Michelle Chillingworth has been part of The Wolseley Hospitality Group family for over eleven years. From spearheading Private Dining for the group when she first started, she them moved to Fischer’s as its General Manager, she assumed that same role at The Delaunay in Covent Garden since December 2018.
Have you always worked in hospitality?
I have and studied it at University in fact. When I left I was tempted to go straight onto the floor again, but I knew that was something I could always go back to and another side of the business was tempting me – Private Dining and Events. I started working at a 5-star hotel in Surrey that gave me such a good grounding for working in the world of hospitality. However, I was always more interested in food and soon got a job with Gordon Ramsay where I worked for 6 ½ years, starting as a Private Dining assistant and leaving as the Private Dining Manager. While I was there, I looked after all the restaurants, private rooms and chef’s tables – it was so exciting, especially with the likes of Angela Harnett, Jason Atherton, Marcus Waering and Mark Sargeant being there at the time. It was real fine dining in a high-pressured environment; every detail demanded attention but I loved it.
How did you end up working for The Wolseley Hospitality Group?
I wanted a new challenge and felt I had two options – to go into another restaurant group or back into the hotel world. Then, my CV landed on Leika’s (Zuleika Fennell – The group’s Managing Director until 2022) desk when The Delaunay was just opening and I was tasked with basically starting up the Private Dining side for both it and The Wolseley. There were no templates or booking systems in place so it was an exciting opportunity – I wanted to be able to set something up from the beginning.
A few years later, I was asked if I’d ever thought about going back onto the floor. For me, it wasn’t an alien prospect having done so in the past and it was something that had always interested me. Following a few months at The Wolseley as a Floor Manager, I moved to Fischer’s about 6 weeks after it opened as Restaurant Manager and took over a year later as General Manager. And now, after all these years, I could never imagine doing a 9-5 job again to be honest and have never looked back.
Fischer’s was great and I learnt an incredible amount there. With a smaller restaurant, everyone has to do everything and especially with a restaurant that isn’t yet established you have to be really considerate of that when you’re thinking about menu and pricing etc. I learnt so much.
What is your approach at The Delaunay?
There’s a lot going on there which is exciting with the main restaurant and The Counter. The good thing is that there are so many people who have been here for so long and know what they’re doing. It’s a particularly busy restaurant, we often do 350 covers for dinner, so we have to be organised!
The most important thing for me is getting to know the staff. If they’re not happy, they’re not going to give a good service or enjoy working here and that would impact the customers and to make sure that we curate a happy environment for all. It’s also about planning, constantly thinking forward and ensuring good communication between the different departments – everyone helping each other out makes the world of difference.
Where do you see opportunities?
Pre-theatre is a huge opportunity for us. They can often be the toughest services though because they’re very quick. You have people coming in for an occasion, not necessarily people who visit us all the time – and you have that one opportunity to make a good first impression so that next time they’re around, they’ll want to come back.
How is it being in the heart of London’s Theatre Land?
Pre-theatre is a very busy service for us which is great. Again, the team here are fantastic – often doing 150 covers in the space of an hour and a half. The kitchen also do a phenomenal job – customers need to be in and out quite quickly with some just leaving themselves under an hour.
Post-theatre however is something we’d like to grow more but people’s dining habits have changed… Going to the opera and having a drink afterwards just doesn’t happen as regularly any more. We run many show and dinner packages throughout the year that are always enjoyed by our customers – the Tina Turner musical is playing just across the road at the moment for example, but it’s exciting to think about ways to further that side of the business. For example, there’s an opera currently being performed at the Royal Opera House that has a fairly long interval and people come here for a quick bite during it before heading back to their seats.
Also, Covent Garden is such a fantastic place to be, regardless of the numerous theatres. There’s always so much going on, Somerset House is just down the road for example, you’ve got all the law firms, King’s College, LSE etc.
Would you recommend hospitality as a career?
Definitely. It’s hard work; you really have to enjoy it and enjoy being around people, but I would definitely recommend it. The opportunities that you have and what you experience is really quite special. I always have things to talk about as every day is different. It can be very high pressured, especially at this level – it feels like you have a family of 100 people to look after, especially with staff who are away from home. You have to be with them through various things but that makes it incredibly rewarding, too. Certainly I make the most of my time outside of work, and I think it’s fair to say even more so than I did when I had a 9-5 job.
What advice would you give to those wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Considering the current staffing situation within the hospitality industry, it’s so important to have a good grounding in psychology actually, as well as a thorough understanding about the food and wine of course. Also, it’s not just about the staff – so much is about the customers – knowing how people think and how they act; reading a situation is vital.
Work experience is the best start you can have – I began working in restaurants when I was 16. My degree also meant you had to do a placement, so I worked up at Gleneagles for a year and gained such a wealth of experience from being there. I’d say if you can get into a good restaurant group and do courses on the side, you can really thrive. It’s not unusual at all for people to come into the business as a junior waiter and progress to manager level. There is real scope here to grow, it’s just down how much effort you put in.
