Be brave, be different

'If you always do, what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got' Henry Ford

Tom Palfreeman joined Heartwood Collection 11 years ago, starting as an Assistant Manager in our Brasserie in Berkhamsted and this year his dream became a reality when he was deservedly promoted to Operations Director.

Tom didn't always have Operations Director as his dream job, he was an avid cook and had a passion for food from an early age so his dream was to become a chef. After studying cookery at college and then gaining a 1st in Hospitality and Catering Management, Tom realised that being behind the scenes was not for him and he wanted to be out front, conversing with people. Working with people is one of Tom’s superpowers. He has a way of making anyone feel at ease, comfortable yet empowered at the same time which is one of the many reasons that he has ended up leading such a strong and successful set of teams…

At the time when Tom joined the business, Raymond Blanc was his 'celebrity chef' of choice and Raymond was the reason that Tom fought so hard to get a job at Brasserie Bar Co. After interviewing and being told that due to lack of branded experience he was sadly unsuccessful. For many, receiving a no to a dream job interview would have knocked them off course, but not Tom. He knew what he had to do to grow as a Manager, he went away, worked hard, gained relevant experience and interviewed again, this time successfully.

After 6 months in the position of Assistant Manager at Berkhamsted his passion and hard work was clear to see in not only the way he conducted himself and his team, but through the proactive and tenacious initiatives he set up to drive additional sales and grow the reputation of managing a pub that the locals flocked too time and time again. His approach led to being promoted to General Manager of the site. Tom continued to be a huge asset to the business managing several different sites and from working under our Managing Director, Richard Ferrier , at our St Albans Brasserie, Tom honed his leadership and management skills under Rich’s supervision. Richard has always been an inspiration to Tom and has been his mentor for many years and it is clear that they work incredible well together - this dream partnership enables them to be capable of achieving great things.?In his years as an Operations Manager, Tom operated 31 sites in the estate, which has significantly strengthened his over arching knowledge of the businesses infrastructure.?

You might expect that this high achiever is all about work work work and whilst he lives and breathes the business like it was his own, he is the proud Dad to two lovely children and makes time to get the balance as best as possible between business and home time. It helps that his daughter Willa lives for a rare steak, so much of the weekends is spent visiting our sites with a couple of rare steaks and chips for good measure!?

'I love the teams around me, this company is jam packed of great people’

With Tom’s career having taking such great leaps during his time with us, Tom’s advice to anyone who is looking to move into a similar hospitality role is this; 'Learn the from the grass roots up, be patient when building your armoury of experience within the particular business, the more you know about the product, the people, the sites and locations etc the more likely you are to be a success.'

The passion of our senior team radiates to every part of the business; from sourcing the best ingredients, to hiring the best people and setting the benchmark for real excellence in the sector.