Ragdale Hall’s Food and Beverage Assistant shares her career journey so far

What opportunities are there at Ragdale, and how can we help to further your career? We caught up with Food and Beverage Assistant, Louise, who has recently completed a Food and Beverage Apprenticeship at Ragdale Hall, to find out about her career journey so far.

“I originally did a week of work experience in April 2019 at Ragdale Hall which was split between the Verandah Bar and the Dining Room. Three months later, I joined Ragdale as a Food and Beverage Apprentice. When I joined Ragdale it was my first ever job after leaving school.”

“Ragdale initially attracted me as it looked like a very good and unique place to work with loads of options for hospitality. I like making people happy and showing customers that I listen and care for them. Hospitality is incredibly varied and involves several roles which makes the job itself interesting.”

As her first official job since leaving school, Louise has learnt a lot along the way and even faced some challenges. “As Ragdale was my first job, I had to learn everything from scratch, including different types of wine, food choices, allergies, multi-tasking, and customer service. My newest challenge is training new staff members which makes me feel proud of what I’ve achieved so far.”

Louise has plenty of aspirations for her future career goals. She comments: “My goal at Ragdale is to go as far as I can go. I’ve already progressed to Food and Beverage Assistant which I’m so happy about. In the future, when I’ve gained more experience, I could consider venturing into HR or becoming a Duty Manager.”

Louise’s role is incredibly varied, and no two days are the same. “Every day is different. I work across the main Dining room, Verandah Bar and Garden Room. When I’m in the Dining room I could be greeting customers and taking them to their seats, or on servery, which requires strong communication skills with the guests and chefs. The Garden Room offers a chance to meet new guests arriving for their welcome drink.”

Louise lives about 15 minutes from Ragdale Hall in a town called Syston. “On my days off I just relax, and spend time with my friends and family. I love travelling and going to new places.”

“Ragdale is such a lovely place to work; all the staff are friendly, good-humoured and supportive, and you get to know the guests which become familiar faces. Plus, the staff discount in the shops and being able to use the spa facilities is a huge perk. Ragdale is just so unique and offers so much for both the guests and staff. I’ve made so many memories already and looking forward to making many more.”

Our family is always growing so if you’re friendly and caring with masses of enthusiasm and you have a passion for providing unrivalled customer service then we really want to hear from you. Find out more about working at Ragdale and our current vacancies here.