(Photo of our quarter finalists at the recent heat held at The Langham)
The 40 food and beverage front-of-house professionals who have made it through to the semi-final of the 2024 Gold Service Scholarship have been revealed.
The pool of candidates has come from across the industry, from pubs and private members’ clubs to Michelin-starred restaurants and five-star hotels.
The candidates, all aged between 22-28 work across the UK, including Cornwall, London, Edinburgh, Perthshire, Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire and Newcastle.
The quarter-final took place in October at the Langham and Hotel Café Royal in London and saw the highest number of entrants reach this stage of the competition. With more than 100 qualifying this year, candidates were tested through personal interviews, written assessments and a table layout test.
Chair of judges, Edward Griffiths, said: “The standard of entries this year was incredible and narrowing the pool of quarter-finalists – the highest number of entrants we’ve ever had qualifying for the quarter-finals – was really difficult for the judges. We can’t wait for the semi-final where they will face further assessments, allowing them to demonstrate more of their front-of-house skills.”
The 40 semi-finalists selected to go on to the next round of the competition at Rosewood London on 20 November will include:
Rizwan Khan, General Manager, Junsei, London
Vanessa Rieder, Head Waiter, Claridge’s Restaurant at Claridge’s
Fanny Descouts, Assistant Restaurant Manager, Savoy Grill by Gordon Ramsay
Roberto Villani, Assistant Head Waiter, Hélène Darroze at the Connaught
Vaibhav Chhetri, Food and Beverage Supervisor, A Wong, London
Ciro Capasso, Restaurant Supervisor, The Dorchester
Alexandra Sollis, Guest Relations Manager, The Scarlet Hotel, Cornwall
Kyle Bryant, Wedding and Events Manager, Clevedon Hall, Somerset
Joseph Gregory, Storyteller, The Fat Duck, Berkshire
Callum Robertson, Floor Manager, Mauro Colagreco at Raffles at the OWO
Luca Trento, Head Waiter, The Ritz
Andrea Di Gangi, Restaurant Supervisor, Pavyllon at Four Seasons on Park Lane
Liam Wainwright, Head Waiter, Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester
Daisy Hudson, Restaurant Supervisor, The Clockspire Restaurant & Bar, Somerset
Blue Everton, Events Waitress, Hotel Cafe Royal
Diana-Carolina Suzuki Chong, Restaurant Supervisor, Kerridge’s, Corinthia London
Etienne Harding, Assistant Restaurant Manager, The Goring Hotel
Serena Fedele, Cocktail Waitress, The Donovan Bar at Brown’s Hotel
Diana Zebro, Head Waitress, Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester
Rosa De Rosa, Head Waitress, Claridge’s
Rohit Sharma, Senior Waiter, The Greyhound Pub and Dining, Buckinghamshire
Joe Southwood, Assistant Lounge Manager, Corinthia London
Daniel Ecock, Food & Beverage Manager in Training, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal – Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
Scott Crowe, Supervisor, Number One, Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh
Simona Federová, Chef de Rang, The Ritz
Francesca Merico, Assistant Manager, St Vincent Restaurant, Newcastle
Tilly Morris, Assistant Restaurant Manager, Grove of Narberth, Pembrokeshire
Serena Buono, Assistant Manager, Royal Automobile Club, Surrey
Alanna Cross, Food and Beverage Supervisor, Woven by Adam Smith, Coworth Park Hotel, Berkshire
Bethany Chawner, Event Operations Manager, Grantley Hall, Yorkshire
Federico Deppieri, Head Waiter, The Ritz
Daniel Mulcahy, Restaurant Supervisor, CUT at 45 Park Lane, London
Fatima Patel, Event Operations Manager, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Alice Law, Chef de Rang, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
Fabrizia Welman, Assistant Restaurant Manager, Hearth, Heckfield Place, Hampshire
Annabel Rohm, Restaurant Assistant Manager, Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Perthshire
Isabella Condon, Head Waiter, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
Holly Power, F&B Manager in Training, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
Freya Ruston, Assistant Restaurant Manager, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
Leo Levinson, Head Waiter, Claridge’s
The final will take place on 15 January 2024 at the Corinthia London, with the Scholar named at an awards ceremony on 5 February at Claridge’s in London.
The Gold Service Scholarship was launched in 2012 to inspire the UK’s up and coming front-of-house talent in food and beverage through mentoring, travel and placement opportunities, nurturing the leaders of the future.
Each year’s scholar and winning finalists receive a range of prizes tailored to support their professional development, from trips to Champagne, Tokaji, Porto, and Mosel; a bespoke development programme at EHL Hospitality Business School in Switzerland; and the opportunity to work a state visit to Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle; to work experience at prestigious hotels and restaurants such as the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok; an overseas Rocco Forte Hotel; the Waterside Inn in Bray, Berkshire; and Gleneagles in Perthshire.
