team
The McBaile Team
Along with the core McBaile team below we also work with many fantastic chefs, kitchen porters, delivery and wait staff and an accounts team that we couldn’t succeed without.
Laura Bailes – Managing Director
Managing Director
Laura is quite possibly the lynchpin behind the whole operation, with dynamism and organizational skills second to none. Event and staff management, financial control and keeping everyone in line are all her areas of expertise. With Laura taking the reins of an event you can be assured it will run smoothly, on time and on budget.
Laura grew up in the North of England, within a family dedicated to property development and interior design. She began working in the hospitality industry from an early age, whilst studying and went on to achieve a BSc in Zoology and MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation, before working for several years in demanding wildlife film making including contracts with Aqua Vita films and the BBC and producing films for National Geographic and Channel 5.
A keen traveler and photographer, Laura still had a yearning to start her own business in hospitality and after meeting her partner Rod, they decided to join forces professionally and pooled their skills and resources to create a business which they are proud to call their own.
Rod McCormick - Operations Director & Executive Chef
Head Chef
Rod is our main man when it comes to designing menus, running the kitchen and overseeing handfuls of chefs, commis chefs, kitchen porters and delivery drivers as well as dealing with our fantastic suppliers to bring you the freshest and in our opinion, tastiest food around.
His ethos is to use the freshest of produce, sourced free range, organic and local where possible and treat it with the upmost respect and attention to detail to give you the very best service and value for your money.
Born in New Zealand, Rod pursued his childhood dream of becoming a professional chef. From the age of 16 he began his training, gaining early experience in some of the country’s top restaurants and hotels before immigrating to the UK in 2003.
With a love of travel and passion for good food, he has toured Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim and gained extensive experience from hotels and restaurants, to yachts, luxury ski chalets and large private homes catering to VIP’s and Celebrities and now uses his vast experience to provide McBaile with fantastic, fresh and contemporary food which our clients love.
Caroline Bailes – Events & Marketing Manager
Events & Marketing
Caroline joined the team in June 2011 as Events and Marketing Manager, since then she has developed strong partnerships with key venues in the region and given the McBaile Exclusive logo and brand a revamp to mirror the company’s dedication to high quality and exceptional service.
Sister to the Managing Director Laura, Caroline also grew up in the North East of England where she lived until pursuing a degree in English and Italian at the University of Leeds. Having always had a passion for language and its social impact, she concentrated her studies in the power of language and advertising. The third year of study was spent in Italy at the Universita di Perugia where she lived, worked, studied and immersed herself in the sophistication of Italian lifestyle. Her passion for food, wine and Italian culture stemmed from this experience and, along with working in the hospitality industry from a young age, it was a natural step for Caroline to join McBaile Exclusive.
Her events management career began at university with volunteering for the university careers centre, organising student events. Following university, she was soon employed as an events manager at 22 with the Energy Saving Trust and then Natural England for six years and lived in York. Then after a six month travelling experience across South East Asia, she returned to Bristol to build a career with McBaile Exclusive.
As Event Manager she continues to dedicate her time to providing every client with that one to one service in developing bespoke event and catering packages.
