Awards Countdown: F&B Manager of the Year
F&B is one of the most important aspects of a hotel’s operations.
The pressure involved in managing this aspect of hotel life is enough to make the toughest individuals draw sweat.
Sponsored by Frette / EF Gulf, F&B Manager of the Year is the award that celebrates those who rise to the challenge of F&B management and take their properties to new levels of popularity and more importantly, profitability.
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?
Emily Shaw
F&B manager
Desert Palm
Emily started out as the assistant F&B operations manager in September 2007, but was swiftly promoted to the role of F&B operations manager and then F&B manager, proving her outstanding commitment, passion and vision in increasing revenue and building a strong operational department that focuses on guest satisfaction.
Initially working with a small team that did not include an assistant, she doubled her efforts in order to work both back of house with ordering, building and maintaining supplier relationships, menu preparation, training plans, costings, recruitment and revenue generating ideas, while simultaneously working on the floor to assist with operations, speaking to guests, working as a waitress, busser and bartender.
During the past year and half Emily has produced some great ideas such as Movies and Munchies, an innovative concept of watching international blockbusters that have not been shown on terrestrial TV in Dubai, while sitting in the infinity pool.
Desert Palm was awarded Best Steakhouse in Dubai and Epicure Best International Restaurant in the Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards 2009 — a tremendous achievement for the property within its first year of opening.
Emily's dedication to staff training has meant many of her junior associates have followed suit and progressed quickly in their own careers.
It is her dedication and passion that means from the guest looking for a low-key retreat to the VIP looking for exceptional entertainment all come away from the Desert Palm singing the praises of Emily and her team.
Edouard Grosmangin
Executive assistant manager, F&B
The Palace - The Old Town
Edouard has worked at The Palace - The Old Town since the challenging management change-over period in August 2008.
Despite joining the hotel at a critical period he succeeded in bringing the F&B department to another level, by using his proactive talents and effective skills to create opportunities that enhance the F&B aspects at The Palace.
A key element of the department’s success was the way Edouard inspired and motivated his team of more than 120 associates to make things happen in a friendly manner, wearing consistent smiles and positive attitudes.
Edouard’s natural inquisitiveness helps him discover new trends and to develop new concepts.
He is also a great believer in relationships, which he believes are key to the business whether it's relationships with peers, associates or key partners.
Edouard never ceases to develop and grow his department, surpassing all physical and rational boundaries and it is for these reasons that his colleagues believe he deserves to be recognised as F&B manager of the year.
Christos Kyriakides
F&B manager
InterContinental Riyadh
Another F&B manager to defy the economic downturn, Christos Kyriadis is credited with increasing both covers and revenue in 2008, continuing into 2009.
For example, GOP was SAR 28,758,805 in 2008, up from SAR 25,351,925 in 2007, and covers increased by 45,967 last year.
The percentage variance of the actual revenue to payroll of 2008 is less by 0.71% from that in 2007, despite an impressive 10% increase in the salaries of all line employees.
External audits have also found reason for praise for Kyriadis, with a score climbing from 18% to reach 41% in December 2008 and still climbing above 50% in 2009.
Events and promotions have also been successful, with Ramadan, Eidul Adha, Xmas and New Year holidays driving increased covers, revenue and profit, and theme nights, in-house festivals such as a Mexican Pool Festival and live coking evenings contributing to profitability too.
Finally, to keep track of guest opinion, Kyriadis created the Room Service Satisfaction Survey for he immediate identification of problems.
Hussein Abbas
Assistant director of food and beverage
Four Seasons Doha
Hussain Abbas has been with Four Seasons for 10 years since the brand’s first opening in the Middle East at Four Seasons First Residence in Cairo.
After five years as director of banqueting he moved to take on the challenge of assistant director of F&B at Four Seasons Doha, where he is seen by those he works with as “silent soldier”, consistently leading his team through seemingly impossible challenges in a high pressured environment.
Under his leadership, the hotel was not only recognised for the quality of the every day dining experience but also for the high profile catering of conferences and social events.
Abbas is credited with adding “incalculable value” to the business as he holds many key relations with local authorities and has developed friendships with all of the prominent citizens of Qatar. The success of VIP and government visits is also attributed in part to his department.
Over the past three years, Hussein has made many significant contributions to the hotel’s F&B offering, including a locally inspired, yet decadent Ramadan Tent which has been the “talk of the town” in Doha.
He has also juggled his role with taskforce responsibilities at three sister hotels – Nile Plaza, San Stefano and Sharm El Sheikh, a noteworthy achievement indeed.
Ricky Tursunov
F&B manager
Crowne Plaza Sohar
At Crowne Plaza Sohar, Ricky Tursunov is seen as a manager, leader and brother, supporting his team with everything from six-month training plans to karaoke evenings for the Korean community.
Within his department, Tursunov is actively implementing HACCP, running the ECO Friendly Hotel programme, which he has managed to get suppliers to buy into, completed risk assessments of all outlets and helped finalise menus and educate staff about new dishes.
It is Tursunov’s character and personality that has really earned him the respect of his staff, however, with those that nominated him saying that he is a good decision maker, trusting of his managers, able to handle any situation, talented, friendly to staff and guests and, quite simply, “capable of achieving anything”.
He is praised for listening to his team’s suggestions and implementing their ideas, such as the addition of a live band in the sports bar, for regular communication with his outlet managers, for handling personnel issues and for committing himself totally to his work, management and staff.
Alfred Abi Moussa
Director food and beverage
Crowne Plaza Dubai SZR
Against the backdrop of the economic downturn and its impact on room rates, the pressure on Alfred Abi Moussa and his food and beverage team to close the gap, with limited budget and manning levels, has called for self motivation and determination, which he has achieved with such success that his team have nominated him for F&B manager of the Year.
Managing outlets as diverse as nightclubs to an award-winning wine bar, Abi Moussa is praised with driving the bottom line without any increase in food or beverage prices from 48.6% for 2008 up to 50.3% for 2009.
He has generated an increase in the average spend per person from AED 172 in 2008 to AED 188 in 2009 and achieved a record monthly profit in March 2009 reaching 54.1% - an outstanding achievement in F&B.
Abi Moussa has kept all restaurants fully operational with no reduction in opening hours, despite minimum manning levels, and shown a real commitment to developing his team by holding monthly meetings, coaching his outlet managers, supporting cross training and engaging with all his team.
Special events have included sports promotions transforming the ballroom to a rugby and football pitch, an Indian theme night at Kandy Club attracting 2000-plus guests a night and the transformation of the hotel auditorium into a high-end nightclub venue, which translated to a bottom-line contribution of 8%.
In addition, Abi Moussa achieved an increase in his department’s employee engagement score of 16% from 2008, with 72% of his team said that they “loved their job” - an above average for the hotel.
Kieron Hunt
F&B manager
InterContinental Hotels Group properties Dubai Festival City
Kieron has worked in hospitality for fifteen years, the last eight of those within F&B.
He is now in charge of a total of ten restaurant and four bars, working alongside a total of 356 F&B colleagues.
To be in charge of such a large project at the early age of 33 is quite an achievement and he has been integral in the conception and implementation of all promotions for the bars and restaurants of the hotels.
Kieron is renowned for going the extra mile and in one guest’s experience it was quite a few extra miles.
Last Christmas when a distraught guest contacted the hotel on Christmas Eve to say that her turkey was ruined, yet she had no way of collecting one from the hotel, so Kieron personally drove to the guest’s home to deliver the bird.
Although Kieron modestly says there is no I in team, refusing on many occasions to take
full credit for his work, the amount of responsibility and breadth of creative influence he has had over the food and beverage outlets show he is a more than worthy candidate.
Deepak Batra
Assistant F&B manager
Madinat Jumeirah
Deepak is known for being a passionate individual who is committed to his work and achieving results.
Despite his determination, his colleagues admire his friendly and trustworthy demeanor and the way in which he always manages to exceed expectations.
Furthermore, his willingness to pas on his knowledge to junior colleagues means he is a trusted mentor within the group.
Deepak can be seen smiling and helping guests, whether it is in a t-shirt and sunglasses by the pool or in a tuxedo at a VIP event.
He has taken a lot of initiative to bring forward the WIG training center, a unique training programme covering the entire F&B resort in only two months and on eight different topics.
And it is this ability to drive forward progress and make the now very special that led to Deepak’s nomination form his peers.
Eric Francis Lobo
F&B manager
Al Diar Dana Hotel
Eric is a highly skilled and experienced hotel professional who has spent 23 years in the hotel, flight catering and industrial catering fields.
But for the past nine and a half years Eric has been devotedly working as the Food & Beverage manager of the Al Diar Dana Hotel where he has tied up well with various banks, clubs and organisation to offer dinner loyalty schemes for guests dining in the hotel.
He has also instituted in-house loyalty scheme that rewards diners for their patronage of the various hotel outlets.
Despite the present fiscal year being a graveyard for budget achievers, the hotel’s F&B department is almost on par with budgeted revenues, testament to Eric’s high standards and drive for results.
Customers keep mentioning that one of their prime reasons for visiting the hotel’s outlets is because of the high level and quality of service provided by the staff and that is thanks to Eric.
The loyalty of the F&B department staff towards the hotel can be seen from the low staff turnover experienced over the past two years, during which only one staff member has resigned.
Eric possesses an inherent desire to serve humanity and is fuelled by a strong passion for excelling in his job, which is why his colleagues believe he should be nominated.
Didier Gourmaud
Director of F&B
Crowne Plaza Kuwait
Responsible for 26 outlets and a team of 660, Didier Gourmaud has a mammoth job on his hands, which he has exceleed at during the tough work climate of 2009.
His achievements this year are vast and varied, including the increasing the profit margin from 29% to 34%, achieving 7% savings from cost control measures, increasing Sunday business by 35% with a new promotion and the renegotiation of supplier contracts, which saved US$ 472,000 in 2008 compared to savings of $351,000 in 2007.
New initiatives introduced by Gourmaud include a new F&B telemarketing team, incentive system to reward team members and an aptly-named home delivery website, ieatonline.com.
Since 2007, he has opened nine restaurants, four over the past year, and developed three new restaurant concepts: Japanese fast fppd, Japanese Noodles and fine dining Viaggio Italian. At the same time, he has reduced staff costs by 3%.
Gourmaud is also heavily focused on staff development, including the training of six high potential managers in 2009 so far.
On top of this, Gourmaud initiated Crowne Plaza Kuwait’s Green Engage programme, which is being rolled out across all departments of the hotel this year.