WE ❤️ HOSPITALITY - Gavin Purdie

The last year has been terrible for the hospitality sector. Most businesses have seen extreme financial challenges and its reputation as an employer has been severely affected. We are now hearing from many, many of our clients about their fears for the future from staff shortages to skills gaps and top mid-senior talent moving to other sectors.

Krishnan Doyle is sharing his conversations with service industry leaders and operators on all that is good about hospitality & catering with the purpose to improve the sector's reputation as one of the largest employer worldwide but also as a great place to develop your career. 

How did you get into hospitality?

I was stuck in a rut, growing up in Clydebank just outside Glasgow in the mid 90s. myself and a few friends through we would go and live in Spain for the summer and work as reps, dragging poor holiday makers into bard that they really didn't want to go in to... it didn't quite pan out as planned as I couldn't deal with rep rejection...and I ended up doing a trial behind a bar.. the boss wasn't stupid and could see I'd never done it before but he must have liked something about me as he gave me a job as a glass cleaner... definitely not exotic, as there was no machine - I was the actual glasswasher...I stuck it for a few weeks and he finally caved in and put me on the bar at lunches which were pretty steady and I picked it up over time... I came home and went to drama school and hospitality (mainly pubs) was my go-to for cash to get through studies...

Do you think it is important to have studied hospitality to be a success in the sector? 

No. I think it’s important that you learn to listen and learn humility - everything else - if you have a great boss (Like we do at Padella and Trullo) who also learned to listen and have humility will see that in you and take you on a journey.

Which leader / figure inspired you and why? 

My old French teacher at school inspired me to want to achieve more, to see a life beyond Clydebank; after that I've had so many influences in restaurants, but they all have that one thing in common, that they nurtured me, the restaurant wasn't their vehicle to be the maniac of their own ideas, it was something they achieved through encouraging us lot... training was something they genuinely believed in - as well as the potential in the industry, the people, and they wanted me to enjoy that... I have one work relationship which really opened me up with a great owner Joe Lambert. He opened up a small neighbourhood restaurant in Balham, "Lamberts" - I was there from before the restaurant even opened, putting tabletops on bases and the like... He was one of the most passionate, patient and inspiring people I've worked with... he had such commitment to us as a team - WSET, Wine tastings with producers on our Monday off, tasting food all the time, meeting producers and getting really into the whole world of food - that was in 2003 so it wasn't anything like normal for someone to show that enthusiasm for staff's learning.

What keeps you in the sector and why to you enjoy working in it? 

People, and the feeling that no matter what, you will never know everything about the industry, there's always something to learn, there are so many creatives and influences, so many innovators in our sector - that definitely keeps me going

Tell us about the development / training that you give to your teams and management

I think at Padella and Trullo we have created environments which are all about becoming the best version of yourself, driving you to be the best you can be, a solid on-boarding, strong day to day feedback and meaningful appraisals tailored to encourage our teams to develop i whichever way we can assist .. we have one GM who came on-board as a Senior Restaurant Manager and her AGM started as a waiter... We've been away to Sicily, Abruzzo, Tuscany, Puglia, Bologna... it’s about inspiring the best in people and showing them the possibilities in an industry which is ubiquitous.

What advice would you give to those starting out in the sector? 

Be humble, learn everything you can and take every opportunity that comes your way... I was offered the opportunity to go out and open The Cliff Beach Club in Barbados, it was one of those, should I?... for 30 seconds, I looked at my fiancée, we both looked out the window of our tenement in Leith at sideways rain and thought, why not? The opportunities that exist in our sector aren't found in many other sectors, and it can be such a rewarding career.

If you would like to take part as a leader in this thriving sector, get in touch with Krishnan (krishnan@corecruitment.com)