Thomas Gammella is the 2022 Gold Service Scholar

The Trustees and Judges of the Gold Service Scholarship have announced that Thomas Gammella, Restaurant Manager at The Clockspire in Sherborne, Somerset, is the new 2022 Scholar.

The Awards reception was held at Claridge’s in Mayfair on Tuesday 15th February, where an impressive group of over 200 senior figures of the UK hospitality profession gathered to champion the eight young Winning Finalists and to congratulate Thomas, the new Scholar.

Chairman Alastair Storey said: “Each year, the Gold Service Scholarship attracts some of the young leading lights of our industry, with the anticipation of learning new skills and contacts throughout the competition. I am so impressed with the quality of the applicants, and their enthusiasm for hospitality. But we need many more young people to consider hospitality as a career - and we want to encourage students to realise that there are many dynamic opportunities in restaurants, hotels, catering companies and so many other hospitality outlets, where they can build an exciting career.”

Having proceeded through the Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final assessments over the past several months, where tasks and interviews covered a wide variety of front-of-house skills, all eight of the Winning Finalists shone through. Thomas Gammella proved to be a particularly noteworthy candidate through the entire process. His background, prior to joining The Clockspire as Deputy Restaurant Manager, and then becoming Restaurant Manager, was in Milan as a waiter at both Ristorante Da Palmiro and Da Regina Irio, and as a trainee at Hotel dei Giardini.

Special Commendation has also been awarded to two Finalists - Manon Gaillard, Senior Footman at the Royal Household, and Harry Champion, Private Members Club Manager of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Chairman of the Judges Edward Griffiths elaborated: "Thomas Gammella has shown himself to be a very personable and confident young man, with great front of house service skills, and he is a worthy Scholar. The judging process was once again a difficult task, faced with eight Winning Finalists, and all with such wonderful talent. They should all be proud of their achievement as we celebrate Thomas as the Scholar, and Manon Gaillard and Harry Champion as Commended Finalists. As we mark our 10th anniversary, we are encouraged to see such talent continuing to shine in our Industry.”

As the new Scholar, Thomas will enjoy a range of prizes with personalised opportunities to broaden his hospitality experience, including work experience at Buckingham Palace and the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, an educational visit to Laurent-Perrier and a four-day specialised course, together with all Winning Finalists, at Lausanne Hotel School.

Sergio Rebecchi added: "The unique educational opportunities Thomas has earned will be of great benefit to achieve his goals in his chosen career path in hospitality."