500 BLIPS

Today is a special day. Not only is this my 500th blip but today is also the first day of the lockdown in the UK and the last day of work until we are allowed back again.

I haven't been blipping regularly in the last few years but am intending to do so again now I haven't got to go to work for a while.

As you may have seen work has changed a bit for me over the years. I was a chef, then became a teacher and am now a chef again. Although in my current job I look after the kitchens and chefs that cook in the many restaurants on our resort and don't really cook a lot myself.

I love my job though. The food we serve isn't the same as what I was used to, but with the volumes (sometimes 14.000 meals a day) we serve myself and my chefs try our very best every day to deliver the best quality food with the ingredients at our disposal. What I also love about my job is that many of the chefs are passionate and so keen to learn more skills. I often run skill sessions and teach them things we might not use in the job but will definitely benefit them in their careers at some point. It has now been 3 years and 6 months in this job and I would say that it has been successful so far.

And then this covid-19 coronavirus happened.. a big blow to the world. A big blow to the country and a big blow to our industry as a whole. It has pained my heart in the last couple of weeks seeing businesses close, people being laid off and that massive shortage of chefs has all of a sudden disappeared. There are no jobs because noone is serving food anymore.

Nothing like this has ever happened in our lifetimes, or not in mine anyway. These are uncertain times. I sincerely hope that all the businesses are able to survive this pandemic and when we can re-open again that people will be well rested and ready to go full steam. I also hope that when we all do open again the public will visit us abundantly. I hope the hospitality sector as a whole will boom as it has never done before and that we will rise from the ashes as the strongest tree in the forest.

Good luck everyone over the next few weeks. I hope you and your loved ones will be save wherever you are in the world. I am looking forward to seeing more blips and I am to document this strange period here.

Stay safe!! X