Archive for category Awards

David Hennigan, 40, of The Crown at Whitebrook and Celtic Manor in Monmouthshire, has won the 2010 UK Restaurant Manager of the Year competition following an exciting final held yesterday at Babylon restaurant at the Roof Gardens, London.

Michele Caggianese, restaurant manager at Galvin at Windows, London Hilton on Park Lane, was runner-up.

“I’m was very humbled to be chosen as a finalist, but then to be picked from this line-up of six such strong restaurant managers is incredible,” said David, following the announcement.

Liverpool-born David, who has worked in the industry for 24 years, manages both The Crown at Whitebrook and The Crown at Celtic Manor. He trained in Liverpool beginning as a commis waiter and went on to hold positions at the Lords of the Manor, Gloucestershire, and Hunstrete House near Bath.

The UK Restaurant Manager of the Year, organised by the Academy of Food & Wine and supported by the National Skills Academy for Hospitality, the Savoy Educational Trust and sponsored by OpenTable, sets out to find a top class restaurant manager with great business acumen, fantastic people skills, the ability to recruit, manage and motivate a team and who also has a thorough knowledge of the restaurant trade.

Every aspect of the competitors’ skill was put to the test in a gruelling final that included a wine tasting, wine and food matching test, management skill scenario, and a task involving finding errors on a menu and mistakes in a room laid out ready for service. Each finalist was also asked to write and present a written business plan for a new restaurant launch on which they were questioned by a panel of expert judges acting as would-be investors. This year’s judges included top industry personalities Silvano Giraldin, formerly of Le Gavroche, Peter Avis, restaurant manager, Babylon at The Roof Gardens, London (last year’s Restaurant Manager of the Year), and David Morgan-Hewitt, managing director, The Goring, London.

“David’s written submission was very financially orientated and thorough – he was the only finalist the panel would have invested its money in,” commented judge Paul Breach, vice chairman of the Academy of Food & Wine. “David demonstrated to the judges that he had a very broad skill set in food and wine, business and training. He is also a very good communicator. When challenged his answers were considered and knowledgeable.”

L-R: David McHattie, chief executive of the National Skills Academy for Hospitality, David Hennigan 2010 Restaurant Manager of the Year, Academy of Food & Wine Patron Lord Thurso MP and Academy of Food & Wine president Roy Ackerman.

David receives a fabulous study-tour week in New York, staying at top Manhatten boutique hotel, The MAve, in the trendy Flatiron District to complete a stage at one of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group properties. The Crown at Whitebrook will receive a complimentary 12-month subscription to the OpenTable reservation system.

As runner-up Michele Caggianese wins a week at the summer business school of the highly-acclaimed Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland, courtesy of the Savoy Educational Trust.

“One of our roles is to find excellence and promote it and to promote front-of-house as a highly skilled professional career, said Stephen Mannock, programme director for the National Skills Academy, who endorsed and supported the competition. “The standard of this year’s Restaurant Manager of the Year competitors was exceptionally high, but the winner demonstrated exactly what we were looking for. He will be a great ambassador for front-of-house as a professional career.”

The Restaurant Manager of the Year gala dinner also saw further industry stalwarts invited to join the Academy of Food & Wine’s Restaurant Manager Hall of Fame: Alain Desenclos of Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons; Jean Claude Bretonne, restaurant manager at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay; Sergio Rebecci, director, Chez Nico Restaurants; Didier Garner, proprietor, Le Colombier Restaurant, London; Craig Bancroft, joint managing director, Northcote Group, Lancashire; and Peter Avis, restaurant manager, Babylon Restaurant, London, the 2009 Restaurant Manager of the Year.

They join the inaugural awardees Elena Salvoni of Elena’s L’Etoile; Silvano Giraldin, formerly of Le Gavroche; Jesus Adorno, director and maitre d’ of Le Caprice; Diego Masciaga, restaurant manager, Waterside Inn, Bray; and David Morgan-Hewitt, managing director of The Goring, London.

Craig Stevenson, the owner and managing director of, Braehead Foods, purveyors of fine foods to the catering industry, was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland at its annual dinner last night (18th March 2010) in Glasgow.

The black tie dinner, held at the Radisson Blu hotel, raised over £72,850 for HIT Scotland’s bursary and scholarship programmes.

Over 400 guests enjoyed a meal which included courses created by Michelin starred chefs, Martin Wishart, Jeff Bland and Steven Doherty. Martin provided the starter, his Loch Fyne Crab and Veal Tartare. This was followed by Jeff’s Blairgowrie beef fillet and Steven’s dessert, a jivara chocolate and coffee mousse.

Craig learnt he was receiving the award at the start of the evening. The HIT Scotland lifetime achievement award is presented to someone who goes above and beyond their role to raise standards and aspirations in the industry. Sponsored by industry magazine, Caterer and Hotelkeeper and Brakes Fresh Ideas, the annual award was created to reward and promote role models for the Hospitality industry.

David Cochrane, Chief Executive of HIT Scotland said, “We felt that Craig deserved the award because of his key role as a promoter of authentic Scottish products and for supporting rural tourism. Craig invests much of his own time and resources in the chefs of tomorrow at his Braehead Cook School and through sholarships. This is in addition to his generosity to industry charities. He has helped ensure many charity events, such as ours are successes”.

Craig said, “This award comes as a complete surprise but I am over the moon to receive it. For me, it is important to put money, time and effort back into the business we earn a living from and I think the hospitality industry in Scotland is particularly good at this. There are many people like me giving back and I am surprised but delighted to be recognised for it.”

Previous winner of the award include: Peter Lederer of Gleneagles and outgoing chair of VisitScotland; Neil Thomson, Chief Executive of the Federation of Chefs Scotland, Ken McCulloch of Dakota Hotels, Avril Robertson, Peter Taylor, Tony Jackson, Stewart Cameron, Andrew Fairlie, James Thomson, Tony Jackson, Stewart Cameron, David Cochrane, Larbi, Willie Pike and joint winners Eddie Friel and Jack Munro.

The Hospitality Industry Trust, known as HIT Scotland, is a Scotland based charity, which raises funds to support and encourage excellence in the hospitality industry. The charity’s bursary scheme provides hospitality students with financial support to ensure they complete their course if in difficulty. The charity also provides scholarships to emerging talent already working in the industry. These place promising people on world class learning experiences at home and abroad.

As well as fundraising through events like the industry dinner, HIT Scotland is supported by big names in the industry including Wiseman Dairies, Caterer.com, Prestige Scotland, Enterprise Rent a Car, Swisscom and Brakes Fresh Ideas.

Hotelympia opened on Sunday 28th February and the hotly-awaited, category winners of the inaugural Innovations Awards have been announced. Leading the foodservice industry in design, equipment, food & drink and technology, the four winners were described by the Inspiration team judges “as the answers to some of the greatest challenges we face”.

Winning the Design Innovation Award is Resysta® by GO IN (S1430), who has developed a new material created to replace endangered tropical hardwoods when producing outdoor furniture, Resysta® will revolutionise the ‘outdoor’ sector of the catering and hotel trade.

Mechline Developments (N2740) is awarded the Equipment Innovation Award for the GB 360. A high‐speed, high‐volume, rapid food waste decomposition system which uses a special formulation of 100% natural micro‐organisms. The GB 360 is designed to convert food waste into grey water that is safe for drains and sewage systems.

Winning the Food & Drink Innovation Award is McCormick (S2350) for their Recipe Mixes; a pioneering range of six mixes ideal for use across all foodservice sectors, covering a wide variety of world cuisines including Moroccan and Mediterranean. Each is made from a selection of herbs and spices and contains no artificial preservatives as well as being low in salt. The Recipe Mixes are packed in portion controlled sachets, enabling caterers to easily create flavoursome dishes which are healthy, with no compromise on taste, time effectively.

Service Invisible by Catering for a Sustainable Future Group CSFG (N1958) is awarded the Technology Innovation Award; a kitchen combination monitoring system that enables caterers to monitor the amount of gas, electricity and water being used, the temperatures in fridges and freezers, and how much CO2 is in the atmosphere.

The four category winners will battle it out in the next stage of judging, where visitors to Hotelympia will be able to vote for their favourite innovation in the ‘People’s Choice’- so be sure to vote via the touch-screen pods, situated in the Innovation Lounges. Hotelympia’s overall Innovation Winner, as chosen by the Inspiration Team will also be announced at the end of the show.

Hotelympia is the only place to see the latest industry innovations across the board, giving visitors to the show a competitive edge and an opportunity to move with the times and build their business.

For further information and to register for your free Hotelympia ticket and save the £30 entry fee, go to www.hotelympia.com and follow us on Twitter for everything Hotelympia www.twitter.com/hotelympia2010