Celebrating Twelve Years of Gold Service Scholarship: Jennifer Howard

In order to honour 12 years of the scholarship, we are celebrating by highlighting the unique voices and stories of those who have taken part in the scholarship over the years. Our second interview is with Jennifer Howard (née Santner), the fourth Scholar who was fortunate to receive her award from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at a celebratory awards ceremony held at Claridge’s in 2016. Established in 2012, the Gold Service Scholarship was launched to inspire and nurture the UK’s up and coming front-of-house talent.

“My journey in hospitality started in 2007 in Switzerland, when I was looking for an apprenticeship,” says Jennifer. “I actually considered a variety of different options including being a journalist, psychologist, even a car mechanic, before finally deciding to take on a role in a hotel, working in the kitchen, in service and even the laundry.” Jennifer reflects. As part of this first foray into hospitality, Jennifer studied for 3 years in Lucerne and particularly took a shine to bar tending.

“My plan was to go to hotel school in Switzerland”, Jennifer explains, “but I decided I was first going to move to London for 6 months, and of course I have now stayed here for 14 years, and it is now my home”.

It was during one of her first roles in the UK as Chef de Rang working alongside then Restaurant Manager, Fred Sirieix, at Galvin at Windows when Jennifer was first persuaded to enter the Gold Service Scholarship, making it successfully to the quarter-finals before trying again a few years later.

Reflecting on her experience, Jennifer explains, “I was nervous and anxious the first time around, and you really don’t know what to expect. You meet and network with so many people, so it was really helpful second time around, as I felt more confident about what was expected of me.”

Jennifer credits one of the Gold Service Scholarship Trustees, Sergio Rebecchi, for encouraging her to apply for and win the Annual Awards of Excellence in 2015, and then subsequently to reapply for the Gold Service Scholarship, while she was working at the Fenchurch Restaurant Sky Garden. As Jennifer points out, “It is so important when you have someone who believes in you”.

Reflecting on the competition itself, Jennifer describes the challenge of taking part in the personal interview, service skills exercises, writing a menu, cocktail-making and wine decanting. “The competition gives you the opportunity to do things you wouldn’t normally do. Normally, in a high-end restaurant, there is a sommelier who is responsible for wine decanting, so it was good to be able to gain new skills in this area, but also to build up my confidence and social skills.” Jennifer reflects that the Gold Service Scholarship allowed her to develop skills she would not necessarily have had a chance to try out in her workplace.

When asked how it felt to actually win the Gold Service Scholarship in 2016, Jennifer explains, “I felt so overwhelmed that apparently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, said something to me when presenting the award, but I didn’t respond at all.” Jennifer found out in advance that a member of The Royal Family was expected to come to the awards ceremony at Claridge’s, as she had intended to miss the evening in order to attend a friend’s wedding in South Africa, but luckily she was persuaded to change her plans.

Jennifer is very clear about the impact that winning the Gold Service Scholarship has had on her career. “The next day, it was all over the news and social media”. While in no doubt that being a Scholar has opened doors for her and has contributed to the successes she has had in her career, she reflects on the impact of the scholarship prize itself which included world-class placements and work experience.

Particularly memorable was the trip to Champagne with the other winning finalists, and going to Buckingham Palace on two occasions. The first time was serving at a Garden Party at the Palace in the Royal tent, and the second was helping to prepare for three days ahead of a State Visit. This involved polishing silver, as well as attending the briefing and taking part in the service itself. The prize also included 10 days’ work experience at the Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur and 5 days’ work experience at The Waterside Inn with Diego Masciaga, all of which were clearly formative experiences for Jennifer.

Following her win, Jennifer went on to work as Restaurant Manager at the 3 Michelin starred Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library, as Restaurant Manager at Angler South Place Hotel, followed by General Manager at The Grill at the Dorchester, where she got married, and she is now working as Deputy Director of Food and Beverage at Claridge’s.

When asked about her plans to enter any more competitions, Jennifer is clear that her goal now is to encourage the development and training of her staff and colleagues. “Every year, we hold a drinks reception at Claridge’s to encourage my colleagues to enter the Gold Service Scholarship”. Jennifer is particularly passionate about encouraging more women into the industry and ensuring that there is representation at senior levels.

When considering what changes she would like to see or influence in the hospitality industry, Jennifer states that, “previously, it was a challenge having no clear guidelines for the number of hours you would be expected to work”, and while the industry is making positive changes in this area, she hopes that further moves towards greater flexibility will encourage more people, and more women, to join and remain in the industry.

For Jennifer, the encouragement and motivation that was given to her at Galvin at Windows and Fenchurch Restaurant Sky Garden, amongst other industry colleagues, has had a significant impact on her career and she wants to be able to repay this to the next generation of hospitality talent. This model of giving back and supporting the up-and-coming talent is very much the essence of the Gold Service Scholarship and its thriving Team Gold community.

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An interview by Helena Houghton, EP Business in Hospitality