hospitalitybiz.org

Melbourne’s historic grand hotel, the Hotel Windsor, has announced major appointments as part of plans to turn its signature restaurant into one of the city’s finest dining experiences.

Joining the food and beverage team charged with the transformation of hotel’s 111 Spring Street are executive chef Craig Hicks, executive pastry chef Nigel Braithwaite, and director of food and beverage, Patrick Dumas.

All three have extensive experience in leading hotels and resorts around the world.

Together with the hotel management and owners, the new team plans to transform the famous restaurant into one of Melbourne’s pre-eminent restaurants.

“The senior F&B appointments continues the direction of the new owners and managers of this landmark Melbourne property to ensure it stays at the heart of Melbourne’s social scene as it has almost 125 years,” Hotel Windsor CEO and general manager David Perry said. “We want to create one of Melbourne’s finest dining experiences. Using the best local ingredients, as well as the service and atmosphere for which the property is renowned, this formidable team will put 111 Spring Street among Melbourne’s top restaurants over the coming year or two,” Perry said.

Perry said initial changes include a sophisticated new dinner menu with influences from Craig Hicks’ years of training in Europe and cooking in some of the leading facilities in Australia and Asia Pacific.

Hicks background includes executive chef position at the award-winning Press Club in Hanoi, the luxury Hotel Como, Melbourne, and the boutique hotel and restaurant Hotel Bela Vista in Macau. New executive pastry chef Nigel Braithwaite joins after three years with the Savoy Hotel, London in a similar position. He trained at the Ecole Lenotre in Paris and specialises in chocolate and sugar work, as well as being highly skilled in the preparation of hot and cold desserts, cakes and petit fours.

Meanwhile, Patrick Dumas, returns to Australia after more than five years in Singapore studying and working in the hotel and tourism industry. His most recent position was at the luxury Sentosa Resort and Spa in Singapore where he is credited with steering the hotel’s Cliff Restaurant to consecutive wins as Singapore’s Restaurant of the Year. He was awarded Best Restaurant Manager of the Year at the 2006 World Gourmet Summit Singapore.

The Hotel Windsor’s owners, Adam Garrisson and the Halim Family, acquired the landmark property from the Oberoi Group in October 2005 and appointed a new senior independent management team in mid-2006. Plans for a restoration of the hotel are underway and will include all areas of this Australia’s iconic grand hotel.