The GBK Cookbook

Applied Ability Awards

The British Food Trust

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Trustees of the British Food Trust

Jane Asher is well known in the UK for her acting, business ventures and writing. She has been working professionally in film, theatre and radio since she was 5 years old and has twice been nominated for BAFTA awards and received the Sony Award for her work on radio. She has worked extensively in the theatre, appearing many times at London's National Theatre and in the West End. Jane has also written three best-selling novels and has had more than a dozen 'lifestyle' and cake decorating books published. In 1990 she opened her Jane Asher Party Cake shop, which has since grown to become the UK's foremost, bespoke cake decorating company. She has also developed the Jane Asher range of cake mixes, which has become a best selling brand. Jane is President of the National Autistic Society, Arthritis Care and the West London Family Service Unit. She is Vice-President of the Child Accident Prevention Trust.
Thom Hetherington is managing Director of Moorfield Media in Manchester. As Marketing Director of TRG Group Thom helped launch the award-winning Restaurant magazine as well as organising the prestigious '50 Best Restaurants in the World' awards and the 'College Restaurant of the Year' competition. Thom currently owns Moorfield Media, a company specialising in hospitality events in the North of England which has turned Northern Restaurant and Bar into one of the industries premier exhibitions as well as launching the Northern Hospitality Awards and RSVP North. Thom sits on the judging panels of many national and regional food and drink awards and is a regular commentator on the regions hospitality scene in the media.
David Russell is highly experienced in all aspects of the catering industry and has a keen interest in nutrition. He is Professor of Hospitality & Tourism at Thames Valley University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Prior to forming The Russell Partnership, the UK's leading strategic food consultancy, he was Food and Beverage Director for the 240 Forte (UK) Limited Hotels. David read Hospitality Management at Leeds, is a Freeman of the City of London and mentors a number of leading hospitality services directors within the university and commercial sector. He is a Trustee of 'Food for the Brain', established to promote awareness of the link between learning, behaviour, mental health and nutrition.
Michael Shepherd is General Manager of the London Hilton on Park Lane. Previously he spent six years as Managing Director of the London Savoy and prior to that was with Hilton for 21 years. Whilst at the Savoy, Michael oversaw the business transition from being a PLC back to being a private company, actively modernizing supplier relationships and hotel practices and as a result growing the hotel's profitability by 40% over a four-year period. During his earlier time at Hilton, Michael opened the Hilton Lesotho, South Africa, as well as managing Hiltons in Istanbul, Corfu, Athens, Nicosia and Cairo. He also took on total regional responsibility for 50 Hilton hotels within the Middle East, African European division, where he was responsible for budgeting, capital planning and corporate development.
The Viscount Thurso MP (Chairman) John Thurso was elected MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross in 2001. He was a member of the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. He formerly sat in the House of Lords where he was spokesman on Tourism and later Food and is the only hereditary peer to have been subsequently elected to the Commons. He has had a distinguished career in the hospitality industry, managing the Lancaster in Paris (81-85) and founding Cliveden (85-92) before becoming CEO of Granfel Holdings, owners of East Sussex National Golf Course from 1992 to 1995. From 1995 until his election to Parliament he was CEO of the Champneys group. John retains his links with the industry through his Presidency of the Tourism Society and the Academy of Food and Wine Service. He is a Fellow of the HCIMA.