Belgian butler school goes international

22/01/2018

The School for Butlers & Hospitality in Oostkamp will be going international as from 2018. A new school will open in Luxembourg in January and another in Tuscany in September.

Those who watched the legendary British drama series Upstairs Downstairs (1971), about the comings and goings of the aristocratic Bellamy family and its domestic staff in a grand town house in London in the early 20th century will undoubtedly remember the starring role of one of the heroes, butler Angus Hudson, played by the actor Gordon Jackson.  

Those that feel compelled to follow in his footsteps in real life can consider joining the School for Butlers & Hospitality in the West Flemish town of Oostkamp, near Bruges, for a top-level training lasting either a few days or weeks. Ever since 1884, the school has taught an extensive range of skills, related to clothing (suits, shirts, cardigans, jackets, ties, shoes, packing luggage, discovering expert clothes shops …), dining (silverware, serving, which flowers as decoration …), etiquette (how to escort a lady, opening a door, laying the table for different styles of meal …), verbal and non-verbal communication, how to behave appropriately with your client or different types of guest, how to recover gracefully from any situation without creating embarrassment, chauffeur techniques, housekeeping, wines, whisky, cigars… Those interested may perfect their skills with an extensive range of specific professional training.

The School for Butlers & Hospitality will be going international as from late January 2018. This is when it will open a new school for butlers in Luxembourg, more specifically to teach well-trained domestic cleaning staff, for example, how to look after a dinner service in a traditional manner. But there is so much more to it than that. Later in the year, in early September, another branch will open in the Italian district of Tuscany. Plans are underway in the South of France to teach students how to look after the local luxury yachts.