Shirley Spear: Serving up a rewarding career in hospitality

HAVING worked for almost 30 years in the hospitality business, I know how difficult it is to find people with a true passion for Scotland’s amazing food and drink.

It’s difficult to open their eyes to the possibilities that lie beyond the kitchen or attract them towards our excellent independent hotels and restaurants that exist all over the country because of their often remote location.

Remote places are hard for people looking for an exciting nightlife. They need to be able to drive. Then there is the question of housing and a fear of ending up in a dead-end job with no prospects.

This is understandable, but there are plenty of upsides. For those who love the great outdoors, the chance to live and work in some beautiful areas of the country are many. Also, many talented young people get drowned in the sea of graduates attracted to the big chains and organisations, more often than not in the Central Belt. They could sooner develop a starring role in a smaller hotel or restaurant.

I also believe hospitality can offer fantastic jobs for dynamic young people who may be less academically minded. There is a ready marketplace for this category of school-leaver, especially within their communities, if they are prepared to look.

Up until a few years ago, the emphasis was on finding and training chefs. With a welcome change of attitude towards serving excellence on a plate and using fresh local ingredients, there are now great opportunities for chefs to make a name for themselves.

However, much less emphasis has been placed upon the important front-of-house role. I dearly wish we could alter the status of this brilliant career opportunity for young Scots, as for far too long we have neglected the importance of the waiter.

Chefs are working on the wrong side of the swing door; they are not at the epicentre of a restaurant on a busy night. Being a waiter (or waitress) is a starring role, requiring highly professional skills and experience to be at the top of the game. Knowing your food and wine is important, but so is an understanding of customers and how to meet their needs.

A good waiter is also a brilliant communicator, a wonderful host with good knowledge and outstanding organisational skills. Dealing with customers, however friendly or difficult, develops communication skills of the very best kind.

Crucial to every successful maitre d’ is their relationship with the team of chefs. The waiter becomes the chef’s right hand, his eyes and ears in the restaurant, his direct link with those who are eating and enjoying his food. A chef hands over their baby on a plate and puts all their trust in the waiting team to deliver it safely to his customer.

Team effort prevails at all times, but in a small business there is also an enormous opportunity for excellent waiting staff to shine as individuals. A top waiter is the star of every good restaurant’s performance and its strongest ambassador.

I spent 20 years at the stoves while Eddie, my husband, ran the restaurant. I felt insecure without him there. We had a very important working relationship, as well as a small business to run on a very personal level. Eddie was my linchpin. Without him and without the importance we placed upon this working relationship, I doubt we would have been as successful. No successful chef can operate without total collaboration with the restaurant manager and the waiting team.

Scotland is dependent upon its tourism and hospitality industry. My wish is to create a better status for this exciting trade. For too long hospitality has been looked down upon by too many, including teachers, parents and young people who believe – incorrectly – that it is a lowly profession and not worth considering.

I get very frustrated by those who still herald low pay, long hours and unsociable work as reasons for not getting involved. With fixed working practices in place, which every business must adhere to, we can no longer have fingers pointed at us as being unworthy destinations for bright, ambitious young Scots.

With the great plans in store for Scotland over the next few years, there is a huge opportunity for today’s young people to take the main stage within a very short time. I hope, of course, that today’s trainees will stay in Scotland, but with the right attitude and motivation, the whole world becomes their oyster. «

• Shirley Spear is the owner of The Three Chimneys Restaurant on the Isle of Skye. She is speaking at the HIT Scotland Emerging Talent Conference on Tuesday at the Glasgow Science Centre