Have you ever wondered where butlers go to learn the tricks of the trade? Perhaps you think — as many people do — that the role of a butler has vanished from modern estates. After all, in popular fiction butlers are often referred to as doddering, usually to indicate their advanced age.
Introducing the European Butler Institute in America
I’m visiting today with Charles Phillis-Pennick of the European Butler Institute. Charles is manages the American branch of the European Butler Institute. As such, he is responsible for putting the finishing touches on graduates of EBI from around the world.
LK: I have to say up front Charles, nobody looking at you would immediately think ‘That man is clearly a butler!’
CP-P: Thanks, I’m glad that I managed to leave my doddering look at home today. To further break the mold, try calling me Charlie. That’s what Jane and all the rest of the grandmothers wandering the grounds of The Hollow do. If I hear someone saying Charles I think my old Nan in England is coming for me; possibly with a willow switch if my memory is correct.
LK: Your Nan sounds like quite a woman! Let’s talk about the European Butler Institute right now though. What is your role with EBI?
CP-P: I was managing the European Butler Institute’s European location in Switzerland when one of our graduating students — Jane’s son, Nick Drew — let me know that a family emergency had arisen and he needed to head back to the US to ‘straighten’ some things out. As soon as Nick told me that his father had been shot and seriously wounded, I offered to travel with him because, frankly, I was dying to see the fabulous estate and castle that Nick had been talking about to anybody who would listen to him.
LK:Ah, the castle. It certainly is impressive, isn’t it? I hear you’re something of a royalty fanatic as well.
CP-P: What can I say, I may resemble that remark sometimes. But back to me coming to The Hollow. Nick was taking all the courses he could with the EBI to learn the ins and outs of managing a large estate, his goal was to open the castle up as a luxury spa destination for folks who don’t want to mix with the hoi palloi while they are relaxing.
One of Nick’s most often heard worries involving management of The Hollow was how he was going to find capable staff for the spa without spending all his time training them. Of course, Nick’s mother, Jane, was understandably concerned about her husband when I arrived, he had been in the process of setting up security around the grounds. The owner of EBI, Michael Stephenson, suggested that I should give their fledgling security arrangements a once over while I was there.
LK:Okay, I can see where the European Butler Institute would be interested in sending graduates from their courses to work in a place like The Hollow, but as I understand it, now you’re managing the American branch of EBI, right inside The Hollow!
Gatehouse at The Hollow
CP-P: Yes, that is my job description now. In one of those amazing moments of coincidence that often happens in the wacky world we live in, Michael Stephenson realized that he knew Nick’s father, Greg, having worked with him years earlier somewhere on the Continent. Michael came to The Hollow while I was here with Nick, took stock of the situation immediately and suggested to Nick and his father that establishing an American arm of EBI on the grounds of The Hollow, in what we call the gatehouse, would be extremely beneficial for all concerned.
LK: Wow! It sounds like a win-win situation for everyone.
CP-P: Absolutely! Nick gets a steady stream of well-trained staff, and graduating students from other EBI facilities gain added cultural understanding of how richer-than-most Americans do things. And as an added bonus, I occasionally get to rub shoulders with some of that royalty you mentioned earlier. I’m in heaven!
LK: Do you only train butlers at EBI? I’ve seen an equal amount of men and women here, can you tell me a bit about the average EBI student?
CP-P: In today’s modern world there is an increasing demand for female butlers. Most students at EBI are interested in providing top tier service to their employer — or their principal as we say in the industry. Increasingly today a butler’s duties can run from managing a single house or estate property to travelling between different residences, moving with the principal and their family from location to location. Butlers can also be found working in a luxury resort or stately British mansion with a team of 10 or more housekeepers and footmen behind them.
LK: That’s the picture I have in my mind when I think of a butler. A formidable looking gentleman standing at the head of a group of people dressed in severe black and white. Of course, there’s a large mansion that makes me think of Downton Abbey in the background!
CP-P: There are butlers who work and thrive in exactly that environment. But really, that’s just for starters; I once took a six-week assignment with a principal who loved sky-diving and other extreme sports. Where the principal went I went! I came back from those adventures with this dashing touch of grey at my temples!
LK:Oh my! What happened to the principal’s previous butler that you were only there temporarily? Hopefully nothing too drastic as a result of the extreme sporting activity!
CP-P: His regular butler had decided to get married and was at EBI in Switzerland with his new wife, learning how to manage the principal’s private island in the Caribbean.
LK: Thank you for talking with me this morning Charlie. It looks like the delicious Sinnin’ Buns that Secret Spring Wellness Center is famous for have just arrived. I can’t wait to taste them.
CP-P: Always a pleasure, Lissa. You wouldn’t happen to know where my fancy Swiss Army pen has disappeared to would you? I haven’t seen it since Jane used it so effectively in my office. Michael will have my head on a platter if he discovers I’ve misplaced it again.
LK: I have a suspicion where it may have gone too but not to worry, I’m sure it will turn up!
Gramma’s Off Her Rocker cozy mysteries
Charlie is just one of the characters found in my cozy mystery series. The first book in the series, Toasted to Deathis available for only $0.99 on Amazon, and everywhere else that e-books are sold.
