Pedersen News

Crowne Plaza Reading Hosted Pride Of Reading Awards - click here for more information.

AA Rosette Academy – held at Crowne Plaza Reading on Tuesday 17 November 2009

Taking part:           Various Head Chefs and Sous Chefs from Sheffield Park Hotel, Bromsgrove Holiday Inn, Winchester Hotel, Regency Park Hotel, Crowne Plaza Ealing and Crowne Plaza Reading

This unique course seeks to inform chefs and businesses on what elements are required to achieve AA Rosette Awards. Delegates are tested on their overall culinary knowledge and ability to taste flavours. Topics include ingredients, suppliers, flavour and dish construction, cooking techniques, menu design and dish presentation all with the view to improving food quality to an AA Rosette standard.

This is the first time Pedersen Hotels have taken part in this Academy.  All delegates involved on the 17^th November enjoyed the day and said they got something out of it.  The top 10 Chefs from around the country who attended a course, will be invited to an awards event.

Tania Cowle, originally form sunny South Africa, moved to the UK in 2001 to pursue her career in hospitality.  She joined Pedersen Hotels in Aug 2007 as the room’s revenue manager for Crowne Plaza Reading, and has since taken on the room’s revenue management of Crowne Plaza London Ealing and Holiday Inn Birmingham-Bromsgrove.

Tania has had a busy start to this Autumn and recently successfully climbed Mount Snowdon in North Wales with her partner and some friends.  The climb was challenging but a great personal achievement of which she is very proud.  Her chosen charity was the Dogs Trust and Tania raised £188 for them

Tania has also just this week completed the first part of the IHG Rooms Revenue Academy programe. This program is designed to explain the core concepts of Revenue Management and how IHG approaches this complex topic. Delegates are taken through the whole revenue management process from how business is segmented, to how to implement effective yield controls and pricing strategies.  Tania passed with 93% and a distinction.  This exam makes up 1/3 of the overall score and now the project work commences.  A great start and a big well done from all of us goes to her.

After all this hard work, Tania is now about to go on holiday.  A restful time for most of us but not her – she is learning to sail in Greece !

The Winchester Hotel is delighted to welcome Fernando Diaz as Operations Manager. Fernando has been promoted from Crowne Plaza Reading where he was Front Of House Manager. The team at the Winchester Hotel is delighted that Fernando is joining them as he will bring a great deal of expertise and experience from his three years working in Reading. Paul Eaves, General Manager says ‘This is another example of how Pedersen Hotels is constantly looking at ways of developing the many committed employees currently working within the group.

West Berkshire EBP (Education Business Partnership) nominated The Regency Park Hotel in the Work Experience Award in the large employer category.

Nominated alongside Vodafone, WH Smith, Costain, M&S and Stryker and we are delighted to announce that The Regency Park Hotel won!

The hotel works closely with West Berkshire EBP providing work shops at the hotel showing children how the subjects they learn at school will play a part in their later lives.  In addition the hotel provides a large number of 15 year old school children with work experience placements  through out the summer term.

Many thanks go to the staff who work hard to provide an enjoyable yet worthwhile week.

Amanda Bentley
Group Personnel & Training Manager

If you need to hold a meeting all our hotels have a number of private rooms or for a smaller meeting or a catch up, why not use the bars in our hotels to meet your colleagues or clients.  The informal atmosphere, FREE internet access  which allows you to keep in touch at no extra cost, together with an extensive coffee &  bar menu, (all our hotels outside of London have free car parking) makes a Pedersen Hotel the ideal place for your meetings.

Free wireless internet access available in all public areas in all hotels between 8.30am - 5.30pm.

Windrush 46 is the launch originally used by the Royal family during official visits on the River Thames and has now been lovingly restored to its former glory. Available for private charter along the River Thames, she is ideal for corporate or private entertaining with a full range of on-board catering. She also makes a perfect backdrop for those extra special pictures if you’re getting married at the hotel.

A trip down the River Thames in the beautifully restored Windrush 46 whether for afternoon tea, a lazy picnic lunch or an indulgent champagne cruise to Oxford offers the ultimate in sheer effortless enjoyment. The most luxurious boat trips on one of the most beautiful stretches of the Thames you can imagine.

Moored on the banks of the River Thames at the Crowne Plaza Reading right next to Caversham Bridge, Windrush 46 is a unique service now available to hire. Please contact the  Meetings & Events Department on 0118 925 9988 for further information and bookings.

Siobhan Thomasson has recently left Holiday inn Birmingham- Bromsgrove for pastures new.  Keen to promote from within the company, Lis Holmes Operations Manager at Crowne Plaza London-Ealing will be joining the Hotel as Resident Manager.  To further support the team their Neil Muir our Group Operations Manager also act as General Manager for the hotel. 

Neil Muir says  ‘As part of our commitment to develop our staff I am delighted that Lis will be joining the team at Bromsgrove. She has been invaluable support during the conversion of Ealing from Holiday Inn to Crowne Plaza as well as having extensive knowledge of the Holiday Inn brand earlier in her career. We wish her well for the future’.

As part of our commitment to using only the freshest local ingredients in our menus Laurent Guyon, Head Chef, and Caroline Stevens, Head Housekeeper (very keen gardener.) have prepared a herb garden in the grounds of the Hotel.  A wide range of herbs and vegetables are now being grown including sage, rosemary, basil and tyme. Certainly they have added extra flavour to the food enjoyed by our many regular guests. We now plan to launch similar gardens in all Pedersen Hotels from next summer.

Not only do we care about our hotel, we care about our planet!
We have nominated team members from our departments and created an Environmental Committee. Made up of key members of the Hotel team the committee meets on a regular basis to discuss and implement ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint.

We actively encourage all our staff to recycle wherever possible, providing the facilities for them to do so. All the waste paper, cardboard, plastics and cans generated by the hotels are now recycled.  We also make every effort to reduce utility usage, without comprising our guests comfort. Lighting is extensively low energy and automatically switched off in areas of the hotel when and where it is not necessary. Major investment has also taken place to install Building Management Systems in our Hotels which ensure that heating and air conditioning are automatically controlled to ensure they are used in the most efficient way possible.