Cesar Ritz Colleges Alumni Gathering

It is always a pleasure to meet up with fellow alumni of Cesar Ritz Colleges. The Malaysian chapter of the alumni asso-ciation, in particular those residing in Kuala Lumpur and its surroundings, get together a couple of times a year, mostly doing what Malaysians love most, over a meal. We have some drinks, enjoy a hearty dinner, share some laughs, get some updates about the colleges and reminisce about our time spent in Switzerland.

Whenever possible, we dine at an alumni member's restaurant as a measure of support. This time round, we gathered at Songket, a fine-dining establishment specialising in traditional Malay cuisine. Despite the evening downpour and traffic, more than twenty of us made it to Tony Wong's restaurant located at Jalan Yap Kwan Seng. Other than our friends, there to greet us was also Quoc Phong Huynh, Regional Manager of Cesar Ritz Colleges Switzerland. We had the pleasure of getting to know Phong's predecessor Viwan Opanukij over the past few years, and this first meeting with our new friend was a pleasant and informative encounter. Pleasant because of Phong's easygoing and personable nature, informative as we were briefed on the goings-on in Switzerland with Cesar Ritz Colleges having been acquired by SEG Swiss Education Group not too long ago. As always, we also ask of Mr Kisseleff's well being, and are happy to hear that he is now enjoying his well-deserved retirement. Our strong bonds with the school are very much a reflection of the strong bonds we have with Mr Kisseleff, nurtured over the years from our college days and his visits to Malaysia from time to time.

Over fine food and drink, we re-lived our time in Lax, Brig and Le Bouveret. Graduates of 1984 through to 2002, although varied in our experiences at Cesar Ritz Colleges, share a commonality, that is an affection for our alma mater. An affection arising from a memorable phase of our lives where we were nurtured in the hospitality trade, where we cultivated our gentlemenly and ladylike ways, where we were instilled a sense of professionalism, where we forged lifelong friendships. Alumni relations and participation require effort and commitment, and as we look forward to the next such gathering, here's hoping more will be on hand to banter the next time round.

Group photo shot at Songket in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Visit By Martin Kisseleff

It's been a number of years since I've seen Mr Kisseleff of Cesar Ritz Colleges in Switzer-land. According to him, the last time he was here in Malaysia was probably 5 or 6 years ago. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I received an sms from a fellow alumni inviting me to a dinner hosted by Mr Kisseleff Monday evening.

I always make it a point to attend alumni functions when I can, be it primary school, university or graduate school. And whilst none from my batch attended on Monday, I also enjoy mingling with those from other years. These are the friends whom you can count on to show up.

Some are still hoteliers while others like myself have moved on to other things. But we share a common bond. A link to the happy times as students in Switzerland.

Photo of Cesar Ritz Colleges alumni, shot in Penang Village, Great Eastern Mall, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Cesar Ritz Alumni Gathering

I admire those who run alumni chapters. There is a lot of work involved, and it is all done voluntarily. I therefore make it a point to show my support whenever the opportunity arises.

Last evening, amid the rain and the chaotic traffic on Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Ampang, I made my way to Penang Village in Great Eastern Mall for the Cesar Ritz Colleges Switzerland Malaysian Alumni Chapter gathering. Viwan Opanukij, Area Manager is in town and what a better place to host a dinner than at a fellow alumni, Connie Su's restaurant.

With all Swiss hospitality graduates as guests, I am sure there must be a bit of pressure on Connie's team, but they always rise to the occasion. The food is consistently superb, portions generous and we are made most welcome. More importantly, we get to reconnect with friends, meet new acquaintances and reminisce about our time in Switzerland. Ain't sure if this is grammatically correct due to my rusty French, but ... c'etait une bonne soiree.

Photo of alumni at Penang Village, Great Eastern Mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Good Friends

It is always nice to know that friends are thinking of you. Danny, Phoebe and I have been friends since the early 1990s, when we first met in Switzerland as students and room-mates at L'Institut Hotelier 'Cesar Ritz' in Le Bouveret, a tiny village of only 700 people on the edge of Lake Geneva. A picture paints a thousand words so they say, and this photo says it all really. They were fun times.

So, the 3 of us go a long way back. I was bestman at their wedding, and now with a kid in tow, they never fail to keep in touch. Over dinner and coffee on most occasions, well actually dinner and durian earlier this evening, we would talk about the latest happenings in our lives. Danny, Director of Sales & Marketing at Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur keeps me updated on the happenings in the industry that I was once a part of whilst Phoebe, now a 'domestic goddess', shares tales of bringing up their son. They in turn take a keen interest in my work and my personal life, more so the latter I suspect!

What so great about this friendship of ours is that we are still as close as we were back then. We often reminisce about our road trips round Switzerland - Bern, Basel, Zurich, Thun, Interlaken, Leysin - which we hope to do again sometime in the future, when the finances permit. But in the meantime, we have tons of memories and photos to fall back on.

Photo of L'Institut Hotelier 'Cesar Ritz', courtesy of Cesar Ritz Colleges.