The brothers Afonso and Duarte Ferreira know the Hotel Albris inside- and out. They have been working in the hotel for 30 years. As porter and cook.
Duarte arrives at the Hotel Albris at 8.30 am. His workplace is the kitchen. He starts preparing potatoes and vegetables. Good preparation– the mise en place– is the be-all and end-all of a well-organized hotel- and restaurant kitchen. His position is that of entremetier. This means that he is responsible for preparing the side dishes and soups.
His brother Afonso has already been at work for a good two and a half hours. He has already vacuumed the restaurant, stowed a delivery of drinks and shoveled away the freshly fallen snow in front of the hotel. He is a porter and is responsible for everything else in addition to transporting guests and luggage. He helps with the laundry, does repair work, keeps an eye on things in the basement and of course he drives guests to the train station or picks them up from there.
The Hotel Albris is something like a second home for the two brothers. They have been working in the hotel for over 30 years. They started under Oscar and Agnese Kochendörfer when their children Stephanie and Claudio were still in their apprenticeships.
We always cook fresh
Duarte, now 52 years old, remembers: "I spent my first season in the bakery. Then I went to the kitchen to the then head chef Dieter Kohl. I learned everything from him." Since then he has been cooking (with a few seasons off) at the Hotel Albris. "I like the work, we always cook everything fresh, the quality is high. And I appreciate that we also receive top quality as employees: We eat excellently, have a nice room and always get paid on time. That's why I've been here for so long. I have no reason to change."
And what does Afonso say when asked why he has been working at the Hotel Albris for so long? "I like it when I always know where and what to do. That gives me security and peace." He, who is six years older than his brother, also started in the bakery. After that, he worked briefly as a dishwasher in the kitchen and finally found his calling as a porter. "My tasks are varied. I work throughout the building and in all departments. I like that."
Where the port wine
comes from Afonso and Duarte Ferreira Da Silva come from the Douro-region, a picturesque and fertile hilly landscape in the north of Portugal. Duarte and Afonso grow up on a small farm, helping their father to grow potatoes and vegetables and harvest chestnuts. The area is famous for the port wine, which is grown here on a large scale. The terraced-Reed gardens around the Douro River are considered the oldest wine-growing region in the world and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Conscientious and reliable
The earning potential has nevertheless remained limited. Many young men and women from the Douro-region leave their homeland to seek their professional fortune elsewhere. And a striking number of them find what they are looking for in the Engadine. People recommend each other, even look for a job for their brother, cousin or neighbor.
This is how the Ferreira- brothers came to the Engadin. Afonso, the elder, got a kitchen job in St. Moritz, a few seasons later he was able to get his younger brother into the same hotel. They stayed there for a few years until the hotel changed hands and was closed for a long time. The brothers had to look for a new job.
Duarte applied for a job at the Hotel Albris. "My first season was in the summer of 1994," he remembers. In the autumn he went back to Portugal– and had an accident. He fell off his motorbike. "I was using crutches and couldn't work at the Hotel Albris during the winter season as planned. So I organised a replacement," laughs Duarte and points to Afonso. In the summer of 1995 both came to Pontresina and have remained loyal to the Kochendörfer family to this day. "We are happy that we have been able to count on them for so long," says Claudio Kochendörfer, "they are loyal, dutiful and reliable. They just don't like changes in the workflow."
Afonso and Duarte always spend the off-season at home in Portugal, where they have a beautiful house and some land on which they grow vegetables. When asked about homesickness, they answer: "Of course we miss Portugal. That's normal. But we are grateful for the good work we have here. And we are looking forward to retirement."