Despite the wages being 'absurdly high', Jan-Ole still found the butler's life unsatisfying: "One is hungry, when another person is eating."

You may be familiar with the butler Mr. Carson from the popular TV series Downton Abbey, who strives to maintain the high standard of the Yorkshire estate in the early 1900s with his serious demeanor. Or perhaps Freddie Frinton, who warms many hearts as butler James during New Year's Eve in the TV sketch '90 Years-Old'. Both characters are fictional and date back many years.

However, there is a significant demand for butlers today. According to The Economist, personnel agencies report that there is particularly high demand from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where the economy is booming. China also wants butlers.

Most people remember the scene of the aging butler James, who says "Cheerio, Sophie me gal" before petting a tiger cub. A classic New Year's Eve scene here at home, and the sketch is known as '90-years old'. (Photo: © NF, Scanpix Denmark)

But what does it mean to be a butler today - more than 100 years after Mr. Carson might have imagined folding his napkins in the Downton Abbey dining room?

We spoke with Danish butler Jan-Ole Herfurth, who was trained at The International Butler Academy (TIBA) in Holland and previously worked as a butler in the Middle East.

He explains that the butler profession has changed over the years.

- The tasks are not the same as they used to be, he tells P1's 4th division. ()

He describes the modern butler role as a practical helper in the household, a partner, someone who clears the way and completes tasks before others have to express that they need to be done.

Jan-Ole Herfurth has both been a butler and trained others. (Photo: © Jae W V Kim)

Today, mobile phones and the internet have made it much easier to obtain information and tools to perform tasks as a butler.

A business trip to an employer, for example, which used to require a physical visit to an office in the city, is now much simpler.

However, there is also a downside to the mobile phone, as Jan-Ole Herfurth points out, because you are always available to the employer.

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A little work-life balance, please?

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The work-life balance trend, known as the w-ork-life balance wave, does not seem to have fully reached the butler profession.

> I could definitely see myself working at the Palace at some point,

Jan-Ole Herfurth, trained butler

At least one reason why Jan-Ole Herfurth has chosen to put his butler career on hold for now - after seven years in the industry as both a butler and a trainer - is that his private life and personal needs come in second place when he is working.

- You're hungry when the other person is eating.

Over the years, he has learned to set boundaries for himself.

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The prestigious butler training in Holland

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* The school trains 30 to 50 butlers per year.

* Many in the industry consider the 10-week program at the academy to be the most intensive butler training in the world.

* The academy is located in a former monastery from 1892. Today, it is dedicated to butler training.

* Butlers are prepared to excel in prestigious households and five-star hotels.

Source: The Economist and The International Butler Academy

And then there's the salary. Here, Jan-Ole Herfurth earned "a little more than a day's wage".

But:

- Salaries can be absurdly high, he says about jobs in Dubai.

When Jan-Ole Herfurth worked in the Middle East, he expressed his dissatisfaction to his employer at one point and threatened to return to Europe. He was then offered double his salary.

- I think that shows how little money means in some circles.

Butler Mr. Carson from the British drama series Downton Abbey. (© Jaap Buitendijk_Capital Pictures_Ritzau Scanpix)

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Polishing silver to perfection

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Jan-Ole Herfurth's butler thoughts began to grow, partly because as a child he saw Batman films and wanted to be Batman's loyal butler, Alfred. Then, in his jobs in restaurants, he realized that he wanted more than just serving his guests when they were dining out.

> You're hungry when the other person is eating, and you rest when the other person rests, or your employer rests,

Jan-Ole Herfurth, trained butler

- It's a fascination for me that I can be present in a certain way and create someone else's day, he says.

At the school in Holland, he learned not only to polish silver to perfection, but also to host parties, hold doors, help people in and out of cars, send a full guest home from a party without making them feel humiliated, and control the rest of the staff.

A butler inspects the exact distance between the cutlery on the table as part of his training at a butler school in Chengdu, China. (Photo: © Fred Dufour, Scanpix Denmark)

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The dream of the Palace

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Jan-Ole Herfurth now works for Down the Drain, which organizes festivals such as Northside and Tinderbox.

But who knows, maybe he'll return to the pressed jacket one day.

- I could definitely see myself working at the Palace at some point. It sounds exciting and appealing, and there's a lot going on behind the scenes that could be interesting to be a part of, he says.

However, it is under consideration whether he is working for a named or well-known person in the public - as long as the job tasks are interesting enough.

What is the difference between a butler and a servant? Jan-Ole Herfurth also explains this in his interview with 4. division. You can hear the whole thing here:

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.