Ambassador Basilio offered valuable information and helpful hints on official entertaining and protocol to participants.

Ambassador Erlinda F. Basilio led the Philippine Embassy and the Filipino community in Beijing in the celebration of International Women’s Month in March, as the Embassy gathered Embassy personnel and their spouses, some members of Filcom Beijing and other interested parties for a Seminar-Workshop on Entertaining and Protocol. The goal of the seminar-workshop was to provide useful information and insights as well as to share experiences to help the participants become comfortable and confident in official and social functions, whether as host or as guest.

 

Mr. Béat Müller, owner of Swiss Bread

The Embassy invited internationally-trained and highly-experienced practitioners in the hospitality industry in Beijing as resource persons for the workshop. Mr. Béat Müller  is the owner of Swiss Bread Bakery & Café, one of the leading providers of high quality bakery and confectionery products in China, and a long-time member of Chaine des Rotisseurs,  an international gastronomic society founded in France in 1950. Ms. Kat Tran, a graduate of the Swiss hospitality and tourism management school  Les Roches International School of Hotel Management, is the Food and Beverage Service Manager at Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng.  Mr. Müller and Ms. Tran both shared information and practical advice on table setting and service and dining etiquette, and insights on entertaining in a Chinese context.

 

Ms. Kat Tran, F&B Service Manager, Sheraton Dongcheng

Ambassador Basilio drew on her more than 40 years of experience as a diplomat who has had numerous postings all over the world to share her experiences and impart advice on official entertaining and diplomatic protocol.

 

An on-the-spot training on table setting was also part of the program. The participants were treated to Filipino refreshments at the end of the seminar-workshop.

In left photo, some books on Filipino lifestyle and entertaining that were on display for the participants’ perusal during the seminar-workshop, while right photo shows a sample table setting used for demonstration purposes.