Our Team

Darina Brennan – Group Executive Chef

Darina Brennan, brings with her 20 years of experience, which included opening four 200+ seater restaurants for the Luigi Malone group along with opening and establishing the very successful Fire Restaurant and venue at the Mansion House Dublin. Over the years Darina has cooked for many celebrities including, Rihanna, John Hurt, Ralph Fiennes, Sean Penn, Danny DeVito, U2, and the Irish Rugby, soccer and Olympic teams to name a few.

Darina has appeared regularly on television and her recipes have been featured in every major Irish food publication.  Darina has a number of awards including being shortlisted for Best Event Caterer 2015 (Event Industry Awards), shortlisted for Best Chef, Best Restaurant 2013 (R.A.I. Awards), and Business Person of the Year 2010 (Galas).

She brings a passion and drive for supporting small Irish artisan producers and this in turn allows these suppliers to play a part within Ireland’s largest hotel group. She has built long-standing relationships with all of the farmers and small producers that she purchases her ingredients from and constantly travels the length and breath of Ireland to find new ones.

Darina takes the time to carefully select quality meat, fish and produce to ensure that your dish isn’t just another simple meal, but rather an experience. Darina believes in training and mentoring the younger staff in her teams and bringing creativity and passion to her menu development for our hotels.

Anton Angelov – Assistant F&B Manager

Hello, I am Anton Angelov. I am an Assistant Food & Beverage Manager in Maldron Hotel Newcastle.  I am from Bulgaria and have been in the UK for 5 years. I have successfully graduated university with a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management, which led me to start the wonderful Graduate Programme that Dalata Hotel Group provides to individuals that wish to dive in the hospitality industry.  Before that, I spent all of my working experience working within the hospitality industry in varieties of restaurants and hotels mainly in the F&B field. I’ve spent a year and a half working as a Graduate Manager which included superb training from Maldron Hotel Newcastle as well as monthly visits to Dublin where I participated with other Graduate Managers in different varieties of workshops and seminars. After successfully completing the program I was promoted to Assistant F&B Manager as I also had experience working within the F&B service.

Working in a hotel means that no two days will be the same. Every day provides different challenges which makes this industry so special. I find the most enjoyable aspect is that you get to meet new people and see the smile on their face once they’ve received that special service our company is striving to provide.

Aisling Lee – Duty Manager

Hi, I’m Aisling. I have worked in the hospitality sector since I was only 17 and studied hotel & catering management at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. I started my Dalata journey in 2018 with the Ascend graduate programme, graduating from its completion last March. Throughout this programme, I experienced many roles in the hotel including Bar Team Lead, Breakfast Supervisor, Receptionist and Duty Manager. Which lead to a permanent position as Duty Manager in Maldron Hotel Sandy Road.

I love being part of the team at Maldron Hotel Sandy Road. Making sure Dalata’s core values are always being upheld – People, Individuality, Service and Fairness.

Ciara McAuliffe – F&B Assistant

Hello, my name is Ciara and I’m a geology student from Cork City, Ireland. I started working in the Maldron Hotel Shandon Cork in the summer of 2016. My first job, I was an assistant in the kid’s club and I loved it! We ran loads of fun activities and projects for the hotel’s youngest guests. In the summer of 2017, I was transferred into the Food & Beverage department and I have learned so much. During the past few months, I’ve also had the opportunity to help out with other departments in the hotel, which is a really enjoyable experience. I was awarded employee of the year for 2020.

I absolutely love getting the chance to meet people from all over the world and having the chance to chat with them. I especially love when a guest is having a special event such as a birthday or anniversary. It is such a lovely atmosphere and a great opportunity to make their day even more special by bringing out the cake!

Hazel Gervacio – Demi Chef De Partie

My name is Hazel Gervacio. I am a Filipina living in Fermoy, Co. Cork. I am from the Philippines and I’ve been living in Ireland now for the last 2 years. Moving to Ireland has opened many opportunities to develop my skills and find my career path. I started working in Maldron Hotel Shandon in May of 2019, as a Commis Chef. After a year, I worked my way up to my current position, Demi Chef de Partie. I am so grateful for the opportunities that the hotel and the company have given me. I learned a lot about myself since I started my ‘Chef life’. They believe that I can do so much more. I was awarded the employee of the month in December 2019. I look forward to learning more and I am always looking for ways to progress and advance my skills.

Being a chef lets you explore your creativity in every dish and accommodate every guest’s needs. I love challenging myself in the Kitchen as I love being part of a team. As many people say, ‘no man is an island’. Being a chef makes you build strong connections with everyone in your team and that is what makes us stronger.

Renata Micke – Breakfast Manager

Hi, I am Renata Micke. I am the Breakfast Manager in Maldron Hotel Parnell Square. My role is to coordinate the breakfast service and manage the Restaurant in the morning and lunch. I moved to Ireland from Lithuania 18 years ago and have been working with Maldron Parnell Square for 11 years. I joined Maldron Parnell Square as an accommodation assistant. I moved to the Restaurant as F&B Assistant, then promoted to F&B Supervisor and recently promoted to Breakfast Manager in January 2021.

I really enjoy when the restaurant is at its busiest. Everything is running smoothly and the guests are happy with the service, food, and the atmosphere. I love to run and walk to keep fit and certainly feel working in a busy city centre hotel coincides greatly to my own lifestyle of being on the move.