Coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the National Bailliage, the 13th Grand Chapitre organised by the local Bailliage of Pays de Vaud took place from Friday, September 3rd to Sunday 5th.

All the traditional events pertaining to a Grand Chapitre took place against the stunning backdrop of the Chaîne’s establishments in Lausanne, and under the high patronage of Jacqueline de Quattro, member of the Conseil National. The highlights were the Promotion and Induction Ceremony, as well as the remarkable gastronomic lunches and dinners.

The first Grand Chapitre of the Bailliage of Switzerland took place at the Métropole restaurant in Lausanne on 6 December 1951. Having organised many other Grands Chapitres since then, the Bailliage of Pays de Vaud has considerable experience under its belt, which no doubt contributed to the success of this event, which was originally supposed to take place in Geneva in 2020 and was then moved to the area covered by the Pays de Vaud. We were honoured by the presence of our President Yam Atallah and Dr Thomas Kuhn, Bailli Délégué of Switzerland.

On the evening of Friday 3 September participants met for an excellent Welcome Dinner at the Carlton Hotel in Lausanne.

The “Déjeuner des Commandeurs” was held at lunchtime on Saturday at the Royal-Savoy Hotel after the Extraordinary General Meeting.

This was followed by a particularly emotional occasion in the afternoon: the Induction Ceremony, which took place at the Lausanne-Palace.

The Ceremony gave us the opportunity to welcome 23 members into the Confrérie, see 17 join the ranks of the OMGD (Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs), and celebrate 21 members being promoted or awarded a new grade amongst whom of special note was Dr Thomas Kuhn, who comes from Basel-Landschaft, being inducted as Bailli Délégué thus formally confirming his recent election. The day ended, in sartorial and gastronomic style, in the same venue, with a wonderful Gala Dinner.

Such a delightful celebration couldn’t come to a close on Sunday without an aperitif and farewell lunch, which took place at the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne.

Henri Rollier
Vice-Chargé de Presse, Pays de Vaud Bailliage
and
Dominique Koeppel
Bailli, Pays de Vaud Bailliage

Photographs: Susy from Déclic, and Henri Rollier, Vice-Chargé de Presse of the Pays de Vaud Bailliage

Photo rights: VD-HR Bailliage