Thomas Bordiehn, famous for his restaurants Villa Kunterbunt in Arabella Resort and La Piazetta in Giftun Resort in Hurghada, took on a new challenge in Norway. Thomas, training Egyptian chefs, kitchen and restaurant staff since 1992, was hired by Ole Christenson, owner of the mountain hotel Rondane, last August for special courses to enrich the skills of the chefs of the first class kitchen of Rondane. For the not so busy winter season Ole Christenson decided to contribute to the humanitarian efforts around the biggest refugee crisis since World War 2 with 60 million people displaced, and closed his hotel during the low season to be able to provide acute refugee reception. The displaced people hosted at Rondana come mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and are waiting for the chance to find a new base for them and their families in Oslo. To provide full accommodation for people with Arabian background is not an easy tasks if all your setup was done for the European clientele.
A specialist in hotel business was needed, and Ole Christensen again called Thomas Bordiehn, who agreed immediately to fly over and bring his over 20 years’ experience in dealing with Egyptians, speaking Arabic and understanding the mentality and needs of citizens of Arab countries. Thomas is now again in Norway since mid-October. He truly likes this new challenge and is happy to be able to be an active part in improving the lives of displaced people in need of support. The chefs are learning how to prepare oriental food such as lentil soup, moussaka, kosheri, tagen, oriental salads and flat bread. Desserts like puddings, ice cream, oriental sweets, crème caramel, dates and figs are also favorites of the Arab guests. The cooks like this new experience as also tourists enjoy to eat dishes from the oriental kitchen. The refugees are happy to have Thomas there who can communicate with them in their language, understanding their culture, and provides them with a touch of “home” through the food they like to eat. Good luck for all of them on the way to finding a new home!
Facebook: Thomas Christian Bordiehn www.rondane.no
