A Warm Bermudian Welcome to Chef Karl Blunden

“I have traveled all over the world and never experienced as warm of a welcome as I did when I arrived in Bermuda,” says our new Executive Chef Karl Blunden.

Everyone here at The Reefs is excited to welcome Chef Karl. This is his first time on Bermuda and he brings a wealth of experience in hotel dining and food and beverage management from around the world.

Originally from England, Chef Karl began his career in London before serving in culinary management roles in Egypt, St. Lucia, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. For the past four and a half years, he was the Complex Executive Chef at The Four Points by Sheraton in Dubai where he oversaw 11 dining venues and room service at two hotels.

“It is exciting to be back on an island after living in the desert for the past few years,” he continued. “I’m also thrilled to be part of the team at The Reefs, which has a very strong reputation as a leading resort on Bermuda.”

Chef Karl’s cuisine favors an Asian influence, which he says fits well with local island ingredients and seafood. “My goal is to use as much local produce as possible in our menus.” Look for his creations in daily specials and new menu items (coming soon).

The island life is also ideal for Chef Karl’s hobbies. When he is not cooking in the kitchen, he enjoys scuba diving (he’s a qualified rescue diver), fishing and playing golf (although he admits “very badly”).

“I look forward to enhancing the already excellent dining venues at The Reefs and getting to know the many Reefs repeaters,” adds Chef Karl.

Hotel Olympians Earn Silver Medals

As if Harbour Nights in Hamilton isn't exciting enough, last night the entertainment was the "Hotel Olympics."

The Reefs entered Richard Kyaruzi in the Waiter’s race and Winfield Todd in the Bellman’s race.

The Waiter’s race consisted of running down to a series of tables, setting the table for the guests, opening a bottle of wine, pouring two glasses, and then running with the glasses on a tray back to the starting point.

The Bellman’s race consisted of running down to a bellman’s stand, putting on your bellman shirt, packing 8 towels into two suitcases, and then running with the suitcases back to the start.

Winfield placed 2nd out of 8, beating a considerable amount of young guys, not bad for a guy in his 70’s! Richard also placed 2nd in the Waiter’s race.

Plenty of Reefs staff came out to cheer them on for the exciting performance of hotel sports!

Bring a piece of Bermuda home with you

Winfield Todd, one of our beloved Bellmen, loves giving our guests a signature piece of our island to bring back home.

Bring an empty spice jar to Bermuda with you and Winfield will fill it up with pink sand from Warwick Long Bay Beach on South Shore.

He tries to give a bottle of pink sand to as many guests as he can as they are leaving the hotel. He also gives two postcards — one a photo of Warwick Long Bay Beach  where he collects the sand, and the other a photo of Johnny Barnes.

This local Bermudian stands every morning at Crow Lane roundabout from 5 to 10 a.m. waving to everyone on their way to work. Sometimes called "the friendliest man in Bermuda," a statue was erected in that roundabout in his honor. Just another example of the friendly people of Bermuda.

Why is Bermuda's sand pink?

It isn’t crushed coral as many people assume, although there are bits of coral in the sand. The pink crystals are actually the pink and red shells of microscopic insects, foraminifera, one of the most abundant single-cell organisms in the ocean.

The foraminifera live on the underside of reefs and the sea floor. When they die, the currents offshore smash their shells and they tumble onto Bermuda’s beaches with each lapping wave.
(Source: experiencebermuda.com)

Cavemen biking the Bermuda End-to-End

David Dodwell, Jr. as a caveman

On Saturday, May 7, 2011 our Resort Manager David Dodwell, Jr. biked from one end of Bermuda to the other — dressed as a caveman!

David and a group of 16 of his friends dressed up as 16 cavemen chasing a sabretooth tiger. His team raised over $20,000 for the event — the largest group total.

What did David have to say about the race? "I survived!"

David's team just before leaving St. George

About the Bermuda End-to-End

The 24th Annual End-to-End took place on Saturday, May 7, 2011. The island's biggest fundraising event is a 24.1 miles race from King's Square in St. George to Dockyard.

2,500 people took part in the 2011 event overall, amongst all the different options — walking, cycling, swimming, kayaking and horseback riding.

Funds raised in the 2011 event support the Meals on Wheels, The Family Centre, Windreach, Friends of Hospice, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Bermuda, Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association, Caron, the Bermuda Duke of Edinburgh Award, Raleigh International, Bermuda Sea Cadets, and the Bermuda National Gallery.

Farewell to Two Long-time Employees

A big part of what makes The Reefs so special is our dedicated staff, many of whom have been a part of our Reefs family for more than 20 years!

Two of our wonderful housekeepers, Cynthia Simons and Patricia Atkins, have just retired at the end of November. Cynthia (left) was Executive Housekeeper retiring after almost 29 years and  Pat (right) retired as Housekeeping Supervisor after 26 years.

We are sad to see them go but are very grateful they have spent so many years with us.

The Reefs' VIP's

Our staff always strive to make your experience everything you could imagine. Therefore we are proud to recognize that three of our very own staff members were awarded VIP awards in the recent Bermuda Department of Tourism Hospitality Awards.

A black tie awards ceremony was held at the Fairmont Southampton on April 24 where all the nominees and hotel management gathered to celebrate the awards.

Marlene Durham, Best Housekeeper
Edwina Johnson, Best Waitress
Kenisha Douglas, Best Front Desk

This year at the ceremony we were all so excited to have had Kenisha and Edwina be recognized. When the Housekeeping category came up, we didn’t think that The Reefs would be lucky enough to have another winner. Marlene has been nominated twice before but someone else has always taken away the award. But sure enough, Marlene received the VIP award for category!

Please join us in congratulating our award-winning staff, and everyone else at The Reefs Hotel & Club who has helped to make your experiences so memorable.

Employee of the Year

We are proud to announce our Employee of the Year

Vivien Bulford

Here she is pictured with Ben Tutt and Perry Robinson

Vivien was selected as the winner out of all the front- and back-of-the-house Employees of the Month for the year.

One of our hard-working staff members who you usually don't see, Vivien is the leader in the Laundry department and takes much pride in her work. Having been at The Reefs since 1987, Vivien has previously won the VIP Back-of-the-house award in 2005. Her positive attitude makes everyone smile.

As The Reefs Employee of the Year, Vivien has won $1,000, two relaxing nights nights in one of our newest residences at The Reefs Club and spa treatments!

Please join us in congratulating Vivien. Thank you for all your hard work.

Chef Philippe Joins The Reefs

Philippe Haddad, most recently of Atlanta’s Country Club of the South, will lead the culinary team at The Reefs as Executive Chef, infusing the dining options with international flair.

Originally from Belgium, Haddad has garnered a following from food & wine events across the U.S. His extensive background includes stints at St. James Club Resort Antigua, L’Escoffier Restaurant of The Beverly Hilton Hotel, the Abbey Restaurant in Atlanta, and his own namesake, Philippe’s Bistro, also of Atlanta.

Haddad began his culinary journey in his native Belgium where he trained with Master Chef Eddie Van Maele. He then cooked in various restaurants in Belgium, France and England before moving to the United States in 1983. Since that time he has worked with restaurants from coast to coast.

Please join us in welcoming Chef Philippe to The Reefs. We hope your taste buds will be tantalized beyond your expectations when dining at The Reefs with Chef Philippe's new creations.

Bon Appetit!

Ostrich and Alligator at The Reefs?

A recent wine tasting dinner at The Reefs on May 1st featured some rather exotic menu items including ostrich and alligator!

Matt Lane, the Penfolds director of wine education was in Bermuda to promote the Penfolds Grange winery in Australia.

The menu was organized after the winemakers were on island for the event. That just shows that the chefs at The Reefs sure are ready to prepare an unusual menu with their very innovative ideas!

Read more about the wine tasting in the Royal Gazette article.

Would you be daring enough to try either ostrich or alligator if it was on the menu at The Reefs? What are some other exotic foods you've had while on vacation? Let us know by posting a comment here!

Junior Chefs visit The Reefs

On Saturday, April 4th, more than 150 young people ages 10-15 came together to share their common interest in cooking at the Jr. Chef Kids Culinary Conference. The only event of its kind in the world, the Kids Culinary Conference promotes the practice and importance of making healthy food choices. Presented in a kid-focused environment, these sessions are designed to:

• Help kids make smart food choices
• Teach them independence and self-sufficiency
• Build their confidence
• Advance their culinary knowledge

Jr. Chef Central is a non-profit culinary program for young people that uses food to excite, educate and connect kids to their family, peers & community.

Three junior chefs visited The Reefs. Here are Master Jr. Chef Allison, Elite Jr. Chef Miyel and Master Jr. Chef Andrew pictured with Reefs chefs JR Perera (our Pastry Chef), Derryk Marshall (Sous Chef) and Didier Li Tsi Tsat (Sous Chef).

New Ocean Echo Menu

When we recently introduced our new menu for Ocean Echo, the staff was very excited to taste the new menu items. So far the menu has been well received by guests.

Here are the managers and staff at the Ocean Echo menu tasting:

Some of Ocean Echo's new menu items include:

Warm Chocolate Gateau with
Red Wine Cinnamon Sauce, Vanilla Ice Cream

Traditional Bermuda Fishcake

Reefs Seafood Platter

Prosciutto Ham Cornets

If you have visited The Reefs and tasted our new Ocean Echo menu, leave your comments here to let others know how you liked the dishes!

The Cool Dip Club

Each year on December 31, those who are brave enough jump into the ocean for one last dip.

This year a total of 15 people were up for the challenge. There was even a canine participant, Director of Rooms David Dodwell Jr.'s dog, Logan.

Our Famous Ocean Echo Team

Want to know why The Reefs staff is so special? It's because they work so well as a team to ensure each guest receives excellent service.

This teamwork was never so evident as when a photographer stopped by to take a picture of Derek Bean, Assistant Maitre d' of Ocean Echo to put on the hotel's web site.

When the photographer explained what he wanted, Derek looked around and called the entire staff over saying, "Come on! We're going to be famous!" He insisted everyone be included as each staff member works hard to create a wonderful dining experience.

Along with Derek in this photo are (from left to right) Glynis Harney, Maria Cuachon, Tracy Outerbridge, Judy Hughes and Judy Claxton.

How about a big round of applause for the Ocean Echo team?

Staff Cafeteria

As a result of construction on The Reefs Club and improvements to the hotel, it was decided to develop a cafeteria especially for The Reefs staff.

On September 15 The Reefs’ staff cafeteria was officially unveiled.

On that particular day, the longest term staff member in attendance was Mervin, having been at The Reefs since 1981. He was given the privilege of cutting the ribbon to the new cafeteria.

Here are several of the long-term staff members at the opening of the staff cafeteria: Hugh, Maureen, Barb, Mervin, Pat, Cynthia, Marlene and Mr. Dodwell.

Our staff has more than earned their own cafeteria and lounge space. Don’t you agree?

Three Generations of Dodwells

As Reefs guests know, many of our staff have been at the hotel for years, and some of the staff's children have grown up to work at The Reefs, too.

Owner David Dodwell's son, David Dodwell, Jr. has returned to Bermuda after getting his master's degree in hospitality management to work at The Reefs.

The Reefs' family news is so popular, that a picture of the three generations of Dodwell's made the cover of Travel World News! How about that!

The Reverse Vacation

Most of the time when people think of a vacation they picture somewhere inviting and beautiful like The Reefs. But occasionally people need to take their vacations elsewhere.

Originally hailing from Colorado, Managing Director Ben Tutt returned home for a family vacation. While he was there he met up with long time Reefs repeaters George and Lisa Tousey.

The Touseys are both multi-generational repeaters of the hotel from Frisco, Colorado where they run several restaurants, one of which is Farley’s.

This just shows how close The Reefs family is – not only do they get together in Bermuda, but also Colorado.

Where else can we run into more of The Reefs family?

The Reefs Family Grows

As many of The Reefs’ guests know, we pride ourselves for our strong sense of family. Some of you have been visiting us for years, and several staff members have been with us for decades! The staff’s children have come to work at The Reefs as well, further expanding The Reefs family.

So, we are happy to announce that President David Dodwell, who has been with The Reefs for 35 years, continues this tradition. His son, David Dodwell Jr., recently joined our team as the Director of Rooms. You may have met David Jr. when he was playing on the beach as a child or working in various departments as summer jobs.

In recent years, he has worked at hotels in Boston, California and Oregon, and spent two years at 9 Beaches here in Bermuda. He recently completed his master’s degree in hospitality management from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, and we are sure that the frigid winters in upstate New York played a role in his decision to return to Bermuda!

David Jr. and his wife have relocated to Bermuda with their three-month-old baby boy, William Broderick Dodwell. They could not think of a better place to raise their son than with The Reefs family, and we are sure you will see Will playing on the beach like his father did 30 years ago!

60th Anniversary at The Reefs

Many of our guests have visited year after year, witnessing how The Reefs has evolved. Some guests have even been visiting The Reefs since we first opened in 1947.

Robert and Marian Fortney from North Little Rock, Arkansas celebrated their honeymoon here in our first year of operations. After 60 wonderful years of marriage, they decided to return to The Reefs to celebrate their anniversary!

On their last night they enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Coconuts. When they returned to their room they were surprised by a celebratory bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries!

Happy Anniversary from The Reefs!

VIP Excellence Awards

We are pleased to announce that our very own Mervin Caesar was the winner for the Best of the Best for Bellman in the VIP Excellence Awards. The Awards banquet took place April 12 at the Fairmont Southampton.

When a finalist in each category was announced (there were 3 finalists for each category) a short video was played for each. Mervin mentioned his love of what he does and also mentioned how he'd like to see more young Bermudians in the hospitality industry!

Mervin has been with The Reefs for 30 years. He started as a houseman and became a bellman 8 years ago. For winning the VIP Bellman award, Mervin received a gold VIP pin and a 7 night cruise for two to the Caribbean.

We also would like to congratulate our other three very deserving nominees – Stacy Haller (Administration), Kevin Shirley (Maintenance) and Marlene Durham (Housekeeping).

Congratulations to our VIP Nominees!

The Reefs is excited to report that we have 4 finalists for the Annual VIP Excellence Awards. This awards ceremony recognizes the individuals who go above and beyond to give visitors to Bermuda a truly memorable experience. The awards ceremony will be held at the Fairmont Southampton on 12 April.

The 4 finalists from The Reefs are Marlene Durham from housekeeping (also our Employee of the Year), Mervin Ceasar (bellman), Kevin Shirley (maintenance) and Stacy Haller (reservations). All finalists will receive a Certificate of Excellence. Congratulations to them all!

Staff can be nominated in 18 categories. The winner from each category will win a trip, an 18K Gold VIP Excellence Award pin and then be eligible for the VIP person of the year (Wyman Lindsay, Restaurant Manager was a winner of this) which brings with it a money market fund of $20,000!

So we will all be dusting off our top hats and sequins and getting ready for the gala event! For more information on the VIP awards please see www.vip.bm.