Lexington trainee wins 2009 Olive Barnett Award

Lexington Catering's Benjamin McEwen has been announced as the winner of the 2009 Olive Barnett Award.

McEwen, a management trainee at the caterer, receives a career development grant donated by the Savoy Education Trust of £1,750 per year for two years.

He will also spend one week on the Lausanne Executive Education Summer Programme at Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland.

McEwen said: "Winning the Olive Barnett Award spurs me on to do even more in spreading the word about this fantastic industry and reaffirms for me that the career path I have chosen is absolutely the right one."

First runner up Mike Swadzba, assistant manager of the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel and second runner up Sara-Elizabeth Winterton, a management trainee at Brown's hotel, both in London, receive development grants of £1,250 and £750 respectively per year, for two years.

The Olive Barnett Award, which was created by the Savoy Gastronomes in recognition of the Savoy's Olive Barnett, is overseen by Springboard.

It seeks to reward excellence in employees below 30 years of age in customer facing roles in the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism industries.

Langham bar manager wins 2008 Olive Barnett award >>

Toby Hartley takes Olive Barnett Award 2007 >>

Jessica Cain wins Springboard's Olive Barnett Award 2006 >>

By Chris Druce

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