Acorn Awards 2024: Daniel Bennett, 28, general manager at Heft

Age 28

Position General manager, Heft, High Newton, Cumbria

Nominator Greg Stephenson, chief executive, Gundog PR

During the past 12 months, Daniel Bennett has worked diligently to establish a benchmark for great service at Heft. His promotion to general manager in 2023 meant he was in the hot seat to guide the restaurant team in retaining the business’s Michelin star as well as its ranking in the Top 50 Gastropubs 2024.

It’s testament to his self-discipline and determination that he has risen so high in such a short time. He graduated from Birmingham University in 2019, emerging with a first-class honours degree in hospitality business management, and also gathered on-the-job knowledge, working his way up from chef de rang to head waiter at Wilderness, Birmingham, and the Forest Side in Ambleside.

In 2022, while working at St John in Smithfield in London as restaurant supervisor, he was the only entrant without formal silver service training to make it to the Young Chef Young Waiter of the Year finals. Similarly, as assistant general manager at Kol in London, he led the team to be placed 23rd in the the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

In terms of his personal development, Bennett is about to embark on Level 3 of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Wine Award.

To attract young talent into the industry, as well as giving talks at universities and schools, Bennett is also mentoring a team member through their front of house apprenticeship. By maximising the delivery of apprenticeships, Bennett will play a critical role in helping build the skills the restaurant requires.

How do you get the best out of your team?

"We have an incredibly young team at Heft, with the majority of staff being still in high school and college. I allow them to use their initiative and make their own decisions, so they not only learn from their mistakes – if they make them – but also take leadership of a restaurant, a chance they would not ordinarily have at such a young age."

What excites you about your future in hospitality?

"The next day, because it is a dynamic industry where we never repeat the day before and are always evolving and adapting. We are always meeting new people and getting ourselves out of new, tricker situations. I have worked in a few one-Michelin-starred restaurants, and they have all been different. At each, I have learned new techniques and styles of management and I am always seeking to improve myself."