Scarborough's The Esplanade Hotel employee named one of UK’s top 10 kitchen porters

The country’s best kitchen porters were announced as part of the annual Kitchen Porter of the Year awards, organised by The Caterer in association with Winterhalter UK, which celebrates the vital contribution that kitchen porters make in professional kitchens across the country.

Roy has been a key part of the kitchen team at The Esplanade Hotel since 1996 and was nominated by Daish’s Holidays in recognition of the hard but fundamental work he undertakes.

Simon Vooght, general manager of The Esplanade Hotel, part of the independent family-owned holiday group Daish’s Holidays, said: “Roy will pick up extra work when needed and will jump on any part of the kitchen department when called upon.

"You know when Roy is in because the kitchen is always spotless and he finishes the washing at an unbelievable speed, to which I ask him to show other people the Jedi, which he does!”

Roy was awarded with a Kitchen Porter of the Year apron by competition organisers.

In further acknowledgment of his duties, Daish’s Holidays presented Roy with two tickets for a tour of Liverpool FC’s Anfield stadium and museum entry, as well as a family holiday at the Daish’s Blackpool Hotel and a dinner.

Paul Harper, commercial director at Daish’s Holidays, added: “To be recognised nationally is such a fantastic achievement, and we wish to congratulate Roy.

"Kitchen porters are the backbone of our food and beverage operations, responsible for maintaining the hygiene of the main catering areas to ensure we continue to deliver a high standard catering service across the Daish’s Holidays’ group.

"Huge congratulations once again to Roy.”

The Esplanade Hotel reopened last summer following an extensive £1.5m refurbishment.

Major repair work included re-roofing of the five-storey hotel with 15,000 traditional slates; the full refurbishment of 12 of the Esplanade’s 73 bedrooms and bathrooms; the installation of a new women’s toilet; external painting of all walls and window frames, including more than 200 sash windows; and redoing the external walkways.

The work to repair the interior, exterior and roof was carried out by Infiniti Group for Daish Hotel Group.