Athlone chef named 'employee of the year' by Midlands branch of hotels federation
An Athlone-based chef has been announced as the ‘Employee of the Year’ for 2024/2025 by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) Midlands Branch.
The accolade was awarded to Dimuthu Kankanamge, Chef de Partie in Athlone's Radisson Blu Hotel, after he had been nominated by his employer.
Dimuthu's award was announced at a lunch in Kilkea Castle, Kildare, where guests gathered to celebrate and recognise 15 nominees from hotels and guesthouses across the region who have made an outstanding contribution to their workplace.
Speaking at the event, IHF Midlands Branch Chair, Aidan O'Sullivan said that, when selecting Dimuthu as the winner, the judges highlighted his "understanding of guest needs, positive demeanour and culinary knowledge," which had contributed to "creating excellent guest experiences for the hotel's customers."
Dimuthu came to Ireland just over a year ago from Sri Lanka and started working as Chef de Partie in Athlone as part of the Group International Chef Programme.
At the hotel, Dimuthu works as part of The Marina Club kitchen team where he has emersed himself in the role including mentoring Commis chefs in his section.
Colleagues described him as someone who "always has a smile and a warm hello for all his coworkers in the hotel," adding that "his friendly disposition is always uplifting for the team".
At the awards event, IHF President, Michael Magner congratulated all nominees and spoke about the exceptional people within the sector whose contribution to tourism and hospitality is key to its success as Ireland's largest indigenous employer, supporting over 270,000 livelihoods – including over 25,000 jobs in the Midlands throughout Longford, Westmeath, Kildare, Laois and Offaly.
The IHF Midlands Branch extends its gratitude to the expert judging panel of Bernadette Enright, Project Manager at Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board and Daniel McCarthy, General Manager at the Talbot Hotel Carlow who had the difficult job of selecting a winner from the nominees.
The members of the IHF Midlands Branch now wish Dimuthu the very best of luck as he goes on to represent them at the upcoming National IHF Employee of the Year Awards which will be held during the IHF’s Annual Conference which will take place at the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney in late February.