I relocated from Dublin to open and assist in running The Devonshire. The journey of The Devonshire has been incredible, being a significant part of the pre-opening, opening and running one of the busiest hospitality venues in London has been incredible both personally and professionally. My goal here along with the founders and other management was to introduce a level of professionalism and hospitality that is unfortunately not seen so often in pubs in London anymore. To create a space of inclusiveness, comfort and safety for all. My role in The Devonshire was primarily running the pub in conjunction with the bar manager and other senior management. With this I also consistently operate as the manager on duty across the venue, working in unison with the other management. We have managed to create one of the busiest pubs in the UK serving on average 20,000 pints of Guinness a week along with incredible net revenue figures from day one. For me, quality of our product, the importance of the guest experience and overall professionalism is key. This is something I have dedicated myself to from the beginning here, creating a team of bartenders that I have helped develop and train to a standard that is generally unheard for pubs in London nowadays. To create a training programme that allows for their personal and professional development while empowering them to have ownership and pride for their workplace has been a meaningful investment of my time and knowledge. While I have also grown significantly in this environment with a team of 20 bartenders and a wider team of 50 FOH team members the challenges are never ending but allow me to constantly refine my skills and my love for hospitality. During my time here, I aided in breaking all forecasts and projections set by ownership, reaching 6 figure net bar revenue week on week, successfully trained and managed a top quality team of pub bartenders and solidified my position in the London hospitality scene.

I worked in this role in the interim period of moving to London and the opening of The Devonshire. I was apart of the opening team of Mountain restaurant, this was exceptionally valuable experience in my hospitality career. To work in such a high-level new opening, following on from the success of sister restaurants Brat, Smoking Goat and Kiln was invaluable to my career. I assisted in the setup and management of primarily the spritz and cocktail bars. With this, I also worked across the venue as a supervisor being enriched with the food, wine and service knowledge that underpins Super 8 restaurants. It was incredibly gratifying to see Mountain awarded a Michelin star in 2024 and no.2 in The National Restaurant Awards.

John Kehoes pub, Anne Street South. The Louis Fitzgerald Group. High volume and revenue traditional Irish pub steeped in history. This was the most-fast paced workplace I have ever worked with non-stop service and high standards to ensure, it was a massive learning experience and a welcome one. Selling circa 100-150 kegs of Guinness per week alongside a significant amount of spirits, wines and other beers it was a large-output operation with excellent management and a robust team of bartenders, bar-backs and floor staff. My customer service and interaction skills have improved massively while at John Kehoes, being a city centre pub with a varied clientele there can be many challenges which has benefited me significantly.

AA Five Red Star Hotel and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. I worked here during my placement from TuDublin primarily, as a cocktail bartender in the Glasshouse Bar while also doing work in other aspects of the hotel such as M&E, other F&B outlets, Back of House and Supervisory roles within The Glasshouse Bar. I developed as a hospitality professional compounding on my previously gained experience and knowledge within the industry. I developed a deeper and extensive understanding of craft cocktails in a rich hospitality environment. My service quality and ability to satisfy guests needs has developed extensively while at The Grove.

Large, high output restaurant bar with a focus on cocktails, an extensive wine list and a large range of beers, spirits and liqueurs. I planned and designed menus, made in-house syrups and cocktails of the month created with new ingredients and existing ingredients on our back bar. I oversaw the ordering of stock, fruit, bar equipment and future procurements alongside the general manager, head chef and other senior staff. I operationally managed the bar during regular, busy periods of up to and above 160 covers in the restaurant and terrace – supervising the bar and floor staff, stock control, making/serving cocktails and drinks, controlling the expediting of drinks, effectively using the EPOS and dealing with customer queries and complaints in an appropriate and satisfactory manner for all.

This role is wide in its responsibilities and being a rugby club bar, unique in its operations. I oversaw the running of the bar which included rostering staff, stock ordering and control, cash handling and procedures, stockroom management and reports for executive and management committees and the wider club.

The Gin Palace, Abbey StreetThis was a busy, high standard city centre bar in which I gained extensive knowledge of the bar industry. Covid-19 created a challenge on a daily basis, ensuring compliance and safety within the establishment while also tending to guests needs and orders was a valuable learning experience. In this job, my roles entailed making and serving drinks including signature gins, cocktails and wine, upselling our large range of gins and other products, POS & cash control, stock/cold room management and deliveries.

I alternated working between the restaurant in the upstairs of the establishment and the two bars downstairs which gave me a great understanding and knowledge of food service and operations within two very different F&B environments.Pre service consisted of the mise en place, taking deliveries in, stocking the bars, taking bookings, arranging seating plans and tending to other needs such as set menu preparations etc.During service my job entailed all food related service including waiting tables, expediting food from the kitchen, making and serving drinks, tendering bills, dealing with all guest queries as a senior waiter/manager on duty, cashing up and closing up.

Receiving and signing for deliveries of kegs, spirits, mixers and all other bar stock. Ensuring stock rotation protocols are followed. I worked on busy nights as a bar back - restocking the bar during the shift, washed glassware, changed kegs and assisted the bartenders in their job and I also worked on the floor collecting glasses, serving platters and doing any other job that needed to be done. This position gave me a great grounding and understanding for the bar and hospitality industry.