Workshop by radio Antenne at the Private High School 

 If you can’t go to the Antenne Studio because of Corona, then the Antenne just visits you in your classroom… in December a digital radio workshop took place for our first graders. Using Apple TV and iPads, they were able to experience the wonder of radio despite social distancing. 

 

Christmas cocktail shaking at the Private High School 

 Before our high school students started their well-deserved Christmas vacations, there was a cocktail workshop with service teacher Josef Sorgen on the last day of school. 

The students stirred, mixed and shook the cocktails and of course tasted them afterwards.  

And according to the students, there will soon be a continuation of this workshop. 

Culinary workshop with the siblings RAUCH 

Winter Edition with the Academy for Tourism and Taste 

 In the last week of school before Christmas, the Rauch siblings took an afternoon to give prospective gourmet experts from the Academy of Tourism and Taste a direct insight into the fine art of hospitality during a host workshop. 

Celebrity chef Richard Rauch created a 4-course menu with the kitchen team, consisting of delicacies such as pumpkin strudel with sheep’s cheese foam or venison stew with leek strudel and chanterelles.  

Meanwhile, his sister Sonja Rauch, top hostess and graduate of the tourism schools herself, together with the service team transformed the training restaurant into a stylish banquet room and created a non-alcoholic beverage accompaniment that matched perfectly with the menu. 

EXCLUSIVE GUIDED CAMPUS TOURS TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER  

After many weeks of lockdown, exclusive guided campus tours through the Bad Gleichenberg Private High School and the Bad Gleichenberg Tourism Schools took place on the last weekend of January, as well as on February 26 and March 26. Under strict security measures, visitors were taken on individual tours through the campus. 

 “The exclusive private tours of the campus were a complete success. During the tour, which lasted about 60 minutes, we had the unique opportunity to really get to know the future tourism students and their families and to answer all their questions. After Corona, we will continue to present our school in this special way,” says school and campus director Peter Kospach. 

 

Carnival at the Private High School 

 Freshly tested and still relaxed from the semester break, our high school students celebrated carnival. All came in costumes and beforehand, as is the custom, carnival doughnuts were baked, which of course were eaten up immediately after the photo was taken. 

 

  

ORF-team on the Campus 

The occasion was not a pleasant one when the ORF TV team visited Bad Gleichenberg one Friday at the end of February to evaluate the situation on site after a year of Corona crisis. For this purpose, extensive filming was done on the campus, students were interviewed and graduate and Thermenresort Loipersdorf boss Philip Borckenstein Quirini was interviewed as well. 

 

The fabulous 4th place in the Falstaff Young Talents Cup went to Laurenz Schalk, student of the HL4 

The finals of the Falstaff Young Talents Cup took place in November, but the broadcast via Youtube only in early February. HLT student Laurenz Schalk cooked his way to the 4th place with a pickled lake trout with cauliflower-sprout rolls and a lake trout tartare, lime mayo & espuma with a spinach-parsley spread. Congratulations to him, of course!!! 

 

 

Junior chefs – finally the sessions could take place again 

It was a short get-to-know-session with the Junior Chefs. Just one unit went off in October before Austria went into the 2nd lockdown. In March it was finally time to continue with the Junior Chefs training. To ensure the safety of all participants, a corona self-checker test is carried out on everyone before the start of each unit. After that nothing can prevent the kitchen action anymore. 

 

How will Styrians spend their vacations in 2021? 

This year again, the students of the Tourism College conducted the vacation study under the direction of Claudia Brandstätter. A press conference was held on this topic on the Campus on Wednesday after the semester break. Because of Corona, it was broadcast online and followed by a large number of press representatives. 

Graduate Rainer Pfandl of the 50plus camping park Fisching and graduate Stephanie Brolli of the south Styrian Weinrefugium Brolli confirmed the results of the study as experts of our industry.  

From a discussion round with the tourism students, it emerged that the Corona crisis should also be seen and used as an opportunity for tourism professionals. Because topics such as sustainability, innovations or the trend towards day trips and thus the creation of new offers are more important than ever. 

 

SPRING EDITION OF THE CULINARY WORKSHOP with the HL2a for higher education 

 Like everyone else in the restaurant business, also the Rauch siblings waited in March to finally open the doors of the Steirawirt in Trautmannsdorf again. And in the meantime, the students of the HL2a got their hands dirty during the spring edition of the culinary workshop.  

 Star chef Richard Rauch and the kitchen team prepared a 3-course menu with delicacies such as potato tart with wild garlic, radish and goat cream cheese or stewed cheeks of beef with wild garlic gnocchi.  

Sister Sonja Rauch, Tourism Panther Award winner 2020, created a spring-like table together with the service team in the teaching restaurant. A harmonizing beverage accompaniment was mixed and served together with the menu. 

 

There is no Planet B – Digital Workshop with climate researcher  

As part of the initiative “Ich tu’s für unsere Zukunft” (I do it for our future) of the Province of Styria, an online lecture with climate researcher and meteorologist Helga Kromp Kolb took place in March for our energy managers. This included a discussion of current developments and forecasts of the climate catastrophe. 

“We are pleased that such expert input is also possible in times of Corona. Our energy managers deal with the topic comprehensively in their additional training. It is particularly important for us to convey approaches to solutions and the awareness that when it comes to the topic of energy transition and sustainability, each and every individual is needed,” says headmaster Peter Kospach. 

 

Wild garlic workshop at the private grammar school 

Springtime is wild garlic time! This is what the first class of our private grammar school thought and quickly went to Mrs Knittelfelder’s campus kitchen to conjure up a healthy snack from wild garlic together with her. They cut, mixed and stirred. The result was impressive, but it was only for a short photo, after which the delicacies were eaten straight away with great pleasure. 

 

COOKING WORKSHOP with GAULT MILLAU YOUNG TALENT award winner Leon Pintarič. 

 Thanks to the geographical proximity, every year Slovenian students decide to study at the tourism schools in Bad Gleichenberg. This was also the case for Leon Pintarič before he made a name for himself nationwide as a chef in the family business, Gostilna Rajh in Murska Sobotka. 

In 2021, he was awarded the YOUNG TALENT Award by Gault Millau Slovenia. 

 Now he returned to his former school for a day to do what he does best, namely cooking, with all the Slovenian pupils and students. 

Under his watchful eye, the kitchen team conjured up a 3-course menu consisting of culinary highlights such as white trout & gin or boar and sour cherries.  

“Being back at my former school feels great. It was one of the best times of my life and now coming back to cook with the students was great fun,” says Leon Pintarič. 

 

Start-ups & Entrepreneur Training with graduates and successful founders 

Since the beginning of the summer semester, there is the subject Start-ups and Entrepreneurship for our first college classes, in which starting a business is examined in detail. For this purpose, successful entrepreneurs regularly come to the school to talk about their projects – among them graduate and founder of Pop-up Gschichtln Anna Majcan, graduate and Risk & Provision Manager Max Eberhardt or Marry Icetea Co-Founder & Marketing Ninja Xiaoao Dong.  

 

 

 

Baking workshop Sweet Table Creations 

One weekend in April, the students of the college took part in a baking workshop with nutrition educator and master confectioner Anna Stelzer under the motto Sweet Table Creations. 

The result was more than impressive. The creations were a highlight for both the palate and the eye. 

Weekend of practical training 

The lockdown during the winter semester opened up one or two holes, especially in the practical subjects. Events that normally provide a lot of experience and internship hours, such as the lunch service in the Gösser Lounge, were not possible. 

For this reason, an intensive practical training week took place on the weekend after Easter. There was cooking, serving, flambéing, filleting, arranging, mixing, setting and tasting.  

“Working with guests and in the kitchen is not only a question of talent but also of routine. The more often you practise and carry out procedures, the more confident you become, and the quality of your work increases. This motivates you, and of course the guests feel it too. As the summer internships start in a few weeks, such an intensive refresher weekend is exactly the right thing,” says board member Horst Rossegger.  

 

 

Alumni meeting during the Wine Trophy’s final tasting 

Since 2018, an jury of experts have been selecting the winners of the Styrian Wine Trophy in a final tasting. Each year this jury consists mainly of TSBG Family member. Therefore the „reunion event“ is always very warm-hearted.  Despite corona our alumni took part in the tasting, of course, freshly tested. 

 

 

Examination dinner in the Corona year
Last year they were completely cancelled, but this year they took place again – the examination dinners. Of course, all Corona and hygiene regulations were observed and instead of the usual 4 courses, only 3 courses were cooked. 

According to tradition, the graduates of the last year of the Hotel Management School opened the round of examination dinners before the students of the colleges had their turn. They prepared and served the aperitifs in front of the guests, after which they served the examination dinner and wine with aplomb. 

The exam dinner season will close in June with the students of the 4th classes of the Advanced Secondary School for Tourism.