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Career Profile
Find out how some of the most accomplished people in the industry got to where they are now with our series of career-focused interviews.
After hours with... Paul Skinner
07-May-2010 - Paul Skinner, director of food and beverage at The Langham hotel in London, talks about his achievements, helping to win the hotel its recent Tea Guild award and why he loves working in the hotel sector
After hours with... Henry Herbert
23-Apr-2010 - Henry Herbert, head chef at the Coach & Horses in Clerkenwell, London, talks about his fast track to success, appearing on Great British Menu and his future plans
After hours with...Nicolas Clerc
09-Apr-2010 - Nicolas Clerc joined Le Pont de la Tour last May as head sommelier and manager of the Wine Store. He talks about his career and shares his top tips for success in his field
After hours with… Jillian MacLean
26-Mar-2010 - Jillian MacLean launched bar and restaurant group Drake & Morgan in 2008, and is about to launch her third London site, The Anthologist, near St. Paul's Cathedral next month
After hours with... Jamie Stevens
12-Mar-2010 - Jamie Stevens recently joined Abode Manchester as general manager. He started as a graduate trainee with Malmaison before joining Abode as operations manager and then moving up to GM of the group's Glasgow hotel
After hours with… Nick Holmes
26-Feb-2010 - Nick Holmes joined Rockliffe Hall hotel in County Durham at the end of last year to oversee its long-awaited launch in November. Just months on and the managing director has ambitions to see the multi million pound hotel and spa join the top ten properties in the UK
After hours with...Sam Harrison
12-Feb-2010 - Restaurateur Sam Harrison talks about his achievements, tips for running a restaurant and his future plans
After hours with… Leanne Langman
29-Jan-2010 - Leanne Langman, sister of Peach Pubs co-founder Lee Cash, became the youngest general manager in the group at the age of 24. She now heads up The Old Mill in Berkhamsted
After hours with… Charles Morgan
15-Jan-2010 - Charles Morgan is the general manager of The Forbury Hotel in Reading, Von Essen’s newest five star property rescued from administration last October, and the first in the group’s new Metropolitan Set
After hours with...Emily Hodgson
06-Jan-2010 - BigHospitality catches up with one of hospitality's top achievers for the lowdown on her career and thoughts about the industry
After hours with....Steve Groves
16-Dec-2009 - BigHospitality catches up with one of hospitality's top achievers for the lowdown on his career and thoughts about the industry
Peter Avis's BigTalent
04-Nov-2009 - The restaurant manager of Virgin-operated Babylon at the Roof Gardens speaks to Becky Paskin about how elocution lessons and a passion for goold-old American hospitality helped him become the Academy of Food and Wine's Restaurant Manger of the Year
Stephen Williams's BigTalent
28-Sep-2009 - Stephen Williams, head chef of The Harwood Arms in Fulham, was close to quitting life as a chef before he’d even begun, but six years later he’s receiving glorious reviews and awards for his very-British gastropub. Speaking to Becky Paskin in our latest BigTalent interview, he reveals what gave him the strength to continue his career
Lisa Allen’s BigTalent
28-Aug-2009 - As one of the north’s leading female head chefs, Lisa Allen of the Michelin-starred Northcote Manor in Lancashire reveals the lengths she’ll go to, to remain competitive amongst her male peers, in our latest BigTalent profile
Thomas Helyer's BigTalent
31-Jul-2009 - After a hurdle-ridden and troublesome education, Thomas Helyer, the 2009 Chaine des Rotisseurs Young Commis Chef of the Year, told Becky Paskin how he ditched the chalkboard for the chopping block, and turned his life around
Oliver Lesnik's BigTalent
30-Jun-2009 - Oliver Lesnik, executive head chef of Langtrys at The Cadogan hotel in Belgravia, tells Becky Paskin how after years of perseverance and experience working with some of the best British chefs, his passion for a life in the kitchen has flourished
Laura Rhys’s BigTalent
29-May-2009 - Just weeks after winning the 2009 UK Sommelier of the Year, Hotel Terravina’s head sommelier Laura Rhys tells Becky Paskin how having Gerard Basset as a mentor has helped her career take off
Gavin Austin’s BigTalent
01-May-2009 - After working in 14 different restaurants including L’Escargot and Ramsay’s Amaryllis, Gavin Austin tells Becky Paskin how his experiences have prepared him to lead the No.20 at Sanctum Soho kitchen
Xavier Rousset’s BigTalent
30-Mar-2009 - The head sommelier and co-owner of Texture speaks to Becky Paskin about the downfalls of confidence, the launch of his first restaurant, and becoming the youngest Master Sommelier at the age of 23
Ankur Ahuja's BigTalent
27-Feb-2009 - Grosvenor House Hotel’s housekeeping executive Ankur Ahuja tells Becky Paskin how his grounding in Indian hospitality led him to achieve industry recognition in the UK, in our latest BigTalent interview
Matt Gillan's BigTalent
30-Jan-2009 - Matt Gillan, the head chef of South Lodge Hotel’s restaurant-in-a-kitchen The Pass, speaks with Becky Paskin about the road that lead him to head up one of the most eccentric restaurants of the year
Karen MacKay’s BigTalent
02-Dec-2008 - Armed with an enormous amount of confidence and passion, Karen MacKay, head chef of Edinburgh hotel Channings, tells Becky Paskin why a job knock back on the grounds of her gender has not dampened her catering ambitions
Thierry de Magneval's BigTalent
29-Oct-2008 - This months BigTalent charts the career so far of Thierry de Magneval, Restaurant Manager of Albert Rouxs eponymous brasserie at Sofitel, Heathrow
Amberley Castle GM Oliver Smith’s BigTalent
29-Sep-2008 - The third instalment in our BigTalent series sees Becky Paskin meet Oliver Smith, the youngest ever General Manager of a von Essen hotel, to uncover why experience is better than an education
Scott Goss's BigTalent
26-Aug-2008 - Our BigTalent series continues in a frank interview with The Swan’s Scott Goss, the head chef of a Kentish gasropub that BigH is tipping for stardom