Service in His Blood: Johannes Mayr of the Kempinski Hotel

Austrian national Johannes Mayr is the Kempinski Hotel Beijing’s new Director of Food & Beverage. With over a decade of international F&B management experience under his belt and a lifetime affinity, Mr. Mayr will step in to oversee the daily operation of seven highly respected restaurants and bars within the hotel.

Where are you from?
Originally I am from Austria. As tourism is one of the main drivers for the economy due to Austria’s rich history and beautiful scenery, I think we Austrians have a deep understanding of European hospitality in our blood. On top of that, I grow up in a hotel. My parents run a small hotel in Austria where I worked when I was a child. I love talking to people and having contact with guests, and enjoy the great fun working in the service industry. I also started to cook for the family at an early age; my first professional job was as a chef in Austria back in 1996.

What were some of the highlights of your career before coming to Beijing?
I have been lucky indeed in my career path.

My first appointment outside of Austria, which took me to Scotland, was to work in the famous Turnberry Resort and golf course located on top of a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean along Scotland's west coast near Glasgow. You could enjoy a lot of sunshine there for the whole year.

I also enjoyed my time in New York City at Hotel Plaza Athenee, where I had a lot of celebrities as my guests. New York is definitely the kind of city you need to live in for some time in your life.

And of course, my lovely time in Berlin. Berlin is the first city where I could see myself spending the rest of my life. I lived in Berlin for three years and had a great time working in the Hotel Adlon Kempinski as the Food & Beverage Director. I have to say, this hotel is very unique. First of all it is one of those extremely rare hotels that operates three Michelin-star-rated restaurants. Secondly, Adlon is the number one hotel in Berlin and hosts nearly all diplomatic state visits and most of the celebrities as well. As you can imagine, this gives a very interesting mix of guests. One of the highlights during that period was the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. As the hotel is located just at the Brandenburg Gate, we were basically in the middle of all the celebrations and we had most of the state visitors and guests of honor staying in our hotel. Another impressive thing is a few days before Berlin hosted the MTV European Music awards, when U2 had a concert at the Brandenburg Gate, we were able to watch the show from the windows of the hotel. It was like being in a VIP room in a stadium. Along with the special atmosphere in Berlin during the anniversary, this gave us great memories.

What are your plans for the future direction of the F&B department at the Beijing Kempinski?
We need to modernize our F&B outlets. Kempinski Beijing is an 18-year-old hotel. Innovation and creativity are important for us and it’s going to be a lot of work, but we can change. Compared to those standardized international competitors, this hotel has the “collection of individuals” mark of a Kempinski Hotel.

Which of the Kempinski’s F&B outlets now under your charge are you most excited about?
Paulaner Brauhaus, our German restaurant, definitely.

Kempi Deli is also a well-known bakery throughout town. I love it as well.

Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District. (6465 3388) www.kempinski.com/beijing 凯宾斯基饭店,朝阳区亮马桥路50号