Manager of the Year
The face of last year's winner said it all - it was a study in astonishment and surprise. Zoe Jenkins, food and beverage manager of London's Dorchester hotel, clearly had no idea she was about to be named Manager of the Year and was delighted. "It is a privilege and an honour," says Jenkins. "I've been at several Cateys and I'd think, ‘Maybe one day,' but I had no idea it would be so soon."
Like most winners, Jenkins is modest and attributes her success to her team. "I held a party for all the food and beverage managers and made it clear that the award was not just for me personally," she says. "I would not have been recognised if it had not been for all of them." Despite her modesty, the title of Manager of the Year is awarded to recognise an individual's ability to shine at his or her job, showing particular achievement in the past year.
Jenkins is in charge of 233 staff and oversees all food and beverage outlets at the Dorchester, including the kitchens. The hotel may be traditional, but Jenkins has not been afraid to modernise and has led the computerisation not just of her own department, but of the goods receiving, cellar stores and purchasing for the entire hotel. This move enables a chef to decide on ingredients, make a purchase request and send it electronically to the head chef for approval. Then the request is sent electronically to purchasing, approved and ordered. "It means we will no longer be chasing bits of paper around the building for weeks," says Jenkins. The cost has been £30,000 for the software, but the benefits will be greater speed and efficiency in the ordering process and making use of the historical information of supplies and goods.
In addition, she has organised outsourcing the staff feeding at Chesters, the in-house restaurant, to Gardner Merchant. For Jenkins, it was important to show to staff that their well-being was just as important as that of the hotel's guests.
Developing the team is another key criterion for the judges, and Jenkins has masterminded a graduate trainee scheme within the food and beverage department, taking on five graduates from hotel and catering schools, and organising a two-year programme of all the relevant departments according to their individual needs and desires. This started in July 1998 and was mentioned in the citation by last year's judges in awarding her the Manager of the Year Catey.
Nominations for the 2000 Manager of the Year award are invited from all sectors of the industry, not just hotels. The judges will be looking for someone with good people management skills as well as a sound financial record.
If you wish to nominate someone, please obtain a nomination form from Sarah Sutton on Tel 020 8652 8349. A supporting statement of no more than 200 words written on a separate piece of paper may help your nominee. Closing date for nominations is Friday 3 March and the judging will take place on Friday 28 April at the Four Seasons Inn on the Park hotel in London.
