ROC Mondriaan students win six medals at European hospitality tournament in Sweden

During the 38th edition of the Annual Conference & Competition of the European Association of Hotel and Tourism Schools (AEHT) in Västerås, Sweden, students from ROC Mondriaan won no fewer than six medals. The delegation of ten students, from the Hospitality Campus, competed against students from all over Europe.

International competition starring cooperation

For two days, Sweden was all about craftsmanship, creativity and cooperation at the AEHT, an annual European event in which hotel schools from more than 25 countries compete and learn from each other in hospitality, tourism and gastronomy. In each competition, students were paired with a buddy from a foreign hotel school. Together, they had to complete an assignment within their field in a short time. From tourism to cooking and front office.

Four times gold, one silver and one bronze

ROC Mondriaan was represented by a strong team of ten students from the Hospitality Campus in ten different competition events. The success was campus-wide: students from all three schools won prizes. Together, they achieved four golds, one silver and one bronze.

Hospitality & Facility Services

• Eyobed Nire (22, Voorschoten) - gold, Culinary Art
• Sebastiaan Daams (20, Zwijndrecht) - gold, Vegetarian Culinary Art
• Toby Scholten (17, The Hague) - gold, Decathlon

International Hotel & Management School

• Mace den Heijer (17, The Hague) - silver, Front Office
• Jordy Buis (20, Voorschoten) - bronze, Restaurant Service

Tourism, Recreation and Events

• Danique Meijndert (19, Maassluis) - gold, Tourist Destination

Students have their say

Toby Scholten, winner of gold in the culinary section Decathlon: “I stayed in control during the award ceremony and therefore enjoyed this gold very consciously. I agreed with myself to leave the emotions at home, because there had been enough of them during the training sessions beforehand. But the competition team was there at all those moments and we dragged each other through the difficult moments. Really crazy too, that with three cooks we also went home with three golds!”

Danique Meijndert, winner of gold at Tourist Destination: “After bronze and silver, suddenly hearing that I had gold only dawned on me when I walked down the podium and the rest of the race team came to congratulate me. Only then did the tears come.”

Pride and craftsmanship

“I am incredibly proud of our students. With their skill, teamwork and sheer passion, they managed to win no fewer than six medals. Both nationally and internationally, they have shown what they can do. What a top performance! These can-doers brought out the best in themselves and showed what hospitality really stands for.” Says Francis ‘t Zand, director school of Hospitality & Facility Services.

From selection to stage

The route to the AEHT began months earlier with a selection and training process. Students could register for preliminary rounds within their schools. The selected participants then followed an intensive programme in which they were prepared for the international competition.

More than just winning

Besides the six medals, it was mainly the experience that impressed. Students worked intensively with international colleagues, learned to deal with pressure and discovered what it takes to perform at European level. “The AEHT shows that our students are competing at the highest level,” he said.” says a proud Marco Fontijn, director School of Tourism, Recreation and Events. “They show what craftsmanship, cooperation and perseverance mean in practice.”