La Cumbre de Rio was a continuous stream of events in and out of the hotel : press conferences, meetings, bi(tri, and more)lateral presidential gatherings….

These would take place anywhere in the hotel, or on the many archeological sites in Cusco and around, such as Koricancha -also known as the Temple of the Sun-, La Merced Convent, and many others…

 

 

Today I will focus on a small detail – the success in hospitality relies on thousands millions of them!-, which you should really pay attention to, whenever presidents are visiting your establishment :), and any other guests too !

That morning, on May 24th, at 9am, the Hotel Monasterio’s beautiful chapel, which we often used as a reception for large groups, was hosting a high profile meeting : the first of Cumbre de Rio’s official work session in Cusco.

So, 19 Heads of State from all over Latin America were gathered inside for a few hours, discussing a continent’s future.

We had been up very early that day, making sure that every little detail would be taken care of : lights, sound, temperature, chair height, cleanliness, flower arrangements, water bottles, pencils…, so that nothing would go wrong.

The “coffee break” was scheduled at 10h30, in the magnificent patio of the hotel.

A buffet had been setup for the occasion, adjacent to the chapel’s outside wall. My food & beverage colleagues and I were all excited and nervous at the thought of having such important guests all gathered in one place, who expected nothing less than flawless service on our part!

So there we were, checking and rechecking everything, on and around the buffet : fresh fruit juices, coffee, varieties of teas, infusions (and the delicious coca tea, of course, very efficient in preventing altitude sickness…)

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Although we were ready 30 minutes before the event was to start -a common standard in hospitality-, we were slightly caught by surprise as the Presidents and their respective entourages started to come out of the chapel ahead of schedule! and were soon taking over the whole buffet…

At that precise moment, I was busy stirring the freshly squeezed fruit juices, on the buffet’s end corner, when I saw a large shadow hanging over me…, I looked up and saw Vicente Fox, Mexico’s President at the time, making his way towards the juice section… he is an incredibly tall man, and I will never forget his handshake ! (not only because you don’t shake a president’s hand on a regular basis, but the size of his hand, and the firm grip!)

Just after we had greeted, he reached for an empty glass, about to help himself with an orange coloured juice… orange? or papaya?? both were on display, next to each other, and it was hard to tell, since they had not been -yet- labelled…

I had to act very fast, but I could not move as I was cornered by hungry guests, in between the chapel’s wall and the buffet… I mentally prepared myself with an answer for the question I knew was coming : “cual es el jugo de papaya? (which is the papaya juice?)”…

And, gathering all my self confidence -and some useful experience in the field too!-, I pointed to the one on the left… it turned out I was right, that time!

Have a good week, and do what you most like doing!