The Academy Newsletter Issue14

Issue Fourteen, June 2013

Anna Jentgen wins the Taste New Zealand Chef Competition UAE 2013

Dr Stuart Jauncey, Dean of The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management

Editorial Team Marketing Team at EAHM Issue 14, June 2013 The writers for this issue include: Aline Paulus, Andreas Beisser, Ashil Shah, Chanel Venter, Charlotte Svensson, Conrad Sokolnicki, Elham Bolooki, Gratiela Duciuc, Helen Morris, Ibrahim Husaini, Karyn Williams-Sykes, Lina Rahmanian, Marianne Saulwick, Marketing Team, Michael Kitts, Samuel Moult, Stuart Jauncey, Veronica Pino and the Student Council.

Photos by: Marketing Team and others.

Cover Photo: Taste New Zealand Chef Competition 2013

Visit our Website! www.emiratesacademy.edu The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management PO Box 29662 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Telephone: +9714 315 5555 Fax: +9714 315 5556 Email: info@emiratesacademy.edu

Page 2

A note from The Dean

Awards & Recognition

As we reach the end of another Academic Year where we have to say farewell to another cohort of graduating students, the largest group of graduates yet, who have grown and flourished into hospitality leaders. While it is the end of an era for some, it is also an exciting time for us as we are able to welcome new faces to the EAHM family from all across the world.

Anna Jentgen wins the Taste New Zealand Chef Competition 2013!

With over 50 nationalities being represented, EAHM truly is a diverse and interesting educational community for students to really capture the essence of hospitality. People form the foundation of the industry and are key to its success, therefore having the opportunity to study with peers from all corners of the globe is truly a unique experience that we take pride in.

EAHM has come to life with activity this year. A true highlight is the success of our Food & Beverage team who has won in two competitions, with one of our students, Anna Jentgen, competing against 60 professional chefs and winning the Taste New Zealand Chef Competition. Chef Michael Kitts and Haresh Mohinani also took the winning United Arab Emirates title in the Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge.

We are really proud to announce that our second year student, Anna Jentgen, has won the Taste New Zealand Chef Competition 2013.

Chefs from all across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) entered the competition with only ten finalists being chosen, including Anna Jentgen from EAHM, the only female finalist as well as the only student amongst nine other professional chefs. Anna prepared a three course meal that won the hearts of the judging panel.

Anna won an all-expenses paid trip to New Zealand. The awards ceremony was held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, where the New Zealand Consul General & Trade Commissioner, Mr Steve Jones, announced the award. Well done Anna!

The recent trimester also saw the annual Recognition Ceremony, in which many of the top students in EAHM were recognised for their hard work. The winning teams in the Food & Beverage Management, Gastronomy and Real Estate Finance projects were rewarded, along with the Best Jumeirah Intern, and the students on the Dean’s List, made possible by having a GPA of over 3.75 (out of 4.0).

EAHM is also delighted to announce that it will be hosting the EuroCHRIE conference in 2014 where the theme will be ‘Hospitality and Tourism Futures’ with a number of delegates from around the globe taking part in the conference.

It is also particularly pleasing to note that we have additional study abroad partnerships with renowned educational institutes such as the University of Agder, University of Macau, Cologne Business School, Danish Academy of Business and Technology, MCI Management Center Innsbruck and City University of Macau to name but a few. We look forward to welcoming a number of students from these institutes to Dubai and to EAHM where they will spend a period studying with us and gaining work experience. It is partnerships such as these, as well as our industry links that help us to continue to grow and strengthen into the future.

EAHM wins Gold at The Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge!

Another great success! Director of Culinary Arts, Chef Michael Kitts and Mr Haresh Mohinani, are the UAE winners of The Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge, after winning Gold in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The aim of the Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge, which ran from 15 - 17 April 2013 in the UAE, is to create a series of recipes in four given categories with the objective of putting the ‘tea’ back into high tea. Chef Kitts and Mr Mohinani competed against a number of renowned culinary masters from five star establishments across the UAE and delivered a winning combination of flavours that complemented Dilmah Real High Tea.

Best wishes, Dr Stuart Jauncey The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management

@emiratesacademy

www.youtube.com/user/emiratesacademy

#emiratesacademy

Page 3

Awards & Recognition

Industry Liaison

Recognition Ceremony 2013

Career Fair 2013 – Exciting Careers in the Hospitality Industry!

by Marianne Saulwick

FABM Winning Project Team

Real Estate Finance Project December 2012

Conrad Sokolnicki – Dean’s List

The annual Career Fair has come and gone again for 2013 and was a resounding success! EAHM welcomed 34 international companies from around the world earlier this year, to exhibit and present their internship offers to the first year students and full-time work opportunities to the graduates.

This event focuses on establishing and growing brand awareness and about future employment opportunities, but it was also a fantastic opportunity for industry professionals to catch up with each other. We all know that this is an industry that is built on relationships. Our industry is dynamic, people move rapidly within individual organisations and between companies.

The Food & Beverage Winning Project goes to Kibuyu, the African-themed restaurant completely developed and managed by our second year students.

Congratulations to the team who completed the best feasibility study of a particular type of hotel in the real estate feasibility project.

Congratulations to Conrad for obtaining a cumulative GPA of 3.98 during his first year at EAHM.

Gastronomy

Real Estate Finance Project March 2013

Chanel Venter – Dean’s List

Exhibitors were able to mingle over the beautiful lunch provided

by Chef Michael Kitts and managed by Mr Haresh Mohinani together with the students. A testament to the success of the Career Fair was that we had a number of Alumni in attendance and one of our Norwegian Alumni, got the job he wanted!

Students came armed with CVs, business cards were exchanged, and faces put to names. Many of these connections are now being followed up.

A wonderful student committee organised the whole event. A big thank you to Mohammed Tasser, Nick Nasra, Elham Bolooki, Lina Rahmanian and Conrad Sokolnicki!

A very special industry presentation!

by Conrad Sokolnicki The two winning teams stood out with their creative 6-course meals, displaying innovative pairing of food and beverage for esteemed guests.

Best Jumeirah Intern Award

Congratulations to the team who completed the best feasibility study of a particular type of hotel in the real estate feasibility project.

Congratulations to Chanel for obtaining a cumulative GPA of 3.96 during her first two years at EAHM.

As always, EAHM this past year has been very fortunate to have had many intriguing and riveting presentations from key professionals in the industry. In the first week of March 2013, EAHM was honoured to invite and host Mr Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. On the day of the presentation, our students were greeted in the early hours of the morning by a hearty breakfast, prepared by our very own Chef Michael Kitts, followed by a very interesting talk from Mr van Paasschen.

both Nike and Molson Coors. Mr van Paasschen also told us about his role within Starwood and discussed innovative techniques to maximise customer satisfaction and reach the bottom-line goals in the company he runs. The students and faculty of EAHM felt very privileged to experience a talk from such a successful and influential person and truly enjoyed Mr van Paasschen’s visit.

We all look forward to the many presentations to come from leaders in the hospitality industry!

Our special guest spoke about his journey on becoming a major leader in the industry and how he first started in top positions at

Ankush Mantoo stood out from his colleagues during his time as an intern with Jumeirah.

Page 4

Page 5

International

Professional Training & Development

Einstieg Cologne, Jumeirah Frankfurt & Ronnefeldt Tea

Darley Flying Start

Christopher Dutt & Helen Morris

by

Earlier this year, Mr Ron Hilvert, Managing Director of EAHM, and Mr Andreas Beisser, Director of Operations and Projects of EAHM, travelled to Cologne in Germany to attend the Einstieg education exhibition and to host an information session at the Jumeirah Frankfurt Hotel.

The exhibition took place over two days and is part of a series of Einstieg exhibitions that occur around Germany to allow potential higher education students to learn more about their prospective universities.

Attracting 28,000 visitors, the exhibition is a great opportunity for EAHM to meet potential students as well as be showcased alongside 300+ other universities and higher education institutions. EAHM often has a number of students visiting from Germany as part of the Study Abroad programme.

Mr Hilvert and Mr Beisser were also joined by Matthias Schlimpert, an EAHM Alumni, and Gaetano, Mira and Amira, who are all former Study Abroad students at EAHM in 2011.

Mr Hilvert and Mr Beisser not only attended the exhibition but also signed an agreement with J.T. Ronnefeldt KG in Frankfurt, to provide scholarships to German Nationals who demonstrate an interest in the hospitality industry, show academic excellence in their high school results, and are in need of financial support.

The celebration took place at the rooftop of Remo Café. The view of the Burj Al Arab dedicated a projected view of a snake design in honour of the holiday. The celebration contained various activities , such as Chinese character drawing, mingling, singing and a Chinese

ambitious young international students. Delegates this year ranged from the UK, USA, China, Japan, Ireland and France.

Darley Flying Start is an educational charity that provides twelve scholarships annually to people who wish to study and experience the global thoroughbred industry at the highest level. It was funded in 2003 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The Darley International Student Programme has rapidly expanded and developed from a vision into a sophisticated management training programme. Selections on the scholarship are sought by

The two-year programme students spend January to March in Dubai, culminating with the Dubai World Cup. Thereafter, the delegates return to Ireland and UK to wrap up their academic courses and present their Business Plans. Whilst in Dubai, they attend academic programmes at EAHM in the IT, Finance, Marketing and Human Resources department, facilitated by the faculty.

Einstieg Munich: 11 - 12 October 2013!

by Charlotte Svensson

This memorable holiday was brought together by The Student Council who aimed for all students, including the BHI study abroad students, to have a home away from home celebration.

For the 9th consecutive year, EAHM has been proud to host the Darley Flying Start Scholarship Programme.

J.T. Ronnefeldt KG, a long-time partner of EAHM, is a renowned traditional tea manufacturer based in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, supplying tea to the world’s top hotels and gourmet restaurants, including Burj Al Arab.

新年好! Happy New Year - let the year of the Snake begin!

The greatest holiday in China, the Chinese New Year, is a two week spring festival with an emphasis on family gatherings and prosperity among many Chinese.

culture quiz resulting in an opportunity to win a dinner for two in one of the Jumeirah outlets.

At the stroke of midnight, according to the Beijing timing, beautiful fireworks were displayed over the Burj Al Arab and all students that attended this auspicious event joined in in the singing of the Happy New Year song in Chinese. 万事如意，一帆风顺！ May your wishes come true and may you have a favourable year all the way!

Other Activities Professional Training & Development at the EAHM continues to offer Professional Development Programmes that are open to the public, which includes the popular WSET Programmes, Human Resources Management and Kitchen & Restaurant Management programmes.

We are proud to announce our new

partnership with American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AH&LAEI). You can sign-up today for Certified Hospitality Supervisor (CHS), Certified Hospitality Department Trainer (CHDT) and Certified Hospitality Trainer (CHT) courses.

Please visit us for more information: Emirates Academy // Professional Services

Gastronomy Night Page

by Aline Paulus Our Gastronomy Night page on Facebook was setup to show the preparation for the Gastronomy Night, which took place on the 11th of February 2013 in the !con Restaurant. We posted videos on a regular basis showing EAHM’s location, the culinary and gastronomy facilities and of course the people involved with it.

A frequently asked question was: “What is the purpose of the page?”

Well, that was the interesting thing

Page 6

by Karyn Williams-Sykes

about it! There was no straight aim, the reason why the videos were kept very simple and ‘raw’.

Our aim was to give an insight of being a student at EAHM, educate our viewers on culinary and gastronomy with our amazing trivia quiz and of course, explain the origin of the crêpe!

In the end, this turned out to be a pretty successful idea with over 200 likes within two weeks!

Page 7

Culinary Arts Events

Student Council

by Helen Morris The trimester for the food and beverage (F&B) courses started with a bang. Right away, the new group of students were subjected to test their culinary and food service skills.

During this 12 weeks intensive course, the students covered the usual curriculum and they were also fortunate to witness some of the industry demonstrations by our regular industry partners and F&B suppliers such as Wet Fish, Raw Coffee, and Ronnefeldt Tea. San Pellegrino was the new addition to our ever growing list of industry partners.

of different varieties of teas and provide feedback of their personal preferences to the selection.

In February, we welcomed San Pellegrino for the first time to EAHM and their presentation was highly appreciated. Our students learnt about the history of San Pellegrino and Aqua Panna and how it should be served in the restaurant. The session was very interesting and much to our delight they agreed to sponsor the water that is used in ¡con, our training restaurant. A special thanks to Mr. Haresh Mohinani for his negotiating skills during the International Fine Food Festival in November which, really paid off.

mind, the students this trimester had a tour of F&B outlets at Wild Wadi and Emirates In-flight Catering. This visit was of two hour duration and was a lifetime learning experience for our students, as they got an intrinsic knowledge about various operations and the importance of logistics in such operations.

Valentine’s Day!

by Elham Bolooki Being the Events Coordinator in the Student Council, Valentine’s Day was the first event that I had to plan. My task involved finding our florist supplier, negotiating prices, managing to receive a special offer with Godiva chocolates for those who wished to order them.

The way this event is carried out is by setting up an area in the library where students are able to order as many roses as they wish. The roses would then get delivered to whoever the roses were addressed to on the day.

The Student Council started working from 2000hrs the night before till nearly 0400hrs that morning. Students were involved in the dethorning of the roses, cutting the cellophane paper, making sure roses fitted correctly in a specific sleeve, creating and designing miniature cards, and writing the romantic messages on them. This was done for all the roses this year that amounted to 330! The most challenging part was arranging all the class schedules to ensure that all the students received their roses. However, it was a great success overall!

Finally, we presented the following winning awards for…..

Outstanding Culinary Arts Student: Aline Paulus The exposure to industry for the students started with a visit to Raw Coffee; well known in Dubai for their coffee. The students were all excited to visit the premises of Raw Coffee and learn all about their trade.

The visit was enlightening, as the students learnt how the coffee is grown, produced, packaged and sold. The students observed the roasting process in the production unit and saw a live demonstration on how a good coffee is made which included a practice session, followed by tasting.

In January, Mr Frank Holzapfel from Germany and Ronnefeldt Tea, visited EAHM and had a session with our F&B students and they were awed with his persona and knowledge about tea. This session was very informative and, at the same time, lot of fun, during which students learnt about history of tea, how it is produced and the correct method of serving, which was followed by a tea tasting session which gave our students much to cheer about, as they got the chance to compare the different flavour and aroma Page 8

Outstanding F & B Student: Philipp Roesch Wet Fish, one of our esteemed suppliers who havs been supporting the F&B courses for a number of years now, visited EAHM during the month of February. The students witnessed the art of fish filleting with an element of cost control attached to the session, which also covered how fish should be purchased. Two of our lucky students, Veronica Pino and Charlotte Cunningham had the chance to put their knife skills to the test and were compared to a professional.

They did a fantastic job in their very first attempt and to the amusement of Mark Allen, the experienced fish monger and the owner of Wet Fish who had a word of appreciation and praise for our students.

Our favorite Sushi Chef, Ajiro, from Tokyo @ the Towers entertained 3 groups of students with his wit, humor, knowledge and skills in March. He demonstrated how to eat Sushi the right way using chopsticks. The highlight of this fun-filled session was not only the tasting part, actually three of our students tried out their skills at making Nigiri sushi.

All kudos to Esha, Sabina and Veronica, but perhaps a little bit more practice needed!

As part of the Food and Beverage Management course, students need to perceive operations in progress from a management perspective. Keeping this in

Progress Award – Culinary: Regina Shabaeva Progress Award – F & B: Mark Ghattas Congratulations to trimester one students for their awards, dedication and hard work.

Each of the awardees received a voucher for a meal for 2 at Latitude, Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

The Afternoon Delights event was truly a Delight!

by Ashil Shah Every trimester, EAHM visits high schools around the United Arab Emirates and meets with high school students and their representatives. The aim of the Afternoon Delights event is to invite and engage high school counselors, potential students and parents to the growing hospitality industry. The Afternoon Delights event, held for private schools in Dubai, helps the attendees to understand the size and scope of

the career paths ahead for potential students aspiring to be hospitality leaders of the future.

Attendees were assured a delightful afternoon with a special visit to the iconic Burj Al Arab, a show around of EAHM’s campus and a five star lunch, served by our students.

This trimester saw the Chinese EFL students take part in a cookery demonstration at EAHM. The students had to purchase unfamiliar ingredients and then Chef Helen Morris spent two hours with the students showing them which dishes the food items could be used in. The students helped prepare some of the dishes before sitting down to sample the delights. The dishes included a camel & apricot casserole, snake guord curry and camel milk ice cream to name but a few.

Page 9

Welcome to EAHM!

Inside Scoop - Interview with Dr Ilhan Demirer

Orientation Week - April 2013

by Gratiela Duciuc

by Veronica Pino In April 2013, we had the pleasure of meeting and welcoming our new students by spending 3 wonderful orientation days together, getting to know their personality, backgrounds and cultures.

On the first day, students prepared multiple presentations and, of course, the wonderful welcoming and introduction from our Managing Director, Mr Ron Hilvert, and Dean, Dr Stuart Jauncey, after a show around of the campus. The day was tiring for the new intake, however, their excitement overcame this by the end of the day. Furthermore, they manifested all its glory the following morning, when the students participated in a team building activity at Wild Wadi which was lots of fun!

Most of the students had never visited the United Arab Emirates before. During the orientation, they also visited the Sheikh

Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding, where they received a better understanding about the country and way of living. Furthermore, they had the privilege to walk between the old forts, admiring the collection of ancient coins and sitting in a Majlis indulging Arabic coffee and dates.

To my surprise, none of the students appeared to be shy, they were talkative and friendly. By the 2nd day, everyone already knew each other and didn’t have a problem making friends.

That same night, we had our Welcome Dinner and I was delighted to see so many bright smiles and eyes full of excitement, eager to start their trimester and working towards their dreams and goals in such a distinguished university.

In January this year, EAHM welcomed Dr Ilhan Demirer as a Senior Lecturer, a Master’s graduate and a PhD recipient at the Texas Tech University. With a strong background in the hospitality industry, Dr Demirer now teaches Hospitality Accounting, Strategic Management and Hotel Operations. He highlights the aspects of his life and how he came to EAHM in an interview taken at the end of his first trimester of teaching: Firstly, we would like to know what are your favourite unwinding activities, your hobbies, etc.?

“I usually have no free time at all, but when it comes to relaxation I like to watch movies, especially Science Fiction. My favourite is Stargate. I used to live in Antalya, Turkey, so one of the preferred activities was to walk on the beach, enjoying the magnificent view.”

Tell us how you started your career and the biggest challenges you have encountered so far?

“To be honest, I did not plan to be a teacher, but I was offered to enrol in a hospitality master’s programme in the U.S.A., Delaver.

But there are no scholarships available, so I chose to study at the Texas Tech University, alongside with a friend of mine. Afterwards, I decided to continue with the PhD

programme and I became a faculty member in 2009. I taught Accounting, Statistics and Front Office Operations. Thinking about challenges, I would say that the biggest one was finding out which path to take regarding my specialty, but I found my passion in numbers and technology.”

What brought you to Dubai and to The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management?

“I came by pure coincidence. Last year, in January, Dr Ivan Ninov contacted my advisor at the Texas Tech University and offered me a Senior Lecturer position here. Thereafter, I had my interview in September, although I had no previous knowledge of Dubai or of EAHM before, but finding it certainly was a turning point in my career, which I fully enjoy at the moment.”

What is the most unusual experience you have had in Dubai so far?

“Certainly New Year’s Eve. We held a party here, at EAHM, but I was surprised to see a fifteen-minute firework show by the Burj Al Arab. This big celebration simply demonstrated a different concept from what I was used to before, emphasizing the transition from a small city to a metropolis.

I can sense a cultural difference, as I used to live in a city concentrated on the cotton industry only, not so multi-focused, like Dubai.”

Tell us something we do not know about you: “Surprisingly, I think, I am a good listener and more of a political type, I would say.”

Young Hoteliers Summit 2013

by Chanel Venter & Lina Rahmanian The Young Hoteliers Summit (YHS), held at Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in Switzerland, is where young talent, professionals from the hospitality industry and educational institutions meet on an annual basis, in order to exchange views on pertinent employment topics, network, collaborate with international hospitality students in order to solve a challenge surrounding employment and professional opportunities in hospitality, and co-develop actionable proposals in order to improve the employment landscape within the hospitality industry.

This year’s YHS event was attended by many well-renowned experts in the field with key-note speakers including Ted Teng, President and CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World; Peter Burwash, Founder and President of Peter Burwash International; and Oliver Bonke, SVP Sales & Marketing EAME for Starwood International. Top tier companies such as Starwood, IHG, Hyatt, Fairmont and Expedia were all represented, giving students the opportunity to network with

Page 10

potential future employers.

The YHS Challenge 2013 presented the hospitality students with a particularly relevant topic to address and solve for the main sponsor of the event, Starwood. Students had to come up with ways for Starwood to implement a successful Employer Branding strategy, where they can attract graduates to work in hotels. This is relevant today as many graduates have the perception that hotels are not glamorous work environments, with long hours and low pay. The students came up with many innovative ideas with each group having ten minutes to present their solution to Starwood representatives, as well as to the audience. The winning team won a week’s trip to Hungary where they would be able to be part of Starwood’s graduate management program, gaining invaluable experience and networking opportunities.

Overall, attending YHS 2013 was an amazing opportunity with many wonderful memories made and new friendships formed. Thank you to EAHM and to EHL for allowing us to participate!

Page 11

Connect with us!

Explore EAHM - 360 ° panoramic view EAHM recently unveiled a new addition to the website, a 360° tour. The tour allows visitors to navigate their way around EAHM’s campus and view several locations from the comfort of their homes.

Almost 80% of students who join EAHM have never seen the campus before and so the 360° enhances their view. The tour provides an overview on the great learning environment and the place to live, study and play.

The outline of the tour includes the library, lecture halls, classrooms as well as the on-campus accommodation, the tennis and basketball courts, gym and pool area.

To view the tour please visit http://www. emiratesacademy.edu/en/Your-Academy/ExploreYour-Academy/

The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management

@emiratesacademy

youtu.be./user/emiratesacademy

vk.com/theemiratesacademy

plus.ly/emiratesacademy

weibo.com/eahm

#emiratesacademy

renren.com/emiratesacademy

EAHM001

The World of IT! Augmented Reality is the latest ‘outside-the-box’ technology that the EAHM has introduced. The technology allows users to link the world of computergenerated images and the real world; for example, viewing a video from the internet in the palm of their hand.

The technology requires the students to download the Junaio application from any mobile application store (try to scan the QR code to the right). Powerpoint slides and other documents can be viewed through their phones.

Visit our Website! www.emiratesacademy.edu

The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management PO Box 29662, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 315 5555 Fax: +971 4 315 5556 info@emiratesacademy.edu www.emiratesacademy.edu Page 12