I wanted to be a chef since I was a little boy, when I was always in the kitchen with my mother and grandmother. My family is not in the industry but my best friend’s family had a restaurant in the village where I lived, and from the age of three or four, I spent time there. To a child, a restaurant is amazing; I had a blue apron and I did small tasks around the kitchen, like peeling carrots.

I started with an apprenticeship, spending one week a month in school and three in restaurants; that was 27 years ago. I was 15 when I started and I loved it. Over the years many things have changed but when I started I knew I would work days, nights and during holidays.

I got into hotels by chance. My best friend’s father sold his restaurants where I was working and he found me a job in Paris for a year at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée Paris, working under Alain Ducasse.

I love the philosophy of Accor. When you work for a company you need to know the values – we respect the team and people have the chance to develop, and that advances the brand. I have just spent two days in Paris at an F&B Academy, led by Nicolas Vienne, vice president for F&B of Swissôtel, Pullman and Mövenpick, and we discussed the company’s vision and plans – the menu, communication, and where we are now. We talk about having a passion for what you do, both for the company and for clients.

I love hospitality because I like to make my guests happy, and if you don’t like to do that, you should be working in another sector. I am executive chef by chance but at heart, I am a chef and a cook, and I like to put a smile on my guests’ face; it is the same in my personal life.

I would recommend hospitality because no two days are the same, and every day you learn something new – that is why I am still in the industry. You can learn from your interns, your colleagues and from guests; every journey is different.

The meaning of Heartist® is in the name – I work from the heart, and I always say to my chefs, the secret ingredient in any recipe is love.

I like to spend time with the guests and I do that during breakfast. It is included in the room rate so around 98% of our guests take breakfast, so I can share moments with them and they can tell me what is good and what is wrong in the hotel. For me, those are precious moments.

I advise newcomers, be bold to succeed, be passionate and work from the heart; it is easy to grow in hospitality if you do that. That is what I love about this industry, you don’t need a master’s degree to do well, you can have a basic qualification from culinary college and still progress. Simon Casson is a good example, he started as a steward in Four Seasons and became president for EMEA; you can start at the bottom and get to the top.