A DAY IN THE LIFE OF

Sam Chercoles, Managing Director at PLAY Restaurant and Lounge Dubai

8:00am

Keeping active is a huge part of my life. My day begins with a morning motivation and positive intention mindset routine to help me focus, which boosts my belief in my ability to be successful in the things that I have passion for. Instead of jumping out of bed and rushing right into the stress, I take a deep breath and meditate while drinking a pint of warm lemon and ginger water, which gives my body a lasting boost of energy.

9:00am

Time to get a wonderful rush of endorphins, burn out calories and release stress with 45 minutes of spinning class and 45 minutes of CrossFit. Early morning exercise gives me an optimistic outlook for the day and sets me up for the challenges ahead.

11:00am

My music therapy is in the kitchen: Listening to good music while I’m preparing a healthy breakfast is my invigorating therapy after my gym workout.

11:30am

A date with myself. The first thing I always do after I finish my morning routine is to take an hour for myself to feel and look good before heading out to work. This moment gives me time to process my thoughts and feelings. Plus, it gives me a muchneeded break to recharge my batteries before my next social interaction and to practice self-reflection and self-awareness.

12:30pm

This is the time of day when the founder and I meet at his office to work and discuss our thoughts on the company's feature projects.

13:30pm

I organize my meeting agenda for the following day, clear up my inbox, review the previous day’s operations report, review with the financial team, the flash report and monthly budget. I also meet the HR team to review the manning’s and staff performances.

15:00pm

I prefer to cook at home whenever I can. If not, I go to restaurants that serve healthy food. Once I finish lunch, if there are no meetings scheduled on my agenda, I go home to rest for three hours before my evening shift starts.

18:00pm

The first thing I do when I arrive at work is greet the staff one by one. It is very important for me to see how each member of staff feels and looks before opening the restaurant doors.

18:30pm

Meeting with the operation’s manager and executive chef to discuss feature enhancements. Passion and creativity are two of the most important qualities within the hospitality industry and I ensure with the management team that at Play Restaurant, we will always display these both in abundance.

19:30pm

Motivating my team is part of my daily routine. Employee motivation is a critical aspect in the workplace which leads to peak performance of the restaurant and the company. Among my top priorities is making sure all staff members have the motivation they need to grow in our company or whatever career they pursue.

20:00pm

Each day, our executive chef gets inspired, and he prepares a dish for me to try before the service begins. This is my last meal of the day.

20:30pm - 00:00am

It is always a pleasure for me to be involved in the operations, even if I do not have to. During the evenings, I spend most of my time watching our employees and encouraging them to improve the quality of their services day by day. This makes me feel very satisfied to see that my motivation to improve the staff is being taken into consideration by them and they deliver exactly what we expect.

1:00am

This is when I head home to rest before starting my new journey the next day, but before I go to bed, I end the day the same way I started it: deep breath meditation with a pint of warm lemon and ginger water. I always like the thought that the end of one journey is the start of another.