A catering service born from a hotel school

EHG Traiteur is the catering service of the École Hôtelière de Genève. Our kitchen brigades and service teams are led by professionals who also teach the profession.

That gives our work a particular discipline: every choice has a reason behind it, and can be explained. A plating decision, a serving temperature, the ratio of staff on the floor, the order in which trays leave the pantry. These are the standards we pass on every day within the School, and they are exactly the ones we bring to your event.

It starts with your objective

A client appreciation cocktail, an internal seminar and a year-end celebration each deserve their own answer. So we begin by listening:

• The objective: what you want to happen during the event — introductions, a speech, recognition for a team, a product presentation.
• The audience: clients, employees, international partners, officials. Its composition sets the tone, the duration, the level of service and the dietary attentions.
• The venue and the timeline: the hours, the moment of the speech, the way your guests will move through the space.

These answers determine the format before the menu. A dinner-style cocktail, a working lunch cocktail between two sessions and a short drinks reception after a meeting each have their own density and rhythm. Choosing the right format is what ensures your guests are received exactly as you imagined, and that your budget goes entirely into what they see and taste.

The site visit: where the reception takes shape

In Geneva, most corporate receptions take place in offices, boardrooms or remarkable spaces where we bring the kitchen with us. That is our natural territory, and we like to see it before finalising a proposal. Every venue has its own possibilities; identifying them lets us make the most of it.

What we look at together:

• Access and building hours, so that our set-up is discreet and perfectly on time.
• The plating area, whatever its size, which we turn into a proper pantry.
• The power supply, which opens up the full range of hot items served à la minute.
• Accreditation procedures, particularly in the International Geneva district, which we anticipate with you.
• Your guests’ journey, from the cloakroom to the first glass: it sets the tone for the whole evening.

This visit enriches the initial proposal. It allows us to tune the menu and the set-up to the real qualities of the venue, and to present you with an organisation that is already proven before the day itself.

Menus designed to be enjoyed standing

Our chefs work with seasonal produce and with preparations that keep their brilliance from plating through to the last tray. A cocktail item sits elegantly between the fingers, is eaten in one bite, and looks as good at the end of service as it did when it entered the room. That requirement directs our chefs’ creativity towards what matters: the quality of the produce and the clarity of the flavour.

Dietary requirements are part of the menu from the outset. Vegetarian creations, gluten-free alternatives, alcohol-free drinks made with the same care as the rest, and precise attention to allergens: with the international audiences that make Geneva what it is, these attentions are our standard. Items are clearly identified and our teams know what is in each of them, so every guest immediately knows what is intended for them and helps themselves with complete confidence.

The rhythm of service matters as much as what is on the trays. Cold items open the reception, hot items arrive in waves, sweet items announce the close. That progression gives the evening its structure: everything is conveyed through the rhythm of service.

Service, our signature

This is where the art of hosting is decided. A tray offered at the right moment, a glass refilled before anyone thinks to ask, a room that stays immaculate until the last guest leaves: each of these gestures is felt more than it is noticed, and together they leave your guests with the feeling of having been perfectly looked after.

Our organisation makes that possible. One contact person follows your event from the first enquiry through to the final clear-down, and is beside you on the day. The service team is briefed on the timeline, on your guests and on the composition of every item before the doors open. You have in front of you a team that knows your evening as well as you do.

On the day, before your guests arrive

Our teams arrive early so that everything is ready well before the announced start: the pantry organised, the trays prepared, furniture and signage in place, and a final run-through with you on the timeline and the speech.

From then on, the evening is yours. You welcome your guests, you take the time to meet them, and we take care of everything else.

What we take away afterwards

We note what was particularly enjoyed, the busiest moments of service and the comments gathered from your guests. These observations refine our quantities and our organisation, and make each new proposal more precise. It is how the collaboration becomes sharper with every event.

Working with EHG Traiteur

We operate in Geneva and across the Lake Geneva region, including in venues where we bring the kitchen, the equipment and the team with us, for cocktails, receptions, business lunches, breakfasts, seminars and year-end events.

Tell us about your event: its objective, its audience and its venue. We will propose the format and the menu that serve them best.

EHG Traiteur — Avenue de la Paix 12, 1202 Geneva

traiteur@ehg.ch — +41 22 919 24 19 (Monday to Friday, 8.00–18.00)