How Can You Empower Women In Hospitality?

Timothy R Andrews (00:00.066)
Welcome to another edition of Talking Hospitality, where we look at issues in the hospitality industry and our guests have to bring solutions or advice to those issues. This week we're recording live at Lakefield Hospitality College, so be prepared to listen for police sirens, the dropping of a tray and the random starting of a dishwasher as we ask, how can we empower women in hospitality?

Timothy R Andrews (00:34.386)
inspiration

Timothy R Andrews (00:41.826)
Hosting for today's episode are me, Timothy R Andrews and Tracy Rashid. Today is the first time doing face to face recording away from online. Woo!

Timothy R Andrews (00:56.862)
And of course what better way to celebrate than to record in the incredible, and it really is incredible guys, Lakefield Hospitality College in North West London. And you may have already heard her cheer in the background. I'd like to welcome the amazing Frankie Stronati, student and industry link, recruitment manager and teacher. Thank you Frankie. It's great to be here. And how are you today? I'm very well, I'm really well and it's great to be here.

It's very nice for me to be talking to you. I feel like we're old friends. Yeah. Even though we've actually only met a couple of times before. Yeah. But I think we have something really in common, which is the hospitality industry. We're passionate about it. Yeah, that's the word passion. Definitely. We are recording at the fabulous Lakefield Hospitality College in northwest London. Yes. You know, it's been here since 1962 and it was purpose built as a college for females.

to try and eradicate the kind of male female ratio in the industry which is you know it has been very male dominated especially in the 60s we're balancing that out now slowly yeah we're very proud of what we're doing and trying to kind of get young females into the industry females who will stay there who will be leaders who will be head chefs who will be head pastry chefs restaurant managers. How do people respond to the college being female only?

Lots of parents who come with their daughters to have a look around, that's one of the unique selling points for them. They say, I love the fact that you're all girls. Because actually girls learn differently from boys. That's fact. And it gives them the focus that they need. I think also it gives them the confidence, because young people are always comparing with one another. And so it gives them the confidence to just be who they are and to develop themselves. It's in our favour. Obviously you have someone that, you know, say...

For what? There's no boys here. But, you know, we're sticking to our single six education plan because it works for us. Yeah. 100% of our students go into industry and work and stay there for at least five years.

Timothy R Andrews (03:22.914)
morning when I was showing Tracy and Tim around, the girls are looking up to Tracy, she's an entrepreneur, she's got her own cake business, essence of cake, and of course some of them are aspiring to that, that's what they want to do. I think that kind of female role models in their lives are super important because you've been there and you've done it. Yes, yes, and whoever made the tasty cake that I tried earlier at Wolde, it was delicious. It was, wasn't it? But I'm not the expert.

Tim you ate it as well. I did, I loved it. It was definitely improved. What about your background and how did you get to where you are today and how did you get to be involved with Lakefield? Yeah interesting questions. I actually trained as a primary school teacher. I didn't really want to go to university to be honest but in my day it's not like that. But in my day...

Well, I actually applied to do hospitality management and you know what? I didn't get in. So then I thought I am the wrong person for this. I need to choose something else. One of my teachers at school said, why don't you do teaching? You'd be good at teaching. So I did teach him. I did a four year degree in education and I actually loved it. And I'm glad I did it now. You know, I can use those skills. So then after I taught for 15 years, I thought hospitality is still

in my mind. You know, I love being with people, I love looking after people. My grandparents actually had a cafe in Kings Cross. Dad says he remembers as a 14-year-old boy coming back from school and drawing teacups behind the counter, serving, taking fish and chip orders, etc. It's probably in my blood. My dad was the chef at home and so it's always been there. So then I applied for the job at Lakefield and they were looking at the time for someone who

and who could be a kind of student rep and go into schools and get young people into the college and recruit. I studied the food and beverage NVQ level 2. Then I did some cocktail training so I now teach cocktails. And I've really found my niche and I'm really happy here and I love what I do.

Timothy R Andrews (05:42.962)
That's amazing. I can't stop smiling. I know my cheeks are actually hurting. Yeah, yeah, it's just great. It's just great. You said Lakefield was founded in 1962. What was the main drive for it to come about? And why was it, why was it put here? Why was it built? It was very obvious in the 60s that we had lots of male chefs, kind of middle-aged white men who were taking the lead in everything.

and there was no kind of female input there. And I think females have a lot to offer the industry. Hospitality is a life skill in itself. Even if you don't go into it as a career, lots of women will become mothers at some point. So they need those skills, how to look after their family properly. And for me, that is a really kind of good thing to do for society, to teach young women how to be mothers, how to kind of...

keep the family together, how to have those skills of homemaking if you want. Family is where we nurture ourselves, where we develop, where we grow. It's so important. This is why we're here doing this podcast. We want to encourage young people and not so young people to go into the industry and choose it as their chosen career. We came about to empower young women.

to go into the industry and make a name for themselves and to be good team leaders, to look after their staff, which again, I think is another key issue. Let's face it, hospitality is about people. It's about looking after people, internally with your own team, but also externally with the customers that you're serving. Have things changed much since 1962 in our industry? Do you think our industry was a bit behind? We were a bit slow to recognise that, why aren't women coming to our industry?

because we're not catering for them well enough. They want to go and have families, you know, they'll need time to bring up their children and we have to accommodate that. Yes. We were slow of bandwagon really. It's much better, you know, the hours are not so long, you know. The pay still isn't equal. Yes. So that's, you know, that's, you know.

Timothy R Andrews (07:54.442)
It's another podcast. Yeah. Exactly. Put that down. Yeah. But I think it's better, and I think it's changing. I mean, there's a few places that I've been to, a few venues where the kitchen brigade is all female. Wow. That's amazing. And that works for them. You know, a good balance. Always a good balance of men and women.

because we all bring different things to the table and neither one is better than the other, they're just different. But we all know that a great team is made up of, you know, lots of different types of people with different personalities, different talents, different skills and that's what makes a fantastic team. And we have to embrace that.

Timothy R Andrews (08:47.79)
So in terms of the hospitality industry as a whole, obviously it's had a few knocks of late. We say knocks. Very tame. Yeah, very tame at least. What do you think some of the issues are in attracting and recruiting people within our industry right now?

You know what, maybe the small knocks is actually a good thing. I'm just thinking, as you're talking, Tim, that actually maybe this is a wake up call for us that actually maybe we look, need to look for our own industry professionals in the UK. You know, we've, we've been through Brexit, we've been through the pandemic. Suddenly we're stuck because, oh help, we've got no one coming from abroad. What do we do? We have to look for them here. And we certainly experienced that in Lakefield. I mean, the cohort I have this year.

are all British. British girls who want to do this as their chosen career and that's great and you know what I think there's many more out there. Employers need to be doing a lot more to connect with education and I know you know some of the listeners may be thinking who does she think she is? We're too busy. I know that, I understand that. I've worked in hotels and restaurants I absolutely know you'll run off your feet but it's an investment and in the long term

it's going to be to your benefit. Go out there, find them, bring them in, engage them, nurture them, mentor them, coach them and they'll stay with you. What are some of the solutions that Lakefield is providing and maybe more specifically providing for females? In terms of solutions, one of the things we're doing is a mentoring programme because young girls and I think maybe females in general, we always put ourselves down. We always say, I'm not going to be good at that.

and we're not very good at being confident and in fact you know this is another interesting point actually that I'm going to put in here. Lots of male head chefs have said to me, do you know what, the females don't apply for the jobs that are at the top because they always find the loopholes in what they can do and I won't be good enough, I won't be able to do it, I don't have enough skills. So this is what we have to tackle actually, they're not applying for the jobs, why? So we thought the mentoring programme was extremely

Timothy R Andrews (11:04.58)
to build up that confidence from a young age, you know, you can do this. It's all about, you know, growth mindset. You know, we've heard this before, growth mindset. Why are you saying you can't do it? Who said you can't do it? Only you're the only one who's saying you can't do it. You can do it. Yes.

Timothy R Andrews (11:32.714)
So I think for us the mentoring program, the girls meet with their mentor, it's a professional mentor and they will discuss how they're performing in the kitchen, what areas they feel they need to develop and I've got some lovely stories of girls who've kind of been with us and how they've changed from beginning to end and a lot of that is down to the environment that we put them in that is positive. Yes we tell them at times that's not good enough, you can do both of that. It's constructive though, you need that.

Yes, it's all growth, it's all moving forward. That has been a really good solution to build the confidence from a young age and to follow that through. We've also found that once they leave Lakefield, typically most of our students stay for two to three years, once they leave Lakefield they want to stay in contact, they don't just go. It's just amazing how they keep coming back, hi, I just came to say hi to everyone, and they go into the kitchen. The current students will say, oh where do you work now?

is it good? So again that is wonderful to see as well and it happens very naturally. To be fair, frankly, I want to come back so I'm only here a day so I don't blame them. You can come back any time you want. Tracy and I have both worked with schools, separately and young people and one of the things that we've both noticed is that young people tend to be quite shy and reserved at the moment, particularly post lockdown. Not so with your girls? No.

no one was hiding were they? The eye contact was real, like it was there and I love that, that shows confidence in someone it shows they're comfortable in their being that they're happy to look someone in the eyes it's a real skill to be able to do that They're showing confidence, which is what we've just been saying but I think unless you put them in an environment where they feel accepted, they feel secure, they feel safe or that actually you've got their best interest at heart and you want them, you really want them to progress and to succeed

can feel that and so therefore they're kind of happy to listen to the constructive criticism to you know to work harder to push forward so yeah definitely

Timothy R Andrews (13:57.486)
What do you think as an employer, what do you think they should know about working with you or working with the girls? Is there something they should be aware of?

I think that's interesting because I've been working with employers now for two reasons really. One is because they all do two placements every year, so I'm looking for venues who are going to inspire these young people to work with them. And I think it's often on the placements that a girl will come back and she'll say to me, Frankie, I'd really love to work there. I just love the vibe. I love the team. And then second is obviously when they leave here, part of my job is to have a conversation with them

Okay, what do you want to go? Where do you want to work? The world is your oyster. You can go anywhere in the world you want. What do you want to do? And so the ball's in their court. Now, obviously I'm going to support them. I'm on LinkedIn and Instagram, so I'm aware of what's available, what's needed. I'm constantly bombarded with phone calls from employers saying, have you got anybody? We've got some commu chef positions available. But I have to say, I'm also selecting the employers. Yes. I want them to stay in the industry.

experience especially in their first second year of working I want them to be looked after and treated as people and treated as individuals. Absolutely. So I've been around long enough now to know where I would like to send them and where I'm not so keen on sending them. I think employers have got a lot to answer for as well. You're saying you've got no staff or what are you doing to actually recruit those staff and encourage them and promote your business. I've had girls who have left here and they've got you know four or

job offers, which one do they choose? I can tell very quickly the ones who just want to fill their staffing gaps and the ones that actually want to bring this student on board, make them part of the company and train them properly and help them on their career journey. Okay, there's a difference. I think in regards to employers, as you said, one of the key things you mentioned earlier about with the girls coming to your college is training the next leaders, how to manage your teams, manage yourself.

Timothy R Andrews (16:05.108)
to move forwards and I think a lot of the industry, especially in the kitchen, you kind of rise up but not necessarily get that management, that leadership part of the training. So it's really great that you're kind of sending out that new batch of people in hospitality that will have that skill and then can nurture that next generation coming through as well. That's so crucial. So crucial.

Timothy R Andrews (16:40.566)
So you've talked a lot about the employers and how do they get in contact with you? Because I'm sure once they hear this, they're going to want to. If they come and see how we train, what we do, the atmosphere that we have here, the teamwork that we have here, if they see it for themselves, then I think they'll be sold. At Lakefield TC, TC in capitals and our website, lakefield.org.uk. We're not done yet, Frankie.

Don't look so scared! If it's a competition or a game, I'll love it. So it's a game, and the game is you have one word answers, we ask you a question, we alternate it and you have to say the first word that pops into your head. I love this game. I love it.

Timothy R Andrews (17:33.89)
Frankie, what's your favourite colour? Red What's your favourite food? Spaghetti What's your favourite thing to learn about? Hospitality What's the best thing you have ever experienced? Cocktails at the Shard Ooh fancy If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Oh I've always wanted to be like, oh it's one word! Spider-man! Spider-woman! Oh yeah! Spider-woman might be good, yeah. Do you share food or is it best to be savoured individually? Oh shared. What about you? I don't share food. What's the last emoji on your phone? Oh the hug. Aww. What makes you happy? Being with people like you. Aww. What makes you sad?

If I don't succeed. If you were offered the role of Mayor of London, would you take it? Yes. What do you do? More funding. I can't get all the funding. What do you find really, really boring? Sleeping. What's your favourite thing about yourself?

Timothy R Andrews (18:47.446)
You can't ask me. If a Stratus cloud is flat and smooth, and a cumulus cloud is light and fluffy, what does iCloud look like? Technical. What is the punchline to the funniest joke you have ever heard? I never remember punchlines. Is soy a yoghurt, yoghurt? Yes, it's yoghurt. Have you ever had your eyes checked, or have they always been brown?

Hazel. Right, if you won a million pounds, what's the first thing you would spend it on? I'd invest it in Lakefield. Do you ever doubt the existence of others? Others are definitely, they definitely exist.

Timothy R Andrews (19:29.974)
You are off the hook, you can have a glass of water and you can breathe again Frankie. Did I get a 10 out of 10? Well, scores are in, let's just have a look. 77. Have you won? You're gonna have to find out at the end of this series. Thank you both so much. I hope you've both had fun. Yes, definitely. And I hope the listeners have had as much fun as we have and please do check out the links below. Sadly.

That is all of this episode. But tune in next week where we'll have another fabulous guest who will be talking hospitality. Don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for listening and stay awesome. Bye everybody. Bye. Adios.

Timothy R Andrews (20:17.586)
Don't forget you can now get in contact with us via our website www.talkinghospitality.com via Instagram, Facebook and TikTok by searching Talking Hospitality. Our website offers more episodes, blogs on the topics discussed and training that is specific to the hospitality industry designed to help you and your team develop their hospitality careers. Your support makes these conversations possible. Remember.

to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and stay tuned for more engaging discussions in the world of hospitality. Until next time, keep pushing boundaries and stay inspired. Thank you for listening and goodbye.

Timothy R Andrews (21:09.266)
inspiration