Mark Golding
Age: 29
Position: Group back-of-house manager, the Wolseley and St Alban restaurants, London
Career to date...
Golding began his career in 1997 as a cafeteria chef at Lloyds of London, gaining experience as a commis chef, sauce chef and roast chef before moving on to a chef de partie role at Rabo Bank in 1999. A year later he moved to the Conran restaurant Mezzo, where over the next two years he rose from purchasing assistant to back-of-house manager. Having spent a year working as an agency chef for a friend's company, WBJ, he joined CKL Restaurants as back-of-house manager at the Wolseley, where he took responsibility for setting up all back-of-house and purchasing operations at the new restaurant, becoming group back-of-house manager when St Alban opened in 2006.
Why is he a winner?
Golding has gained a wide range of experience over the past 10 years and this has stood him in good stead for his recent role as group back-of-house manager for CKL Restaurants.
His current remit is a broad one. Having designed and delivered all back-of-house systems for two new restaurants, he oversees a wide range of key areas such as ordering, negotiating contracts and budget control. He has also proved adept at staff development, being responsible for the recruitment and training of about 35 back-of-house staff.
Golding looks set for a glittering career in back of house and as group manager will continue to take on more responsibility as CKL Restaurants grows.