Swiss Hotel School puts its own twist on the Great Gatsby for its second-year gala dinner
Students from the Swiss Hotel School dazzled guests with a Great Gatsby-themed gala dinner, bringing gold, glamour, and luxury to life as part of their hospitality training.
Students from the Swiss Hotel School turned their campus into a world of gold and glamour recently, hosting a Great Gatsby-themed gala dinner as part of their second-year hospitality programme.
The evening was not simply a party; it was a carefully structured learning exercise in which students were divided into groups and each group was given a client to work with.
Read more: Swiss Hotel School welcomes first-year students
From there, the students had to take their client’s concept and turn it into a real, fully functioning event, managing everything from the look of the dining room to the food on the table and the service on the night.
The woman behind the evening’s vision was Lebohang Dibate, head of hospitality at the school, who took on the role of event client for the occasion. She paired up with chef Edward Clegg, who served as the culinary client, and together the two guided their respective student teams through the entire planning process.
Dibate took charge of the food and beverage presentation, the décor, and the overall atmosphere of the dining room. Clegg focused on the menu, working alongside the students, and a student chef within the group, to put together the evening’s culinary offering.
When it came to choosing a theme, Dibate said she and Clegg wanted something that spoke to elegance, luxury, and a touch of the dramatic.
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“We wanted glitz and glamour, gold, some elegance, and luxury.”
The students rose to the brief and pitched the Great Gatsby as their answer.
Dibate was quick to point out that the school does not repeat themes from year to year, making each gala dinner a fresh creative challenge.
While the Great Gatsby concept has been used by many event organisers over the years, she said the school was determined to make it their own.
“It has been done many times by other people, but we thought let’s put a Swiss Hotel School twist to it.”
The student team that brought the evening together included Amy Theron, Simnikiwe Nxenye, Providence Phillemon, Sibabalwe Mhlontlo, and Khaya Yende.
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