The Modern Butlers’ Journal volume 12, issue 7

International Institute of Modern Butlers

Teaching Right Mindset, People Skills, & Superior-service Expertise

Message from the Chairman

The raw enthusiasm and eagerness for, and attentiveness to, life demonstrated by those passionately engaged in being of service to others, convinces me that the relative few in our profession are rightly regarded with admiration by the many.

Grant Harrold has been generating much media in Australia as he tours the country providing lessons on etiquette. It is refreshing to see a butler who used to be in the service of the British royal family, who understands discretion and loyalty.

This article in the Washington Post lists seven smart phone applications that promise to be one’s “personal butler.” And one restaurant offers “butler service:” a pull-down menu for online ordering that allows diners to customize their dining experience with additional services and products.

Then we have a company that uses eco-friendly products and has decided to call itself The Green Butler.

In Texas, a position is now open for “Doorstep Valet Trash Butler,” whose duties are to pick up trash at an apartment and take it to the dumpster. Qualifications: Driver’s license and pick-up truck. It may be hard to top this when it comes to appropriating the butler monicker.

An article on medical concierges is advertised as “butler services” when it offers no such thing. Real butlers do exist in some hospitals who provide butler services, and these are distinct from the advisory concierge services being described in the article. Similarly confused is the airport butler web site , which talks about butler concierges who provide concierge type services.

Finally, a source that is fairly accurate when it comes to advising on butler salaries.

The digital butler in Rolls Royces has already been let go to join the lines of digital butlers on the dole (receiving unemployment benefits), according to the latest Royce concept car: he has been replaced by Eleanor, who serves not only as a personal assistant but also as the chauffeur.

Buckingham Palace is looking for a Trainee Butler, all training provided and a great start to a career, according to the posting.

If our Egyptian and Indian forebears are anything to go by, then it could also be a great start to one’s death: the burial tombs of four royal butlers who served 3,000-3,500 years ago have just been opened to the public in Egypt.

Then there is the mausoleum built in what is now New Delhi by a Prince for his butler about 600 years ago.

Some bosses do show their appreciation!

 

 

Letters to the Editor

Creative Corner

How to Carve an Apple, Part 2, The Use of the Stencil

by Kobi Gutman

Using a stencil makes carving easier, faster, and much more accurate. Although the procedure is quite simple, there are a few points worth mentioning.

The basic procedure

Place three or four copies of your design in a word document, each copy slightly larger than the one before it, and print.

Choose the size that best fits the apple. A design that is too small for the apple will lose its effect.
Cut out that design and tape it on the apple. However, there is a correct way to do this, otherwise the flat paper being taped onto the round apple will result in a distorted image. So when cutting, leave a large margin all around. Then position the paper on the apple and tape it on one side (doesn’t matter which one). Then stretch it from the opposite side and tape that side. The difficulty begins when trying to tape the remaining two sides. This is best solved by pressing the paper against the apple, flattening the image as much as possible, and then folding the margined areas before taping. As the photo shows, the folds and distortions are mainly in the margined areas. The letter ‘C’ is slightly distorted but will not affect the final result because it is easy to compensate for when carving.

As you begin to carve, another issue can present itself with the stencil: the paper becomes wet and so hard to cut through. Two situations can cause the paper to become wet:

a)  the apple being stored in a refrigerator in a hot climate, and then being removed and “sweating” due to the difference in temperature. The solution is to remove the apple from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature until it is no longer sweating, before taping the stencil.

b) The juicy flesh of the apple being cut and wetting the stencil. The way to deal with this is to cut the more delicate and intricate parts of the design first, leaving the larger areas of the design until the end, as these can be easily cut even when wet. In this example, my sequence was to start with the eye and the nose areas, then the small white areas in the ear, neck, and back, then the cub’s left ear, then the cub’s outline, and finally, the outline of the ‘C’.

Once done with carving the design, remove the paper and tape, draw the frame, and finish the carving.

Here is the final result—the logo of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, the guest’s favorite team.

Kobi Gutman is the Head Butler at the Fort Harrison Retreat in Florida. He can be contacted via the Institute: enquiries @ modernbutlers.com

Using one’s artistic talents to create little touches for employers or guests is done by butlers around the world. This one from a butler at Per Aquum’s Niyama resort in the Maldives, painted on a bedroom mirror for guests on the last night of their fourth return visit, commemorating a sailing trip they had undertaken on a dhoni, the local craft.

Recent Graduates

The Institute’s training continues in private estates and resorts around the world, with skills honed and confidence increased for all who attend.

Here are some of the graduates of training conducted this month at Atlantis—The Cove and Royal Towers—on Paradise Island, the Bahamas.

And the photo below shows some of the graduates (mainly butlers, but also other departments) at Niyama in the Maldives.

 

Let’s Talk about Mixology, Part 13

 

As the fog clung to the ground one early morning, I joined floral enthusiasts from across the region for a seminar in the California Botanical Gardens.  We had come to learn from Joyce Dean, judge and winning contestant at more floral shows than one can shake a tulip at.

Ms. Dean is a member of the Garden and Floral Arrangers Guild and came armed with seasoned advice and tips on how to take flowers from the garden and arrange them into delightful miniature arrangements, encouraging creativity all the while. She also encouraged us to persuade our groundskeepers to plant varieties that would bloom early, mid-, and late-season so there would be ample supplies for floral arrangements in the house, without having to call upon florists.

We were guided through the techniques of making a three-inch miniature arrangements, as well as an eight-inch designs. Such tiny floral arrangements are perfect “pick me ups” for those convalescing in hospital. Butlers or staff can create them as bedside arrangements for overnight guests, farewell gifts for guests, or for use on each setting at the table, to be taken away by guests as a memento of the evening.

Tools required are very basic: small scissors, toothpick, tweezers, and a small piece of water-soaked floral foam or other system for supporting the flowers, such as straws or “needle pads.”

Any flowers from the garden will work. We used Iris straps (leaves), Horsetail grass (Equisetum), Aurelia and Philodendron leaves. As a standard filler, we had Baby’s breath, Misty white flowers, Ming fern, Electric blue sage, Geranium, Parsley, etc.

In the next articles, I will provide design tips, and mechanical tips.

Until next time; remember to stop and smell the flowers!

Ms. dePillis is a master gardener and freelance contributor to the Journal who is based on the West Coast of the United States. She can be reached via depillis @ gmail.com