Managers' Testimonials
Lee Wilkinson
“The inspiration of working in hospitality really hit home when I joined this business and worked with new people and food at a very high level. As someone who is not afraid of hard work, I supported the management and soon became an important part of the team.
There is so much opportunity in this business. If you have a natural talent for the business and aspire to developing your skills, it’s easy. The ‘Rising Stars’ and ‘Manager in Training’ programmes are combined with other legislative training to turn us in to skilled and knowledgeable leaders.
After completing my management training I was quickly placed into a new opening as an Assistant Manager and I was able to exercise and develop all the skills that I had learnt. As I was only 20 I was quite daunted by all the responsibility, but later found out there was no need. I had so much support from my manager and other various parts of the company that I quickly learned that if I encountered a problem there was always someone to turn to for advice and support.
I stayed in my role as an Assistant Manager for a little over 6 months before being offered a new challenge to further my career. I gladly accepted a new position as a pre-openings trainer and now I am involved directly with all the new openings, passing on the knowledge and skills that have been given to me.
The bottom line is that if you work hard and are willing to learn, the opportunities are endless, if you’re looking for an exciting career in pubs and restaurants then this is the place to be.”
John Tennant
“As a chef, I enjoy working with fresh ingredients and having the flexibility to cook my own creations. I wanted to try something new and challenge my culinary management skills. Our partnership allowed that to happen and I was asked to open one of the most exciting kitchens in the pub collection! It’s challenging, but highly satisfying as I selected my own brigade and worked with my colleagues to help get them trained to our high levels.
The beauty of being a head chef in this group is that you can really use your entrepreneurial flair, whilst at the same time adhering to menu and legislative guidelines. I am also responsible for developing chefs for the future. In our pubs we have a number of chefs who will be running their own kitchens with us, it’s great to be able to help and motivate them and see them develop.”
Chloe Godridge
“I joined the company in May 2004 after hearing what a great job they were doing with some pretty run down pubs! I was amazed at what they were doing with them, the design, the menus and the people made an environment in which I wanted to develop my management career.
I had worked as a supervisor in a number of ‘gastro pubs’ but wanted a secure future, but it had to be somewhere where I could use my own flair. With this company I can do all of that and more. I was part of the opening team at The Fox in Harpenden, but my training involved working in three other pubs, building on my strengths and learning the management ropes. My GM has supported me and ensured I’ve had all the development I needed to complete a hard, but fun and rewarding opening. During my time I have been lucky enough so far to have helped out at six of our sister pubs, which was not only fun but was a great learning experience to see how the carefully chosen managers run their businesses differently, yet very successfully, I therefore developed my own managerial skills.
My career has lifted and I have learnt so much and I'm confident that the support team around me will make sure I reach my ultimate goal of running my own pub with this group soon!”
Paul Boden
“My career took an unusual but great turn this year, when I stopped working for myself and joined the group as a Deputy Manager, with real prospects of being a General Manager within 6 months.
I’d been a GM before and taken the jump to running my own tenancy. I gained valuable experience in this role, but knew I needed to develop my managerial experience if I wanted to do better. In this company I can get the best of both worlds; be your own boss, and work for a very secure organisation, that is committed to developing people.
Not only have I worked in a number of pubs in my training period, I’ve been part of a very exciting opening team and made it to GM within 6 months. The succession planning is quite open, and our progress is discussed regularly. The three things that this organisation focus on are; feedback, recognition and training. You can see the growth potential because the bosses are lining up further pubs next year, so they need a lot of people like me to work with us!”