Managing Director’s Award for Simon Lawrence
Our talented Group Culinary Manager Simon Lawrence was surprised on Tuesday 24th July when he was presented with the MD Award by John Strowbridge!
The award was given in recognition of Simon’s contribution to the Avery Group. His outstanding efforts to develop and enhance the dining experience for all Avery and Hawthorns residents, improving nutrition, use of fresh produce, local suppliers, hydration and support for those with dietary needs such as gluten-free and vegetarian. Several of Simon’s head chefs have won awards in 2017 and 2018, and he himself picked up Avery win at the Care Home Awards 2018 for Best Nutrition, Food & Dining Experience, recognising the sector-leading standards that he continues to set.
Simon has also guided three Avery homes to achieving Gold awards from The Continuous Advancement Programme (CAP) The CAP awards promote and reward excellence in Catering and Housekeeping in hotels as well as care homes, schools and hospitals. Its aim is to raise standards in service and performance and to support the development of services for the benefit of the end user. Only 15% of services gain Gold, making this a significant achievement as a sector first. He has also organised the Avery ‘Chef of the Year’ awards, all whilst successfully completing his NVQ Level 5 in leadership. Simon is committed to developing chefs across the Group by sharing his skills and knowledge and continue to consistently overachieve.
When he was just aged 12, Simon’s first experience of professional catering came when he helped his mother in a bakery. Since then, his culinary career has included seven years in the armed forces, positions at colleges and high-end restaurants before moving into the care sector with Avery Healthcare.
Well done Simon; you certainly deserve this award and recognition for all the hard work and support you give across the Avery Group.
Previous winners of the MD Award include Lesley at Acer Court and Andrew Pointon at Horse Fair. We know how important it is to reward our dedicated staff at Avery and we’re always happy to receive nominations for our staff.
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