People
Nicolas Gross - Principal
Nicolas comes from a long line of successful restaurateurs and chefs and entered the restaurant industry straight out of university when he joined the Marco Pierre White Restaurant Group in London in 1995. After six years working in operations for the group where he was involved in the opening and running of some of London’s top restaurants, including; L’Escargot, The Criterion, Quo Vadis, The Mirabelle, The Oak Room, The Grill Rom at the Cafe Royal, The Belvedere, Titanic and Drones, Nicolas left to open his own restaurant; The Clerkenwell Dining Room and Bar in London EC1. In 2002, he set up and ran The Restaurant on the Square near Winchester, winning 'Newcomer of the Year' in The Good Food Guide. In 2003, he opened his second venture; The Devonshire House gastro-pub in London W4. Since 2001, he has consulted on a wide range of projects ranging from Michelin style fine-dining to casual fast food to pubs to hotels, both in the capital and nationwide. Since 2010 he has worked as Consultant Operations Manager for the Gorgeous Group on food and beverage projects including the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Syon Park, the Hilton Hotel, Liverpool, Dishoom, London and the Sofitel St James Hotel, London. Since January 2011 he has acted as Operational Project Manager for ex-Gordon Ramsay Head Chef; Mark Sargeant in opening his two new highly-acclaimed Kent restaurants; Rocksalt and The Smokehouse.
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Maurice Abboudi - Principal
Maurice moved into the hospitality industry after completing his MBA at Manchester Business School. In 1992 he founded Famous Moe’s Pizza which became the UK’s leading independent pizza delivery chain. After selling the group in 2002 he joined Domino’s Pizza as Director of Business Development. Within a year and under his guidance, Domino’s topped the UK Pizza Delivery sector with an annual turnover of £150m. In 2004, he was approached by ASK Restaurants to advise on a new concept launch. Following this he has taken on numerous contracts with some of UK’s leading Food Service companies, advising specifically on Operations, Marketing and Franchising. These include Wagamama, Chipotle, Tortilla, Ed's Easy Diner, Le Pain Quotidien, Firezza and Masala Zone. Maurice is also the leisure advisor to Chrysalis Venture Capital Trust and in 2008 joined the Board of Directors of orderTalk, an online ordering company that has over 1,500 sites installed in the USA and the UK.
Christine Rees - Associate
Christine started her career in recruitment where she set up her own company which quickly grew to eleven offices. After selling the business on, she joined Bass Charrington in 1975 as a Regional Administrator, working across London and the Home Counties. She joined Grand Metropolitan in 1982, dealing with the operation and leasing of its extensive tenanted and leased pub estate. For the next twenty five years, she worked for Inntrepreneur and Unique Pub Company. Her experience covers selecting tenants and lessees, negotiating leases, training, developing both single and multiple operators’ businesses, conducting rent reviews and dealing with assignments. She also conducted regular business reviews with tenants and lessees, covering all aspects of their business to minimise failure and maximise profit. Christine recently left Unique as it was taken over by Enterprise Inns and has become an independent consultant to the licensed trade.