Training and Apprenticeship
Sorry, but I was never the kind of kid that was good at school. Not that I wasn't smart, but it was very hard for me to sit still in my chair for longer than 15 min.
Nevertheless, Hospitality gave me an opportunity to educate myself further without that boring chair.
Living off-grid now and travelling the world gives me even more opportunities to learn things I thought I would never be shown.
Apprenticeship 1988 - 1991
Die Gans im Schnoor, Germany
Michelin Star Restaurant with 40 seats
3-year full-time apprenticeship to become a professional chef in Germany. Including Tafe at Ruebekamp Hotel and Chefs School in Bremen and a final exam at the end of the apprenticeship covering practical technics, menu design, purchase and cooking a menu for 6 guests. Theory covering French kitchen terms, food science, dietaries, hygiene, health & safety, planning & costing and stock control. The 3rd instalment of the exam was a verbal interview covering all subjects from the time of the apprenticeship.
CTA & GTA Training 1995 1996
The Langham Hilton London
5-Star Deluxe Hotel
Management Training for Trainers Training.
Craft Trainer for training professional individuals and Group Trainer for teaching a group or class.
Diploma in Hospitality 2016
New England College of Technology Brisbane, Australia
Recognition of prior learning, Bachelor in Hospitality Management
Photography ongoing
After 20 years I have picked up one of my favorite hobbies again. Photography and videography.
Taking constant online courses and putting them into action by practice and practice.
I use Canon with a selection of lenses and DJI Drones as well as my iPhone from time to time to get quick shots or video.
Shooting wildlife, food, stargazing and landscape. My interest is slowly moving now into portraits, architecture and interiors as well.
Most editing is done in Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and Premier.
Business and Marketing since 2000
Being in Business for over 20 years teaches you a lot about how to run a business.
Working closely with marketing and branding companies, accountants, financial advisers, professionals in hospitality, market researchers, architects and designers, builders and many more.
Understanding the importance of decision-making. Being responsible for your employees to let them thrive and grow within your business through training, trust and of course paying them fair and on time.
Learning from your mistakes and knowing that nobody is perfect is just another good way to learn.
New Technology and Computers ongoing
Over the last 35 years, computers have become one of my most important tools at work, in business and at home.
Whether it is writing menus, costing, rostering, hotel & restaurant booking systems, POS, forecasts, budgets, marketing, interior & kitchen design, bookkeeping, photo/video editing, research, web design and much more.
Knowing the ins and outs to ensure I can be productive, efficient and creative is not just a tool, but very much a hobby too.
Just to name a few programs, apps and online-based systems I use on a regular basis: WIX, Xero, Myob, LittleHotelier, Microsoft 365 (Excel, Word etc.), Google Drive, Pages, Numbers, Adobe (Illustrator, Lightroom, Photoshop, Acrobat, Premier Pro), Myob, Quickbooks and more.
Keeping up to date with the constant upgrades and developments emerging all the time is the key to keeping your finger on the pulse and educating yourself daily.
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Never stop learning ongoing
This is the most important of them all.
The beauty of what I do is that there is always plenty to learn.
Whether it is cooking and creating food, living off-grid and understanding and maintaining solar systems, setting up security systems, water treatments, general maintenance, learning about wildlife and histories of the places we are staying and much much more.
Keep an open mind to learning, you never will know everything and others have a lot to give.