The Trustees and Judges of the annual Gold Service Scholarship have completed the first round of assessments in their search to discover the 2020 Scholar, which will be announced on 12 February 2020.
Entrants from the hospitality industry (aged 22-28) applied to the Scholarship, and 92 candidates proceeded to the Quarter Final stage, which was held over two days (on 26 October at The Langham Hotel and 28 October at Hotel Café Royal).
After a series of interviews and practical tests for both service skills and food and drink knowledge, the Semi Finalists have been named, with backgrounds as diverse as the Royal Household, multi Michelin-starred restaurants, the top tier catering provider, small independent restaurants and hotels, the Royal Air Force, five star hotels across the UK, and a Premier League football club.
The Semi Finalist list is as follows:
ALESSANDRO ABBATE – Brown’s Hotel
HARRY ADAIR – The Royal Household
LEWIS ALLPORT – Middleton Lodge Estate
ALESSANDRO APRILE – Hotel Café Royal
REMY BABEN – Wild Honey St James
ROMEO BISACCHI – Caractere Restaurant
KAROLINA BOCHNIAK – BaxterStorey
CLAUDIO BOSIO – The Waterside Inn
CAROLINE CARTER – BaxterStorey
JOAO PAULO MARTINS CASTRO – The Langham Hotel
HARRY CHAMPION – Tottenham Hotspur Football Stadium
ANDREA CICCONI – MNKY HSE Restaurant and Lounge
RUPERT CRICK – Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
GIULIA D’ANGELO – Le Gavroche
MARCO DE SIMONE – Royal Garden Hotel
GIORDANO DI PRATA – The Dorchester Hotel London
ANTHONY DI STASI – Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
TOMMY ENRIGHT – Rosewood London
ALESSIA FALCO – Savoy Grill
ELIZABETH FORKUOH – Strathearn Restaurant, Gleneagles Hotel
MARIANGEL FRANCHY – The Vineyard Hotel and Spa
LAUREN FRID – Bar Boulud, Mandarin Oriental London
GRETA GABOR – The Capital Hotel
NICHOLAS GEORGOULAKIS – Elystan Street Restaurant
CLEMENT GOSSELIN – The Connaught Hotel
MORAG HAMILTON – Royal Air Force
PATRICK HEALY – The Berkeley Hotel
LEWIS HUNTER – Strathearn Restaurant, Gleneagles Hotel
STEPHEN KELLY – The Royal Household
RYAN KENYON – The Oxford Blue
ANDREA LA COGNATA – The Fat Duck
MATTIA LAUNECH – The Game Bird at The Stafford London
CALVIN LUONG – Wigmore Hall Restaurant
MICHAEL MAFFEY – Hide
MATTIA MARCELLI – Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester
ANDREIA MONTEIRO – MacDonald Randolph Hotel
ALEXANDRE MONTRE – Wild Honey St James
ANDREA NUNINGER – TBC
GIULIANO PAOLINI – Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
VALENTINA PIRRI – Davies and Brook, Claridges
OLIVER RIDGE – The Fordwich Arms
ANDREW SHORTEN – The Foyer and Reading Room at Claridge’s
BEATRICE SORBARA – The Goring Hotel
DAVID SZCZUCKI – Number One Restaurant at the Balmoral
KAYLEIGH THOROGOOD – L’Enclume
MICHELE TOTO – The Ritz London
ALBERTO VEGLIO – Northall Restaurant, The Corinthia London
Commenting on the exceptionally high standard of entrants for the 2020 Scholarship, Edward Griffiths, Trustee and Chairman of the Judges, stated: “Each year, I am impressed by the enthusiasm, talent and dedication from the candidates. We’ve seen many new contenders, as well as some who have entered in previous years and returned for a second time, keen to polish their skills and benefit from the experience of networking with their industry colleagues. It is hugely encouraging to me, and to my fellow Trustees and Judges, that there is such passion among the young candidates.”
Current 2019 Scholar Karen Cross, from Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, is full of praise for her experiences during the competition and since her win in February 2019. She explained: “Not only have I made many new industry friends, but I have broadened my front-of house skills, including on the wine side, with visits to S A Prum vineyard in Mosel and to Laurent-Perrier in Champagne, as well as passing the WSET 2. I also attended a tailored course in Lausanne at the École Hôtelière with the 2019 Finalists, sponsored by the Lord Forte Foundation, where we focused on restaurant management with a fascinating emphasis on the financial side of restaurant operations.”
The 47 Semi Finalists will now proceed to the next stage of the competition, which will be held on 25 November at Rosewood London, where the Finalists (eight individuals) will be chosen. The Final testing will be held at Corinthia London on 13 January 2020, followed by the Gala Awards Ceremony on 12 February 2020 at The Berkeley, where the new 2020 Scholar will be announced.
Instagram/Twitter @goldscholarship #GSS2020
For further information, contact:
Maureen Mills at Network London PR
Tel: 020-8947 4474, or Email: maureen@networklondonpr.com November 2019