Shortlist announced for the Hospitality Guild Apprenticeship Awards

The Hospitality Guild has announced the shortlisted nominees for its Apprenticeship Awards 2013.

The awards, which are held in partnership with People 1st, recognise and celebrate the achievements of apprentices working in hospitality and emphasise the vital role employers, providers and mentors play in apprenticeship delivery.

This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony held at the Tower of London on 3 December, with guests including industry leaders and celebrity chefs.

The event will also see new members inducted into the Hospitality Guild’s Young Hall of Fame, which showcases the initiatives and awards of the Guild’s partner organisations and recognises inspiring young professionals working in the hospitality industry. The winners of the Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeship categories at last year’s Apprenticeship Awards will also be inducted into the Young Hall of Fame.

Sophie Roberts Brown, operations director of the Hospitality Guild, said that there was stiff competition for the awards, with more than 100 nominations received in total.

“The nominations we received this year highlighted the impressive skills apprentices in our industry have, and the way in which their employers, mentors and training providers support them. The quality is just amazing.

“With so many inspiring examples of outstanding talent and support, we’re going to face a number of tough decisions when it comes to choosing our winners to be announced in December.”

The winners of the Intermediate and Advanced Apprenticeship categories and the Mentor of the Year will each receive a mini-iPad and will be offered the opportunity to undertake a specially tailored week of professional development work experience.

Chef proprietor of Café Spice Namaste and well-known television personality, Cyrus Todiwala, will offer one of the apprentice winners to work under his guidance.

The Ritz London and Babylon at the Roof Gardens have also offered prizes to the apprentice winners, while Restaurant Gordon Ramsay’s Clare Smyth, the UK’s only three Michelin star female chef, will offer a day’s coaching to the winner of the Mentor of the Year category.

The shortlisted nominees for the Hospitality Guild Apprenticeship Awards are:

Intermediate Apprentice of the Year

• Conan Brooks, Charnwood Training Group, Intermediate Level Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery


• Daniela Ianneli, The Waldorf Hilton, Intermediate Level Apprenticeship in Food and Beverage


• Jodie Britton, Bristol Marriott Royal, Intermediate Level Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery

Advanced Apprentice of the Year

• Amy Duthie, Compass Group UK & Ireland Ltd, Advanced Level Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery


• Ronald Dzepasi, Lancaster London, Advanced Level Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery


• Connor Black, The Hand & Flowers, Advanced Level Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery

Apprenticeship Mentor of the Year

• Allister Bishop, Executive Sous Chef, Harrods


• Brian Lane, Chef Trainer, Barchester Healthcare


• Linda Hall, Food and Beverage Supervisor, Hilton Warwick

Employer of the Year: Large (more than 250 employees)

• Lancaster London


• Hilton Worldwide


• The Orchid Group

Employer of the Year: SME (less than 250 employees)

• The Bonnington (Cavendish Hotel) Ltd


• Moleface Pub Group

Partnership of the Year

• Hilton Worldwide and Lifetime Training


• Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and Bournemouth & Poole College


• Spirit Pub Company and Charnwood Training

The new awards have the full support of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), the Professional Association for Catering Education (PACE) and the BII (British Institute of Innkeeping).

More information about the awards can be found on the Hospitality Guild website at www.hospitalityguild.co.uk/awards.