Get in training!

[L-R]Rinaldo Boscaro, Alexandre Maurisseau, Sandra van Reenen, Dominique Morin and Naji Esta

Esta: We have the same issue, but we try. For example, with our suppliers who offer training, traditionally they want around 30-40 people but nowadays they are a lot more flexible, and we have got them down to 15-20 people per session.

But I feel that the team is much more aggressive and responsive to training now; they tend to have the right behaviour, requesting training and looking forward, which is a positive thing. There’s much more commitment.

Van Reenen: We were very fortunate in a lot of ways; we have a dedicated F&B training manager, we have great scope for our outlets, we have a sizeable team, and we managed to prepare thoroughly during the pre-opening stages. It was extremely high-pressured, but still streamlined.

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But now we’re a business, we’re an operation and we need to function. So yes, time can be an issue that crops up, but I think it comes down to how you plan and structure the training.

How would you like to see the field progress in future?

Morin: I would like to see an F&B school in the country — not some institute, but a proper school, like Cornell.

Boscaro: You could even have a school affiliated with one of these big existing hospitality schools, with the same curriculum. And we definitely need more F&B training managers around!

Van Reenen: I agree; in the year or so I’ve been here, I have come across very few dedicated F&B training roles. It is a luxury for a hotel. But of course as such, it is a role that may go if times get tough.