Brillat Savarin plaque awarded to Rolf Seelige-Steinhoff

The Brillat Savarin Plaque, one of the highest honours in the German hospitality industry, was awarded last Saturday by the FBMA Foundation at the SEETELHOTEL Villa Esplanade to Rolf Seelige-Steinhoff from the SEETELHOTELS on Usedom.

Visionaries, pioneers and personalities with a formative influence and impact on the hospitality industry - such exceptional figures have been honoured with the Brillat Savarin plaque for their services to hospitality and dining culture since 1955. The FBMA Foundation has chosen an entrepreneur to be honoured with the 67th Brillat Savarin Plaque who continues the outstanding line of previous plaque recipients: Rolf Seelige-Steinhoff, Managing Partner of SEETELHOTELS.

In 1992, Rolf Seelige-Steinhoff and his father Burghardt Seelige-Steinhoff founded the company, which has grown into a hotel group with 17 hotels on Usedom in over 30 years. The family business also includes the Hotel Bahía del Sol in Santa Ponsa on Mallorca.

After the reception at 5.30 pm at the SEETELHOTEL Ahlbecker Hof and a welcome from Konrad Pötzel, Chairman of the FBMA Foundation, Rolf Seelige-Steinhoff, Managing Partner of SEETELHOTELS and Marco Fien, Cluster Director of SEETELHOTELS, the award ceremony for the 67th Brillat Savarin Prize was held at the hotel. Brillat Savarin plaque was celebrated afterwards at the SEETELHOTEL Villa Esplanade.

TV presenter and actor Werner Schulze-Erdel welcomed the guests. Afterwards, the Chairman of the FBMA Foundation, Konrad Pötzel, gave the introductory speech: "With courageous decisions, great passion and realisable ideas, you and your family have paved the way for the company's success. SEETELHOTELS stands for love, respect, purpose and quality, true to the motto: 'Life loves you! This quote is the credo of your family philosophy and you can feel it in every one of your hotels, with every single employee."

Journalist and consultant Kai Diekmann provided inspiration with his thoughts: "To describe Rolf Seelige-Steinhoff as a hotelier, as a restaurateur - that would be too little. Rolf, you are a true gastrosophist! Just like Jean Anthèlme Brillat-Savarin once was."

The laudatory speech for the 2024 award winner, Rolf-Seelige-Steinhoff, was held by Reinhard Meyer, Minister for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: "The family business has invested several million euros in hotels, residences or villas of the historic imperial resort architecture on Usedom, mainly in the first row of the imperial resorts of Ahlbeck and Heringsdorf, or has closed structural gaps such as in Bansin in the first row, thus reviving the splendour and beauty of the historic imperial resorts. Your commitment is valuable for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in many respects. From a tourist point of view, you are revitalising the variety of offers for our guests. From an economic point of view, you have created 550 jobs and awarded contracts to companies in the region. From a socio-political perspective, you support cultural and culinary events, take on class sponsorships, enter into school partnerships and promote local clubs. This shows the high level of identification with the island of Usedom and its people."

Rolf Seelige-Steinhoff accepted the special award with great gratitude and expressed his thanks: "It fills me with great pride and gratitude to have received the 67th Brillat Savarin plaque. For me, it is an honour that is much more than an award - it is rather a sign of the first-class hospitality and dining culture of our team, which we live on Usedom and at the SEETELHOTELS."

After the glamorous award ceremony, there was plenty of reason to celebrate. With a show act and a party with a DJ, the guests danced the night away and enjoyed sparkling drinks and cocktails.