If there is a better Deputy Manager in the hospitality business then I for one have yet to meet her!
Silvia came to work for the business as a housekeeper and has risen through the ranks entirely on merit.
The superb levels of room presentation that we are so proud of
throughout the hotel are entirely down to her exacting professional
pride and to this day Silvia is actively working alongside her
housekeeping team to keep the look and cleanliness of the rooms and the public areas right up to the very high bar she has set..
But that is only part of the reason she is so invaluable to the Bridge Hotel.
Because
with her managers hat on (or invariably a change of outfit so that
she's ready to greet the customers!) Silvia is ready on reception to
welcome you to the hotel when she's on duty and make sure that your
every need is catered for.
Anything from ironing a quick shirt
for a businessman with an important meeting to arranging her trademark
'kissing swan' towels swimming on a bed of rose petals for a couple on a
romantic break she always goes the extra mile to make sure that the
experience you have at the Bridge is the best we and she could possibly
make it. If there is something you need arranging then Silv will sort
it!
We always want to know if there is anything
we can do to make your stay as near perfect as possible. With Silvia
working for the business I am very confident that new guests won't stay
'new' for very long and will join the lengthening list of returning
customers that happily are voting with feet and their continued repeat
bookings at our hotel.
We have a terrific team
of staff at the Bridge and whether it's Matt or Silvia on duty you are
going to be well looked after during your stay.
Natalia Guerra - Chef
Natalia first came to the hotel in 2015 and has been a regular in our
kitchen ever since. A hugely talented chef she is in great demand since
settling here in the region from her native Portugal and has been wowing
diners both at the Bridge and indeed in the other establishments where
she works as a freelance chef all around the region.
Her
little mauve BMW convertible outside the hotel in the morning is all you
need to see to know that a superb breakfast is on offer and the
presentation of our food under Nat has reached some very artistic
heights which compliment the fresh natural ingredients we proudly buy
and serve and which in our opinion add to the overall enjoyment of the
customers.
Functions are a speciality for
Nat and we are happy to arrange special dining occasions for any guests
that would like to enquire from family get-togethers all the way up to a
wedding reception. Nat can create beautiful and delicious menus which
we are confident will be just perfect for whatever the occasion you have
in mind might be.
Nat is going to become
freelance this year and will be spending more time in her native
Portugal but we will keep our kitchen door open to her always as she has
been fundamental in creating the look and the style of the food we
offer at the Bridge and as our first ever chef I cannot thank her enough
for her time spent at the hotel.
Rose Askew - Chef
Rose is a vital part of our restaurant team and is worldly wise and a
talented chef and is brimful of experience! If you are on business or
staying at the hotel during the week for any length of time then Rose
will soon know exactly what you like for your breakfast (and equally
when!) and will provide those home from home touches that we hope make
it a pleasure to stay at the Bridge. She is very welcoming first thing
in the morning being an early riser and prides herself on looking after
her business and regular guests and learning all their wants and needs!
A
career chef Rose spent many a long year turning out enormous quantities
of freshly made food at Thetford Forest Centerparcs where she was one
of their finest cooks and came to us with a terrific reputation which
she has certainly lived up to!
Rose loves her
early starts and as her manager I simply can't resist one of her
breakfasts in the morning and therefore in order to justify such a treat
I only let myself have one if I've just had a run around the forest
before the guests get in and then I am really ready for one! Luckily I
run most days!
There is honestly no better start to the day. That's the run AND one of Rose's breakfasts!
I
hope Rosie is with us for as long as she wants to stay working as we
all love having her at the hotel and she's a great chef and a terrific
team player too.
Zohreh Ashraf - Chef/Waitress/Front of House
One of our more recent joiners but a already a very valuable member of the team. Zohreh is from Iran and is a fabulous chef as well as a tremendous people person so she is equally at home making your breakfast (or meal on a special occasion) as she is serving it to you in the restaurant if one of our senior chefs like Rose is cooking that day instead!
Always ready with a friendly smile and a professional air Zohreh also works on the reception desk and is a very capable young woman who also knows a lot about the local area and where to find the bike and forest trails. If you're into Zumba and dancing then again ask away as Zohreh is a very keen participant and put on a great show with her dance colleagues when Fiona Philips (pictured with Zohreh) came to open the new Brewery House in 2017
Part time at the Bridge means that Zohreh also works as an instructor at Centerparcs up in the tree tops and on the climbing wall and zip wires so do ask her about any adventurous itches you might need scratching while you are staying with us as she is likely to be able to help you!
Maria Rodrigues - Head of Housekeeping
If there is one clue as to how good Maria is at keeping the rooms in the Bridge Hotel absolutely spotless it's this. Maria is Silvia's mum! So if Silvia has a fantastic eye for detail and thorough cleanliness all round then it stands to reason that she learned that from her mother and the pair of them are just terrific at what they do for the business. It's a highly valued contribution and every bit as vital as any one of the areas that go to make up the whole experience of staying at the Bridge.
Maria is a tireless worker and combines her role at the hotel with another full time job wth a UK multinational company based in the region. She's always smiling and loves our rooms as though they were her very own ones in her house. She makes sure that the rooms are turned around to be as in as near perfect condition as she can produce and it is an absolute pleasure to have her working as such an important member of our team. If we need a hand in the kitchen or anywhere other then the rooms she has direct responsibility for then she is the first to volunteer and get stuck in!
The young housekeepers we take on always have to come up to Maria and Silvia's meticulous standards and yet she takes time to bring on the younger members of the team remembering that everyone has to start somewhere!
All in all the Bridge is lucky to have staff like Maria working for us and the winners are the guests who come back to stay time and time again in the lovely rooms that she is responsible for perfecting each and every time.
Sabrina Moffat - Waitress/Front of House/Housekeeping
A superb addittion to the team, Sabrina is young tall confident and really adaptable. A wonderful member of staff.
You'll come across her taking your breakfast orders at the weekend and very possbily checking you in our out of your room too but what you may not see is that she also may have prepared the room as well under the watchful eye of Silvia and Maria!
Sabrina also works on reception at Centerparcs just down the road from us but we at the Bridge are proud of the fact that she began her career in hospitality at the Bridge and also that she still works for us despite doing many hours in her full time job. You'll meet her if you are booking to stay at the weekend and she will look after you in fine style as will all our staff members
Jemma Stacey - Waitress/Housekeeping
Jemma is a young mum that works part time for us at the Bridge in the restaurant serving at breakfast time and then behind the scenes working hard in the housekeeping team.
She has her hands full with her three young sons as well as being a working mum but brings a bright and bubbly air to the hotel when she's on duty and we are very pleased to have her working at the Bridge where she does a first class job in all the areas she has responsibilties in.
Alice Hitchin - Waitress/Housekeeping
So new she's still at school but that hasn't stopped Alice approaching us and asking if we needed any new staff! We always prefer our team members to want to join us and so Alice has come on board and has made a splendid start to her working life by landing her first job with us at the Bridge and she's doing really well too! Keen enthusiastic reliable and always with a smile! She should go far!
Chris and Don Arnold - Owners Bridge Hotel Brandon
Every succesful business needs an owner that cares deeply about the success of the enterprise and we certainly are fortunate to have two of them at the Bridge Hotel!
After a formative career as an aircrew officer in the RAF with many years spent doing Search and Rescue all over the world, Don and Chris (or Mum and Dad depending on who is describing them!) settled in Brandon in the early 1980's and it wasn't long before they were running a succesful B and B and accommodation business which has grown in stages over the years and is now enjoying fantastic success as the highly rated Bridge Hotel Brandon.
Still both actively involved (as sprightly 'eighty somethings') in the running of the hotel, you are as likely as not going to see them around the place on any given day whether it be topping up the kitchen supplies with a timely shopping trip, changing a fuse in an appliance, chatting to our guests, locking the doors at night, showing an arrival or two into their rooms or having a well earned coffee in the hotel on a sunny day! They love being involved and the staff love having them around!
It's a family business and the wonderful thing about the Bridge is that the staff are like family members too which can only be a testament to the founders and owners as somewhere along the line they must have instilled that family ethos in myself (Matt) as well!
By utilising the best of the business as it was and making the changes it needed as well we have concentrated on devolping that 'smaller' but never the less professional atmosphere with the emphasis on our customers transitioning from being first visitors to then becoming regulars and thereby entering into that family spirit as well!
It's a recipe for success and without Chris and Don (or Mum and Dad!) it could never have happened. I can never thank them enough for giving me the opportunity to join them here in Brandon and make the changes that we have which have themselves allowed the Bridge Hotel Brandon to become the popular and unique accommodation business that it is today.
Susana Correira - Housekeeper
No list of our staff could be complete without a mention of our Susana! Shes the longest serving housekeeper and has been working for my Mum for many years over in Rverside Lodge and occasionally helping out over in the Hotel and Cottage and Brewery as well.
Always a big beaming smile as she goes about her work and probably the flattest smoothest ironer in the country!