MAURICE GAMMELL has quit as managing director of Harry Ramsden's, the fish-and-chips chain owned by contract caterer Compass. Gammell, who had been in the post for five years, was looking into a potential management buyout that failed to materialise. He has been replaced by GARRY CROSS, who was national operations director for Compass's Select Service Partners' UK rail division. Harry Ramsden's is seeking to add 30 new franchise outlets this year, along with 10 to 15 company-owned restaurants. The opening of a flagship 200-seat fish-and-chip emporium in London's West End has been delayed from the summer to November.
Recruitment company Berkeley Scott has two new employees in its cruise division, ROBERT WEEKS and DONNA SEYFRIED. Weeks has joined as client support executive and will focus on developing the cruise and leisure markets. He was previously a recruitment consultant at CTI. Seyfried previously worked for the company in its centralised application service and has now taken on the role of resourcer. Both Weeks and Seyfried are based at Berkeley Scott's head office in Godalming, Surrey.
The Lord Haldon Country House Hotel at Dunchideock, near Exeter, Devon, has added to its catering team.
After five years as restaurant manager at the Carved Angel in Dartmouth, Devon, JAMIE LEES has joined the hotel as food and beverage manager. Promotion for ASHLEY PARKER means a move up from pastry chef to junior sous chef at the hotel.
GLEN WATSON is the new executive chef at the Sofitel St James London hotel. He will oversee all aspects of the hotel's food operation, including Brasserie Roux. Watson joins from Hanbury Manor Hotel and Country Club in Hertfordshire, where he was executive head chef. He has also worked at Gleneagles in Scotland, George V hotel in Paris and as head chef under Anton Edelmann at London's Savoy hotel.
Le Méridien Kuwait hotel has appointed ABDALLAH HAROUNI as its new food and beverage manager ahead of the property's relaunch later this year. Harouni was previously food and beverage manager at the hotel's parent company A'amal. Before this he held several different posts at the Sheraton Kuwait hotel.
Supplier Canterbury Foods, previously known as Global Group, has selected PAUL AINSWORTH and ALISON EVERATT to be directors on its reshuffled board. Ainsworth has become chief executive and previously held the same position at the group's food manufacturing division. Everatt steps up into the position of group finance director, and was previously finance director of Canterbury Foods during the group's transitional period earlier this year.
JONATHAN SIMPSON has been appointed head chef at Holiday Inn Ellesmere Port hotel in Wirral, Cheshire. He will manage a kitchen team of 11. Simpson was prevously head chef at the Lymm hotel in Warrington, Lancashire.
STEPHEN McNALLY is to become group general manager - operations, at Jurys Doyle Hotel Group, although he won't take up his position until January. He will report directly to group chief executive Pat McCann. The company aims to expand in the Irish, UK and US markets. McNally has been with the company since 1989 and was previously group general manager, UK. He will be based in Dublin in his new role, overseeing operational performance at the company's 30 properties in 16 cities. Jurys Doyle plans to add six properties to its portfolio by the middle of 2005.
Italian-born DAVID ARCUSI is the new restaurant manager at the Chesterfield hotel in London's Mayfair. Previous experience as restaurant manager includes the Grill Room at the Café Royal in London, as well as at the Stafford hotel and then the restaurant at Les Ambassadeurs casino, London. Arcusi has also worked in Hong Kong, at the Regent and Peninsula hotels.
MaydayExec, the hospitality recruitment and facility-management company, has taken on EDDIE DI PIAZZA as its call centre consultant. He was previously a project leader at contract caterer Artizian Group.
Chasing further sales in the conference market, Edinburgh's Rocco Forte-owned Balmoral hotel has appointed MANUELA CALCHINI-SMITH incentive and leisure sales manager. The hotel's management team is aiming to grow conferencing market share by 10-15% over the next year, and Calchini-Smith will be responsible for growth across all incentive and leisure accounts, focusing on the UK, Europe and the USA.
DAVID STREETS is new financial controller at hotel and conference booking agent First Option. Streets joins the company after six years as financial controller for InterContinental Hotels North East, with direct responsibility for the Manchester, Midland and Leeds Crowne Plaza hotels. In his new role he will manage a team of 23 based in the credit and bill-back departments.
JOE MEAD has joined contract caterer Charlton House as new board-level operations director. He joins from contract catering giant Sodexho, where he was operations director with responsibility for the firm's blue chip clients within the chemical, pharmaceutical, IT and telecoms industries. Before this he was an area manager for Nelson Hind, now part of the Elior Group.
PETER LAMBERT has joined hotel group Golden Tulip as group management accountant, based at the Golden Tulip hotel in Manchester. His previous experience includes several posts at hotel group CHE.
Restaurant chain Frankie & Benny's has made two general manager appointments at new openings. JANE THURSFIELD takes the post at the branch opening this month at indoor skiing-venue Xscape in Castleford, West Yorkshire. She was previously general manager at the company's Sheffield restaurant. COLLETTE WILLIAMS is at the helm of the outlet opening at the Trafford Centre, Manchester, next month. She was previously general manager of the company's Salford Quays site.
- Please send your On the move stories to chris.druce@rbi.co.uk, giving start date, details of the appointee's previous job and, if possible, a head-and-shoulders photograph.Surbiton,
New pair at helm of Welsh team
The Welsh national culinary team has a new captain and vice-captain ahead of the Culinary Olympics, which will take place next year in Erfurt, Germany.
LEE JEYNES, who runs his own Lake District business, Alchemy Chef Services, has taken on the captaincy following Graham Tinsley's decision to become team manager. Before setting up his own business 18 months ago, Jeynes worked at a number of hotels, including the Tower hotel in London, and Rampsbeck country house hotel, Lakeside hotel and Wray Castle, all in Cumbria.
NICK DAVIES, chef development manager for Cambrian Training Company in Welshpool, has replaced former vice-captain Colin Gray, who has retired from competition.