“I just walked in off the street and said, ‘Can I have a job?’, Louis laughs, “I got lucky because it just so happened a staff member had left that day.”
Luck may have been on his side, but Louis’ work ethic, keen attitude and hunger to learn impressed his employers.
“Initially they gave me a trial washing dishes, then I progressed to prep. Within about a month I was put on service.”
The experience confirmed for Louis that he wanted a career as a professional chef. So, when Louis learnt about the apprenticeship offered by the Galgorm and Northern Regional College he could not pass up the opportunity.
He had been completing his A-Levels in business studies and sports studies and had even considered going to university to study business management. When he told his parents he was leaving after AS-Levels to pursue a career as a chef, they were taken aback at first.
“They said ‘you’ve never talked about being a chef before, you just cook in the house’, and to be fair, I hadn’t really talked about it out loud, but I had been thinking about it for a long time.”
In only a few months Louis has already amassed a wealth of experience across a number of the Galgorm’s hospitality offerings including the relaxed Gillie’s Bar & Grill, the fine-dining River Room and the Galgorm’s golf club steakhouse, The Castle.
He also learnt many valuable skills, chef among which, Louis says, is responsibility.
“You have to be really organised and you have personal accountability for your tasks. In a professional kitchen, no matter how junior your role, you have a job that you must do and if you don’t do it, you let the team down and customers don’t get served.”
Meanwhile, the lesson he learns in college complement what he’s learning in the Galgorm’s kitchens. “Class sizes are really small, so your lecturer can really spend time with you. Everything we do in class relates back to our practical learning in work, so it’s really valuable.”
Louis says he couldn’t recommend the apprenticeship scheme more to someone who wants to kick-start a career in hospitality.
“Nowadays you need experience and an environment like the Galgorm gives you a huge breadth of experience across so many different areas at the highest standard.”
If you are thinking of making the leap, Louis has some advice.
“You have to be willing to learn. Observe everything, listen to everything everyone tells you, and keep your eyes and ears open at all times. Take every opportunity you see and work, work, work.”