Privacy Policy for AlpenTaste Akademie

AlpenTaste Akademie, located at 4502 Seestrasse, Floor 3, 6003 Luzern, Kanton Luzern, Switzerland, is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal data. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your information when you interact with our online platform and participate in our culinary arts programs and services. We adhere to the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable data protection laws.

1. Information We Collect

We collect various types of information for different purposes to provide and improve our services to you.

• Personal Data: While using our service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you. This may include, but is not limited to:
  • Name (first and last)
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Postal address (for certifications or materials)
  • Date of birth (for age-restricted programs)
  • Payment information (processed by secure third-party payment gateways)
  • Dietary restrictions or allergies (relevant for culinary courses)
  • Educational and professional background (for professional training programs)
• Usage Data: We may also collect information that your browser sends whenever you visit our website or access our service by or through a mobile device. This Usage Data may include information such as your computer's Internet Protocol address (IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
• Tracking & Cookies Data: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our service and hold certain information. Cookies are files with a small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our service.

2. How We Use Your Information

AlpenTaste Akademie uses the collected data for various purposes:

• To provide and maintain our services, including professional chef training programs, gourmet cooking workshops, pastry arts courses, wine pairing seminars, culinary team-building experiences, food history lectures, and apprenticeships.
• To process registrations and manage your participation in our courses and events.
• To communicate with you regarding your inquiries, registrations, course updates, and provide customer support.
• To send you promotional offers, newsletters, and information about other courses and services we offer that are similar to those you have already purchased or enquired about, unless you have opted not to receive such information.
• To notify you about changes to our services.
• To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service when you choose to do so.
• To monitor the usage of our service and improve the functionality and user experience of our online platform.
• To detect, prevent and address technical issues.
• To tailor culinary experiences based on dietary needs or preferences provided.

3. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data Under GDPR

If you are from the European Economic Area (EEA), AlpenTaste Akademie's legal basis for collecting and using the personal information described in this Privacy Policy depends on the Personal Data we collect and the specific context in which we collect it.

We may process your Personal Data because:

• We need to perform a contract with you (e.g., fulfilling your course registration).
• You have given us explicit permission to do so (consent).
• The processing is in our legitimate interests and it's not overridden by your rights (e.g., improving our services).
• To comply with the law (e.g., tax and accounting obligations).

4. Disclosure of Your Information

We may share your information in the following situations:

• With Service Providers: We may employ third-party companies and individuals to facilitate our service, provide the service on our behalf, perform service-related services, or assist us in analyzing how our service is used. These third parties have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose. This includes payment processors, IT service providers, and analytics providers.
• For Business Transfers: If AlpenTaste Akademie is involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.
• For Legal Requirements: AlpenTaste Akademie may disclose your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:
  • Comply with a legal obligation (e.g., subpoenas or court orders).
  • Protect and defend the rights or property of AlpenTaste Akademie.
  • Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the service.
  • Protect the personal safety of users of the service or the public.
  • Protect against legal liability.

5. Security of Data

The security of your data is paramount to us. We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your Personal Data from unauthorized access, accidental loss, destruction, alteration, or disclosure. However, please remember that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

6. Data Retention

AlpenTaste Akademie will retain your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for instance, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

We will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of our service, or we are legally obligated to retain this data for longer periods.

7. Your Data Protection Rights Under GDPR

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have certain data protection rights. AlpenTaste Akademie aims to take reasonable steps to allow you to correct, amend, delete, or limit the use of your Personal Data.

In certain circumstances, you have the following data protection rights:

• The right to access: You have the right to request access to your personal data that we hold.
• The right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or complete information you believe is incomplete.
• The right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): You have the right to request that we erase your personal data under certain conditions.
• The right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data under certain conditions.
• The right to object to processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data under certain conditions.
• The right to data portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
• The right to withdraw consent: You also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time where AlpenTaste Akademie relied on your consent to process your personal information.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us. Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests.

8. Links to Other Sites

Our service may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

9. Children's Privacy

Our service is not intended for individuals under the age of 16 ("Children"). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 16. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Children has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. We will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the "last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

• By Mail: AlpenTaste Akademie, 4502 Seestrasse, Floor 3, 6003 Luzern, Kanton Luzern, Switzerland