WE ❤️ HOSPITALITY - Jasper Wight

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 spent a summer working in a restaurant kitchen in Tuscany, Italy, to get over a relationship breakup.  The waiters were sworn to secrecy that the new pasta chef was in fact British.

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

I did not study hospitality, but maybe it would have helped me lots if I had. In particular the commercial side of the business is actually a lot simpler than the bean counters pretend.

Which leader / figure inspired you and why?

Robin Rowland, Yo! Sushi. He mentored me and invested in my salad bar business Chop'd. Robin was always ready to help the next generation and to give back. Robin quoted Jack Lemon as saying that "when you get to the top, always send the elevator back to the ground floor."

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

• Crafting great food or drinks
• Working with great people
• Serving people
• Creating the opportunity for profit
• Prototyping real solutions in real time
• Solving commercial challenges
• Using my brain as much as my hands and mouth

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

One of the innovations I led at salad bar chain Chop'd was 'five-minute listens' individual with every team member once they'd completed 12 weeks in the role, and thereafter at least twice a year. In reality they could run a lot longer than five minutes. It was an opportunity for the team member to say what they wanted to get out of their time with us, and for us to help them achieve that, and to resolve any issues maybe not picked up by their line manager in day to day operations.

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

Get experience at the bits you want to excel at in your own business. Work your way around the business really to understand the key foodservice profit drivers: demand, capacity, frequency, spend, food costs, bar costs, labour costs, productivity, rent.  Have a profitable blueprint before you start to bring it to life in your own business.

If you could go back and tell yourself one piece of advice as you started your career, what would it be?

Keep a daily track on the cash and update your cash forecasting at least weekly.

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