Hotel Cateys 2024: Hotel Restaurant Team of the Year – The Pass, South Lodge

An excellent team needs dedicated leaders, and South Lodge’s Michelin-starred the Pass, managed by Ben Wilkinson and partner Monika Zurawska, is a shining example of dedicated leadership guiding an award-winning team.

The 28-cover restaurant is one of three dining options at the four-AA-rosette South Lodge, which is celebrated for its sustainability and lifestyle and leisure experiences, and where Wilkinson, Zurawska and their seven team members showcase the best of British food and hospitality.

As an immersive experience, Wilkinson and his brigade of five chefs take centre stage each service, backed by exceptional personalised service from Zurawska and her two front of house team during a three-hour tasting menu.

Wilkinson’s career includes the Cottage in the Wood in the Lakes, Cambridge’s Midsummer House and Savelberg near the Hague, and he has led the kitchen with Zurawska fronting the Pass since August 2022. Seven months after opening the team achieved a Michelin star, which was retained in 2024.

The accolade is unsurprising when you delve deeper into this operation, which is guided by a modern and skilful menu heavily influenced by the local farming calendar that champions Sussex suppliers and produce from the hotel’s walled garden. A distinctive wine list emphasises quality and diversity, and features classics, indigenous grape varieties, select orange wines, skin contact wines and sake.

The hotel is part of the Exclusive Collection, which is itself a B Corp, and so is considerate of its people and their welfare. Learning and development is a big part of its purpose as it strives to be recognised as an employer of choice for future foodie talent.

The Pass ensures the team understands seasonality, the farming calendar, traceability and sustainability, and also organises trips to suppliers and producers, allowing the team to witness first-hand the processes involved in delivering top-quality products.

From a wellbeing perspective the restaurant is open 6.30pm-8.30pm five days a week and closes for three weeks every January to give the team time to recharge. Additionally, through the Exclusive Collection, it is signed up to
the Hoteliers’ Charter and commits to being a Living Wage employer, prioritising fair compensation and employee wellbeing.

On top of this, Wilkinson regularly mentors apprentices by supporting Exclusive Collection’s Chefs Academy chefs in their development, as well as spending time consulting for Tom Hamblet in the run-up to him winning MasterChef: The Professionals 2023.

The team is knocking it out of the park in terms of numbers, having achieved 125% of the budgeted food revenue target and 133% of drinks targets this year, while gross profit is above target at 75.5% (food) and 76.9% (drinks).

It’s the people at the Pass that have clearly resulted in a united team operating at the pinnacle of their game.

What the judges said

“The commitment to excellence from the team is clearly reflected in the experience their guests receive. This extends to wellbeing, which is at the forefront of everything they do.”

Laura Sharpe