2013 Scholar – Rebecca Clough (née Dibben)
The Winner of the inaugural Gold Service Scholarship was announced at a glittering Awards Ceremony at Claridges London.
Rebecca Dibben won the inaugural Gold Service Scholarship in 2013. At the time of winning she was a 22 year old Restaurant Supervisor at Deseo Mediterranean Restaurant, Gleneagles Hotel. “I can’t believe it,” said an emotional Rebecca at the awards ceremony at Claridge’s, “I would never have imagined this when I first entered. I really love my job and love looking after people. This is incredible.”
Rebecca wins a year’s worth of mentoring from a list of mentors that includes Silvano Giraldin, Sergio Rebecchi, Emmanuel Landré and Fred Sirieix. To mark the occasion Rebecca will have her portrait painted by celebrated hospitality artist Henrietta Graham.
“This is the moment we have been working so hard for. We have a lovely young winner who can spread her wings and we can give her the benefit of our advice and experience.”
Willy Bauer, Founder and Trustee
“She was the clear winner. There was no argument amongst the judges. Rebecca had a winning combination of charm, enthusiasm and technical skill that just captured her guests and us as judges.”
John Davey, Trustee and Competition Judge
Rebecca graduated from a hospitality management degree at Plymouth University in 2012 and relocated to the incredible 5 Red Star Hotel, Gleneagles in Scotland to start her career in hospitality. During this time she learnt and developed her skills across all disciplines of service and was encouraged to enter the Inaugural Gold Service Scholarship.
After Rebecca was announced winner in 2013 she began her journey of the scholarship year, enjoying stages at Le Gavroche, Buckingham Palace, Waterside Inn and spending time at Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok for 2 weeks. Learning and developing her service skills across a variety of styles and locations.
After her scholarship year Rebecca relocated back to her home town of Bournemouth and began a different career path within hospitality recruitment using her knowledge and passion for the industry to ensure high level clients have the very best team working for them. Since then she has moved to the ever-growing Harbour Hotels Group based along the South Coast as Talent and Resourcing Executive. This role allows Rebecca to resource the right team for the business alongside training these team members using the skills she has required from the Scholarship.
Of winning the inaugural competition, Rebecca said “The scholarship has taught me so much and to be able to continue to be involved in the competition is amazing. The connections and the friendships that have been made year on year will continue to grow and I encourage anyone who is passionate about this industry to apply.”
Rebecca married in November 2018, where her fellow Scholars joined her and her new husband for the evening celebrations.
The other finalists in the 2013 comptition were:
Daniel Crump: Restaurant Gordon Ramsay – Chef de Rang
Ivo De Beus: Claridge’s Hotel – Bartender
Steven Driscoll: The Berkeley – Graduate Trainee Food and Beverage
Devid Isabella: The Ritz – Assistant Restaurant Manager
Ben Robinson: Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons – Sommelier de Rang
