NEW F&B DIRECTOR JOINS RAFFLES AND FAIRMONT MAKATI
Bernd Schneider, cluster general manager of the Raffles and Fairmont Makati, recently appointed Björn Nöldner as new director of Food and Beverage to lead the F&B service teams of the dual-brand property.
A well-travelled connoisseur, he brings to the hotels extensive knowledge and expertise garnered over his two decades of work in the hospitality industry in different properties around the world. Having filled several lead positions in Culinary and Food & Beverage teams in hotels in Germany, Dubai, Indonesia, China, Russia and Australia, Nöldner is an experienced hand at heading and managing F&B divisions, from planning pre-opening outlets to positioning and promoting hotels as luxury gastronomic destinations.
Prior to joining the Raffles & Fairmont Makati team, he most recently served as the firector of Dining and Entertainment at the Fiji Golf Resort and SPA for the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG). Much of his leadership experience was honed as head of F&B teams of various properties for the Kempinski group of hotels around the world.
He was also the general manager for restaurant companies in Germany and Australia for several years before finding his way to the Fiji Golf Resort and SPA, furthering his expertise in managerial positions in the hospitality industry. Nöldner joins Raffles and Fairmont Makati’s executive chef, Béla Rieck, who was welcomed into the Raffles & Fairmont Makati fold recently himself.
Rieck, already an experienced member of the Accor hotel family, quickly took on the responsibility of leading the hotels’ outlets in the completion of their revamps and reopenings. He played a significant part in the recent relaunch of The Writers Bar at Raffles Makati and Cafè Macaron and the Fairmont Lounge at Fairmont Makati, which had been closed since 2020 due to the global pandemic.
He was first introduced during a media event celebrating the reopening of The Writers Bar, for which he created an enhanced menu and afternoon high tea set. He also crafted menus for every media event hosted by or at the hotel since, including the Philippine retail launch of Moët Hennessy’s The Whispering Angel rosè and The Writers Bar’s own Honeyholic Afternoon Tea. He has also been responsible for leading the September refresh and relaunch of Spectrum’s Sunday brunch buffet, now titled Sunday’s Best. His most recent creations are the Kate Spade Afternoon Tea set for two and the artisanal evening entrées of The Curator’s Hour, both for The Writers Bar. He has been instrumental in re-energizing and refocusing the Culinary and F&B teams, especially as the hotels and their dining outlets returned to full operations.
Nöldner and Rieck are well acquainted with each other, having already worked together in the past. Their experiences and passion for their craft are sure to breathe new life into the hotels’ signature dining outlets and event services, such as the intimate and elegant fine dining of Mirèio, and the ever-popular Banquets department.