Les Roches 

memorabilia 

Thanks, 

Julie Young Cheung (Win ’89) 

Dear Alumni, 

Since Christmas 1996, you cannot imagine how 

encouraging it has been for us to receive your 

avalanche of letters, faxes, e-mails. 

Quite apart from the joy of hearing from you (in 

many cases after some years of silence) is the 

delight of your contemporaries who have also 

been ‘out of touch’. The same thing is repeated so 

often - “ I can’t believe that it has been ‘x’ years 

since I left Les Roches”, “Time goes by so quickly”, 

“Do you know where John Brown is”, “I’d 

like to contact Mary Smith”, etc. Fictitious names 

but real sentiments! 

We all need this renewal of contact. However, our 

private and professional activities are time consuming 

and we do tend to lose touch. 

My message is to ask you to make the effort and to 

write those letters “you’ve always been meaning to 

write, but never had the time...”. Your friends will 

be all the happier, and the Alumni Association all 

the stronger for those few words from a “stranger”. 

Please! Please! Keep up the constant flow of 

news, photos, professional information, job placement 

offers, etc., but above all, get in touch 

again with those who will be very chuffed to hear 

from you. 

Our Christmas circular was a success. To date, 

over five hundred updated addresses have been 

received. The questionnaire replies are still being 

analysed. We appreciate your help in this matter. 

Thank you. 

Avec toutes mes amitiés, Mr. Sherry - Editor 

Les Roches Alumni Association - Case Postale 5214 - 3975 Bluche - Switzerland 

Tel. : +41 27 481 95 10 - Fax : +41 27 481 51 27 - E-Mail : alumni.roches@roches.vsnet.ch - Web : http ://www.vsnet.ch/roches/ 

11

the link Honour where honour is due June 1998 

Message of good wishes... 

Marcel Ch. Clivaz - Founder of Les Roches and Chairman of the Board of Governors 

Mes Amis, 

Ce bref message d’amitié - dans la 

langue officielle de l’école - ne retardera 

en rien votre impatience de 

quitter votre place tout à l’heure pour 

fêter, chanter, embrasser vos amis, 

remercier vos parents présents et 

prendre le grand départ. 

Il y a quarante-cinq ans, les portes 

des Roches s’ouvraient pour la 

première fois. Aujourd’hui, pour la 

première fois également, Les 

Roches vous offrent le premier 

Bachelor Degree in International 

Hospitality Management et ceci 

sous notre propre responsabilité et 

signature. 

A l’approche de ce demi siècle d’activité 

intense et fructueuse, dix mille 

professionnels environ dans le 

monde ont construit pour leur école 

une réputation sans faille et ont écrit 

pour Les Roches ses lettres de 

noblesse... Cinq mille cinq cent 

médecins, diplomates, juristes, 

hommes d’affaires, hommes de 

lettres et “j’en passe”, et plus de 

quatre mille cinq cent diplômés en 

Hotel Management. 

Je ne reviendrai pas sur l’éclatante 

période des Roches “Ecole Internationale 

pour Jeunes Gens et Jeunes 

Filles”, mais permettez-moi une petite 

chronologie qui nous conduira en 

ce 20 mai 1998, jour de votre licence, 

mes amis, en l’Hotel Management. 

Cette licence n’est-elle pas le résultat 

d’une longue histoire d’amitié - 

d’amour même - dans une grande 

volonté de réussir entre 

• la famille Clivaz, ma famille. 

Merci Francis ! 

• chacune de vos familles, chers 

licenciés 

• la SSH. Merci M. Urfer. Merci M. 

Probst ! 

• la NEASC, Endicott et Norwich. 

Merci Mike McKechnie, John 

Niser et Ronald Carpenter 

• les Directeurs des Roches, Eric 

Favre, et précédemment Peter 

Schlatter. 

• tous les collaborateurs de cette 

direction, une centaine de personnes, 

que je ne saurais vous présenter 

nommément 

• le Comité de l’école. Merci François 

Ducry et Jean Mudry ! 

• la Commission scolaire, le Comité 

de recours. Merci André Viscolo ! 

Et je terminerai par 

• l’équipe de Marketing et de 

Relations Publiques. Merci 

Christine, Jimmy, Pierre-André 

et Alexandre ! 

Familles, SSH, NEASC, Directeurs, 

Collaborateurs, Comité, Elèves : 

OUI, 

mais je vous ai parlé d’une histoire 

d’amitié - d’amour même - et vous 

êtes, vous, diplômés de ce 20 mai, 

les partenaires les plus valeureux de 

cette aventure de fidélité, dont vous 

êtes aussi les plus heureux gagnants. 

Vous quittez aujourd’hui cette maison, 

ma maison, qui doit rester un 

peu la vôtre aussi. Je suis certain que 

chacun de nous a encore beaucoup 

de place dans son coeur. Cette place 

dans votre coeur, accordez-là - 

puisque vous êtes maintenant dans 

l’industrie de l’accueil - à l’Hôte que 

vous allez accueillir demain. Sachez 

accueillir l’homme d’affaires, le touriste 

en vacances, le client agréable, 

celui qui l’est moins, l’enfant et son 

grand-père. 

Avec amitié et amour, faites que 

chacun se sente chez vous dans sa 

maison. 

Je terminerai par un rappel qu’en 

vrais professionnels vous ne devrez 

jamais oublier : 

Accueillir et conserver l’amitié de 

votre hôte est infiniment plus important 

que de simplement le recevoir 

par votre publicité. 

Soyez disponible, souriant, travailleur, 

indulgent quelquefois, 

aimable toujours... 

ALORS TOUS ENSEMBLE, NOUS 

AURONS RÉUSSI ET VOUS 

RÉUSSIREZ! 

12 

Congratulations to the first BSc. graduates 

Back row - Left to right: 

Ashwin Chellaram (Singapore), Jin Young Park (Korea), Sumeet Kumar 

(India), Nitin Kapoor (Kenya), Zhan Ping-An (China) Anton Kilayko 

Amunategue (Philippines), Demetris Sotiris Demitriou (Cyprus), Chen Yen- 

Hao Lucien (Taiwan), Stevanus Zakaria Adhihusada (Indonesia), Lee Fu-Yen 

(Taiwan). 

Middle row - Left to right: 

Erica Leo Santoso (Indonesia), Indra Hifni (Indonesia), Chen Ting Hung 

(Taiwan), Chan Donia (UK/Hong Kong), Chong Wei Yong Donegel’ 

(Malaysia), Yi Na-Lee (Korea), Jae-June-Lee (Korea), Vienna Felicia Adinata 

(Indonesia), Emma Arqué (Spain), Anna Amundson (Sweden), Liu Chia-Chi 

(Taiwan), Chen Ying-Ju Crystal (Taiwan). 

Front row - Left to right: 

Kantic Kripalani (Oman), Julia Brask Carey (United States), Ma Sen-Tin Tina 

(Taiwan), Tsai Min-Chen Audry (Taiwan), Puja Venkataraman (UK/Hong 

Kong), Wang Jung -Sheng (Taiwan), Yuan Tun-Pei Patricia (Taiwan), 

Rochanaporn Trislip (Thailand), Trine Flatjord (Norway), Tu Li-Hua Teresa 

(Taiwan), Teow Mei Kwan (Singapore), Hseih Pei-Yu Jany (Taiwan). 

Missing: Ara Aederi (India), Liew Chinny (Singapore)

MEP link_no17_juin. 98

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?