The Age Good Food Guide 2027 Oceania Cruises Service Excellence: Ainslie Lubbock

Executes the highest standard of hospitality relevant to their establishment, from attitude and skill to knowledge and personality.

Presented by Oceania Cruises

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Congratulations to the winners of this year’s The Age Good Food Guide Awards. See all stories.

She’s no stranger to the top of the dining tree (or even this award, earning the gong in the 2013 Guide), but Ainslie Lubbock’s current role overseeing service at Pt. Leo Estate’s extravaganza of wining, dining and sightseeing demands a different brand of composure. Leading a troupe of service staff, some of whom might be in their first restaurant jobs, she maintains a remarkable standard of hospitality across a three-pronged mega-venue on the Mornington Peninsula.

Ainslie Lubbock.Chris McConville

Calibrating service to vastly different diners – the special-occasion lunchers in the two-hat tasting-menu temple that is Laura, the big groups of families and winery hoppers at the 110-seat Pt. Leo Restaurant, and the fly-by visitors to the Wine Terrace – takes a true virtuoso. Even on this scale, warmth defines her craft, a quality diners increasingly value as budgets tighten.

It’s unsurprising that the next generation of service stars so often cite Lubbock as a giant of the game. The fact she finds time to share with them her many years of knowledge, her skills as a sommelier and her expertise in running venues speaks volumes. She’s also an invaluable role model for young women who want to balance hospitality careers with other goals in life.

Ambition, humility and talent – that’s Ainslie Lubbock.

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