There is no doubting the delight and excitement among the 30 under-30s who have been selected as the industry's high-flyers for 1997.
"It's fantastic... I never dreamed it would happen... it makes me feel very important... it's an esteemed award... the culmination of three years' hard work" - those were just a few of the reactions.
It's a pity, then, that the judges felt some of the industry's employers had let their young managers down, either by not entering them for the awards, for fear of losing them to a competitor, or simply by not reading the nomination forms properly and not supplying the required information.
"There are, no doubt, many more young people who are eligible but they are not having their names put forward," said the chairman of judges, Jeremy Logie, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association. "There were, however, some superb entries among those we received. These are people with a great future in our industry and I am encouraged at the quality of management coming through."
His words were echoed by Roddy Watt, chief executive of recruitment consultants Berkeley Scott. "Those who won are thrilled by their award," he said. "We have some worthy winners. However, it is a pity that some of the nominators didn't take the trouble to read the rules.
"It is a figment of the imagination to assume they're going to lose their best people if they put them forward. I employ three previous winners and know two others personally, and they have not been approached by head-hunters. If we employ good people and look after them properly, there is not a lot to worry about."
Even first-time judge and former Acorn winner Terry Waldron, marketing manager at Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, was a little dismayed by the lack of effort on the part of some nominators. "Some applications looked as if the nominators hadn't given sufficient thought to their entries," he said.
"Overall, however, I was very encouraged and surprised with the responsibility and achievement of many of the winners. Some entrants' standards were very high and others will be ready in a few years."
As the sponsor of the Acorn Awards, Trevor Benson, foodservice director of the Caterplan Division of CPC (UK), congratulated this year's winners. "Being the sponsor is not only a responsibility but an honour," he said. "We cannot be complacent - it is our duty to raise the standards of those currently employed in and those new to the industry.
"As a business, Caterplan can only benefit from supporting an initiative that guarantees a continuing influx of high-quality personnel.
"The prestige for the individual nominated and for the company they work for must not go unmentioned. Not only does the individual gain peer and industry recognition, which can assist them in climbing the career ladder, but an Acorn Award gives each winner the opportunity to give something back to the industry."
The judges
Trevor Benson
, foodservice director of the caterplan Division of CPC (UK)
David Harbourne
, chief executive, Hospitality Training Foundation
Margaret Lang
, client services director, William Lea Facilities Management
Jeremy Logie
, chief executive, British Hospitality Association
Robin Sheppard
, general manager, Bath Spa Hotel
Terry Waldron
, marketing manager, Gleneagles Hotel
Roddy Watt
, chief executive, Berkeley Scott
Katharine Young
, marketing manager, Wimpy International.
What they say about the Acorns:
Robin Sheppard
General manager
Bath Spa Hotel
"This is an achievement that can stay with you for the rest of your life. It is the equivalent of winning a cup at Wembley. It creates aspirations within our business that encourage others to go on."
Alison McLaughlin
Human resources director
TGI Friday's
"Because TGI Friday's has such a lot of young managers, the Acorns are held in very high regard. Our managers are quite competitive about them. We have won a number within the business and we actively promote them across Whitbread.
"We will continue to put forward people for the award in the belief that, if a person is worthy of the award, he or she can be assured of a promising career with Friday's."
Ramon Pajares
Managing director
Savoy Group
"The industry has a long way to go before it can be satisfied that it is doing enough to attract the calibre of people it needs, so anything we do to attract young people with commitment and passion is worth it.
"This particular award is significant because it is given to young people who have already demonstrated they have that and more. For our own young managers, it gives a target to aim for and creates goodwill and enthusiasm within the company.
"But we have to accept that young people have to progress and we should not hold them back. Once they reach a certain level, if we cannot offer them anything that will satisfy them, we should help them find what they deserve and maybe they will then later return to us."
Jackie Kernaghan
Worldwide sales director
Forte
In any industry, it is essential to have a way of fast-tracking individuals. These awards give us the opportunity to stand back and see who is coming through. I cannot praise the initiative enough as a way of planning for the future. It also gives us as a company a way of demonstrating that we take our young people seriously. It is a great morale booster. The best way for a business to keep its good people is to show them they are valued.
"If an Acorn winner moves elsewhere as a result of their award, we should be thrilled for them. Not to be so is a short-term view."
Col Philip Rossiter
Commandant
Army School of Catering
"For the Army, being recognised by this sort of award is similar to winning a prize in a salon culinaire. It also encourages our staff to see themselves as part of the industry, which is where most of them return on leaving service life.
"Older members of the industry are often quick to point the finger at the paucity of young people coming into the profession from college, so targeting the under-30s not only gives them the right profile but demonstrates to the industry at large that there are bright young people there."
Tom Barrett (28)
Operations manager
Select Service Partner
Nominated by Mark Lane, sector managing director, retail & leisure, Compass retail division
If it's diversity you are looking for in a career, the contract sector is where you will find it, according to Tom Barrett. He moved from hotels to department store catering after a few years and then joined Compass Group's Retail & Leisure division, recently relaunched as Select Service Partner.
"In hotels, you tend to move from one hotel to another and the environment never changes," he says. "I have found that for faster career progression, and to have the room to manoeuvre in different styles of business, the contract business has the answer."
Barrett went into Compass as a catering manager and his potential was quickly spotted. Within a year, he was promoted to operations manager looking after the catering for 15 department stores, mainly House of Fraser units, from Grimsby to Exeter, with two independent stores in London. Last year, he achieved a 37% profit increase, the highest in the sector and £67,000 above budget.
As a result of a project he initiated to rationalise and improve in-store restaurants' product range, the stores achieved an overall gross profit increase of 3%.
Stephen Blackburne (29)
Hotel manager
The Savoy, London W2
Nominated by Ramón Pajares, managing director, Savoy Group
"If I said I had planned the career path that has brought me to where I am today, it would be a lie," says Stephen Blackburne. "On about three occasions, I have been in the right place at the right time and, when faced with a choice, appear to have made the right one."
An industrial placement at the Connaught in London was the deciding factor on his profession. "It convinced me that a hotel career was what I wanted," he says, "but I don't try to plan any more because the opposite so often seems to happen.
"I had wanted to work for Hyatt since I was at university, and joined the company in 1995, in Lausanne, Switzerland, as an operations and development analyst. At the time, I saw it as my career for the next 10 years but, when Ramón Pajares offered me a post last year at the Savoy, I couldn't refuse. On that basis, I wouldn't attempt to predict where my career will go next."
Pajares spotted Blackburne's potential while he was still at Surrey University, partly funded from the prize money he had won from the Savoy Educational Trust's Reeves Smith Scholarship. He also won an award from the Wine Guild of the UK which took him to Château Margaux for two weeks, an experience he describes as "fantastic".
Grainne Brennan (26)
Deputy director of conference and banqueting
Grosvenor House, London W1
Nominated by Peter French, general manager, Grosvenor House
An ambitious woman, Grainne Brennan has carefully planned her moves to date and would expect her next position to be managing a five-star hotel property, with further ambitions beyond that.
For the present, however, she is concentrating on her duties at Grosvenor House, where her roles are in management development and catering for the requirements of the hotel's top clientele - "those who need 500% attention".
She gained considerable experience while fulfilling the same role at the Dorchester in London, where she worked for three years.
"But a job like this," she says, "is a bit like being a Lamborghini with a full tank of fuel when you start, which you gradually use up. You eventually get into a comfort zone and then it is time to move on."
The job at Grosvenor House, although similar, involved handling three times the revenue and four times the number of staff. "It was a big break for me to come here," she says. "Of my staff of 70, 60 are men and a number have more than 20 years' service, so it was a challenge."
Esther Brookes (28)
Financial controller
Nelson Hind Catering Management
Nominated by Chris Hind, managing director, Nelson Hind
On her path to becoming an industry high-flyer, Esther Brookes has been dealing with clients in every aspect of industry, from a multi-site abattoir and meat processing company to the largest division of a blue-chip, international engineering business.
But that was before she got closer to the foodservice business with her present employer, a move she describes as her biggest break to date.
"There are a lot of similarities," she says. "Both involve direct client contact, chasing debts and making sure the client is getting the service he is paying for."
After achieving dual honours in economics and accounting and financial management at Sheffield University, Brookes joined Coopers & Lybrand, where she was promoted to manager within 18 months, compared with the national average of two years.
Her fast-track rise continued at Nelson Hind, progressing from company accountant in April 1995 to financial controller by July 1996.
Reporting directly to the two company principals, she has reorganised the head office finance department and implemented new work practices; developed IT throughout the business, achieving cost-savings; and established management information systems for better business monitoring.
Geraldine Calpin (26)
Senior business analyst, information technology
Forte
Nominated by Jackie Kernaghan, worldwide sales director, Forte
Even before Geraldine Calpin was spotted as an Acorn candidate, Forte had selected her from among 500 people worldwide to develop the company's fast-track and graduate programme.
Moving in high circles would appear to be a strong motivation. She regards her "big break" as her selection as global projects manager last year, in which position she initiated and implemented a number of changes in reservations, database, MIS, inventory and corporate pricing strategy across the world, working with worldwide sales teams.
"It gave me a high profile and board visibility," she says. "I was liasing with general managers across the world to get their feedback on pricing policies."
Starting at the Albany, Glasgow, as assistant banqueting manager after leaving Strathclyde University, the opportunity came to move into sales after her first six months. Her career then saw her become key accounts manager for Scotland and the North before moving to London in 1995 as project manager worldwide for sales and reservations.
Alan Dann (26)
Head chef
Lower Slaughter Manor, near Bourton-on-the-water, Gloucestershire
Nominated by Tim Brocklebank, general manager, Lower Slaughter Manor
"I didn't know what a tin of baked beans was until I was about 15," says Alan Dann. "I grew up on a farm where my father shot most of our food and my mother made her own bread."
Proving the effectiveness of craft entry to the kitchen, Dann came in via the City & Guilds qualifications route and joined the brigade at the Waterside Inn, Bray, Berkshire, for three-and-a-half years.
That, he says, was a stepping stone into France, where he had intended to stay for one year but remained for five. "I thought I had a job to go to but when I arrived it had gone, so I had to find something for myself," he says. "I managed to get into a one-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bordeaux for a year, and then Michel Guérard took me on at Eugenie-les-Bains. My French wasn't very good and the fact I was English went against me, but I learned the hard way and, once other chefs knew I had worked with Guérard, doors opened easily."
Work followed in two other three-star establishments before he returned to England and Lower Slaughter Manor. Within a year, Egon Ronay Guides had moved the restaurant's status from zero to two stars and the 1997 AA guide has commented: "It takes someone special to stand out from the pack. Alan Dann is the man and he brings fresh talent, sophistication and daring."
Kathryn Davies (28)
Director of operations
Sherwoods (Portfolio Group)
Nominated by David Coubrough
Chief executive, Portfolio Group
"I truly believe that if you get the right personnel department, any business will be successful in recruiting the right people" - it was this philosophy which decided Kathryn Davies to pursue a career path in personnel recruitment, after achieving four distinctions and four merits on her HND course at Llandrillo Technical College.
"I had a good break when I came to London to find a job," she says, "as the recruitment agency I applied to was itself looking for somebody at the time and my qualifications fitted."
She joined Sherwoods in September 1993, when it was a "one-man band" specialising in meeting the temporary recruitment needs of parent company Portfolio International. In three years, she built turnover from £100,000 to more than £1.5m, and she has now been made a director of Portfolio Group.
Her ambition is to take the business out of London, where it has two offices.
Jeremy Dicks (29)
Retail operations executive
Bateman Healthcare Services
Nominated by Chris Goff, managing director, Compass Group
The brands that have proved such a boon to business at Compass Group have also played a crucial role in the development of Jeremy Dicks' career. He joined the group in 1992, having had a spell in hotels before running his own event catering business.
In 1994, he moved from the retail and leisure division of the business, Travellers Fare, to the New Famous Foods division as a brand development manager, from where he opened 207 branded operations in five market sectors.
When Bateman introduced retail outlets to hospitals, Dicks notched up a number of successes - introducing the first Burger King and Pizza Hut outlets into hospitals, managing the first branded hospital foodcourt in the UK, and introducing a mystery shopper programme for Bateman.
Since joining the Bateman team in December 1995, he has trebled brand sales to £3m, increased brand profit by 280%, and been responsible for 31% of Bateman profit.
Julian Ebbutt (29)
Resident manager
Francis Hotel, Bath
Nominated by Robin Sheppard General manager Bath Spa Hotel
When Julian Ebbutt joined the BBC in May 1995 to open Wood Norton Hall and Conference Centre, Evesham, he had never been involved in an Investors in People (IIP) programme and his employer had not run a hotel before. But from May to the following January, with responsibility for all pre-opening arrangements, he trained staff as they were recruited. Within eight months of opening, the centre was awarded IIP status.
Ebbutt also had his first taste of dealing with trade unions, mainly engineers who knew nothing about how hotels were run, an experience he describes as "fun".
"Opening the hall was my most memorable experience to date," he says, "having started the project from scratch. Alongside that, being part of the team at the Bath Spa Hotel when it was named Hotel of the Year was also special. They both involved a lot of hard teamwork."
Neil Forbes (26)
Head chef
Royal Scotsman train
Nominated by David Wilson, chef-proprietor, the Peat Inn
Neil Forbes works in no ordinary kitchen. It is continuously on the move and, if it's late arriving at a rendezvous with a supplier, he may already have left.
"The pressure of working out the logistics is tremendous," he says. "We have to think six days ahead all the time and, with passengers paying £3,500 for a seven-day holiday on board, we purchase only the best of everything. It is a precise and pristine environment. It's an unusual job and a great opportunity for someone as young as me."
The train only operates in summer, so between tours Forbes has worked in some of the country's top establishments, including Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, the Waterside Inn, and One Devonshire Gardens. "I just phoned up and asked," he says.
He has also worked in Australia, sometimes in difficult conditions. "It's not all beer and barbecues," he points out. "I learned a lot of different styles and cultures of food but it can be hot, and on one occasion I was working in a kitchen where the temperature was 32ºC."
Max Gnoyke (28)
Executive head chef
Simply Heathcote's, Manchester
Nominated by Paul Heathcote, Paul Heathcote Restaurants
According to Max Gnoyke's boss, Paul Heathcote, it was the early training that Gnoyke received in restaurants such as the Connaught and Le Gavroche that taught him to be proud of his job - places where titles are earned, not given. "At the same time," says Heathcote, "he realises some people have to have encouragement in larger amounts than others."
Gnoyke learned his management skills by moving from being part of a team of eight at Heathcote's to leading a brigade of 20 in his current job.
Within his first year at Heathcote's Brasserie he achieved a red M from Michelin, and the restaurant was named Country Restaurant of the Year by the Good Food Guide and Brasserie of the Year by Life Magazine.
Nicholas Gourley (29)
Sales director, Catering Services Division
Blue Arrow Personnel Services
Nominated by Steve Nunes, high street board director, Blue Arrow Personnel Services
Nicholas Gourley switched from hotel operations to Blue Arrow in 1989 because the hotel he was working for at the time thought he wasn't old enough for the sales manager's job he wanted. Ironically, in 1995, as national sales manager for the agency's catering services division, he steered it to an all-time high turnover in excess of £20m.
After leaving school he worked for a number of hotel groups, including Mount Charlotte, Whitbread Hotels and Whitbread Country Club Hotels, as waiter, bar person, and assistant manager. His first experience with Blue Arrow was as a silver service waiter.
"It introduced me to a career that brings together all the skills I enjoy using, with openings in every industry sector. While I was working for hotels, I didn't even know what a contract caterer was," he says.
His first big break came while working as bar person at Edgwarebury Country Club, Elstree, Hertfordshire, for Whitbread Hotels. "I was asked to work on an exhibition stand at Earls Court, London, as a sales executive," he says. "It put me in the eye of the Whitbread Country Club senior people and opened a door into management for me."
Gourley's latest venture with Blue Arrow has been to help put together a five-year business plan, which he believes will give the company an exciting future.
Frazer Grimbleby (23)
New sites co-ordinator
Frankie & Benny's New York Italian Restaurant & Bar (City Centre Restaurants)
Nominated by James Horler, divisional operations director, City Centre Restaurants
One day last year, Frazer Grimbleby opened a restaurant in Glasgow in the morning and then drove to Manchester to open a second outlet at 5pm. He had four restaurants opening within six weeks during that period, which, he says, is not unusual.
"During the Glasgow and Manchester openings," he says, "we had no hot water or air-conditioning in Glasgow, and in Manchester a burst water main put the unit under two feet of water. I spent a week flitting between the two."
His responsibilities include liasing on the layouts of new restaurants; sole responsibility for the kitchen; managing the shopfitting; management and staff recruitment; training during the opening period; and overseeing the operation during the first two weeks of opening. Last year, he opened 12 new restaurants.
He came into City Centre Restaurants as a waiter while he was at university, and later worked at Garfunkel's as a deputy manager. "I realise my career has progressed rapidly for my age," he says, "but I still see a lot of scope and opportunity for bigger projects or multi-site management."
Fatima Guerra (29)
Restaurant manager
Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire
Nominated by Raymond Blanc, chef-patron, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
As maŒtre d'hôtel for Lowes Hotel, Monte Carlo, Fatima Guerra was responsible for 1,000 staff and was the first woman to reach such a position. She gave it up to come to England and took a job as chef de rang and later junior head waitress because she wanted to improve her English.
Although Guerra is Portuguese, she was brought up in France and later worked part-time in hotels and restaurants while studying before taking her first job in Honfleur, France.
In England she worked at Tylney Hall hotel, Rotherwick, Hampshire, and Hartwell House, Aylesbury, Hertfordshire, before going to Le Manoir in 1993 as demi maŒtre d'hôtel. She was promoted to assistant restaurant manager within six months and restaurant manager in September 1995. Raymond Blanc describes her as "the cornerstone of our achievement".
"I am ambitious and want to get things right, but I have been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. I was scared when I was offered the restaurant manager's job at Le Manoir, though. It is a big thing to achieve," says Guerra.
David Jones (29)
General manager
TGI Friday's
Nominated by Alison McLaughlin, human resources director, TGI Friday's
Not only has David Jones just joined the elite band of Acorn winners but he has recently been named TGI Friday's General Manager of the Year, which followed his successful opening of Friday's 150, a new concept he piloted in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
"To the guest," says Jones, "the unit is no different to the standard Friday's operation, but it has a more limited menu, 65-70 items against the standard 100, and it is slightly smaller, with fewer covers. We have since opened two more outlets, in Southampton and Sutton Coldfield."
Jones says that he owes a lot of his success to the experiences he had before starting full-time employment, working on industrial release for Roux Restaurants in the sous-vide kitchen, and at Disney World, Florida, on a World Showcase Fellowship Programme.
"Disney in particular was an important part of my career development," he says. "I was there for 18 months and it changed my view of the guest. A lot of people working at TGI have worked for Disney - we are looking for similar sorts of people.
"It was also important for me to spend time at our flagship restaurant in Covent Garden, London, as assistant general manager. It is a busy unit and has been rewarded by our franchiser for having the highest sales record in the world."
Kat-Yee Leung (28)
Operations manager
Pret A Manger
Nominated by Julian Metcalfe, chairman, Pràt à Manger
Kat-Yee Leung's achievement was to rise from trainee manager at Pràt à Manger to operations manager in less than three years. On the way up, she was assistant manager at the group's National Gallery branch, and part of the team that achieved 27% year-on-year growth.
She bettered that, however, when she took on the management of the London Regent Street store, achieving 38% year-on-year growth, resulting in turnover of £1.5m.
Her career started in hotel placements during college training and she later had a placement in Mariott's Orlando World Centre, Florida. In the USA, she attained a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Hospitality Administration before returning to the UK to take up a trainee post with H„ agen-Dazs.
Promoted to deputy manager of the Covent Garden outlet in London, she introduced a "kids' menu"; compiled a time-management course to run through all shops; designed a new uniform; organised recruiting events; and initiated and managed a World Travel Show, which drew 52,000 people.
Brian McCarthy (29)
General manager
Copthorne Hotel, Cardiff
Nominated by Laurence Watson, vice-president, human resources, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels
April was a marathon month for Brian McCarthy. He got married and received his Acorn Award within a couple of days of each other, and the previous weekend he ran in the annual 26-mile event through London.
McCarthy started at Stakis Hotels as a graduate trainee manager, moving on to banqueting manager at Stakis Norfolk Gardens, Bradford. In 1991, he joined Copthorne Cardiff as its conference and banqueting manager, switching to Copthorne Effingham Park in 1994 before looking for experience in another group. He joined Whitbread Hotels for a short period before returning to Cardiff to manage the property.
His interest in running has, says his nominator, Laurence Watson, proved an asset among the hotel's leisure and health club members, among whom he has made a particularly good impression.
Lucy Melling (28)
Regional human resources manager
Forte UK Hotels
Nominated by Peter Stephenson, managing director, Forte
Since joining Forte in 1991 as personnel and training manager at the Cavendish, London, Lucy Melling has moved through a number of positions and is now responsible for 22 properties.
As a district personnel manager with Posthouse, she was at the forefront of a working party to establish the group's Star system, which sets a training and recognition standard for staff.
Her original choice of careers was in retail, and she worked in the personnel department of Marks & Spencer. Her responsibilities there included devising and implementing a training programme for 450 staff, and planning and controlling the recruitment programme for a store expansion.
Paul Nisbett (28)
Regional financial controller
Hilton International
Nominated by Phillip Adams, vice-president, finance (UK), Hilton International
At only 21 years of age, Paul Nisbett was given what he says was his big break - to work as part of the acquisition team for Forte when it bought Crest Hotels. His role was to look at the £57m central costs of the business and to merge four offices into one corporate office.
By 22, he had been promoted to financial controller responsible for a budget of £85m in non-hotel costs, later taking responsibility for five properties as hotel financial controller.
Hilton spotted his potential, and soon after he joined the group he was given financial control of 16 Hilton Nationals. Following the merger of National and International management last year, he was promoted to his present position.
In his first year in the post, the group had a record financial year and is now on target to generate 53% of UK revenue for 1997. His introduction of strong cash management polices has improved business by £3.1m and hotels have reduced debtor days to nine fewer than in the previous year.
"The challenge now," he says, "is to move into an even wider role, hopefully taking on the position of vice-president, finance, somewhere in the company."
Richard O'Keefe (29)
Managing director
Rossfish
Nominated by Jill Finney, marketing director, Booker Foodservice Group
So many caterers are afraid of fresh fish - they don't know what to do with it, says Richard O'Keefe: "Deskilling has brought a greater reluctance to use fresh produce than we would have expected." So O'Keefe has made it his role to take the fear away by making the preparation and cooking of the product as simple as possible.
"Other suppliers do it but we do it on a national basis," says O'Keefe. "We have entered into partnership with caterers, inviting them to our depots, showing them how we prepare the product, and portioning and prepping to their requirements. We are putting our own people through NVQ courses in fish preparation and running competitions at Butlers Wharf School, London."
O'Keefe introduced the initiative when he became managing director of Rossfish, part of Booker Foodservice, in 1995. The result for the company has been an increase in business by 25% in its first year.
He has also introduced chilled fish into hospitals, which were, he says previously buying almost exclusively frozen products. "We now prepare, debone and portion fresh fish for about 20 hospitals," he says, "and a number of others are showing interest."
Nico Pannevis (25)
Manager
The Greenhouse Restaurant, London W1
Nominated by Joseph Levin, director, Capital Hotels
It was a close call between the stage and the hotel and restaurant business for Nico Pannevis. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, where his father ran the New Stanley Hotel, he attended Mombasa Academy, where he was named Actor of the Year for his role as Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
"I did have an acting career in mind at one stage," he says, "but decided I should follow my father. At the end of the day, though, you are on stage in the restaurant business!"
He came to England to study, with the intention of returning to Kenya once qualified, but was persuaded by his course tutor to stay.
"My big break was getting into the Ritz for my first full-time job," he says. "I had interviews with Hilton and Inter-Continental as well, but went for The Ritz for its name and reputation. After starting in the pot wash and then spending three months in every department, I was convinced I should stay."
Pannevis became food and beverage co-ordinator with the London hotel before joining the Greenhouse team as assistant restaurant manager, moving with Gary Rhodes to open the People's Palace restaurant as senior assistant manager. He attained his present position last November.
According to his nominator, Joseph Levin, director of Capital Hotels, Nico "represents all the good things about our industry".
Beatrice Perd (26)
Head housekeeper
The Ritz, London W1
Nominated by Giles Shepard, managing director, the Ritz
Australian Beatrice Perd arrived in England in 1990 and, she says, got into housekeeping by accident. Her nominator, Giles Shepard, managing director of the Ritz, says, however: "I have never encountered a young person with such a commitment to excellence and with such a desire to succeed."
Perd admits she is ambitious: "I want to get there before everybody else."
Her family background was in hotels and she worked as a chef in Sydney after high school. On arriving in England, she says: "I started at the bottom as a chambermaid at the Savoy. But I arrived just as everything was starting to change, which proved to be a good time for me."
She trained with the hotel as a floor housekeeper before returning to Australia for a short time, coming back to the Savoy as senior/training housekeeper and then moving to assistant head housekeeper before taking up her present post at the Ritz a year ago.
"Breaking into the business in the way I did was my big break," she says. "But if you are prepared to put a lot of hard work in, you will always make it. I want to stay in housekeeping but I would like to do a hotel opening."
Paul Pledge (29)
Executive head chef
Baxter & Platts
Nominated by Paul Nicholls, operations director, Baxter & Platts
Winning an Acorn in his 29th year was a particularly pleasant surprise for Paul Pledge. He has checked the list every year to see if he had been nominated but thought he was now too old.
With an impressive CV, which includes experience at venues such as Le Méridien hotel, Harveys restaurant and the National Liberal Club, he says he has brought something good from every place he has worked.
"I owe most," he says, "to the first chef I worked under - Dermott Donnelly at the Copthorne Hotel. I was very young and naive but I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him."
He moved into contract catering with Sutcliffe and later joined Baxter & Platts to run the head office restaurant for Price Waterhouse, the largest contract in the company.
It has two restaurants, two sandwich bars and 10 hospitality rooms. Paul has improved sales by 30% during the first year of trading and reduced overall costs in his first two months.
Louise Shapiro (24)
Regional training and development manager
Hilton UK
Nominated by Anne Jones, vice-president, human resources (UK), Hilton UK
Being recognised as the youngest regional training and development manager in the company may be a burden for some but, says Louise Shapiro, age doesn't come into it. "I have fitted smoothly into the role," she says. "There was no huge culture shock, even though in years I may not have as much experience as many of my peers."
Coming straight into Hilton from Westminster College with BTec National Diploma qualifications, she had little if any knowledge of personnel and training. Her interviewer spotted her potential for human resources work and so, she says: "I dived into the unknown."
In 1993, working as personnel and training manager at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel, London, Shapiro reduced labour turnover from 100% to 55%, and in her present role she has achieved IIP status for the hotels, improved staff survey results by 20% and raised service standards to 89%.
Sean Spillane (29)
General manager
Leith's at Edinburgh International Conference Centre
Nominated by Prudence Leith, chairman, Leith's
Sean Spillane's move from the Gleneagles hotel, where he was leisure manager, to manage Leith's operation in the EICC wasn't a switch from one sector to another. "I am in the hospitality industry and, wherever you work, it is all one profession," he says.
At Gleneagles he was responsible for the Country Club, health spa, hair salon, retail outlets and restaurant and bar used by members and guests. In his present role, he runs all aspects of the business, from sales and marketing to operations and accounts, in an exhibition centre that can serve as many as 800 for dinner or 1,200 buffet style.
There is no fixed restaurant on the site, but the Leith's team caters for all demands for conferences and exhibitions, serving anything from snacks to a full Scottish menu, he says.
During his time at Gleneagles, where he started as an F&B trainee after qualifying at the University of Ulster, he introduced the hotel's first self-directed team and extended the range of services and facilities for children.
At Leith's he led the team that redesigned the company appraisal system. Other changes he has made have increased profitability by 10% over budget.
Sarah Steel (27)
Captain (catering officer)
Army School of Catering
Nominated by Colonel P Rossiter, commandant
The most memorable experience Sarah Steel has had was not the most pleasant one. It was the gruelling year she spent at Sandhurst, the officers' training school, which selects only the best and the toughest of the candidates it puts through their paces.
She is now serving a short-term commission with the Army, a career that has so far taken her to Kenya, catering on exercise for a battalion of Welsh Guards, with similar tours to Germany and France.
At present she is on a year's attachment to Whitbread, gaining experience in the restaurant division with Beefeater, TGI Friday's and Pizza Hut. "It's important for the Army to keep abreast of what is happening in industry," she says.
Steel got caught up in Army life during her time at Surrey University, where she joined the Officer Training Corps and the Territorial Army. "I just got drawn in," she says.
She graduated from the Army School of Catering as Best Student. Her first posting took her to East Anglia, responsible for catering support to 20 Army Units comprising 3,000 soldiers. She was responsible for 150 chefs and was resource manager for catering and cleaning contracts worth more than £6m. And her work on HACCP risk assessment has provided a template for use throughout the Army.
Bill Walshe (29)
Regional director, sales, UK, Ireland and Scandinavia
Kempinski Hotels and Dusit Hotels & Resorts
Nominated by Graham Leslie, senior vice-president, marketing & sales, Kempinski
Bill Walshe became popular with his peers in London during his time at the Royal Garden Hotel. He was there just prior to its closure for refurbishment and, as director of sales, spent a lot of time moving the client base to other establishments for the closure period. He also had to keep his department motivated during a difficult time when most knew they would soon be out of a job.
"It was always in my mind to return," he says, "but by the time it reopened I was settled where I am now."
In this role, he has overhauled sales procedures that have led to a 50% increase in bookings in the first year, valued at more than £1.5m, with conference and incentive room-nights up by 600%.
"My approach to sales and marketing is simple," he says. "Be pro-active and ask people for their business. But first, make sure you have the right strategy in place to handle it."
Marcus Wareing (26)
Head chef
L'Oranger, London SW1
Nominated by Gordon Ramsay, director, Aubergine Restaurant
"When I was offered L'Oranger by Gordon Ramsay, I grabbed it," says Wareing. "You don't get those opportunities twice. Becoming head chef at a young age is a risk in itself. But if you are strong enough you can take it on.
"The creativity and flair must be inside you, though. You cannot learn it. I learned that from from a number of top chefs in the places I have worked. They are all true professionals and you have to take everything you can get from them and put it into practice yourself."
As well as Ramsay, Wareing has worked under chefs such as Daniel Boulud in New York, Albert Roux at Le Gavroche, and Guy Savoy in Paris.
"Working under Gordon Ramsay raises your confidence greatly but my major break was my first one, when I went into the Savoy as a commis with Anton Edelmann. It was a marvellous way to start."
He took on L'Oranger in March 1996 and in only 10 months secured the restaurant a Michelin star.
Kirsty Woodward (27)
F&B manager
Department of Hospitality Services, University of Warwick
Nominated by Andrew Paine, director, Department of Hospitality Services, University of Warwick
At 27, Kirsty Woodward is responsible for a business with a turnover of £4.5m, and for six managers, 18 supervisors, 18 chefs, and 100 permanent and 50 casual staff - it is said to be the biggest catering business in any British university. It includes five production kitchens, six restaurants, a banquet suite, five coffee bars, two fast-food outlets and 10 licensed bars. The list goes on...
"It doesn't faze me," she says. "My ambition was to run a hotel by the age of 21. Once I had done that I was asking, 'What next?'
"I don't think about the scale of the business or it would frighten me. I started here as a catering assistant in 1991 and moved up through a number of positions before taking on total responsibility in 1994."
Coming to the university was, she says, a step down (she had previously managed a hotel for nine months) "but I liked the look of what I saw and was prepared to make the move".
Looking ahead, her eye is on the university's 200-room management centre. "It's the five-star end of the university market and I wouldn't mind having a go at that."
Joanna Woolley (26)
Sales and marketing director
Brown's Hotel, London W1
Nominated by Joost van Spengler, general manager, Brown's Hotel
With 160 years of business behind it, Brown's Hotel claims to be the oldest hotel in London. And Joanna Woolley is said to be the youngest sales and marketing director. "The two of us are having a great time," she says.
Since joining Brown's in September last year, she has introduced a strategy to measure marketing results. It has so far resulted in a winter promotion that achieved £250,000 in business from promotions costing £2,500.
"We are establishing a brand for the hotel," she says. "We have relaunched the Restaurant at Brown's and have so far made seven successful sales trips to Europe and the USA, initiatives not previously attempted by the hotel."
In her previous job as international sales manager with Hyatt, she told her boss that she expected to be in senior management within two years. Forte saw her potential and put her into Brown's. "That was my big break," she says.
But until 1994, Woolley had been in a different business, working as an art dealer in London's Belgravia. "There are similarities between luxury hotels and the art world," she says.
"Each deals with blue-chip clients and in each you have to build up people's confidence and trust. It's just a question of understanding your product and how it works."