Sitting with the F&B Director

Interview with Christophe Wong

Learn about the new EHL F& B environment and how the latest concepts , such as the Montreux Jazz Cafe are integrated with the campus development

What attracted you to come to EHL?

CW: Coming from the hotel industry I ’ ve always been around either students or alumni of EHL It ’s a bit of a cliché to say that at the end of one ’s career one comes to Switzerland but Switzerland was a place where I ’ ve always seen being at the end of my career It ' s a bit of a cliché to say that at the end of one' s career one comes to Switzerland , but that ' s what happened .

When the opportunity arrived , I said to myself,

‘’why wait when the best school in the world is knocking at my door ’’? I told myself,

‘’ it ' s for a great project, and above all , it was this project that interested me ’’.

The project was to participate in the opening of the new campus I ' ve done a few hotel openings and I ' ve

Connect With Christophe Wong On Linkedin

loved participating in them , and to be able to do it in a different setting is unique . I thought the time had finally come .

What are the main changes in F & B on the Lausanne campus ?

CW: We are opening 2 new restaurants and a wine bar, there have been quite a few changes in the works , even during the concept phase . The first one was the Montreux Jazz Café ( MJC ), in the ‘ La Ferme ’ building , which is dear to all our alumni

I was involved in this project even before I arrived because my interview was done based on this concept. We' ve been at it for two and a half years now. The school had already signed with the MJC , it wasn ’ t my idea to create this franchise but the whole concept was created by Christian Segui , Executive Chef of the EHL Group , and myself This would be a wine bar where we also serve Mediterranean tapas , open from 3 pm to 11 pm for the last seating We also offer brunch on Sundays , from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm

There have been quite a few changes in the works, even during the concept phase.

Then comes the Canopy space . This one has changed quite a bit in terms of concept during the works Originally, it was meant to be a food court But following a request from the APs (due to an increase in intakes ), we needed a workshop to complement Le Berceau des Sens .

So we decided to make it a high means , on the one hand , a luxury brasserie that is open to the public . And on the other that is a bit more cafeteria and food court style w a 100% plant - based concept, Le Shadwood

Where did the idea for each concept come from ?

CW: A bit from everywhere ; from the experience that each person in the team had at hands And , of course , from my experiences and where I ' ve been

We' re going to have 14 F& B outlets at EHL , and we also had to make sure that we had a coherent and homogeneous offer, that we had outlets that were all complementary and that we could offer something for all tastes . As a result, now we have a fairly wide range We go from grab - and - go to Berceau des Sens

The different concepts really represent the multiculturality of EHL . Would you say that these new concepts will allow students to experience first hand before they go on placement ?

CW: Yes , completely It ' s true that we have expanded the range of different outlets even further

Let ' s talk about the Montreux Jazz Café at La Ferme . There will be teachers , students from EHL , as well as a team from the Montreux Jazz Festival . How will this interaction work and how will it complement the students ' learning ?

CW: I know that for the alumni , La Ferme is something that is dear to their hearts , where they had great experiences creating unique concepts . Unfortunately, this is no longer the old concept as it has become a fully owned and franchised outlet

Today, we have a wine bar with opening hours and a team in place A team of professionals and teachers will supervise the APs from Monday to Friday. And on Saturdays and Sundays , we will have another team who will complete the service side for the students . We will have a place where students can relax , where they can listen to music , have a drink , spend an evening on Saturday or have a great brunch on Sunday

What makes this Montreux Jazz Café at La Ferme different from other Montreux Jazz Cafés in Switzerland ?

CW: The concept is completely different Where we were able to really put our stamp is that the concept of a wine bar with tapas This is not something that the MJC usually has .