Neil Shroeder
Name: Neil Shroeder<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
Job: General Manager, Aramark contract catering, Hewlett Packard, Bristol
Date of birth: 25/02/71
Route to job: Shroeder began his career in 1987 at Darlington College of Technology, studying for a City and Guilds in catering, cooking and accommodation. While still studying he was also working as a waiter at the Park Head Hotel in Bishop Auckland.
After finishing his course in 1989 he started as a chef de rang at the Linden Hall Hotel in Northumberland, responsible for all service of a 50-cover station in a fine-dining restaurant. He stayed until 1993 when his desire to travel took over and he got a job as a wine waiter on board the QE2, where he ended up responsible for all wine and liquor service in the 100-seat Princess Grill fine-dining restaurant.
A year later he returned to dry land, working for Forte at the Bath Spa hotel in Bath as assistant restaurant manager. Here he managed all aspects of a conference and banqueting operation with a turnover of £2.2m. He also worked as the hotel's duty manager.
In 1997 he moved again to Forte's Francis on the Square Hotel, also in Bath, as the catering operations manager. Running the 90-seat restaurant, 35-seat café-bar, and banqueting facilities of up to 160 seats, he was in charge of a team of 40 and revenue of £1.1m.
A move to Bristol in 1999 led him to his current position as the manager of Aramark's catering contract at Hewlett Packard's offices. He is responsible for serving of 2,000 meals a day and a £1.5m turnover. He manages a team of 60 across four departments and eight buildings.
His day-to-day work involves making sure the financial targets are met, providing direction to on-site supervisors and managers and liasing with Hewlett Packard representatives about their requirements for functions and events. He also has a hands-on role during mealtimes, talking to customers and supervising staff.
What do you need to be a contract catering general manager? "The most important thing is attitude, everything else can be taught. You also need a keen eye for detail and to be accurate and precise. Man-management skills are very important, as is being a good communicator and getting your ideas across to staff quickly and effectively, because they're so important. On my own I can't do anything.
"I love my job, I've worked in hotels and the hours just aren't comparable doing this. I work a pretty straightforward day because I'm catering for people who work office hours."
