Acorn winners 2012 – Ben Dantzic

Age 27

Position Restaurant manager, Andrew Fairlie @ Gleneagles, Perthshire

Nominator Andrew Fairlie

Proudest career moment I got an immense sense of pride when the Peat Inn was awarded its Michelin star while I was assistant manager and when I won the Young Chef Young Waiter award in 2010.

Greatest inspiration I was lucky enough to dine at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie when I was 16 and it was the meal I always look back on as the one that inspired me to work in hospitality. Working at the restaurant and now being manager feels like it's gone full circle.

Ambition To be as successful as I possibly can.

Ben Dantzic graduated from Strathclyde Hotel School in 2008 with a BA in Hospitality Management, but his career arguably started while he was still studying. At university, he worked as head waiter at the Zinc Bar & Grill for the Conran Group and undertook a four-month student placement at the five-star Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, USA. This propelled him after graduation into a junior management position with Hotel du Vin in Glasgow where he was promoted twice, finishing as assistant restaurant manager.

Ben later spent two years at the Peat Inn in Cupar, rising to assistant restaurant manager, and was there when the hotel was awarded its first Michelin star. Two years ago, he joined Restaurant Andrew Fairlie as assistant restaurant manager and was promoted to restaurant manager in 2011.