Presentation of the 55th Brillat Savarin plaque to Dr.h.c. August Oetker
04.05.2010
The FBMA Foundation presented the 55th Brillat Savarin Plaque to Dr. h. c. August Oetker for his services on behalf of table culture on April 24, 2010 in Baden-Baden.
The entrepreneur was awarded the Brillat Savarin Plaque named after the author and connoisseur Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin at the weekend during a festive act held in Brenner's Park-Hotel & Spa. For 55 years now the award has gone to personalities, who have played a special part in hospitality and table culture. The award is bestowed by the FBMA Foundation, which the Food and Beverage Management Association set up in 1993.
With the presentation of this award to Dr. h. c. August Oetker, the Foundation honours an entrepreneur, who has successfully geared a tradition-steeped family business to the future, revealing a high degree of responsibility and visionary insight. In 1981 aged 37, Oetker became the personally responsible partner in the Dr. August Oetker KH, the Oetker Group holding in Bielefeld. Until 2009 he was the fourth in line representing the owner family at the top during 118 years of entrepreneurial history. On January 1, 2010, he took over as chairman of the advisory board of the Dr. August Oetker KG.
EU Commissioner and former regional premier of Baden-Württemberg, Günter H. Oettinger, delivered the laudation. In his speech he referred to the scope of the companies, which are brought together under the umbrella of the Oetker Group and underlined that Oetker decides on locations out of responsibility rather than profit.
In his welcoming address the chairman of the FBME Foundation council Michael Bläser emphasised the importance of the prize-winner and his efforts on behalf of the hotel branch: "With your hotels you have set standards, which have been and still are highly significant while paving the way for the future". In the presence of over 200 guests, Michael Bläser, FBMA president Udo Finkenwirth and Friedwolf Liebold, the spokesman of the Brillat Savarin Curatorium, presented Oetker with the 2009 Brillat Savarin Plaque.
In his words of thanks the entrepreneur paid tribute to the achievements of his forefathers, who turned the Dr. Oetker brand into that what it is today: "And I regard the distinction also as an obligation for following generations, to continue orientating themselves to the accomplishments of our ancestors in further developing our company and our products". The apparent contradiction between himself as an entrepreneur and Brillat Savarin as a gourmet was waived by the prize-winner himself: "For what links Brillat Savarin with me is the love of edibles and the subject of food, and in particular the common passion for uncompromising quality right down to the smallest detail".
Frank Marrenbach, Managing Director of Brenner's Park-Hotel & Spa, which belongs to the Oetker Hotel Collection, welcomed prominent guests from the hotel branch, industry and politics in addition to members of the Oetker Family. The festive menu represented a creation of the star-bearing chefs from the four Oetker hotels, who had assembled in Baden-Baden especially for the award ceremony.
