Colette Carew, a business manager for Sodexo Ireland, has won the Catering Manager of the Year Award at the 2022 IHI Hospitality Management Awards on Thursday 24th November.
Over 500 hospitality and tourism professionals gathered at the Irish Hospitality Institute’s Founder Evening and Hospitality Management Awards in Dublin, which celebrated 59 finalists and winners across 13 categories. The Awards are a recognition of capability, technical skills, innovation, passion and ability to demonstrate continuous professional development.
According to the IHI, this year’s Awards attracted the highest number of applicants to date across 18 counties. Thirteen panels of judges made up of senior industry figures independently shortlisted the nominations. Nominees then proceeded to an interview stage where the judging panels based their final decision before the overall winners were announced at the ceremony.
Colette, who is based at AXA Insurance in Dublin, has over twenty-two years’ experience in the catering and hospitality industry. Her background includes working in a fine dining Dublin restaurant and since then Colette has progressed her career from junior chef right through to business manager for Sodexo at AXA today. Judges awarded Colette the accolade for going above and beyond in her day-to-day operations, her passion for motivating and developing her team and her outstanding client and stakeholder relationships.
David Fox, managing director, Sodexo Ireland said “Congratulations to Colette on her well-deserved win. Food plays such a critical role in today’s workplace, it is central to employee wellbeing and productivity, as well as bringing people together to facilitate social interaction and collaboration. We are proud that Colette has been recognised for her passion and leadership in delivering innovative food solutions to meet changing consumer needs while enhancing the workplace experience.”
Colette said: “I am so proud to win this award. I work with a fantastic Sodexo team and appreciate the support given each day to achieve great business results and a great relationship with our client. Sodexo is an excellent employer that really empowers its people to succeed, and I thank them for all they have done for me over the years.”
Sodexo is one of Ireland’s leading workplace services providers, delivering services that improve the quality of life in the workplace for clients in business and industry, tech, education, financial, pharma and healthcare. Those services include workspace transformation to improve employee experience, food services, facilities and estate management.