Franck Sebire has been appointed as the new general manager of the Hilton Ras Al Khaimah.
The appointment aims to drive the Hilton Ras Al Khaimah's recent opening and forthcoming launch of the new Hilton Beach Club. "I believe that Ras Al Khaimah has great potential as a resort destination of the future," said Sebire. "It offers some of the region's most beautiful landscapes encompassing mountains, sea and desert, and the opening of this property provides a fantastic opportunity to provide excellent outdoor activities. "Being new to the Middle East, I am very excited about this position and hope to build on the rich heritage of the Hilton brand to offer another quality hotel experience for the region." With over 12 years of experience in the hotel industry, Sebire has worked for both Hilton and Inter-Continental Hotels in Europe. His most recent experience includes two years as general manager of the Hilton Strasbourg and four years as F&B Director of the Millenium-Copthorne Stuttgart overseeing 18 restaurants and bars, and 6,000 sq m of conference and banqueting facilities. Hilton International currently operates eight hotels in the UAE, two in Saudi Arabia and one each in Bahrain and Oman. Meanwhile, Angela Hartnett is the executive chef at the newly-opened Hilton Dubai Creek Hotel. Born in England in 1970, she graduated from Cambridge Polytechnic with a degree in history in 1991 before switching to catering. She convinced Heinz Schewitzer to employ her as a waitress at the Midsummer House in Cambridge, so she could get her foot in the door. Following that, she moved into the kitchen, first as chef de partie and then as sous-chef. Schewitzer got Hartnett a job in Barbados in 1993, where he was working at the Tamarind Cove, while setting up the famous Sandy Lane Hotel. She trained the staff, garnering invaluable experience before returning to Britain. In 1994, she started her career with Gordon Ramsay at Augergine, his first establishment in London. First rung on the ladder was as chef de partie in the pastry section, before taking charge of the larder. A six-month sojourn in Italy in 1995, followed and this is where Hartnett developed her affinity with continental flavours, before she returned to Britain in 1996 to set up L'Oranger with Marcus Wareing as his sous-chef. L'Oranger was the sister restaurant to Aubergine and when Wareing left at the end of 1998 to join Ramsay at Petrus, Hartnett went too. Petrus opened in March 1999 to instant acclaim and Hartnett went on to open Amryllis at one Devonshire Gardens, Glasgow and the Hilton Dubai Creek Hotel for Ramsay, who refers to her as his 'right-woman'.