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Testimonials

"The in-house restaurant provides outstanding facilities. It helps to smooth contacts when you invite a journalist to go and have a cup of coffee."

 

Jean-Luc Onckelinx is UNRIC (United Nations Regional Information Centre) information officer for the European Union and the Benelux countries.

 

What IPC services do you use on a regular basis?

Our partnership with the IPC is quite unusual. We moved into the offices on the 7th and 8th floors on a permanent basis in 2004, pursuant to negotiations conducted at the time with the Belgian government. A very official inauguration ceremony attended by Kofi Annan and Guy Verhofstadt was held to mark our arrival in the building.


We often use the press rooms and the restaurant, as these are very valuable in our contacts with journalists. 


What is the main benefit of the premises?

The in-house restaurant provides outstanding facilities. It helps to smooth contacts when you invite a journalist to go and have a cup of coffee. We also often hold breakfast meetings with journalists.

 

What advantage does the IPC have over other infrastructures?

The site's key advantage is obviously being within easy reach of the European institutions. It is ideally located between the Parliament and the Council of Europe and we have direct access to the people we most frequently work with.


The team here is also very welcoming: they offer a really top, tailor-made service, and what is on offer elsewhere often pales in comparison. This is a key deciding factor when taking decisions about organising an event somewhere.

 

What you especially like in the building…

For me the top marks go to the patio. It was a brilliant idea to cover it with glass: the building is protected against bad weather while being bathed in another kind of light. However, I have to admit that the pool, now being renovated, is quite splendid. We often urge our speakers to go there and relax a bit ahead of a conference.

Jean-Luc Onckelinx, UNRIC

"We do everything we can to put customers at their ease, even when something turns up unexpectedly."

 

 

Eric Evrard is the head chef in the Résidence Palace restaurant.

 

What prompted you to come and work at the IPC?

I started off studying hotel and catering then had several work experience opportunities with different major companies. I have spent 15 years working for a company leading the way with various gastronomic concepts. The company runs this restaurant, within the IPC building.

 

What are the special characteristics of this restaurant associated with the International Press Centre?

What is an advantage is having the opportunity to rub shoulders with people from all walks of life and professions. It is a real melting-pot and every day brings something new, even though the purpose of my job never changes: keeping customers satisfied. What makes me tick is always the same, irrespective of what is involved: a cocktail, a barbecue or a service in the restaurant.


How would you define your contacts with the customers?

I am always attentive to the customers' needs and requirements and my aim is to live up to their expectations. Day after day we are faced with a tremendous challenge when it comes to the IPC tenants. With the same people turning up to eat every day I have to keep on coming up with something new so I never have to hear people saying: "that again!". We change the tablecloths, we change the furniture.


And what about the catering when an event is being organised?

In the case of receptions and other exceptional events, after considering what the customers want exactly I then forward them a quote, by telephone or e-mail. I use local and seasonal produce as much as I can but I am always prepared to cater for a customer's highly specific requirements. The Spanish and Italians, for example, like us to pay a culinary tribute to their regions.


Do you always respond to the wide range of requests made by customers from all corners of the globe?

Yes, as far as we can. The Internet makes it easier, providing access to information to use as a basis for preparing dishes. To give one example, the Turkish embassy asked us to provide a national buffet, which was a major new departure. After the event, the staff asked if they could take was left home with them, which was, of course, a great compliment.


What advantage does the IPC have over other infrastructures?

The IPC offers a tailored service to users: the hiring of rooms and technical facilities, the staff employed by Video House and the restaurant. The people here can count on being dealt with personally rather than treated as just a number to be presented with the bill at the end of a meal. If I see it is raining I pick up an umbrella and to go meet the customers. They look upon us as a unit, not as an outside business running the "hospitality" side of things. The entire service is intended to put customers at their ease, even when something turns up unexpectedly.


Do you have any stories to share on this subject?

There was the one day that the people attending a conference left the room well before the time agreed upon for the meal. We had no warning of this at all. I rushed about preparing a pre-prandial drink so as to distract them for a while. Meanwhile, our staff were pulling out all the stops to ensure these people would be able to eat before the agreed time, as though nothing were amiss.


What kind of feedback do you get from the people you serve?

I do not make any assessment, strictly speaking, but I always make a point of asking customers if everything was to their satisfaction. It is a kind of custom after each event. Whether it be a well-known figure or otherwise, my philosophy is "a customer is a customer", even though you cannot help forming friendships with certain customers after you have been doing this for 10 years. The best compliment for me is to see people returning to eat here day after day.


What you especially like in the building…

My favourite spot is the patio. I like to sit there and simply observe what is going on or listen to the sound of the fountain: a restful, enchanting experience. I have never been able to understand why some event organisers ask for the water to be turned off for a while.

Eric Evrard, Head chef, New Concept Events

"Here, you can count on always having the same individuals ready to help you out. Everything is possible, whatever your requirement."

 

Fanny Senez is Chief operating officer with the EFGCP (European Forum for good clinical practice).

 

What IPC services do you use on a regular basis?

I enlisted the aid of the IPC in 2003 in the context of my previous position. I have been organising the EFGCP seminars since 2005. We normally use the Polak room but prefer the Maelbeek room or the Passage for working group sessions or the Club room for our board meetings. We obviously also have recourse to the restaurant's services. There are lots of other facilities, such as the recording studio, but we never use them.


What is the main benefit of the premises, in your opinion?

First of all its left-field style, perfectly illustrated by the luminous patio, fountain and mosaics, which give it a unique charm. It is quite something being able to bask in daylight, otherwise your batteries get drained after two days of conferences. The material and logistical facilities are also valuable assets: everything is planned down to the last detail in the most comfortable rooms. We have every confidence in the technical equipment and in the team in charge of the installations.


What advantage does the IPC have over other infrastructures?

It is a question of the best value for money. The place is ideally situated, in a strategic location in Brussels. Thanks to the adjacency of the metro and railway stations, it is easy to reach the airport. Our political contacts working in the district can easily reach us. There are other fine conference facilities in Brussels but they fail to offer this accessibility.


The IPC stands out from all those hotel chains that are all alike and have such a heavy staff turnover it is impossible to build a relationship of trust. Here, you can count on always having the same individuals ready to help you out. Everything is possible, whatever your requirement. 


Do you have any stories to share on this subject?

The speaker we invited for a conference on the theme of disabled people was in a wheelchair. We wanted him to be able to reach the conference platform without any problems and with due respect for his dignity. No sooner said than done: a ramp was specially provided to offer access to the platform from the room. In the IPC you have the impression of the team being available at all times, which is vital because being accustomed to conferences and business trips, our participants appreciate good organisation, which means, for example, meals being served on the dot.


What you especially like in the building…

The patio is my favourite spot: you recognise it as being at the heart of the place as soon as you arrive and I love the mosaics.

Fanny Senez, European Forum for Good Clinical Practice (EFGCP)