ABOUT YYY SCOTLAND

Simon King

Operations Director for the Wolseley Group

Simon’s career started at Amberley Castle, a Small Luxury House hotel. After completing his HND in Hospitality Management, he moved to London. While working at The Ritz he won 'Young Waiter of the Year’ 2000'. read more In 2001 Simon joined Gordon Ramsay, managing his flagship restaurant at Royal Hospital Road and opened the Savoy Grill with Marcus Wareing. He worked with Heston Blumenthal as Operations Manager for the Fat Duck Group on projects including the launch of Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental. In October 2014 moved to New York, working for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, managing the Modern. March 2018 saw Simon return to London as Operations Director for JKS, overseeing their 16 sites. In 2020 Simon launched Igniting Hospitality which supported established and launching new business through the pandemic and beyond. Simon has now returned to London as The Operations Director for iconic The Wolseley Hospitality Group.

Alex Gilbert-Petz

Head Sommelier & Wine Buyer -The Lanesborough

Alex started his hospitality career at the age of 18 and has worked in some of the UK’s and London’s finest Hotels and Michelin Starred restaurants, this is where he found his true passion for all things wine. read more He worked at the Goring hotel where he got the opportunity to serve members of the Royal Household, including her late Majesty the Queen.

Alex was part of the team that opened Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, he worked as Head Sommelier at Petrus by Gordon Ramsay, was Head of Wines for the Dorchester Collection’s Coworth Park alongside Executive Chef Adam Smith and he has worked at the Social Company overseeing the wine program for three of Jason Atherton’s restaurants.

Alex has also contributed to different wine articles and publications.

He has recently taken up the position of Head Sommelier and Wine Buyer for the Lanesborough

Alana Quigley

Alana kicked off her career in Malta at just 14 years old, diving into a lively summertime job. In 2017, she made her move to Gleneagles to further her career and learn from the best professionals, earning the Annual Awards of Excellence just 8 months later and progressing from waiter to now Restaurant Manager, leading a team of 30. read more Alana has also progressed through competing in some of the most prestigious service focus competitions in the UK, both the Annual Awards of Excellence through the Royal Academy of the Culinary Arts and the Gold Service Scholarship, from which she has now grown to support in a Judging Capacity for the AAE and Young Chef Young Waiter and Young Mixologist. 2024 From launching brand-new concepts through seasonal bar and lawn activations, to running one of Gleneagles finest restaurants – Alana’s talent and progression has this year been recognised through winning the coveted Acorn Award, recognising the hospitality industry in the UK’s Top 30 under 30, as well as having been selected for the prestigious Master Innholders Aspiring Leaders Diploma programme.

ROB EDWARDS

Co-Founder of Wine&Earth and CFO of WorldYCYW

Rob started work at 16 in the finance industry and spent 10 years working in various finance and banking roles in London, and a short stint in Malaysia working for a ‘Big 4’ consultancy firm. After becoming a Chartered Accountant, read more he began to support SME’s on a consultancy basis from a business operations and finance perspective. During this time Robfell in love with the hospitality industry while working in a senior finance role for Goedhuis & Co, a fine wine specialist and duly decided to start his own wine project, and began importing wines from independent family estates across the world with a focus on sustainable wine making and Wine & Earth was born in 2018. Alongside Wine & Earth, he also operates a pub/restaurant in London, is Global Wine Ambassador and CFO for World Young Chef Young Waiter and is Chairman of a professional football club. Having joined the hospitality industry later in his career, he loves being a part of this programme and seeing the passion from the contestants to go to the highest levels.

Simon Attridge

Culinary Director at Claridge’s

Simon Attridge’s career has taken him to some of the finest restaurants and hotels in London and the rest of the world, but his first position was as kitchen trainee at his local golf club, Redhill in Reigate, Surrey. This journey was to go full circle when, in 2017, he was appointed Executive Chef at one of the most iconic golfing destinations in the world, Gleneagles, in Perthshire, Scotland. read more Over the last two decades, Simon’s career has seen him take the reins as head chef at Heston Blumenthal’s acclaimed The Riverside Brasserie, and later Drakes on the Pond, where he held a Michelin star at the age of just 25. He went on to take up senior positions at the Shangri-La hotel group’s five-star properties in Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and London, and stints leading the kitchen operations of Barclay’s, Goldman Sachs and UBS in London.
Since joining the Gleneagles team in August 2017, Simon – who leads a kitchen brigade of more than 100 chefs and 50 stewards – has overseen the renovation and relaunch of the hotel’s iconic fine dining restaurant, The Strathearn, and the clubhouse restaurant, The Dormy, whilst spearheading operations at the sporting estate’s other food and beverage outlets – the Birnam, The Glendevon afternoon tea lounge, The Garden Café and The Century Bar – as well as private dining across the hotel’s 13 event and celebration spaces.
Winner of the ‘Hotel Chef of the Year’ award at The Caterer’s acclaimed Hotel Cateys Awards 2019, Simon looks forward to building on the hotel’s success and forging new culinary opportunities to strengthen Gleneagles’ position as one of the leading hotels of the world.

David Bell

Regional Executive Chef, Levy UK + Ireland and Compass Scotland

David Bell is Levy UK + Ireland’s Regional Executive Chef in Scotland. He has a passion for ethical, sustainable, local food, served by well-trained, motivated chefs. read more David’s remit at Levy sees him lead the culinary teams, support menu development and provide staff training across its venues in Scotland, including Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), Ibrox Stadium and the SEC.
David joined Levy in November 2022. He came to the business with decades of experience in the hospitality industry, previously leading on training and education in former roles. His key focus was on inspiring creativity, seasonality, and using good, fresh, and local ingredients – all qualities he’s brought to the Levy business.
Being a chef for over 25 years, David has developed a real passion for teaching and inspiring teams, in particular young chefs. Through training workshops, site visits, and mentorship, he uses his vast experience from across Europe to motivate Levy’s culinary teams to consider what is possible with food. He helps other chefs understand seasonality and a farm to plate ethos as well as guiding them in innovative menu creation, such as introducing more plant-based menu options.
David has a range of credentials acquired on his career path, including being a Chef Academy Trainer and Future Chef Judge. Qualifications also include: Allergen Champion; Level 3 Food Safety; Intermediate Food Safety; Higher National Certificate Professional Cookery; and Higher National Certificate Information Technology.

Daniel Baernreuther

Gleneagles General Manager

Daniel’s career in hospitality started with InterContinental Hotels In Berlin where he completed an apprenticeship before finding his calling behind the bar of one of the most iconic hotels in the city. read more After a move to London in early 2003 he spent nearly six years as the Bar Manager of Claridge’s, where he took charge of the development of their drinks programme.

Daniel then worked with the Gorgeous Group as a Hospitality Consultant before joining The Savoy as part of their opening team, while developing their bar concepts for the Savoy under his consultancy remit during its pre-opening phase.

His first role at The Savoy as American Bar Manager culminated in the bar being awarded ‘World’s Best Hotel Bar’ at the Spirited Awards at Tales of the Cocktail, USA a year later.

Daniel then took on further roles within The Savoy, including Beverage Manager and Director of Beverages, before taking on the Assistant Director of Food & Beverage role. During his time in this role the Beaufort Bar was crowned ‘Best International Hotel Bar 2015’ at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, USA.

Immediately prior to joining Gleneagles Daniel broadened his expertise by taking on the role of Director of Food and Beverage at The Berkeley, where he helped support the re-positioning of their Food & Beverage offering, after the extensive refurbishment of the hotel, and was part of the reimagination of this well-established grand hotel.

Joining Gleneagles as Executive Assistant Manager in charge of Food & Beverage, Daniel took a leading role in the re-positioning of the Strathearn after its complete restoration, as well building on the foundations of F&B division as a whole and was soon promoted into the role of Hotel Manager.

As Hotel Manager Daniel was accountable for the day to day running of the hotel and drove the creation and implementation of all COVID-19 related procedures and protocols, as well as overseeing the safe operation of all guest facing services during the pandemic and soon thereafter, re-entering into a challenging hospitality landscape with record occupancies.

Daniel then completed the world-renowned General Managers Program at Cornell University, before taking on his current role as General Manager of Gleneagles at the end of 2022.

Daniel loves spending time with his family his wife Jen and his two children, William, and Mila, taking long walks and discovering new places in Scotland with their family dog, a beautiful cocker named Jackson. He has picked up cold water swimming since moving to Scotland and enjoys the great outdoors and all that Scotland has to offer.

Daniel Greenock

Director of Food & Beverage

Daniel kicked off his hospitality management career 17 years ago during which time he’s worked at the forefront of some of Britain’s finest establishments. It all began when he was appointed as Restaurant Manager at The Corinthian Club in Glasgow. prior to a move to London to take up the position of Assistant Restaurant Manager in Marcus Wareing’s two Michelin starred restaurant at The Berkeley Hotel. read more Daniel’s energy, ambition and talent led to him accepting an invitation from Marcus to expand his experience by completing a 10-month traineeship at Eleven Madison Park in New York, before returning to London as Marcus’ Restaurant Manager.
During his three years as Restaurant Manager, Daniel was responsible for the day-to-day front of house operation as well as overseeing the refurbishment and relaunch of the restaurant in 2014.
Homeward bound, Daniel returned to his native Scotland, spending valuable time at Trump Turnberry in charge of the 1906 Restaurant and In-Room Dining before joining the team at Gleneagles in 2017.
Daniel’s journey at the Glorious Playground started as Assistant Restaurant Manager of The Strathearn, before being promoted to Restaurant Manager. During his time as Restaurant Manager, and a key part of the food and beverage management team, Daniel oversaw the relaunch of the refurbished Strathearn, ensuring that the service and the experience matched the surroundings.
In 2019, Daniel competed in London at the prestigious Institute of Hospitality Restaurant Manager of the Year competition, winning the coveted title.
After being appointed as Assistant Food & Beverage Director in late 2022, Daniel has seen his hard work and leadership qualities come to the fore with his recent promotion to Director of Food & Beverage, and with it he now leads a team of over 300 people, across 9 different F&B outlets.