John Croft, after studying Hotel Management at Oxford Brookes University, began a successful 25 year career in Senior Operational Hotel & Restaurant Management. His career encompassed a wide range of operations, hotels, restaurants, destination resorts, including country house Relais Chateaux hotels and Michelin starred restaurants. After a period in high end Casino catering in Mayfair spent a further 10 years designing, developing and project managing casino’s throughout UK & Europe. Founded a leisure based project management company working in Europe and the Caribbean, expanded the company to include office development projects and logistics successfully working with a number of financial services companies in Docklands. In 2009, together with his partner, spent 3 years in France renovating an 1850 farmhouse and developing a specialised ski and chamber d’hote business . In 2010 worked as a consultant for an Apprenticeship Training Provider.In 2012 John was appointed CEO of the Academy of Food & Wine Service, the professional body for Food & Beverage service staff. Developing a number of industry wide training programmes and, in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and other hospitality professional bodies, represented the industry nationally and internationally.Currently John is employed as an independent international hospitality consultant, is the business development Director for the Wine Guild of the UK and represents the industry as a member of the National Restaurateurs Commmitte. In addition, established Pop Up Restaurant in Brezilhac France, an informal private dining experience and outside catering facility.