• Responsible for the day-to-day running and management of all aspects of the 110 bed/13 acre conference centre • Developed systems to manage the conference centre on a week-by-week basis. • Set up the conference centre from scratch with a building that needed to be completely renovated. Oversaw the whole refurbishment of the conference centre and other buildings over a period of three months, liaising with the KT London based project manager.• Set up and established from scratch a kitchen and catering equipment costing in the region of £120k. Researched and sought out suppliers and purchased the dining room and bedroom furniture and soft furnishings.• Managed up to 9 supplier relationships which included 4 x food suppliers, totalling approx £70,000 per year.• Successfully recruited up to 16 or 17 casual staff (all on zero contracted hours and many often aged 14-18 years of age) • Under Food Standard’s Agency Government initiative called Safer Food Better Business (SFBB), was responsible for completing, maintaining and updating policies and procedures using the SFBB pack.• Provided on the job training to all staff, demonstrating, overseeing and supervising kitchen and housekeeping tasks• Planned and prepared catering for dietary requirements including (halal, dairy free, nut allergies, gluten free, seafood allergy, vegans and raw vegans); using fresh produce as much as possible for varying ethnic groups including Brazilians, Nigerians, Africans, West Indians, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Indian, Japanese, Eritrean, Ethiopian. Consistently achieved very good feedback on the hospitality and the food. • Passed two inspections in year one and annual / two yearly inspections thereafter by Wealden District Council.• Actioned annual fire risk assessment conducted by Pyrotec who contractually maintained the fire alarm system, emergency lighting and fire safety equipment.

• Worked as Head Chef (looking after the kitchen) for 5 years and was then promoted with increased responsibility to Restaurant and Functions manager (looking after the restaurant manager) • Awarded a full-time Achiever of the Year Award by the YMCA for 2 consecutive years.• Managed the client relationship with customers to book and discuss catering options for the varying events (such as weddings, parties and meetings). Followed through and drafted invoices• Managed 10 members of staff - 4 x counter service staff; 3 x kitchen porters who worked on different shifts, 3 x chefs, plus a few part time staff and one admin office person / PA and facilitated staff meetings weekly.• Managed a budget of circa £250-300k/year to feed 130 residents for breakfast and evening meals • Planned the residents’ and café menus every week, changed the residents’ menu every week, never having a cyclical menu though some dishes would come round again. Loved to introduce variety. • Catered for 14 - 18 weddings per year on Saturdays, and about 30 events/year on Sundays such as christening parties (normally for 30-50 people with buffets), 18th and 21st birthday parties, silver and golden wedding anniversaries and children’s birthday parties • Catered for the YMCA café that could seat up to 130 people, which was open to the public from 9am-5pm. Provided hot lunches (daily specials), salad bar, desserts, jacket potatoes, sandwiches and kids meals.• Catered for all the weddings at the YMCA in excess of 14 a year normally a standard 3 course meal or buffet from set menus, with some flexibility, catering for a maximum of 130 people, for a sit down meal, bar, with disco and finger buffet for evening reception.

• Employed as a pastry chef in the evenings to work in a high-end Spanish Tapas Bar and restaurant, owned by the wife of one of the Armani brothers. A full 40 seated restaurant, with hot section, grill section, cold section, and pastry and dessert section.• Responsible for the pastry and dessert section, working and making recipes according to standards set by the Head Chef• Made 4 desserts, which changed monthly, 10 of each made fresh daily, and assisted the other Chef with starters because we shared a section.• Worked together with a Spanish Head Chef Angel Garcia and one Sous Chef with 4 other Chef De Parties and 2 kitchen assistants.

• Initiated, set up and managed own business single handed making cakes and pastries. Originally started the business from parent’s home kitchen• Trained up 6 helpers • Prepared and produced over 1,000 bars of cake daily (approx. 450 gms) which was the core of the business. Prided myself in maintaining the same quality and standard of products for over 10 years. • Progressed and rented a commercial bakery premises from 1994 with wood fired oven and beautiful big ovens, where the cakes were sold at the same premises, also supplying other outlets. Changed premises on three occasions during the years of running the business.• Employed a separate team of 6 or 7 sales personnel to sell them throughout the city to outlets, offices, department stores and shops on a commission basis and transport costs.• Made savoury items - curry puffs, chicken puffs, stuffed naans, savoury filled choux buns.• Built up a strong reputation for special orders for birthdays and celebration cakes for Weddings, Anniversaries and big ceremonies. Cakes would be ordered and often made on the same day and delivered to clients throughout the city of Mumbai. • Prided myself in being self taught (through cake decorating books and magazines, and visiting Five Star Hotel Bakeries and top confectioners in Mumbai) in making celebration cakes of various shapes and sizes. • Gary’s Cakes continues to trade as an independent business in Mumbai and was sold in 1992.

• Successfully applied for a part time lecturer’s post, to teach practical cookery classes based upon the consistent success of achieving high marks throughout the duration of the two-year diploma . Joined the faculty as a part time lecturer in cookery theory and became full-time after 6 months in 1978 in the same capacity and also became Bakery Instructor. • Was promoted after 2 years to Assistant Head of Department of Hotel Administration and Food Technology and became the Head of the Bakery Department.• Taught cookery lessons covering ‘practical cookery, international cookery and bulk cookery’ to approximately 50 students/class over the two year diploma, tutoring 100 students overall in two years.• Successfully built excellent relationships with students and thrived and thoroughly enjoyed the role • Influenced and worked out ways to raise the profile and credibility of the diploma locally, working with the Head of Dept ; successfully managed to get the Diploma formally recognised by local hotels resulting in students who had passed the diploma finding good jobs in all capacities of the hotel industry, including the internationally renowned Taj Group of Hotels as well as in-flight catering kitchens. Students were also invited to work at the Governor of Bombay’s residence for special funtions.• Transforming the department also resulted in providing catering and food for up to 300 people for parties at the Indonesian, British and American consulates in Bombay. Also the Managing Director of Glaxo at his residence and one of their company properties. Students working alongside the Staff were responsible for the preparation and service of hot buffets and cocktail snacks.