Lusso boss Paul Hurren named ACE chair

Lusso managing director Paul Hurren (pictured below) has been named chair of the Association of Catering Excellence (ACE) as winners of the ACE Sustain awards 2015 were announced.

Jeni Edwards (below, left), director of IJESS Consulting, handed the reins to Hurren at the ACE summer party, held this week in the gardens of Stationers' Hall.

Meanwhile Bartlett Mitchell marketing director Lin Dickens and her team won the People award for the company's ‘read your wrap' initiative, which saw bio-degradeable greaseproof paper printed with vegetable inks used to communicate with customers, rather than traditional ‘table talkers' and printed leaflets.

West Horsley Dairy won the Corporate award for creating the UK's greenest foodservice lorry by introducing a workable solution where previously one did not exist.

Catherine and Philip Colton, who founded the dairy, teamed up with Mercedes Benz for the chassis cab, and family firm Jackson coachworks to build and design the refrigerated body. The chiller box units are based on eutectic refrigeration, using a semi-solid gel that radiates cold air when it is thawing.

Hurren, who takes up the new role with immediate effect, has attended ACE events since the 1990s, when he worked at Baxter and Platts. His involvement with the organisation developed alongside his career and he joined the ACE Council in 2012. For the last two years, he was vice chair.

He commented: "Jeni has really worked hard at making some great changes. She was instrumental in introducing the ACE Sustains competition but her main focus has been to update and modernize our ACE website."

Hurren plans to make ACE more appealing to the next generation of catering professionals. He will be supported by newly appointed vice chair Gaye Bullard, business development manager at Sodexo. Bullard has been a committee member for five years.

She said: "I'm very much looking forward to working with Paul, who I think will add another dimension of creativity to ACE. Our joint aim for the next 2 years will be to re-engage with the younger catering professionals."

Artizian team wins ACE Ready Steady Cook challenge >>

Double win for Brookwood Partnership at ACE Sustains awards >>