Sonya has been involved in our business for three years, first at The GlassHouse and then at The Colliers Tup. A mum with husband and two young daughters to look after Sonya could only spare us a few shifts a week.
That all changed in December 2010 when Sonya returned full time to work and became manager at The Tup. She has subsequently transformed the business.
More music, entertainment, parties and sport than ever before. She has put together a brilliant team and her efforts are being seen at every level of the business.
She has also been recognised by our industry being awarded Regional Winner of the Best Sports Pub in the 2011 Great British Pub Awards.
A native of Bombay in India, Sunil has years of experience in the finest 5 star restaurants and 5 star cruise liners. He has been involved in our business for many years.
Whilst he has a huge range of skills and can produce the most wonderful French dishes he is also a very keen disciple of all things English and makes the most fantastic traditional English pies and his Sunday roasts are just as your mum would have made them!
Originally from Slovakia but a resident of Whetstone for over 8 years Anna has been at The Griffin for 5 years becoming manager in July 2010.
The Griffin has never traded better and Anna is overseeing the expansion of the garden bars and the update to the facilties at the pub.
She keeps adding to the legendary Friday and Saturday party nights. Anna is also broadening the range of our menus with chef Peter Sawicki.
Chris has been in our business for almost a decade! Before that he had managed over 70 pubs in a lifetime career in the industry.
A former finalist of BII Licencee of the Year and winner of many Morning Advertiser Awards. He has run some of our biggest sites and came to The Cricketers in September 2010.
Always popular with customers and always looking for new ideas and adventures at the pubs he is at.
Both Claude and Benoit have worked in our business on and off for many years. We are delighted that they have returned to us with Claude as General Manager and Benoit as his assistant. These are French gents who have found a home in the UK and have adapted brilliantly to pub life. English ale has become a passion for both to add to their knowledge of wines, Claude is from Normandy and Benoit form The Loire valley so they also know a bit about food too.
Claude has worked around the world and spent some time in South Africa from where his girlfriend is a long term émigré. Benoit also met his girlfriend here in England – its not just the jobs they came looking for!!’
Nick is a guru on real ales. An expert knowledge of all the local microbreweries will be put to great use at The Hare and Hounds now that Nick has joined us. Expect more diversity of choice on the beer front and great old fashioned landlording. For the past five years he has been at The Telegraph in Putney Vale and before then he was at The Black Jug in Horsham.
A keen squash player – still competing in the leagues and looking to rekindle his love of golf with the nascent Hare & Hounds Golf Society.
At the very heart of our business are the girls who keep it all going. Long term stalwarts of our business. From left to right Maria Carroll is our management accountant, but when she is not fretting over figures she is the creative force behind our promotional activity, flyers, posters and all design matters. Gill Ruse is the most important person - she looks after the payroll - as well as helping Mara Carroll on management accounts. Maria Costa takes care of all suppliers and payments to them.
A close knit team that provides a fabulous service to the pubs.
An unusual - even exotic - background from which to become a star manager...it is difficult to beat Mahdis. Born in Iran but brought up in Sweden and topped off with a business degree from Birmingham University Mahdis is also trilingual.
Most comfortable using Persian in which to count, doing a stock take with Mahdis can be an experience.
But at the Camden Eye Mahdis has led the flowering of this multi-facetted site. Music, film and poetry might be at its core - but so is a brilliant array of real ales, wines and spirits. A great atmosphere from the most cosmopolitan team you will find in London.
The Camden Eye has become an awesomely successful site.....and that's down to Mahdis.