STAFF NEWS

The Clock FOH team joined together last week for a session on Guest Experience & Bar Skills, the team went through the importance of guest facing language, engaging with guests and cleanliness of the bar.

The session was lead by Dan Noble and Matthew Stewart. After the session the team headed to The Four Pillars Lab to learn about all things Gin.

Solotel Sommelier’s Education series this month was on South Africa. It was presented by Annette Lacey who was in South Africa in November last year and was lucky enough to see the evolution and exciting changes happening in their wine industry. The South African signature grape variety is Chenin Blanc and we tasted through several different styles, emerging varieties like Albariño and her personal favourite Cinsault. We are always striving to educate and challenge our teams with different regions and styles.

Ciaran joins us as the Beverage Lead across Opera Bar, House Canteen, KXH, The Edinburgh Castle and The Golden Sheaf.
 

Ciaran's hospo career began in Newcastle at cafes and bars. He fell in love with the industry and moved to Sydney to pursue it full-time where he managed the Wild Rover and Shady Pines Saloon. Transitioning to restaurants, he managed the beverage program at The Gidley & The Baxter Inn, where the venue won multiple awards under his leadership.

Ciaran loves Solotel’s inclusive, family-like culture and enjoys the diversity of venues, teams & personalities, creating cocktails, organising training sessions and trips to local distilleries and breweries as part of his role. A fun fact about Ciaran: Despite his accent, he’s not Australian, moving here in 2013 and picking up the local accent, though some words give him away.
 

Welcome Ciaran!

The latest Solotel Sommelier education session was a deep dive into the 10 Crus of Beaujolais. The team tackled blind tastings, identifying the individual crus based on their profiles. It was a challenging but insightful day, filled with learning and lively discussion.

Our very own Aria sommelier, Vikki Lou Peng, competed in the Sommeliers Australia - Warriors of Wine competition. She faced off against two worthy opponents, pairing the best food and wine over three courses. Vikki swept all three rounds, showcasing her exceptional skill in food and wine matching. Congratulations Vikki!

We ran a Culture Jam at The Erko with the amazing managers and staff!

The Erko now have their very own Team Purpose, which they created together as a team:

“At The Erko, we are a welcoming and unique neighbourhood pub. We look to grow with our community using local produce and a sustainable mindset. With our team of authentic individuals, we offer genuine hospitality, with grooviness and dogs at heart.” 

Matthew's upbringing in a family of restaurant and farm owners foreshadowed his career journey, which includes notable establishments like Rockpool, Rosetta, Redbird Chinese and Lotus Dining Group.

As Solotel’s Guest Experience Manager, he's dedicated to refining service standards and pushing the boundaries to elevate guest experiences across our group.

He's already loving our inclusive culture and has met amazing people, attributing this to Solotel’s 'family of venues' ethos. 

A little fun fact about Matthew: he has an identical twin! Welcome to the family, Matthew.

Last month, our Creative Beverage team visited IndigiGrow, a 100% Indigenous-owned native plant nursery.

It provided a captivating glimpse into the native foods industry, showcasing how IndigiGrow not only fosters cultural engagement among younger generations but also educates the broader community about Indigenous heritage and connection to the land.
 

The team explored the thriving native foods growing on the farm such as lemon myrtle, cinnamon myrtle, saltbush, native thyme and finger lime, wrapping up the day with cocktail workshops using these native ingredients. It was a memorable and enlightening day for the team.

Solotel’s own Zoe Brunton, Sommelier at Lil Sis, hosted the a Sommelier Education Session at Lil Sis in April. Taking the team through blind tastings of classic Bordeaux styles spanning vintages from 1978-2020, the session was highly interactive, educational and lots of fun.

Catherine's journey with Solotel began at Opera Bar as a bartender outside in the Terrace Bar. Transitioning to the main bar, specialising in cocktails, and growing to be a Supervisor, paved the way for her current role as Assistant Manager.

Catherine loves Opera Bar for its vibrant mix of local and international guests and the long lasting friendships she's forged among team members.

Over the years, Catherine has grown personally and professionally, gaining confidence and honing business skills while adapting to the ever-evolving landscape of Opera Bar. While Opera Bar's famous New Year's Eve parties are a stand out memory, her favourite Solotel venue to hang out in is The Clock for its chilled vibes and amazing food.

When asked if she has any advice for people starting out in hospo she says, "Hang in there, it's a fun and rewarding industry and everything can be learnt and mastered."

Outside of work, you'll find Catherine in the kitchen cooking for her family and friends.

Our leadership team had the privilege of participating in a First Nations Cultural Competency Training workshop led by the remarkable Shelley Reys from Arrilla Indigenous Consulting.
 

The team took away so many valuable insights and learnings as they deepened their understanding of the history, identified key issues and had strategic discussions about how to cultivate a workplace environment that is inclusive and safe for First Nations people.
 

At Solotel, we are committed to fostering an environment where everyone feels respected, valued, and included. This training is just one of the many steps we are taking to ensure cultural competency and sensitivity in our workplace.

Let's continue to learn, grow, and work together towards building a more inclusive and diverse community.

The Creative Beverage session this month kicked off at The Eddy with stocktake training to equip our venue teams with essential processes and knowledge.

Next, they engaged in a blind wine tasting session, challenging preconceptions and emphasising quality through taste. A cocktail menu creation session empowered the team with pricing strategies, menu structuring and innovative techniques for crafting delicious cocktails.

The day ended with a cocktail competition, where the team showcased some incredible interpretations. Overall, it was a fantastic day filled with lots of learning and team work.

We launched the Solotel Creative Beverage calendar with a captivating session led by the talented Michael Chiem from PS40. He provided valuable insights into his cocktail creation process, drawing inspiration from chefs' techniques and dishes. The day continued with an informative visit to the Four Pillars Gin lab, where Nick Tesar, their creative guru, shared insights on the technology of flavour creation, accompanied by some very tasty drinks. A truly motivating and thought-provoking day for the team.

A big congratulations to Fernando Sanchez, Executive Chef at Opera Bar & House Canteen for taking out Chef of the Year at the 2023 Australian Hotels Association National Awards in Adelaide!

The Solotel Creative Beverage Calendar ended on a high note!

The session began with a fantastic spirits tasting held by our partner Vanguard Luxury Brands. Following this was an inspirational and collaborative cocktail competition which brought out the best in our team. All the cocktails were sensational – cheers to all the creativity that flowed from the group.

Congratulations to Stevi Ambler from House Canteen, the Creative Beverage cocktail compeition champion!

The winning team at the AHA NSW Awards for Excellence 2023.

Congratulations to the teams at Barangaroo House for taking out Best Cocktail List and The Abercrombie for winning two awards: Best Innovative Refurbishment and Best Unique Bar.

A big shout out to Fernando Sanchez, Executive Chef at Opera Bar and House Canteen for winning Best Metropolitan Chef of the Year!

Following their big wins, The Abercrombie and Fernando have been nominated as finalists in the 2023 AHA National Awards for Excellence in Adelaide on 27 November. We wish them the best of luck!

Solotel was awarded Highly Commended ‘Best Hotel Group Operator’ at the ALIA Awards 2023.

Congratulations also to the Abercormbie team for being nominated as finalists for Hotel of the Year, Best New Venue and Best Live Music Venue, and Lil Sis for Best Wine List.

Our chefs embarked on an educational farm tour with Sydney Direct Fresh Produce, showcasing the local producers in the Sydney area.

They explored the journey from seedlings on the farm to the market floor at Grima Farm, Camaleri Farm and enjoyed a delicious BBQ at Windy Hills Farm.

A fun, inspirational and team-building day that has fueled our chefs with creativity for their kitchens.

Our Solotel leaders spent an incredible three days in the beautiful Blue Mountains talking all things leadership, service and future strategy.

Aligned with our core values of enabling growth, creating unity, and cultivating creativity, the dynamic team engaged in collaborative and strategic exercises - even a lipsync battle!

The retreat fostered team bonds and overall everyone had a lot of fun!

Our September Creative Beverage Session was held at The Eddy’s Dusk Club. The team were led through a sensory exploration session focusing on the impact our senses have on the perception of flavour and aroma when crafting drinks. Following this, an inspirational cocktail session led by world renowned bar owner and author Ivy Mix, who then judged a competition between the team. Congratulations to Jorge Porca from North Bondi Fish who won the competition and received a signed copy of Ivy Mix’s book!

Currently studying a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing at the University of Notre Dame, Isabella has been working at Chiswick Woollahra as a waitress for three years. During this time she has developed a great enthusiasm for hospitality and customer service, a highlight being working events at Chiswick – so an internship with the Chiswick Events Team at Head Office seemed like the perfect fit. Her tasks include responding to event enquiries, customer queries and contracting events.

In the month she’s been interning with us, Isabella has learnt so much about event planning and delivering a level of service that goes above and beyond for guests. She loves that every event and day in the office is different. Being able to work for Chiswick from both head office and front of house has given her a great understanding of how the venue runs.

Congratulations to Gustavo Rossi from North Bondi Fish, the winner of the Agave cocktail competition from the last Creative Beverage Session held at The Golden Sheaf. Gustavo won a brew-your-own beer with 6 cases and a tasting session.
 

Make Gustavo’s Agave Cocktail recipe at home:
 
15ml Martini Rosso 
15ml Campari 
15ml Aperol 
15ml Derrumbes Mezcal

Stir all ingredients together and pour over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with grapefruit peel.

Jess has been a General Manager at the Regent Hotel for Solotel for 10 years. Her role involves motivating the team, ensuring a great guest experience, maximizing profitability, and maintaining a safe and compliant business. Jess loves working for Solotel due to the company's emphasis on work-life balance and growth opportunities for all staff, including full-time, part-time, and casual employees.

Throughout her tenure at Solotel, Jess has led her team through light rail construction for 4 years, two shutdowns and re-openings due to covid. Each time learning more about the team, guests and business. Her favourite Solotel memory was during a MasterChef-style cooking contest that ended in a food fight, resulting in everyone getting ejected from the venue on a GM trip.

Congratulations on a wonderful career Jess, cheers to the next 10.

Congratulations to Sujan Pant, Bartender at Aria, for taking out the winning cocktail at the last Creative Beverage Session held at The Abercrombie.
 

Sujan's creative cocktail was inspired and infused with seasonal produce - which blew the judges' tastebuds away.
 

His prize - a two-night trip away to the Hunter Valley for two!

Our employees went through Service & Guest Experience Training at the September Casual Induction. The training was led by Matt Stewart and had our people talk through positive and negative guest interactions they had experienced as well as practical training where employees could practice holding 3 plates and delivering drinks on trays the correct way. it was a fun and interactive session for our teams. 

Ceire’s hospitality journey began in Ireland at her grandparents' pub, The Kiwi, where she learned the value of warm hospitality and community. After university, she traveled to Australia, joining Red Rock Leisure Hotels, where she held various roles over 13 years, including GM/Licensee. From 2018 to 2022, she managed P.J. O’Brien’s in Melbourne and The Tilbury in Woolloomooloo. Now, as General Manager of Paddo Inn with Solotel, Ceire focuses on building strong community ties and delivering excellent customer service. A whiskey enthusiast, she has a growing collection from her time in Melbourne.