2007 Acorn Scholrship winner Julie Lardie

21 December 2006
2007 Acorn Scholrship winner Julie Lardie

"The opportunities for networking through this scholarship are amazing, and I'm sure the people I have met will teach me lots, but I'd also like to think they will find it useful to have a dietitian floating within their circles, too"

For the first time in its five-year history the Acorn Scholarship has been awarded to someone outside the hotel industry. The 2007 scholar is 25-year-old Julie Lardie, who works as a dietitian for contract caterer Aramark, based at Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust in Surrey.

The Acorn Scholarship is designed to help one exceptional young hospitality professional each year achieve his or her ambition and become an ambassador for UK hospitality. After a record number of entries this year, Lardie was chosen from a shortlist of 10.

Sean Wheeler, group director of people development for Hotel du Vin and Malmasion and one of the panel of eight judges, said: "Nutrition is a very topical issue which we feel needs to be raised across not just the public sector, but all hospitality sectors. Julie knew what she wanted to achieve but didn't know quite how to get there. We feel the scholarship will nurture her, and she'll really benefit from its development opportunities."

Among the winner's networking and mentoring opportunities, Lardie will initially benefit from a management development plan with training specialist Learnpurple. This will help to enhance her communication, organisation and planning skills. She will also spend some time at the Food Standards Agency.

She will gain first-hand experience at the businesses of judges Michael Caines, director of food and beverage for Abode Hotels William Baxter, chief executive of contract caterer BaxterStorey and James Horler, chief executive of tapas restaurant chain La Tasca. The scholarship also includes a £2,000 bursary and a trip to the Villeroy & Boch factory in Luxembourg.

Caterer asked Lardie about her ambitions and expectations for the year ahead.

First, how did it feel to win?

Totally unexpected. I thought it was a prize just for chefs or hoteliers. I was really surprised to even get to the final 10 and very pleased to sell my position as a dietitian to the judges. In the USA it is far more common for dietitians to be employed by catering businesses, whereas in the UK dietitians are largely confined to the NHS.

What is your ambition in hospitality?

I'd like to be involved in national working groups to agree strategies to improve the health of the nation via improved catering services. The work of a dietitian is not just concerned with healthy eating with the rise in the number of allergies there is a need to educate all catering staff about food terminology and conditions such as diabetes.

Nowadays there is an ever-growing focus on how important good food is, and there is scientific evidence to support powerful nutritional messages. We know, for instance, that:

  • Better-nourished hospital patients suffer fewer complications and require shorter hospital stays.
  • Better-nourished residents of care homes have improved mobility and greater quality of life.
  • Better-nourished school pupils show signs of improved behaviour and increased levels of concentration.

Why have you chosen this career?

What could be more interesting for a girl than studying food and diets? I completed a BSc honours degree in human nutrition in 2003 and started work for the NHS, seeing patients with various dietary problems including malnutrition, diabetes, food allergies and obesity.

But after two years I felt I wasn't making a real difference, because I was treating the symptoms of dietary problems but rarely getting to the root cause. For example, I'd see patients losing weight who told me they didn't like the choices on the menu, the food was always cold, or the ward host didn't serve them the correct food for their diet. I realised that a job in catering would have greater impact. Now I'm the one writing menus and training the staff who serve the food.

What have you done so far in working towards your dream?

I have joined two professional groups. One is Food Counts, a specialist group of dietitians working in the catering industry. The other is Nutritionists in Industry. There are opportunities for networking and learning at the regular meetings.

I also subscribe to several professional publications and select study days that cover a wide variety of subjects, such as the annual National Nutrition & Health Conference.

I joined the Hospital Caterers Association and attended their annual conference this year. It was a fantastic experience, and I now attend the monthly Greater London branch meetings.

Within Aramark, I have strived to make useful connections, particularly in the sales and purchasing teams, as their work significantly influences what I do in my job. I also take every opportunity to meet clients and unit managers. With improved knowledge of what client priorities are and how operational procedures work I can better suggest effective methods to improve our catering service.

How will you benefit from the Acorn Scholarship?

It has already increased my profile within Aramark. I've had e-mails of congratulations from lots of people, including UK chief executive Andrew Main. It will also promote the role of dietetics within the catering industry. This is important, as one of my biggest frustrations has been trying to influence chefs and managers to realise the importance of good nutrition and dispel the myth that nutritious food always has to cost more.

I'm very new in the catering industry and I felt honoured that our managing director even suggested I apply. Winning this award has confirmed to me that I have made the right decision to undertake such a dramatic career move.

How will you use your scholarship to give something back to the industry?

An increased profile will increase my opportunities to explain nutritional issues to budget holders and operations managers and challenge them to make business decisions that will support the health needs of our clients. For example, I could work with purchasing to source healthier products or work with the training department to recommend nutrition training programmes for our staff.

The professional training will help me develop some personal characteristics that I need to enhance, including communication and assertiveness. I also believe I'll be able to offer fuller participation in professional working groups. For example, the Food Standards Agency often leads consultations in the food industry - eg, "signpost" food labelling or allergen labelling - and I would enjoy being involved in such groups at an earlier stage than the public consultation.

The opportunities for networking through this scholarship are amazing, and I'm sure the people I have met will teach me lots, but I'd also like to think they will find it useful to have a dietitian floating within their circles, too.

My overall ambition is to be a positive ambassador for catering, achieving the right balance between my dietetic mind and the business brain that I'm now developing.

The finalists and judges

Finalists

Claire Campbell, Restaurant Associates Oskars Kalnins, Ballachulish House Alex Robertson, Four Seasons Jason Bates, Holiday Inn Captain David Barlow, the Army Matthew Barker, Malmaison James Blackwell, Holroyd Howe and student Felicia Markram.

Judges

James Horler, chief executive, La Tasca William Baxter, deputy chief executive, BaxterStorey Jane Sunley, managing director, Learnpurple Nick Green, sales and marketing director, Villeroy & Boch Ben Walker, business editor, Caterer and Hotelkeeper Michael Caines, food and beverage director, Abode Hotels Sean Wheeler, group director of people development, Hotel du Vin and Malmasion and Hannah Bailey, formerly of Chess Partnership.

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