Party tip - Shower early and keep your kitchen clean
Be prepared for early arrivals...
During the 25 years my role included being head of safety and security for a growing, regional-cum-global hotel company, I watched other department heads take their teams on trips to bond in Beirut, develop in Dubrovnik, or connect in Cancun.
The budget for safety and security meetings was only lavish enough to gather the team at my home where they suffered through my cooking washed down with cheap wine I bought at Carrefour.
In 2016, that all changed.
The budget was almost large enough to go to a restaurant. Not quite, but the family that ran the restaurant at our fitness club were wonderful people. We asked them if they could put together a buffet we could serve at our house.
They obliged, and Alex, a 25-year-old, chef-educated, manager-bartender-entertainer-friend, organized an affordable menu.
We bought cheap wine. (Fortunately, most security people will eat or drink anything.)
We agreed that the food would hit the buffet at about 7:30 pm. We expected the team to arrive around 6:00 - 6:30, depending on Brussels traffic and if they could find a florist that was open. (They always brought a bouquet for Kirsten.)
We expected the food around 7:00-7:15.
It was just after 4:00 pm when the doorbell rang.
It was Alex, with boxes and coolers full of ingredients.
“We said 7:30.”, I reminded him.
“Yes, but I have to cook. Where’s your kitchen?”
Alex treated us to an amazing experience. Freshly prepared, perfectly cooked food. It was beautifully arranged on the table at 7:30 sharp.
As the party got going, I went to the kitchen to invite Alex in to join us.
He was gone, the kitchen was spotless, and my colleagues were left wondering why they had to put up with the meals they had previously been served at our house.
If you’re ever in Brussels, have lunch at Alex’s AKT in the European Quarter or dinner on the terrace at Top Délice in the club Aspria Royal La Rasante.
But if you ask them to cater to your party, shower early, keep your kitchen clean and be prepared for an early arrival!
Stay safe, Always Care
P.S. Trips, retreats, and team-building tours to exotic places sound exciting, but the silver lining of our shoestring budget was that my colleagues and I became closer than any incentive journey could have brought us. Not one of my direct reports ever left the company during my tenure. I remain forever grateful for their loyalty and support.
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