26th June 2006, it’s my first day at Tragus. I’ve just joined the purchasing team as a procurement assistant (it’s an exciting new start!); I will be looking after small wares and uniforms to name a few categories.

Summer 2007, I get promoted to Category Buyer level, I’m entrusted a small area of buying. Result!!

October 2008, I get promoted again!! I’m now a Senior Category Buyer and a manager, this time though I’m entrusted the largest portfolio of buying. Result, twice!!

I’ve really enjoyed these last 3 years, the company has grown really quickly and has given its employees plenty of opportunities to grow with it. I’ve been given plenty of challenges, support, training and opportunities. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s been worth it AND I’ve made plenty of new friends. Bonus!!

I am like you... who arrived to the UK during the summer holidays and started working as a waitress in the local restaurant called Abbaye. My initial goal was to obtain a Master’s degree whilst working in a vibrant and lively environment. I had not only a great team to work with but also a fantastic manager who was leading by example, supporting and training his team continuously. I soon realised how lucky I had been to join such a big and successful company like Tragus. I worked my way up to supervisor and not long after that I was offered the recruitment administrator’s role in Support Office.

And here I am now, helping to recruit successful managers, utilising the database to source excellent candidates, supporting current restaurant managers from new openings to creating Photoshop posters etc. At the same time, I’m gaining new skills by communicating with our Area Managers, participating in different training and becoming better and better at my job whilst having lots of fun!

It all started in December 1998; a cold wet start to my first day with Bella Pasta in London Bridge. Within a year and a half I was promoted to Restaurant Manager. Later on in the year I was telephoned by the operations manager to tell me that I had won the trip of a life time. Yes, it was off to Saint Petersburg with some of the directors and my fellow restaurateurs who had also won in their area. A few more years and then a new chapter had started, multi-siting! As a cluster manager, I worked myself through the paces, and reporting to the operations director was a total new ball game.

With support and direction, opportunities and a hard working management team gave me the opportunity of been promoted to Area Manager after 8 months with the responsibility of 12 Restaurants. It was during the 2nd year of being an Area Manager that opportunities rose again.

I now am the area manager for London. Great opportunities lay before me and again it’s all about working with great managers and a strong supportive Support office. It might have been a cold wet day when I started in Bella Pasta London Bridge, but it has been a sunny and fulfilling journey, one where your efforts are recognised. Stay focused, have a dream and be consistent in your management style, you’ll get there.

I started working for Tragus over 9 years ago when I needed a summer job prior to going to University. I started as a commis chef working for Café Rouge in Worcester, although I started to also work shifts on the floor. Within a few months I was being trained as a Supervisor, running my own shifts and getting a real taste for the business. I maintained my kitchen knowledge by also working occasional shifts back-of-house, and then later moved to Café Rouge in Exeter where I worked as Chef de Partie. Following this, I moved to Café Rouge in Cheltenham as Sous Chef, and then finally onto Café Rouge in Worcester as an Assistant Manager. I was lucky enough to win the French Brands Support Manager of the Year award in 2004.

When I made the decision to move to London, I looked into working as part of the Tragus Support Team, as I felt that I wanted to experience the ‘bigger picture’ of how the company worked. I initially took the role of Operations Support, working with the Operations Directors and Area Managers, helping to support the restaurants. I found this to be an exciting opportunity, and later had the honour of being awarded the Support Office Employee of the Year in 2006. Since then I have moved on to work as part of the busy Tragus Training Team, firstly in the role of Training Coordinator, and more recently in the role of Training Officer, where I help to oversee and support the training & development requirements for some of Tragus’ smaller brands and concession restaurants.

Tragus’ continued commitment to training & development is something I am very proud of. I have had a tremendously rewarding experience with Tragus, and I feel a great sense of satisfaction that I am in a position to help develop those people who are both starting out with the company, and those that have been part of it for years.