Rebecca Dibben, a 22 year old Restaurant Supervisor at Deseo Mediterranean Restaurant, Gleneagles Hotel, has won the inaugural Gold Service Scholarship. She beat five other finalists who competed at a special lunch service held at London’s Westminster Kingsway College on Monday 11 February 2013.
Inspiring a new generation
Designed to inspire a new generation of young people to make a professional career out of front of house hospitality, the Gold Service Scholarship is backed by industry greats including Willy Bauer OBE, chairman of AB Hotels, Edward Griffiths, Deputy Master of the Household at Buckingham Palace and Alastair Storey, Chairman of leading independent corporate restaurateur, BaxterStorey.
After regional finals in Birmingham and London, the six finalists competed again on Monday when each served a three-course lunch with wines for an invited table of four while the judges observed. Before the lunch the guests were served champagne and canapés in a separate room before being taken through to the dining room.
Judge John Davey said of Rebecca:
“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.”
Top mentors!
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.
Guests watched a film documenting the progress of the competition, produced by Roy Ackerman’s coolcucumber TV, before Rebecca was presented with a magnum of Laurent-Perrier champagne and a special winners scroll by lead sponsor Alastair Storey of BaxterStorey.
Commenting on the format of the competition, judge John Cousins said:
“Throughout the competition the finalists have been asked to undertake a variety of tasks, culminating in the luncheon service today. All of this has been designed to provide opportunities for the finalists to demonstrate their abilities in service skills, customer care, and general professionalism.”
Chairman of the Judges Edward Griffiths said: “We want this scholarship to inspire young people to join this profession and see what an opportunity it presents. By learning hospitality skills a world of possibilities opens up.”
The Gold Service Scholarship
The Gold Service Scholarship has a clear vision – to inspire a new generation of front of house hospitality stars. Launched in 2012 its centre-piece is an annual prize of personalised mentoring given to the most promising young front of house professionals in the UK. The competition is aimed at anybody working in the UK in any aspect of restaurant service, including hotels, restaurants, contract catering, licensed hospitality and clubs, who is between the ages of 22-30 years old.
The Prize
The winning scholar’s year will start with a special lunch where they will sit down together with the mentors to discuss and plan their year. This will include their goals, areas of development and strengths so that the right balance of experience and teaching can be mapped out to lift their career to new heights and take it in new directions.
The tailor-made Scholarship could include work experience with several of the mentors at establishments such as; Le Gavroche with Emmanuel Landré and Silvano Giraldin; Buckingham Palace with Edward Griffiths and his team; an international stage with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group; tutored wine tastings from Berry Bros & Rudd, plus trip to the famous Laurent-Perrier Chateau and vineyards. The winner will also have her portrait painted by artist Henrietta Graham.