David Allan
Age: 27
Position: Food and beverage manager, Radisson SAS hotel, Glasgow
Career to date...
In 1999, Allan joined the Carlton George hotel in Glasgow as assistant food and beverage manager. He moved to the city's Radisson SAS hotel in 2002, joining as restaurant and bar manager but being promoted to his current position in 2004, responsible for all the food and beverage areas of the hotel.
Why is he a winner?
Allan was instrumental in the opening of this 250-bedroom hotel. His approach to people is exemplary (his department's results in the annual employee survey outperformed those of all other areas in the hotel) and he is known for creating a sense of fun and trust among his employees.
Under his control, the food and drink revenues grew by just under 20% in 2005 from the previous year. The high levels of service delivery in his area were central to the hotel being awarded five stars by VisitScotland in 2005, and to it winning Best Hotel at the 2005 Scottish Thistle Awards.
He has introduced many clever ideas in his promotional programme, always with a sense of humour, such as this year's "last great smoke-off" cigar evening before the smoking ban was enforced.
He has also been a keen supporter of the Prince's Trust "Get Into Cooking" programme, which runs access courses for young, largely unemployed people expressing an interest in coming into the industry.