New F&B leadership team for Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi

Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi has welcomed a new team of F&B leaders to manage the 10 outlets of the hotel.

The food and beverage team is helmed by David Russell, who was appointed as the director of F&B in 2018. He joined the property from the Jumeirah group in Abu Dhabi where he managed all the food and beverage outlets.

All-day dining restaurant Café Palmier is now managed by Riyon Prakash who was born and brought up in Kerala, India. Prakash. who comes from a hotelier family, has had many years of experience in the Middle East, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. While working, he has achieved a distance learning Bachelor Degree of Business Administration from Calicut University.

Assel Nurymbayeva has taken over the role to oversee the operations of the New York Italian-themed @District by Amalfi. Nurymbayeva hails from Kazakhstan and studied International Hospitality & Tourism Management in Bournemouth. Her parents encouraged her to be involved in the tourism industry; they run a family business of restaurants in her native country.

Irish pub PJ O’ Reilly’s is handled by Emily Knight who was born in London. Her career started as a bartender while she was attending university in 2001. Knight began her career in the UAE as a waitress at a pub in Dubai in 2004, having spent most of her childhood growing up in the Middle East.

Market Kitchen’s new leader is French-born Ismael Sielinou, who has 11 years of restaurant experience and has worked in the UK, USA, Switzerland, Singapore and the Caribbean. He was most recently the F&B Manager at Miami’s Edition. He on-boarded with the restaurant recently with its head chef Jhon Faver Fonseca.

Shane Mott, hailing from Florida, United States, now leads the team of Stratos Revolving Lounge Bar & Grill. Her career in hospitality began as a food runner in a Texas Roadhouse. Her first job in Abu Dhabi was as a business development manager, but decided to move to hospitality operations as the restaurant manager.