THE FCSI INTERVIEW
AWAY FROM THE DESK
When not on site with clients, where she is at her happiest, von Massenbach loves to spend time with friends and family. Otherwise, she can be found “recharging her batteries in nature” either hiking or skiing. Yoga keeps her relaxed too. And that wanderlust has not left her. “I’m interested in seeing new places, so I travel around as much as I can,” she says.
PRIDE IN PROJECTS Bettina von Massenbach works extensively across Germany as well as internationally, with recent client work taking her to the Netherlands and Austria. In her own words, she is particularly proud of the following projects:
1) “Kansha was a Japanese vegan restaurant in Munich that opened in 2018. I was so proud of what we achieved there, but unfortunately, we had to close it down last summer, mainly due to the rise in food prices. But it was a wonderful place with amazing people.”
stand up for the rights of people who work in restaurant and hotel kitchens. “When I started 12 years ago, [the sector] didn’t really want to hear that voice. Tey thought, ‘Why should we change anything in our lives?’” Joining FCSI in 2017
enabled her “to find some sparring partners” on topics like this. “I needed people to exchange my knowledge with and get new ideas. I wanted to be part of a group that could help me make a better industry.”
“I needed people to exchange my knowledge with and get new ideas. I wanted to be part of a group that could help me make a better industry”
FCSI, she says, is also “a
proof of qualification”. Being a consultant encourages teamwork and ‘design thinking’: a method to improve cooperation, collaboration, and communication within teams. “Tis is very useful in terms of working with clients,” she says. “But it’s also very useful for working within FCSI. Four years ago, FCSI Germany-Austria conceived a project called the ‘Train the Trainer’ program, which recently launched. It’s about improving ourselves and how to deal with our clients by rethinking the so-called ‘problem’ behind an operation and changing the point of view every single time. It’s amazing seeing the different results that come out of it. Te original ‘problem’ may not be the actual issue in an operation, when you change perspectives.” In her own consultancy
work, von Massenbach specializes in combining “the different interests of
management, staff and guests – putting everybody under one hat and finding out what kind of motivation is behind each group and their goals. Tey all must realize that they depend on each other. If they’re not linked and have the same vision, then an operation will not succeed.” In the natural world,
pearls get formed through grit and pressure. But with this particular OYSTER, von Massenbach has shown that rich, precious rewards can be created when a natural empathy and consideration for people – and fully understanding how they want to be treated – is applied.
2) “For the last six months I have spent most of my time in Munich working with BalanDeli, an integrative restaurant, half staffed by people with cognitive handicaps. The aim is to offer these young adults the possibility to have full labor contracts. They earn their money so they can have an independent life. It is incredibly rewarding. The first time I came to the restaurant, I was almost in tears because I’ve never seen such warm-hearted service and such a lovely atmosphere.”
Top, left: von Massenbach with Tantris chefs Sigi Schelling, Hans Haas, and Eckart Witzigmann; Middle: speaking at a recent FCSI event; Right: with Tantris owner, Felix Eichbauer
3) “A really rewarding project is my work with continua on succession planning in hospitality. I think this is the next biggest thing in our industry. If a business has been built up by a former generation the question is, how is it going to be continued by the next one? So, I started a partnership with continua, which has designated partner networks across industries. I look after the hospitality industry, covering aspects such as the need for digitalization.”
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WORLDWIDE
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