Wilson Vale chefs celebrate success at College Court

The Wilson Vale catering team at College Court Conference Centre at the University of Leicester has been named overall winner of the Wilson Vale Achievement Awards 2015. The team of thirteen, led by chef manager, Riccardo Corbinzolu, competed with 85 Wilson Vale catering operations nationwide to receive the award.

Judged under several categories including food, innovation, marketing, financial performance, customer care and training, the winning team received a trophy and a bonus each.
Ashby-based Wilson Vale provides a breakfast, lunch, dinner and hospitality service for delegates and visitors at the residential conference centre, as well as catering for a large number of private events including weddings, christenings and award dinners.

Formerly a hall of residence, College Court is a member of the Conference Centres of Excellence (CCE) and is the only dedicated residential conference centre in Leicester. Food has played a big role in the centre’s success since it opened in 2013, with an emphasis on fresh, seasonal dishes cooked in-house by Wilson Vale’s team of craft-skilled chefs.

Commenting on the Achievement Awards, Carolyne Vale, co-founder and managing director of Wilson Vale, said: “The standards get better year-on-year across the entire business and on every level.  In fact, the standards were so exceptionally high this year that there was just one point between the winning team and the runners up. This is a great reflection of our people – from kitchen porters up to managers – who go that extra mile to make a difference and whose passion has made Wilson Vale what it is today.”  

Wilson Vale’s chef manager at College ” I was in complete shock when Carolyne called to say that we had won as I never thought with all the amazing things going on in the company that we would take the top spot. We are our own biggest critic and that’s what drives us to keep evolving and developing our style of food and service to be the very best at what we do. We have had a great year as a team and this really is the icing on the cake.”
Court, Riccardo Corbinzolu, who lives in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, said:

The runners up were the Wilson Vale catering teams at NewDay (Leeds) and Amgen (Cambridge) and finalists included SERCO (Wiltshire), SCA Hygiene (Dunstable) and Amgen (Uxbridge). Other awards were given to the Wilson Vale catering teams at The Beacon School in Amersham, Kellogg’s in Kings Langley and The Ryley’s School in Cheshire.

Steve Crawford, conference centre director of College Court, said:“ I am delighted for Riccardo and his team to have been recognised as Wilson Vale’s top site. Very well deserved and is great recognition for the key role that they have played in developing the brand and reputation for the new business of College Court. Customer feedback has been excellent and has been a key factor in the ongoing growth of sales and increasing level of repeat customers. “

Eat the Elephant Improve Engagement and Performance at CEME Conference Centre

CEME Conference Centre is an Award winning, ‘Gold Accredited’ Events and Conference venue in East London and part of the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence – a Regeneration Charity focusing on business growth, education, skills and learning in the Thames Gateway. The Conference Centre has enjoyed enormous success in the past few years growing the business by 250% in under three years; achieving Accredited In Meetings gold standard with the MIA – the only venue in East London or Essex to do so; being accepted into Conference Centres of Excellence; becoming a World Host venue for exceptional customer service; achieving an NPS score in September 2015 of 94; and, in October 2015, winning the Havering Business Awards for outstanding Customer Care.

Much of this success is down to the quality and commitment of the conference centre team and their level of employee engagement achieved, in no small part, through the partnership enjoyed with Eat The Elephant. At the beginning of 2105, CEME appointed Eat the Elephant to undertake their team development with the assurance that bringing them in would contribute substantially to making a good team even better by improving not only individual performance and engagement, but also team achievement, customer satisfaction and business development.

To this end, CEME embarked on a Team development programme over the course of a number of months with Eat The Elephant that began with employees completing on-line PPA profiles followed up with individual employee evaluation sessions, ‘1 to 1’ coaching and team development days. There were two key statements adopted to underpin the development and drive participation – ‘Engagement, Ownership, Performance’ and, for the team development day – ‘Responsibility, Action, Achievement’.

The results of the programme have truly been phenomenal with the engagement of all employees rising to the highest echelons comparable with any ‘high performing’ team; quality standard compliance improving to over 95%; the achievement of an NPS score for the business of 94 and ‘exceeding expectations’ at 66%; and financial targets for the year not only met, but substantially exceeded.

All in all, the employee engagement programme undertaken with Eat the Elephant has proved enormously successful and a guaranteed route for our organisation in improving employee engagement and business performance.

Key to helping delegates retain information revealed through imago research

An interactive presentation where delegates are encouraged to get involved with the learning process is of most importance to meeting attendees in helping them retain information, according to research carried out by imago.

The research - Does the future have room for face-to-face communication - was conducted earlier this year amongst a sample of more than 750 event organisers, delegates, graduate and undergraduate students – and is helping the conference arm of Loughborough University shape successful meetings for its clients.

Visuals, such as power point presentations, graphics and videos also ranked highly as an important way of retaining information, whilst technology such as audience response systems are only rated as of moderate importance. Social media ranked as the least important method of retaining information, particularly amongst students.

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing at imago commented: “In line with other findings from our research into the value of face to face communications, we found that exercises and asking questions of the person leading the meeting help delegates retain more information. It confirms that people want to talk with other people face to face as it is how they get the most out of meetings. As one of our focus group attendees told us there is nothing better than a white board and pen or a flip chart to help with group cohesion. It was surprising to see social media ranked so low by students. They are considered its biggest group of supporters when using it socially so it is interesting that this isn’t reflected in a learning environment. The research has been of great value to imago as we have been able to take the findings and put the results into practice at each of our venues for the benefit of both organisers and those attending meetings.”

The research was undertaken by Loughborough University and imago.  The Right Solution provided methodology, analysis and validation of the research which was conducted amongst 779 respondents using a mixture of focus groups, online and face to face questionnaires.  The final research paper is available from http://go.welcometoimago.com/meet-the-future. Follow the debate and share thoughts about the research on Twitter via #futureF2F.

Launched in 2003, imago unifies Loughborough University’s conference and events venues under one brand which offers high quality meeting spaces, venues and accommodation along with excellent sport and leisure facilities. imago manages Burleigh Court, Holywell Park, Loughborough University’s conference and events facilities and The Link Hotel. 

Conference Centres of Excellence 2016 Conference - Early Bird Bookings Open!

Thursday 28th – Friday 29th January 2016

The 2016 Conference will bring together like minded professionals from across the industry to discuss and share the latest ideas and innovation for our sector.

The conference will feature inspirational keynote speakers, interactive workshops sessions and an exhibition showcasing top industry suppliers with various opportunities to network with peers throughout the course of the event.

An optional study tour of the recently built Crausaz Wordsworth Building at Robinson College and the Wellcome Genome Campus Conference Centre will take place on Friday 29th January.

Open to directors, senior managers, sales & marketing professionals and operational managers from food & beverage, front of house and technology. The programme is designed to stimulate all areas of our business with unique opportunities to collaborate, innovate and succeed.

The Møller Centre in Cambridge will be the host venue for this year’s event.  An intelligently designed purpose-built residential leadership development and conference centre set within 42 acres of beautiful parkland on the grounds of Churchill College, University of Cambridge.

Delegate packages include the full day conference, evening reception drinks, networking dinner and overnight accommodation.

Early bird bookings are available now for Conference Centres of Excellence and IACC members!

An event not to be missed – click here to register 

Wyboston Lakes appoints Operations Director

Wyboston Lakes are delighted to announce the appointment of Steve Jones as Operations Director for this £multi-million family business. Steve joins with a brief to further improve the Hospitality skills, operational efficiency and guest care - thereby delivering an even more secure future for this largest of independent specialists.

With over 24 years in hospitality, Steve’s career has followed consistent early promotion and four general management roles in his earlier career.  He was instrumental in creating the enormous success of Four Pillars Hotels through nine years rising to be the Board Director responsible for operations across all 6 properties with over 900 bedrooms. Most recently he has been the General Manager of the prestigious 414 bedroom Beaumont Estate following the purchase of Four Pillars, PH Hotels and De Vere Venues by Starwood Capital.

“Wyboston Lakes is a family business with a 50 year history and a long-term view of the Hospitality industry and the team that makes our success possible. Steve Jones joins us as Operations Director because he embodies all the Values and Principles that are at the core of our business and is hungry for further success and the opportunity to bring his ideas and wide experience to bear on our future.” Mark Jones, Managing Director.

Shaken, Not Stirred at Woodland Grange

David Jenkins, assistant food & beverage manager at Woodland Grange conference centre in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, has won first prize for his cocktails at the Conference Centres of Excellence’s Chefs’ Challenge 2015 at Cambridge Regional College on Saturday 24 October.

The 23-year-old competed with Woodland Grange chef de partie, Ian Sutton, as a new element to this year’s competition was a ‘Cook and Serve’ style approach, where each chef was
accompanied by a waiter or waitress who served the food, beverages and made cocktails for two invited guests. The duo competed with thirteen Conference Centres of Excellence (CCE) teams from throughout the UK to showcase Woodland Grange’s high quality food and service standards.

David took first place for his cocktails – a blueberry and ginger mojito and a Paddington Martini made from vodka and marmalade and featuring orange candy floss. He received a trophy, a certificate and a bottle of champagne for his creative efforts.

He said:”I am absolutely over the moon and never expected to win! There was some outstanding talent there and I am really grateful for the opportunity to compete with such skilled hospitality
professionals.” David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, the group behind Woodland Grange, said:”It was great to see junior talent acknowledged and celebrated in this way and to give young hospitality professionals an opportunity to shine. This latest success for Woodland Grange shows the emphasis we place on acknowledging every team member’s contribution to our reputation for excellence.”

imago Wins Business Tourism Title at Leicester and Leicestershire Excellence in Tourism Awards

imago, the conference and events arm of Loughborough University, has won Gold in the Business Tourism category at the Leicester and Leicestershire Excellence in Tourism Awards 2015.

The fifth annual awards were hosted by Leicester Shire Promotions and held as part of the inaugural Leicester Business Festival 2015, with the awards ceremony being held at the Leicester Mercure Grand Hotel last week (November 5, 2015). Its winning entry will now be re-judged for the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2016.

This award acknowledges the importance of the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions sector of the tourism industry. The judges felt imago’s winning entry was creative, inspirational, and passionate with a focus on detail in all areas, being committed to guest requirements and constantly striving to better themselves.

It is not the first time imago has been recognised for excellence at the awards – Burleigh Court has twice won Gold in the Large Hotel of the Year category. The Link Hotel was also shortlisted in the Accommodation Provider of the Year Category at this year’s awards.

imago is one of the region’s leading business tourism providers – renowned for its commitment to excellence and customer service - offering high quality meeting and event venues and accommodation alongside sporting and leisure facilities. Its award winning portfolio includes Burleigh Court, Holywell Park, The Link Hotel and Loughborough University. These are complemented by its event management service which allows event organisers to make the most of its local knowledge and expertise.

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing at imago, comments: “Winning the Business Tourism award highlights imago’s strength as a leading provider to the meeting and events industry within the region. Winning awards such as this is a testament to the hard work of the entire team and I would like to thank them for their enthusiasm and commitment in helping us achieve our goals. This is a fantastic accolade and recognition of our hard working, customer focused staff.”

Launched in 2003, imago unifies Loughborough University’s conference and events venues under one brand. For more information visit www.welcometoimago.com or call 01509 633030.