Principal Hotel Company, which includes the Principal and De Vere brands, today announced it has appointed Wendy Martinson OBE to the newly created role of Group Nutritionist.
Wendy, who is also currently Lead Nutritionist for the Great Britain Rowing Team and Lead Performance Nutritionist for the English Institute of Sport, will consult across the Group’s 45-strong UK portfolio of hotels and venues. Her remit includes assisting with the creation of new nutritionally balanced menus, the development of the group’s coffee brand, Burr & Co.’s product offering and devising innovative breakout sessions and energy-boosting personal training sessions for delegates.
Gail Hunter, Group Human Resources Director at Principal Hotel Company, commented: “We are mid-way through a significant programme of investment in our portfolio to ensure that it is ‘future fit’ and that we continue to cater for the diverse requirements of our clients. A major component of this is focused on enhancing our impressive outdoor spaces as well as refining our meetings and events offer, which will be unveiled in the coming weeks as we launch our new meeting, conference and events brand. As a result of this, along with the fact that a legitimate, high quality health and wellness offer is increasingly important to bookers, it felt like a natural progression to create the role of Group Nutritionist.
“We are delighted to welcome someone of Wendy’s calibre to the team at what is a very exciting time for the business. Wendy’s experience and knowledge will be a huge asset to us and her input will be pivotal in ensuring that we continue to provide a market leading meetings offer along with the exceptionally high service levels for which Principal Hotel Company is renowned.”
With extensive experience in high performance sport and the NHS environment, Wendy worked at four summer Olympic Games as part of Team GB, most recently working in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympic Games. In the New Year 2010 Honours list, Wendy was awarded an OBE for services to sport and to nutrition.
Speaking following her appointment, Wendy commented: “I’m delighted to join the team at Principal Hotel Company. The right food and environment can greatly impact the enjoyment and productivity of meetings and events. Maintaining the concentration, motivation and energy levels of delegates is a key component. Working with the development chef and the wider team, I’ll utilise my knowledge and experience of nutrition and performance to help create a series of new menus featuring delicious, nutritious dishes to enable delegates to get the most out of their event. We will also look to devise breakout and activity sessions allowing clients and delegates to benefit from the amazing outdoor spaces available across the portfolio.”
A graduate from Kings College, London University, Wendy is a Registered Dietitian with the Health and Care Professions Council and is a Practitioner registrant on the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register. She worked a season with West Ham united FC in 2002 and consulted with the England Football Squad in preparation for the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
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