Awards countdown: Stewarding Person of the Year

We love to compliment the chef, we love to laud the décor and we love to evaluate the service, but we never seem to bother with what goes on behind the kitchen doors, unless something goes wrong.

But it is the stewards who ensure the engines of our F&B experiences purr like kittens and in this Hotelier Middle East Awards list we honour them.

Sponsored by catering and hotel supplier A.Ronai, Stewarding Person of the Year is the awards that celebrates those who ensure we eat safely and smoothly – true heroes of the culinary world.

An independent panel of judges selected by Hotelier Middle East will judge the nominees, with the winner to be announced at a glamorous awards ceremony on October 14 at Madinat Jumeirah.
The 10 nominees that have reached the long-list all report significant achievements and a dedication to their role, but who is your favourite to win?

Henry Alkuino
Complex assisstant chief steward
Al Manzil and Qamardeen Hotels

As the man responsible for maintaining the safety and hygiene standards of Southern
Sun’s Al Manzil and Qamardeen Hotels’ F&B outlets, Henry Alkuino has one of the most important behind-the-scenes’ jobs within a hospitality establishment.

With the health of both hotel guests and staff members, as well as the reputation of the hotels’ safety standards in his hands, Henry is the pinnacle of competence and thoroughness making him a trusted member of staff.

Henry’s ability to handle his team and tasks so ably is all the more commendable
considering that he had to step up to this role and take on all the ensuing responsibilities with no prior preparation, when his manager had to leave unexpectedly earlier this year.

Henry has to supervise all cleaning duties for six outlets, in conjunction with the executive chef and sous chef, handling a team of 27 staff.

But it is Henry’s dedication to ensuring exacting health and safety measures are maintained that makes him so vital to the running of the outlets.

Henry works tirelessly to support his colleagues and comes to work everyday with a can-do attitude and sunny disposition.

It is why Henry has been singled out as a key leader of the future.

Ian Gomes
Steward
Al Qasr

Ian has been labeled a “superstar” by his colleagues.

Rather than washing up and going home, Ian goes the extra mile and then the one after that.

Ever ready to assist, he helps his lounge colleagues with their back of the house tasks and once he is finished there he helps his rooms colleagues.

He never hesitates to pick up a cloth and finish polishing glasses, wiping plates, polishing cutlery, storing everything in place – none of which are his responsibilities.

Ian’s attitude is that of a go getter, but one who is humble and kind hearted.

He never fails to greet someone, be it colleague or guest and is full of smiles, motivation and positive energy.

It is little wonder that his colleagues call him an icon from the food and beverage department.

Chamil Lasantha Kumara
Stewarding supervisor
Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek

Fiercely loyal, Chamil has been hailed the best and most approachable of 36 stewards at the hotel.

His performance has exceeded the management's expectations, which is never easy, and during the final HACCP Audit, conducted by external auditing company URS, the inspector applauded Chamil after he perfectly explained one Sanitation Standard
Operating Procedure.

Haviong already clocked up numerous awards, Chamil's attitude is highly commendable.

Punctual, honest, jolly and very easy to deal with, Chamil is an examplary employee any hotel would be proud to call their own.

Now Chamil is working towards the next step, becoming an assistant stewarding manager, in which he has taken several projects for the evaluation process.

Stephan Prakash Monis
Assistant chief steward
Hilton Dubai Creek

Stephan is what his colleagues call “a true hero in the making”.

Stephan joined the Hilton Dubai Creek as a steward trainee 6 years ago without any formal kitchen or hospitality background, but from day one exuded an eagerness to learn and an eye for detail.

His six years of dedication have seen him rise from traineeship to leading the hotel’s entire stewarding force of 15.

Stephan is the back-bone of the kitchen and his organisational skills are second to none at the hotel.

With his unassuming and calm aura Stephan remains unflustered, approaching his multitude of tasks with sincerity and diligence.

Motivator par excellence, Stephan’s strong belief in training has led the team to achieve the highest number of completed courses in a year-to-date comparison.

Stephan’s efforts to motivate and invigorate his team led one colleague to comment that Stephan was “that rare individual, with a bouquet of qualities that is very hard to find in one person. Such dedication deserves recognition”.

Tomy Varghese
Steward
Holiday Inn Downtown Dubai

Tomy has been with the hotel since February 2007, and from the get go he exemplified good values among his team.

Always willing to go the extra mile to get the work done and assist his colleagues, Tomy took charge of the stewarding department, while the chief steward was on holiday.

He helped to ensure that cleaning SOPs in the hotel (stewarding) are strictly followed, departmental cost is minimized and that there is strict supervision on chemical consumption.

Tomy has also been instrumental in maintaining the first Critical Control Point (receiving fresh food and sanitation) in support of HACCP system in the hotel.

Tomy leads the team ensuring that food quality, cleanliness and sanitation in the hotel is exceptional.

Ananda HDS
Stewarding supervisor
Crowne Plaza Sohar

Ananda joined the team of the Crowne Plaza Sohar in Oman during the preopening
stage on November 2008 as Stewarding supervisor.

Since then he has been running the whole stewarding department as no suitable
candidate for the position of chief steward could be found.

Despite having never been involved in a preopening, Ananda stepped up to the plate and managed the team superbly.

With many of the new starters lacking any hospitality or kitchen experience, Ananda has worked tirelessly to bring them up to speed.

Furthermore, aside from training, he manages the expenses and safety requirements of the department.

His dedication to the job and all that it entails means he has become a highly valued asset at the hotel.

Rajendra Joshi
Stewarding manager
Park Hyatt Dubai

Rajendra, or Joshi as he is known to his friends, is a Hyatt veteran, having started
his career in stewarding with Hyatt at Grand Hyatt Dubai in July 2000 as a kitchen steward.

Nobody wants to clean up after others, but everyone knows that this is a very important job and somebody has to do it.

Joshi is the man for the job, leading a team of 35 covering nine kitchen areas, the busiest departments within the hotel, regardless of occupancy.

Joshi and his team are constantly cleaning and sanitising all food production and
service areas within the hotel and knows that the reputation of Park Hyatt Dubai would be tarnished if it ever failed a health inspection by the Dubai Municipality.

Working closely with the executive chef and hygiene officer, Joshi is also very environmentally conscious and is a vocal member of Hyatt’s green team Hyatt
Earth.

Joshi gets on with the job at hand and despite not having the most glamourous job in the hotel, he will tell you that he has the best job in the world.

Mohammed Siddeeque
Chief steward
Radhwa Holiday Inn - Yanbu, Saudi Arabia

Possessing almost no educational background and having no knowledge of English when he joined Radhwa Holiday Inn, Mohammed set about a vigorous course of self-study.

Knowing the importance of computer literacy, he enrolled on computer courses.

This dedication to study and his job has made him a vital organ of the hotel’s team.

Time and again, he works extended hours by himself stocktaking, arranging the mise-en-place and even washing the pots and making the set-up without any demand for compensation.

He has singlehandedly enhanced the training and development standards of the stewarding department and has scored the highest rating of 89.66% in the departmental training and development standards review.

Once agin, this wasn’t enough for Mohammed and he set himself the target of 95% for 2009 and he is already close to achieving this.

He is highly passionate about his work and is always a star performer in his department and the hotel

Bernard Ombee
Assistant chief steward
The Address Downtown Burj Dubai

Bernard’s professionalism and great performance in maintaining the systems and methods of operations contributed to his promotion to assistant chief steward within a short period.

A Kenyan national, Bernard is positive, honest, polite, hard working and patient, qualities essential to the role of steward.

Bernard delivers service excellence and ensures his associates will keep the same consistency.

Extremely committed, he leads by example, empowers employees and importantly, creates an environment in which people want to do their best.

His natural ability to understand a customer’s needs means he is able to anticipate them, which adds value to the hotel experience for guests.

It’s one of the reasons why whenever Bernard is mentioned you will hear something positive immediately after.

Essa Mohamed Allakh
Senior stewarding shift leader
InterContinental Jeddah

Essa is one of the most hardworking members of the stewarding team and is always ready an able to step up when required.

Known for making sound judgments and decisions, he is also commended for ensuring all equipment is readily available to those that need it.

Following a sudden shortage of stewards, Essa selflessly and willingly extended his time on his own initiative.

Quiet in nature, but incredibly efficient and well organised, he is always on hand to assist someone if they need help.

He is always ready to help out with events and functions making him a much loved member of the team.