Hilton Sydney has won two coveted awards for Chef of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Training at the Australian Hotels Association National Awards for Excellence gala in Sydney.
Following the NSW state finals, Hilton Sydney took three finalists, Gary Johnson (executive chef) Michael Burgess (learning & development manager) and Mamdoh Kiriakos (hotel ambassador) to the nationals, scooping two of the top accolades and a finalist place for Employee Excellence in Service.
Gary Johnson, executive chef and joint winner of the coveted Chef of the Year award, said, “It is a great honour to be rewarded by the industry and I feel incredibly proud of my entire team. I am passionate about leading 50 incredibly talented chefs here at Hilton Sydney, over six kitchens and catering to multiple outlets. We feed 40,000 – 55,000 covers a month and I will continue to be innovative and dynamic in doing so.”
Second award winner, Michael Burgess said, “This year we recognised that to offer our guests the best possible five star experience, we needed to continue to grow our investment in training and team development. That is exactly what we have achieved and over the course of the last year, we delivered 97 classroom based training courses to 1156 participants. This adds value to the team, the business and most importantly to our guests. I feel honoured to have been recognised for the implementation of such a positive program and will continue to drive it forward.”
Meanwhile Holiday Inn Townsville and The Exchange Hotel have both picked up national awards for excellence at the AHA awards.
Holiday Inn Townsville won Best Redeveloped Hotel in Australia and The Exchange won Best Overall Venue in Australia (under its former management, which changed in July this year).
Holiday Inn general manager Simon Chadbourne said, “The hotel completed a multi-million dollar revitalisation in late-2009 and offers guests a warm and inviting atmosphere created through rich, bronzed colours, contrasted with striking modern furnishings and signature Indigenous artwork,” Holiday Inn business development manager Sarah Martin said.
The $7 million top-to-bottom refurbishment of the Holiday Inn Townsville has already delivered a significant return on the investment through improved environmental sustainability and by creating a more attractive guest experience.
AccomNews is not affiliated with any government agency, body or political party. We are an independently owned, family-operated magazine.