Between Tradition and Modernity – an amusing balancing act

Franziska Richard (born in 1968) is a member of the Richard family which owns the hotel. She is a qualified hotelier-restaurateur (Hotel Management School Thun) and gained her professional experience both in first-class Swiss hotels and as a long-standing specialist journalist in the hotel and catering industry. In her free time, she likes to get inspiration from good restaurants and hotels, read, hike and travel.

"I am a hunter and gatherer," says Marc Richard with a grin, who takes care of wine consulting and guest services at the "Bellevue" and is a member of the Richard family of owners. Discovering the latest and best wines and advising guests competently is his great passion. The trained business economist is not only a great wine lover, but also passionate about skiing.

Marc Richard has a deep connection to the "Bellevue", because he ultimately owes his existence to this hotel. This is where the romance between his parents began.

The Zurich native goes through life with the following wisdom: treat every person with respect.

Jürgen Willing has had the pleasure of heading the “Bellevue” kitchen since 2003. This native of Düsseldorf has professional experience in both traditional inns and Michelin-star restaurants in Germany and Switzerland. His cooking style? Elegant but spirited and never heavy. He particularly appreciates regional products. Jürgen Willing, who has a 17-year old son, is a big football fan. In the autumn he walks through the forest to look for mushrooms and along the lakes to fish.

Jiri Urban has been working as chef de partie in the Bellevue kitchen for 12 seasons. He began his cooking career in the Czech Republic, soon moving beyond the country's borders to southern England, then to Austria's Zillertal, before joining us. His 2-year-old twins keep him pretty busy and he shouldn't get bored as a sous chef either. The 32-year-old steps into the kitchen's shoes when head chef Jürgen Willing is absent.

Once a hotelier's daughter, always a hotelier's daughter? That could indeed be the case for Caroline Gygax, our new Chef de Réception, even though she left the warm nest (of the Hotel Huldi in Adelboden) early to move out into the world. But one thing at a time.
The "Huldi" was literally her living room. The Adelboden native grew up here with her sister Jacque- line, next door to staff and English, French and Swiss guests. "I had a lovely childhood," she says, adding: "It was clear from the start that I would go into the hotel industry." 
The path there was also clear: commercial school, then the renowned Lausanne Hotel Management School. Caroline Gygax remembers her internship at the legendary Hotel Reid's Palace in Madeira as a formative time. 

"The hotel was a dream!" she enthuses, "I would have loved to stay there". Staff were also scarce back then and there too. "Two of us managed the entire reception office."
In 1984, she lived and worked in Toronto for a few months. She worked for Greek cruise companies as a receptionist and assistant manager, and in 1993 she started a family business: a camping business in the Peloponnese. Her last stay abroad: Calvi in Corsica.
The outgoing and language-savvy professional has always been drawn out into the world, only to return again and again. Now she has once again opted for the mountains and the hotel industry.

In her job as head of housekeeping, it's always about balance. Helena likes to practice this in her free time on the stand-up paddle. Preferably with her dog Max on board. Cycling and camping are further hobbies of the nature-loving 28-year-old Slovakian. The qualified nurse has lived in Adelboden for almost 6 years and has always remained loyal to Bellevue.

Even though Martina Pfenninger is not originally from the mountains, as she grew up in Bern, she knows ours better than many people. This comes from her great passion, hiking. Since her commercial apprenticeship, she has remained loyal to the hotel industry, first at the reception and for some years now in Human Resources. She has an open ear for everyone and everything.