Jonathan Vercoutere. Jonathan Vercoutere.


Jonathan Vercoutere, Atlantis The Palm, Dubai

About Jonathan
Jonathan Vercoutere has been working in the F&B industry for approximately ten years. He started by travelling throughout France. Jonathan has worked in 4 countries in total in Europe (North Ireland, Spain and UK), in the USA and Australia where he got his first position as a Restaurant Manager at the age 23 in a restaurant situated in Mont Buller! He then continued his managerial career in another restaurant in the docklands area of Melbourne. In 2010, Jonathan was offered the manager position at Rostang, at Atlantis the Palm Dubai. Jonathan arrived from Australia full of passion and excitement to undertake this new role. He took over an outlet that was operating without a manager for more than 4 months. He started by re setting the standard of service to a higher level and then worked on many projects which helped the outlet to achieve positive monthly financial results. Almost two years later, the outlet is currently at its best both operationally and financially since the restaurant’s opening.

Above and beyond the call of duty…
Jonathan is a very analytical professional, passionate about his job, very knowledgeable and always tries his best to provide the greatest experience to both his guest and his team members. The overall bottom line of the outlet has increased by 23% between 2010 and 201. Costs have reduced to practically nothing (never more than 4%). The average cheque per person has also been raised by 20% for lunch and dinner on average for the year. This ultimately means significantly larger overall revenue from Rostang. In 2011, the outlet finished 2nd out of the 17 F&B outlets in Mystery Shopper results. This year, is has been going steady in the high 80s and 90s. Once again, Rostang has been at its highest with regards to guest satisfaction in the past 18 months! Rostang has seen the biggest growth in terms of guest satisfaction (from 7.79% to 8.1%). Jonathan has also created many different initiatives that have led to an increase customer response. “The Grape Escape” (weekly Thursday promotion with a selection of wines from various regions around the world, delicious meats and other French delicacies) has been a huge success since its onset in 2011, thus generating incremental revenue through an increase of 50% in volume from out of house guests throughout the year. Jonathan also developed menus for lunch and dinner that helped increases both revenue and average cheque. Jonathan goes over and above the call of duty on regular basis. As Atlantis is a large property, assisting other outlets is required often, and Jonathan is always one of the first to lend a helping hand whenever he can. On several occasions, when the guest has a particular dietary requirement, him and the chef work hard to achieve full satisfaction. Staff outings are done frequently, as Jonathan believes that before making the guest happy you need to concentrate on making the team members happy. Jonathan actively signs up for team member football tournaments at the staff accommodation, where he plays along with the entire Rostang team and ensures team building through sports interaction. On the top of that, Jonathan likes to share his knowledge and success with other fellow managers and helps them to improve their approach to a program or a concept they are not familiar with. He always carries a smile on his face and is well liked by his colleagues.

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Testimonials for Jonathan
“Providing exceptional customer service strengthens his ability to see things through and prioritize his workload giving him a nice work life balance. Jonathan has made a lot of contributions towards increase JD Power scores, creating highest customer satisfaction index and mentoring to help reduce turnovers. He sets high standards for his team and for himself. This allows him to be a true role model to our industry and helps him in delivering exceptional results and empowering his team by identifying what drives them as individuals to realize their full potential.” Heiko Schreiner, senior VP of F&B Atlantis The Palm Dubai.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Jonathan on both professional and personal events over many years at Atlantis as well as outside catering requirements. Emirates is a demanding customer and Jonathan has always met and exceeded our expectations with faultless delivery, fastidious attention to detail, charm that crosses cultures and deep knowledge of his food and wine offerings. Nothing fazes Jonathan and he calmly deals with large groups, VIPs and inevitable stresses of a large operation. I am happy to offer my highest praise for his professionalism and dedication to the job.”Andrew Parker, senior VP International Affairs, Emirates Airline, Dubai

“It is not a surprise to me that you have been nominated for the best restaurant manager by Atlantis The Palm Dubai. The warm welcome that you have, the professionalism of your team, the excellent quality of food you are offering contribute to the outstanding success story you have managed to create. As a matter of fact, we visit your restaurant very regularly with different guests. They're all very grateful of the great experience you're offering at Rostang Restaurant in Atlantis The Palm Dubai. Due to the nature of my work, I'm often experiencing the pleasure of dining at some of the world best restaurants. As a matter of fact, your restaurant is the best experience I have enjoyed week after week. All the best!” Pierre Chamas, VP MEMA, McCain International Inc., Dubai – UAE.

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