By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
Justin Hemmes held The Merivales, the hospitality group’s annual internal awards party, earlier this week, with Coogee Pavilion taking out a couple of major awards on the night.
The awards night, attended by 2000 of the group’s employees, was held over two levels of ivy, with Chandon and Heineken being served to all of the guests.
With over 60 venues in the group, Coogee Pavilion and Rooftop was the biggest winner of the night, taking out both Venue of the Year and the Rising Star Award for Jake Walsh, who had recently been promoted from floor supervisor to assistant restaurant manager at the beachside venue.
Cocktail Bar Staff of the Year went to Russell Downie of Palmer & Co, while Cocktail Wait Staff of the Year went to Elle Wesseling of ivy. Sommelier of the Year was awarded to Emmanuel Cadieu of Felix. Lion was named as Merivale’s Business Partner of the Year.
The awards come on the back of a massive year of growth for the group, with the opening of The Paddington and The Newport, and with several other pubs and restaurants set to open.
Some statistics were shared about Merivale’s big year, including:
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· 3000 people employed
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· 140,000 chickens served throughout the group
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· 260,000 pizzas served
- · More than 10 million people had visited Merivale venues
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· Five million meals were served.