AEHT

The opening ceremony took place on the evening before the contest, at the ‘Cierny Okol’ (Black Eagle) cultural centre – recognisable by the small black metal-tubing statue of an eagle located on the pavement outside the venue. What a splendid event! VIPs were out in force, and a series of speeches began the event – including an eloquent welcome address delivered by our Polish Vice-President Bogusława Pienkowska.

Joseph Senko, director of the Prešov Hotel Academy	Dancing performance

Then came a highly energetic cultural programme provided by gifted musicians and athletic dancers, with some highly professional performances; an amusing mishap befell a group of dancers, who crouched on stage, waiting for the music – which never came! They took it in good part, though and ran off the stage laughing at their misadventure, with the audience sharing the general amusement. This first evening closed with a splendid buffet served with an exquisite Tokay wine.

Preparations for the contest must have been going on for months – putting on a competition of this size and complexity is an enormous challenge. On the stage there were ten competition stations, each with its own judge. A commentator (a team of three is on hand, each doing a twenty-minute shift) talked the public through the contest and introduced the contestants; after each contest the drinks were numbered to ensure anonymity, then taken away to a tasting unit where expert tasters, isolated in their cubicles, allocated marks without knowing the name of the contestant and without having seen the production process. The results were computerised immediately, then the drinks were made available for testing by less discerning visitors – including those from the AEHT, who, after the first few glasses found themselves declaring that they were all outstandingly good!
 

On the stage: 10 competition stations	Backstage

Behind the stage was the vast preparation area containing around 40 work stations: each team had a table in this area, a veritable hive of activity with contestants and teachers hard at work making the decorations and planning their victory; some ingredients had been lost on route, so contestants set off on forays among the tables to find a bunch of mint or a missing lime or guava. The story was that the entire collection of glasses belonging to a Swedish team had been smashed during the journey – but this seemed to have no effect on their performance!

But the real action was on the stage: the commentator made sure that everyone was ready, then counted down, three, two, one, then whatever the Slovak is for ‘off you go!’ With dramatic gestures the contestants held up the bottles to the audience, studiedly poured out the required quantities, then, as if miming, carried out the various operations: stirring, shaking, blending, adding the decoration (making sure it doesn’t sink into the drink – sorry Warsaw!). And all the time the commentator explained and presented, while the spectators – many of them local townspeople here for entertainment and the hope of a sip of the products – cheered on the contestants. The cheers of the spectators reached a crescendo during the Flair Style event (dominated by the Poles ) - marked by juggling with bottles and throwing ice into the audience! And the rhythm for the whole event was provided by a disk jockey located in front of the stage, his booming bass sometimes drowning out the commentator. Pure drama!

Meanwhile your reporter and the Polish vice-president addressed a meeting of Slovak Hotel School Directors, explaining to them the great benefits of AEHT membership, and in particular the advantages for teachers of participating in our ACCOR teacher placements.

The results of the competition were announced in the middle of the afternoon to thunderous applause (see attached table of winners), then contestants and teachers had time to relax before the reception held at the Prešov Hotel Academy in the evening; a splendid buffet and infinite quantities of drink awaited us (well, this was a bar-tender competition after all); and Director Jozef Senko, flushed with the success of the event, became quite emotional while thanking all those who had contributed.

The following day was devoted to excursions – first a visit to the Prešov Wine Museum followed by a wine tasting, and in the afternoon a sightseeing tour to the Spiš (Zipzer in the German of the original Saxon inhabitants) region, whose wonders include the ancient town of Levoča and the Spiš Castle. Dinner at the Fričovce manor house was followed by an evening’s bowling.

The organisation of the whole event ran like clockwork, with every little detail planned and perfectly executed. Congratulations to the Prešov Hotel Academy Team, and particularly to director Jozef Senko and his deputy director Marek Sotak.

Any errors or omissions in this report are to be explained by your reporter’s determination to ensure that he sampled a broad representative range of all the contestants’ products.


Winners of the R. Jelínek EUROCUP 2007 competition

- Short drink

1. Terézia Mináriková (ZSŠ Tovarnícka, Topoľčany, Slovakia)
2. Lukáš Siroka (HA Prešov  1^st team, Slovakia )
3. Oscar Martensson (Malmö, Sweden)

- Soft drink

1. Maroš Petrikovič (HA Piešťany, Slovakia)
2. Viačeslav Rosolovskij ( KTGG Kiev, Ukraine)
3. Katarína Škvarková (ZSŠ služieb Zvolen, Slovakia)

- Absolute winners in the category of individuals

Hotelová škola a Vyšší odborná škola, Opava	Czech Republic
Hotelová škola, Poděbrady	Czech Republic	AEHT
Turističko ugostiteljska škola, Split	Croatia	AEHT
Lycee Technique Hôtelier „Alexis Heck“, Diekirch	Luxembourg	AEHT
Giorgio Perlasca Secondary School for Commerce and Catering, Budapest	Hungary	AEHT
KIVI  Foundation Secondary School for Commerce and Catering, Budapest	Hungary	AEHT
Zespol Szkol Ponadgymnazjalnych nr. 1, Pionki	Poland	AEHT
Zespol Szkol Gospodarczych, Rzeszow	Poland	AEHT
Zespol Szkol Hotelarsko-Gastronomicznych, Warszawa	Poland	AEHT
Frans Suell och Jörgen Kocks Gymnasium, Malmö	Sweden	AEHT
Vocational College for Tourism and Catering, Bled	Slovenia	AEHT
Kievskij technikum goteľnovo gospodarstva, Kiev	Ukraine
Vocational School of the Maritime Tourism Service, Odessa	Ukraine	AEHT