Q: How did you become interested in food and beverage management?

A: I always worked as a youngster. I was living abroad with my family and when I graduated from high school came back home and began working with Elbow Beach. It was at the time of the old maitre d'/captain system and I stayed there for two years. At the time I was 18 and Bermuda seemed very small. I wanted to expand my life on a broader scale and so I went to Manhattan to work for a restaurant, the Sea Grill, in Rockefeller Centre. I stayed there for eight and a half years. Working on the four-star system, it was a three-star restaurant and I worked with great chefs and learned all about food and wine. I was recruited by Marriott to join the company and move into management. I finished their Management in Training (MIT) programme and, ironically, it brought me home to work at Castle Harbour, which was then managed by Marriott.

I spent a year and a half here, working in the dining room, and then I was sent back to Manhattan as part of a task force to receive additional training as a restaurant manager, overseeing multiple outlets.

I finished and came back to Castle Harbour as a restaurant manager for its golf grill. I spent a year there which was a great opportunity for me as the restaurant's manager was previously its chef. It was his first experience working in the front of the house and we formed a good partnership. He helped me with menu planning, preparation and presentation and I helped him develop a (wait system). A year and a half later, I decided again that Bermuda was too small and that I needed a change.

Q: Where did you go?

A: I left the Marriott Corporation and joined Interstate, another management company. I worked at the Marriott in Boca Raton, Florida, as an assistant restaurant manager. I learned a lot about the financial side of restaurants and was held accountable for bottom line profit.

I grew as a manager in my opinion, I was stronger technically and financially, more capable. In 1987 I was promoted to restaurant manager at the Sheraton, on Bricket Avenue in Miami. I stayed there for a year and a half. It went up for sale and there was a lot of uncertainty about its vision and development.

Q: And so, from there?

A: I was recruited by the Four Seasons, which was exciting for me. I was at Palm Beach, as the restaurant manager there of the Ocean Grill, an indoor/outdoor facility. With the Four Seasons, because of who they are ? the best in the industry ? their progression chart is a lot slower.

So to grow to the Food & Beverage director or even the assistant director would have taken a long time and so I joined John Q. Hammond, a privately-owned management company.

Q: And that led you where?

A: To the Chateau on the Lake in Branson, Missouri, the Midwestern version of Broadway which sits in the Ozark Mountains. Because the hotel closed for two months in the winter, my challenge there was recruiting.

My recruiting skills were greatly sharpened because they were always recruiting; we were always in the hiring mode. I was then promoted within the same company, to work as banqueting manager at the Marriott Resort in Coral Springs, Florida.

John Q. Hammond was growing, the Marriott was a brand-new property ? silver standards and staff were not in place. I had to recruit and train and prepare. The work was seasonal but I was successful and it provided an opportunity for me to really learn the operation from the ground up.

It helps in the long run, even today, to know how to set up (conference) rooms ? I know what needs to be done, I know, first hand, the amount of time it should take. After that, I got married. My wife, Bernadette, was living in London with her 15-year-old daughter, Jasmine.

Q: And so you moved to England?

A: Yes. I joined Accor, a French-based company which owns and manages Sofitel and Novotel properties. I was based at the Hammersmith Novotel, which was a very challenging role. I then joined the Whitbread plc, which operated similarly to the Marriott in that was a multi-purpose management company, responsible for health clubs and restaurants ? a wide variety of properties, working as its executive assistant food and beverage director.My wife and I decided to move home and in coming back, learned the Fairmont Southampton was in need of a food and beverage director. I felt I had learned a wealth of knowledge overseas. I wanted to bring it back to the island and use it to recruit locals into hospitality.

It had been 12 years since I'd left Castle Harbour. A lot had changed in that time; a lot of locals had left the industry. One of my goals is to have a top-flight food and beverage team. I'm committed to having the best outlets, the best staff. I want a staff that's efficient, knowledgeable and friendly ? if I can find that among locals it'd be great, but I'm looking for the best staff overall.

Q: Were you aware that the Bermuda Hotel Association had started a drive to bring locals working in the hospitality industry overseas, back to Bermuda?

A: I came back before I knew of the launch but was made aware of it when I got back. (BHA president) John Harvey met with me and was a source of advice. The position at the Fairmont was already available and we both agreed it was a great fit for myself.

The island has seen tremendous growth. It's still small but it's a lot more liveable to me than it seemed when I was 18, 19.

I want my daughters ?- I have an 18 year old, Kelly, in college in Minneapolis ? to enjoy the same experiences as I did growing up here.

Q: Have your wife and daughters ever lived here before?

A: My wife has visited. Kelly has never been. Jasmine visited when she was two years old. So they will have to go through quite an adjustment. Staffing is a challenge and I'm committed to having the best possible. I would like to see a higher ratio of locals.

One thing I have learned in my years of experience is that every manager needs to groom an assistant for his role and I'm hoping to do that but I want a team in place that I can rely on from year to year; staff committed to the island overall.

Q: What does the Fairmont Southampton have in terms of food and beverage?

A: We have nine different outlets which offer everything from a fine dining experience at the Newport Room to the casual service at the Golf Hut.

I think we have the entire range of restaurant types pretty much covered and there's a lot we can do to enhance what we have.

Q: Any changes in the near future?

A: My first priority is to look at the product we're putting out to our guests. There are no plans for major changes at this time but there will be through the years.

There is one exception to that ? Whaler Inn is going through renovations. I want to present a South Beach-themed restaurant. I'd love to see it open in October instead of closing in September next year.

Q: You mentioned staffing as a challenge. Why do you think that is?

A: I haven't been here long enough (to find out for myself) but in speaking with others, the information I've received is it's economics. Hotel work is known to be seasonal although we're open here at the Fairmont year round.

So the option facing people is seasonal work versus construction work, which is year round and Monday to Friday ? unlike food and beverage. Their quality of life, in their opinion, is better where they are right now.

It's a hard challenge to overcome but as the hotel becomes busier I can argue against that. This year the forecast at the Fairmont is good. If we build upon that every year, it helps me in the recruitment process.

Also, I'm committed to training everyone from the busboy on up so that they can have a career here.

I did it that way myself and the training programme is something I will make clear to every young member of staff who comes here.

Q: Is it difficult dealing with customers and being nice every day?

A: It comes naturally for me in terms of our clientele. But if you love food and beverage, when you walk into a restaurant it's like going on stage. You want guests to have a pleasant experience and you're truly excited about it. When I'm not in the office I enjoy time with my family, American football, watersports and even a simple bike ride on a scooter. Dining out, of course, is something I definitely enjoy doing. Definitely locals as well. The Newport Room is the only five-diamond restaurant in the Caribbean, let alone Bermuda.

Waterlot Inn, for many years, has had a local following and Sunday brunch in the Windows on the Sound will see between 300 and 500 locals on any given day. So between the three, we clearly are a destination for locals.

Q: What's the best thing for you about being back in Bermuda?

A: Being close to my family again and, in terms of working, having the ability to train and recruit young locals. I'm looking forward to it.