Member Article

North East hotel oscars crowns winners

Over 400 members of the North East’s hotel industry gathered at Ramside Hall this week (Thursday 7th February) for their 3rd annual ‘Excellence’ awards ceremony to crown the best in the sector.

Every year the North East Hotels Association (NEHA) holds the awards to recognise and reward the achievements of those working in the region’s burgeoning hotel industry in areas such as leisure excellence, support services, community involvement, sales, service excellence and emerging talent.

This year’s winners included team members from Wynyard Hall, Maften Hall, Close House, Rockliffe Hall, Radisson and the Marriott.

Guests at the NEHA Awards were treated to a ‘Great North Menu’ dinner, prepared by three of the region’s top chefs who took part in the ‘Great North Menu’ cooking challenge held at the end of 2012.

Chefs from across the North East took part in the special menu challenge, organised the NEHA, Darlington College and Kenny Atkinson from Rockliffe Hall in Hurworth.

The overall winners whose dishes were served at the award event were: -

Starter- Daniel Parker, junior sous chef at Wynyard Hall, with his Whitby lobster and compressed and pickled watermelon served with feta, olives, rocket and basil.

Main- Steven Lawford, head chef in the Brasserie by Atkinson at Rockliffe Hall, with his chicken Wellington served with Jerusalem artichokes, smoked bacon and girolle mushrooms.

Dessert- Thomas Knott, head chef at Beamish Hall, with his chocolate and Earl Grey tea mousse.

The original NEHA was established in 1992 to represent and promote the region’s hotel and hospitality industry around the UK and now has around forty member hotels represented from across the region

Speaking about the awards, Damon Roberts, chairman and general manager of the Thistle Hotel in Middlesbrough, said: “The North East is home to some of the best hotels in the UK. There’s such a wide variety ranging from stately homes and destination resorts to city centre properties and boutique hotels.

“Our teams work exceptionally hard to not only represent their place of work, but the region as a whole and these awards recognise and reward this. This has been a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the outstanding efforts made by team members at all levels and across all areas of the industry, well done to everyone involved.”

A full list of winners as follows: -

Best Arrivals Experience

WINNER: Louise Turnbull – Radisson Durham

Runners up:

Kellie Robson, Sunderland Marriott

Rachel Van Der Wolf, Grey Street Hotel

Support Services

WINNER: Claire Darton, Wynyard Hall

Runners Up:

Dawn Barkel, Sunderland Marriott

Sarah Johnston, Rockliffe Hall

Service Excellence

WINNER: Owen Gooding – Rockliffe Hall, Brasserie by Atkinson

Runners up:

Nicola Sutcliffe, Radisson Blue

Malcolm Lount, Marriott Metrocentre

Cleanliness

WINNER: Sandra Welch & Team, Staybridge Suites

Runners up:

Hazel Maddison, Durham Marriott

Lynda Maplewood, Wynyard Hall

Leisure Excellence

WINNER: Talieh Monner, Matfen Hall

Runners up:

Louise Mowatt, Marriott Metro

Helen Wood, Marriott GP

Sales Champion Proactive

WINNER: Wendy Benson, Rockliffe Hall

Runners up:

Lesley Johnston, Marriot Metro

Sarah Mitcheson, Holiday Inn

Sales Champion Reactive

WINNER: Claire Stephens, Ramside Hall

Runners up

Jenny Blin, Wynyard Hall

Rebecca Salmon, Hardwick Hall

Community Award

WINNER: Michael Floyd, Marriott GP

Runners up:

Ron Engels, Durham Marriott

Nicolas Nasser Green Team, Thistle Middlesbrough

Shooting Star

WINNER: Walter Simoes, Marriott Metro

Runners up

Kelly Smith – Wynyard Hall

Angela Dooley, Rockliffe Hall

Inspirational Leader

WINNER: John Glendining, Close House

Runners up:

Mark Winter, Indigo

Lisa Blundell, Marriott Metro

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Addison .