Nigel Johnston
Q: What are your responsibilities?
N: As Maitre D’ of The Plantation Grill I have many varying responsibilities such as maintaining the high service standards that our guests expect when they enter The Plantation Grill through staff training and motivation. I also liaise with our executive chef and corporate chef for some new ideas to refresh our menu, which changes seasonally.
Q: What makes a typical day?
N: There is no such thing as a typical day here in Bali or DoubleSix Luxury Hotel! I am lucky to start in the afternoon, maybe after tennis or a run on the beach. I will have meetings with the food and beverage manager, hotel manager and general manager going over revenue from the previous day, then a briefing with The Plantation Grill’s staff before each service.
Q: Your best attribute?
N: I show empathy towards both the guest and the staff and have a 20+ year career in hospitality.
Q: Team player or team leader? N: Absolutely need to switch between both.
Q: Who has been the most influential figure in your career to date? N: I have had many influential figures from when I first began café work in Melbourne, with Natalie Shostak in a humble law court café in 1997. Geoff Lindsay said to me when I started work at Pearl Restaurant in 2002 “if you work at Pearl you will have a career” and of course, Robert Marchetti from Icebergs in Sydney who recommended me for this career-defining role.
Q: Name one really special thing about your restaurant? N: The Plantation Grill stimulates all your senses at once.
Q: How do you unwind? N: Snorkelling is my meditation.
Q: Dead or alive, who would you like to take out to dinner? N: Table of six: Robbie Williams, Madonna, Kylie, Michael Jackson, George Michael. No photographs allowed.
The Plantation Grill