The Editor's Hospitality Blog

O dear. Just when everything was going so well, I had to go and blot my copybook.

This weekend saw the climax of the 2007 Acorn Awards. For the twenty first time, Caterer and Hotelkeeper celebrated the achievements of thirty high achievers under the age of thirty from across hospitality, first with a day of networking, and then with a more formal awards lunch.

The Acorn weekend was played out against the stunning backdrop of Pennyhill Park Hotel and Spa, whose GM, Julian Tomlin and his team left no stone unturned to ensure that our winners were wonderfully welcomed, magnificently lunched, dined and accommodated.

Given such generosity of spirit on the part of all at Pennyhill Park, one might have thought the least the Caterer editor could do would have been to settle his bill on leaving.

Sadly, in the blur of thank yous and goodbyes after the awards lunch, I managed to negotiate myself through the front door of the hotel, into my car and onto the M3 without troubling the front desk staff.

Apologies have, of course, since been made, and accounts settled. Still, guests, eh? Can't live with them, can't live without them.

When thirty of hospitality's highest achievers get together at a five-star hotel for a weekend of fun and networking, it can mean only one thing: the Caterer and Hotelkeeper Acorn awards have come around again.

This year, Surrey's luxurious Pennyhill Park Hotel and Spa provided a suitably spectacular backdrop to the 2007 Acorn Awards, which celebrated the career successes of thirty individuals under the age of thirty.

Make no mistake: our winners are all destined to graduate to even greater successes in the years to come. To learn more about these future captains of industry, check out Caterersearch's Acorns coverage now.

Did you see 2009 Acorn Award winner Will Holland on Saturday Kitchen this morning? Didn't he do well?

The Michelin-starred chef of La Becasse in Ludlow, owned by L'Ortolan chef-proprietor Alan Murchison, debuted on the James Martin show with a perfect demo and a delicious parmesan-crusted halibut, sag aloo and lime emulsion dish - check out the recipe here.

But not only did our 29-year-old rising star appear on the show with the presentation skills of an old pro, he also gave his precious Acorn Award, which he won last month, a huge plug. Bless his big cotton socks!

We're going to be catching up with Will and Alan in a month or two to showcase the cooking of La Becasse and L'Ortolan, so watch out for that at Caterersearch.com/video.

In the meantime, La Becasse celebrates its second birthday today - happy birthday boys and here's to many, many more awards and loads more TV exposure!