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Foodservice Forum
“We must give young people a real work-life balance”
The great and the good from the industry – including keynote speakers Monica Galetti and Paulo De Tarso – gathered at this year’s The Caterer ’s Foodservice Forum to discuss hot topics such as public health, skill shortages, employment and sourcing. Katey Pigden reports
Paulo De Tarso
Emma Worrollo, Pineapple Lounge
Noel Mahony, BaxterStorey
Piers Zangana, WSH
Paulo De Tarso
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“It’s beautiful that restaurants are opening everywhere and not just in Mayfair” Paulo De Tarso
international experience and the determination to transform the capital’s customer service. He said: “America is really good at customer service, but I remember being surprised by how far behind the UK was. It really got to me when one day I was told to look after a guy because he would spend a lot of money. It shouldn’t be that way. Everyone deserves first-class service. “People don’t seem to know the difference between service and hospitality. Service is how well you deliver the product from A to B. Hospitality is the way you make a person feel. People and places cannot copy that.”
When De Tarso moved to London he began working at the Wolseley before taking up the role of maître’d at Scott’s in Mayfair, where he spent three years. But he said he was really able to make his mark at Bar Boulud, celebrated chef Daniel Boulud’s French bistro with American influences – located in the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel in London. He recalled one of the phone conversations that led to him joining the restaurant. Having taken a while to give a definitive answer, he was asked by the chef if he thought he was too good for the place. Shortly after that conversation, he was walking through the restaurant’s doors. Discussing his love for food, De Tarso referenced a quote from tenor Luciano Pavarotti’s autobiography, My Own Story: “One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” De Tarso said: “I love food and have always wanted to learn. I really enjoy learning the craft; every little detail of a restaurant. It’s beautiful that restaurants are opening www.thecaterer.com
Emma Thorn, Amadeus
Hayden Groves, BaxterStorey, and Paulo De Tarso
Monica Galetti The Foodservice Forum’s packed agenda concluded with MasterChef: The Professionals judge Monica Galetti revealing she is a step closer to opening her own restaurant in London, having secured backing from Alastair Storey, chairman of foodservice giant WSH. The former senior sous chef from Le Gavroche, where she worked for 12 years, told delegates she was searching for a property in the capital for her new venture. Talking about how she entered the world of cooking, she said: “While growing up I discovered the cook of the family got out of going to church – so I learned quickly.” She added: “I was mesmerised when I walked into a kitchen and saw a chef make chocolate decorations. I started to enter competitions and began working in kitchens. “But people thought I would just be amazing because of my achievements, so I wasn’t always given the opportunity to learn more. I wasn’t a chef that already knew everything.” www.thecaterer.com
She moved to the UK in 1999 and began working with Michel Roux Jr. “I wasn’t prepared for the hours. But I loved it and the camaraderie in the kitchen made me feel part of the team. “Michel is an amazing chef and mentor. He knew before anyone that I was going to leave. I was very comfortable there and loved it, so it was a difficult decision to make.”
everywhere and not just in Mayfair. But we need to pay our people better – I don’t think we pay them enough. “There’s a shortage of chefs and skills. We need to come up with a solution, because our industry is growing rapidly. We need to give the training. A lot of businesses seem afraid of passing on the knowledge, but that’s what we have to do. “We must give young people a real work-life balance. There are choices out there and the industry needs to make a difference.” The Caterer editor Amanda Afiya posed the question: “In America hospitality is considered a career people are proud of. How do we encourage parents in the UK to accept it as a career path for their children?” De Tarso responded: “In America you make a lot of money. It needs to be more attractive right away for young people here. We should work with schools and colleges so people are aware of hospitality as a career. The hours need to change and we need to start paying more, now. “As an industry we should get our heads together and come up with ideas.” 16 October 2015 | The Caterer | 31
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aulo De Tarso may pride himself on delivering impeccable customer service, but he admits the customer shouldn’t always come first and they are not always right. Speaking at The Caterer’s recent Foodservice Forum (25 September), the senior maître d’hôtel at Bar Boulud told delegates: “If you focus on your team first, they will automatically focus on the clients.” This philosophy echoes that of Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, who has often been cited delivering a similar message. For him, it’s also about how well you train your staff, which was another common theme throughout the forum. In his opening keynote address, De Tarso gave guests an insight into how his career has shaped his passion for front of house. De Tarso was born in Brazil of Italian descent, and raised in the United States. He started in the restaurant business at the age of 16 before working his way up the career ladder in top restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. He moved to London more than 10 years ago, bringing with him a wealth of
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Business The Caterer does Question Time The Foodservice Forum then continued with a brand new format – The Caterer does Question Time. Taking on the role of David Dimbleby was David Mulcahy, craft and food development director at Sodexo, who chaired the debate. The panel of industry experts from across the sector included Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA); Caroline Fry, deputy chief executive, CH&CO Group; Kate Martin, managing partner, the Brookwood Partnership; Oliver Cock, managing director commercial, Compass Group; and Jill Whittaker, managing director, HIT Training. A variety of industry issues were discussed, including the responsibility of caterers regarding public health, skill shortages, employment and sourcing. Public health Speaking about the implementation of allergen regulations, which came into effect in December 2014, the panel were unanimous in their views that the industry had done more than just the minimum requirements. Fry said: “It was important for us to make sure that staff at all levels were aware of changes. As an industry I feel we have done more than the minimum.” Martin added: “The legislation was more of an endorsement of what we were already doing,” while Ibrahim commented: “The industry is leading the way.” Cock of Compass Group expressed the importance of educating suppliers and said that the firm spent time with them up front to ensure they were aware of the challenges. The importance of educating was also acknowledged by Whittaker: “It’s not just about allergens, it’s about nutrition, too. We need to start properly in schools. Children should be taught more about food and cooking.” The panel also discussed the possibility of a tax on sugar as a means of addressing the obesity crisis being faced in the UK. Ibrahim questioned whether a tax on sugar would be enough. She said: “Legislation should be the last resort. The government would like to put it solely on businesses, but there would be greater traction if pupils were educated in school at the right time. “The government won’t take the position up with parents as they are the voters. It’s taken out on businesses instead.” She added: “There is a direct correlation between obesity levels and poverty. There needs to be collaboration across all stakeholders. The education department has been protected for too long and I cannot understand why. The industry is collaborating, but education has been missing from the table.” Fry added: “I worry about a tax element. We don’t want to become a nanny state telling someone: ‘You can’t do this’. The burden has to fall with the consumer in the end.” But Martin said it was everybody’s responsibility to address the problem and it has to 32 | The Caterer | 16 October 2015
FOR THE LOVE OF
CHOCOLATE
61%
of people eat out outside of traditional mealtimes*
Alex Ingram, Mars Food UK From left: David Mulcahy, Oliver Cock, Caroline Fry, Ufi Ibrahim, Kate Martin and Jill Whittaker
Kate Martin, the Brookwood Partnership, and Jill Whittaker, HIT Training
start with education, both in school and at home. She said: “Food should be back on the curriculum. We need to start the education process at the grass roots.” Whittaker added: “There is an opportunity for everyone to have an impact,” while Cock argued more pressure should also be put on suppliers to see if certain ingredients could be reduced. He said: “It’s important to educate our own business and educate our chefs, too.” He added: “I personally think it will fail if we go down the legislative route. There is a healthy amount of sugar you can put in your body, but this is not the case with tobacco, for example.” Employment On the issue of employment the panel discussed how the industry could make hospitality more appealing to young people. Martin said: “We need to recognise people for their hard work. We are often guilty of driving rates downwards and not upwards. “We should focus on training and making our industry sexy, so young people want to join. We need to shout about the positive messages.” Ibrahim added: “Perception is an issue. We need to convey strong, positive messages. This is an industry you should be able to enter
Oliver Cock, Compass Group
Alison Gilbert, CH&Co Group
regardless of qualifications. We can lift people up from entry roles.” “There’s a broader industry we represent, but people don’t view it as a career,” said Whittaker. “You can travel the world, run a restaurant, run a bar and more, but the message that goes out is that you’ll work in a kitchen for 16 hours a day having a chef shout at you. We need to change that message.”
and businesses to relate to Generation Z. “Food She said: “They are shaped by technology should be and have no memory of life before touchThey get excited by what technology back on the screens. can do for them, but not what it is. For curriculum. Millennials, technology was enabling, but it’s empowering for Generation Z.” We need Worrollo explained that Generation Z is to start the a hardworking generation and is considered be more compassionate. education to “Generation Z is knowledgeable,” she said. “They have access to answers whenever process they need them and have a 24-hour learning at the culture. They ask ‘why’ a lot and if you can’t grass roots” give them a proper answer they will go off and
Kate Martin
Generation Z The answer to the industry’s employment problem could rest with the next generation – apparently Generation Z are time-efficient and brutal with filtering information. Following on from the Millennials (Generation Y), the oldest members of this latest generation are starting to enter the workplace. Emma Worrollo, managing director of insight and ideas agency the Pineapple Lounge, outlined the ways for delegates www.thecaterer.com
Ufi Ibrahim, BHA
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come up with something better.” For those working in the food industry this will require a greater need for transparency. They will want to know where food is coming from and the values of the company. They will engage with businesses which share their ethos. And if they don’t solve the staffing issue for a company, they may help increase its profits instead as they regularly like to eat out. Worrollo added: “They are known to be fickle, but when they do engage, they are likely to become an ambassador.” 16 October 2015 | The Caterer | 33
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