The Big Cheese with W Bali – Seminyak’s Philipp Haupenthal

The Big Cheese with W Bali – Seminyak’s Philipp Haupenthal

This week, W Bali – Seminyak’s director of food and beverage served us a seven-course degustation. Then we woke up from our food coma and interviewed him.

The great thing about my job is…

The diversity in every aspect. No day is like another and you always have to stay on top of new trends and new technologies to ensure the highest customer satisfaction. The best thing is receiving great guest feedback, and sharing with the team, as this is what we all are working for.

The challenge for the industry is…

To develop enough qualified people, as the industry is growing so quickly and customer expectations and needs are changing continuously. Here in Asia, we are still in a relatively good position but I know that especially in Europe many people don’t want to learn our job anymore as you work long hours for comparably low salaries.

My greatest achievement is…

Being the director of beverage and food at W Bali – Seminyak.

The biggest thing in MICE this year will be…

I believe the trend that started already continues; to have more activities during meetings/conferences that focus on team building and making an impact, especially those that focus on sustainability (for example beach or river cleaning, tree planting etc.).

I try to relax by…

Outdoor activities. It’s a great stress relief.

I don’t understand why…

There are many things that I don’t understand but most things I try to understand by changing the way I look at them.

My favourite destination for a holiday so far…

Was South Africa. Nepal and Cuba also make it in the top three I’ve travelled to so far.

I’ve always wanted to travel to…

Bora Bora.

I am scared to death of…

Nothing.

I can’t live without…

My family, friends and team.

I really wish I had…

I think I have everything I need and even more.

If I could invite four people to a dinner party, they’d be…

Roger Federer, Elon Musk, Dwayne Johnson, and Dean Schneider.

For anyone starting out in the industry, one piece of advice I’d give would be…

“Do it with passion or don’t do it at all.”

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