Culinary Olympics

I am sure you all know that the next summer Olympic Games will take place in London 2012. But do you know that the next culinary Olympics will take place in Erfurt Germany in October 2008? Yes they will and Slovenia will be participating as well. One of the members of the Slovene National Culinary Olympic team is Igor Jagodic, head chef at Grand Hotel Toplice. Yesterday, the whole team gathered together in our hotel to prepare for the last time publicly the menu with which they will compete in Germany. They will compete in the so called Category R: Restaurant of nations, where each team has to prepare a 3 course menu for 110 people. They are judged by different criteria: mise en place and cleanliness of preparation, correct professional preparation, arrangement and presentation and taste: Attached are some photos of the team and of their masterpieces. I wish them all the best of luck and since I tested the menu myself, I think they have great chances of winning a medal!

Gregor got married!

I have the most wonderful news: Gregor Dežman, our receptionist got married to his beloved Andreja this Saturday. Attached is their photo and I must admit they both look gorgeous. The best of luck and sincere congratulations to both Mrs. and Mr. Dežman! May you be happy together forever!

Table Decorations

Flowers and candles on tables do sound quite normal, don't they? But have you ever seen live gold fish as table decoration? Well, it seems that this is the latest fashion with florists and it happened on one of the wedding dinners we hosted in Grand Hotel Toplice this summer. I have attached a photo in case you still do not believe it. It looks fabulous doesn't it? I also attached some more classical arrangements which are luckily still preferred by most guests. I have nothing against gold fish, please believe me, it is just that I was thinking what comes next. What if somebody decides to have live snakes or spiders on the tables? Where is the limit? In case you were wondering what happened to all the fish (12 in total) after the dinner, let me say that the guests were given plastic bags filled with water and took them home.

Bled Strategic Forum

Between August 31 and September 1st 2008 Bled was once again hosting Bled Strategic Forum. This year’s topic was Energy and Climate Change: Si.nergy for the Future. In addition to several VIPs that Grand Hotel Toplice had the privilege to accommodate in the hotel, we also prepared a gala dinner for 380 guests. Main speaker was Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary General of United Nations. Once again, a job was extremely well done by our staff. Attached are some photos of the preparations for the dinner as well as the dinner itself. Planning and preparation for such events take weeks. In the beginning, several meetings with the event organizers are necessary in order to establish their needs and wishes. After that careful planning is required within the house, regarding staff, working arrangements, purchase of materials etc.