Catering experts gather to hear success story of “dragon slayers”

During the competition in July 2010, Katie Brown and Emma Jackett from 147 Research presented their proposal for bringing back gentlemen's relish to a team of high profile industry 'dragons'. The successful bid won the duo an all expenses paid trip to the Disney Institute in Florida. During the breakfast event, Brown and Jackett provided an "entertaining and innovative" account of their trip. They presented their speech in "Disney style" (complete with a golden story book), they told the tale of two maidens who slayed the dragons to win the prized trip to Florida. During their trip, they studied management theory and then toured the Disney parks. They were particularly impressed with the importance of communication out there and how vital the recruitment process is. Brown was also struck by the communication: "There are 50,000 Disney staff with 6,000 different job roles. We learned how they are all communicated with regularly in a variety of different ways such as videos, newsletters and bulletin boards. All staff are valued - they have the opportunity to share their opinions with the management team, and leaders are expected to do the jobs that their team do every day." Meanwhile Jackett found that the recruitment process provided some good ideas to bring back to their business. "All too often, we try and make the job sound interesting and highlight the good bits. But in fact, we need to make sure that potential employees are made aware of the challenges as well so that they buy into the whole package." Dragon Philip Marsden, partner at Marsden Clark LLP, commented: "We liked Katie and Emma's pitch which was both entertaining and well thought through. But perhaps most importantly, we felt their idea was genuinely investable. "They clearly demonstrated that with some imagination, the Gentlemen's Relish brand could be re-invigorated and made to appeal to a younger audience. There is a real opportunity here – they should definitely pursue it." The pair are now investigating the possibility of developing their idea further with the current brand owners. Inspired by their Disney experience, their ultimate ambition is to buy a castle. Entries are now being accepted for the next Dragon's Den event which will take place on Wednesday 13th July 2011 at the British Medical Association in Tavistock Square. There will be an Olympic theme, and the winning team will win a comparable trip. For entry forms and more details, contact Louise Willis on 01483 765111 or email admin@acegb.org. The five Dragons were James Horler, chairman and chief executive of EGO Restaurants Limited, Sheila McKenzie, consultant and consumer business developer, responsible for building brands such as The Slug and Lettuce and Pitcher & Piano, Philip Marsden, past director of corporate finance at RSM Tenon now Marsden Clark, Jason Leek, managing director (Business & Industry) for Compass UK & Ireland, and Alistair Storey, chairman and chief executive of BaxterStorey.