A Madeiran bar manager hit the headlines in his own country – by starting a new job in Kent.

Carlo Martins’s arrival at the Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club in Maidstone made headlines in Madeira when he took on the role of restaurant and bar manager.

It’s inspired the 36-year-old to strengthen links between Tudor Park and Kent with the Portuguese island.

“We have a lot in common, especially the fact that Kent is known as the Garden of England and Madeira is called the Garden of the Atlantic,” he said.

“People go to Madeira to play golf and stay in lovely hotels, so I would like to see Madeirans come here to Tudor Park to enjoy the hotel and golf.”

Carlo started as a kitchen porter at 16, working his way up the ladder before enlisting in the army.

While working for the UN, his skills in the catering department were still often called on and he regularly took time away from his peace-keeping duties to organise dinners and lunches, including for two former presidents of Portugal.

After five years in the army, he worked as a food and beverage manager for a Spanish hotel chain before moving to England.

At Tudor Park, he manages a team of 20 and oversees the guest experience in the hotel’s dining areas, its fine- dining Conical restaurant and the Mezzanine Bar.

Aside from hospitality, in his spare time he was director of security for one of the oldest football clubs in Portugal, Uniao da Madeira football club, which is in the Portuguese second division and sponsored by Cristiano Ronaldo, and hopes to form links between his home team and his new adopted club, Maidstone United.