This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
On-Trade Person Of The Year
Award Winner
Robin Hutson, Hotel du Vin
What one forgets, now that there are a plethora of trendy country house hotels, is that Robin Hutson conceived Hotel du Vin, a slick, modern but also a decadent operation, back in the days where fan napkins were still commonplace and creative touches were confined to hotels in the Capital. The proposition was refreshingly simple, for instance beds were covered with proper duvets, not cloaked in layers of stiff sheets and bobbly blankets. Providing this level of comfort at mid-market prices in the provinces was unheard of. Food and wine of this quality, and without stuffy service, was a huge relief.
The concept kicked off with the opening of Hotel du Vin in Winchester in 1994, and such was the first hotel’s success, another opened in 1997 and so came more until there were six finished hotels and one near completion, when in October last year, Marylebone Warwick Balfour, owners of the Malmaison hotel chain, stepped in and snapped up Hotel du Vin for an impressive £66.5m.
The price alone is testament to Hutson’s achievement, but the effects of Hotel du Vin have been far reaching, the chain has reinvented the benchmark for the £100 a room hotel.
The Shortlist 2005
RAINER BECKER, FOUNDER,ZUMA & ROKA
German chef, Rainer Becker, picked up various cuisines and food techniques while working in Sydney and Tokyo in the 1990s. Now settled in London, his ingenuity and deftness with Japanese ingredients is causing a stir – first at Zuma, and now at Roka, also known as Baby Zuma.
PALOMA CAMPBELL, CO-FOUNDER, THE REAL GREEK
Paloma Campbell joined Livebait as general manager in 1997 where she met future business partner and chef Theodore Kyriakou. The Real Greek restaurant opened in September 1999 and is situated in the heart of Hoxton, now one of London’s trendiest areas. From the outset the ethos was simple, to educate diners to the culture of Greek food and drink, and with Paloma’s expert knowledge, create a versatile selection of Greek beverages.
JAMES HORLER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, LA TASCA
James Horler started out his career with Trusthouse Forte Hotels in 1981 as a kitchen porter. Climbing fast through various management posts in 1996 he joined City Centre Restaurants and developed the Frankie & Benny’s brand. Then in 2001 he acquired La Tasca, a group of 16 tapas restaurants and bars.
JASON DANCIGER, DIRECTOR OF PURCHASING, SFI
Jason became the first ever English sous chef of Interlude de Tabaillau (a respected group of Michelin starred restaurants). His ambition continues in his role at SFI where the team have taken a group with an uncertain financial future to be one of the most successful bar groups in the UK.