Creative Corner
featuring Kobi Gutman
More on the magic created for guests—creations that mirror their interests.
These horses are shown last month made with water-based clay so they would harden and then be painted with a bronze look. 
This is the bronze look.
Mr. Kobi Gutman is one of the most accomplished hotel butlers in the world, currently working as the head butler at a private hotel in Florida; he can be reached via the Institute.
The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.
As Mrs. Ferry and I hit the big 65, you might think we would start thinking of retiring, as many of our colleagues are doing, gradually or suddenly.We have no such plans, because we see that work gives purpose, value, and meaning to life, and because for us, work has always been fun and how we like to spend our “time off.”
The Guardian offers a brief look at what it finds of interest about the world of the butler 50 years ago. An interesting article on the true state of robots in service industries—and one refreshingly not called a robot butler for once. And here’s another one for the books: An “Instagram Butler” —meaning a…
“Thank you for the recent article: It’s nice to know I’m not alone in my experiences with guests—I have found some older guests prefer me to be more conversational/helpful.”
Scenario: Cookery has become something of a glamorous profession in recent years. A growing affluence has promoted a more informed palate for gourmet foods in general and cheffing more specifically, making fine dining more accessible in a growing number of gourmet restaurants and at estates in…
The next duty in importance for the butler two hundred years ago, was something that simply requires we flip switches today—the trimming of lamps to keep them clean and illuminating well. Failure to trim the cotton wicks to the right length resulted in soot, the smell of oil, and black smoke. Cleaning involves the use of boiling water and pearl ash to remove…
Most household training strives to improve attention to detail, teach the correct technique, or increase the speed and quality of service. Savings are also achieved through reducing food waste, chemical usage, and damage to delicate linen, silverware, art and antiques. As the workforce becomes older, training can also help…
For those who like to try new things, you might want to prepare this eye-catching and wonderful cocktail.
Flatware containing carbon steel components (blades and fork tines) can be guarded against rusting by hand wash the knives in warm water after the meal and drying immediately. Then applying a very thin layer of Burt’s Bees Lip Balm and wiping with a paper towel until there is no residue remaining. As this…
“Wide ranging and useful information, lots of examples given based on real experience; I appreciated the concepts and tools covered for dealing with different situations and on a daily basis, and the role playing gave a better understanding.” Front Office Manager. “Very important and very useful training conducted in an interesting…
Since the original duties of the “cup bearing” butler included maintaining the wine cellar, it is logical to assume that the butler must also know how to serve the beverage! For a quick at-a-glance reference, do keep Serving the Wealthy Appendix 10A in Volume 2 at your fingertips. It is found on page 295 of…
If you’ve used microfiber cloths, which we have recommended in the past, you’ll know that they clean very well and easily. A new product on the market, OneMop® and OneWipe system uses microfiber refill pads and the OneWipe microfiber cloths to reduce water consumption by up to 99%, without…