THORNTON Hall Hotel's award-winning restaurant The Lawns has welcomed its new manager.

Genesis Valenzuela, from the Philippines, has worked at hotels across several continents and spent more than nine years on a number of cruise ships.

He has even worked as assistant manager at the Michelin starred kitchen at The Chester Grosvenor Hotel.

Genesis told the Globe: "The Lawns is a great establishment in a wonderful setting and I’m very happy to be here.

"Everyone has been very welcoming since I started and it’s a great team to be part of.

"I’m committed to maintaining the high standards already set and we’ll work hard to improve on them too.

"My main area of priority is delivering an exceptionally high level of service, paired with great communication and so I will initially be looking on how we can improve these areas.

"With lots of exciting plans in the pipeline for the restaurant, I’m really looking forward to the year ahead.”

The Lawns restaurant has recently been named as the ‘Best Fine Dining Venue in Merseyside’ at the 2018 Lux Food and Drink awards.

General manager at Thornton Hall Hotel, Geoff Dale said: "We’re delighted to welcome Genesis to The Lawns restaurant.

"His background in the restaurant industry brings a wealth of skills and experience to our already award-winning restaurant and we’re certain he can help retain those accolades and indeed improve on them.”