Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
HaylEy iS HEttiOH a taStE FoR catERiOH
HAYLEY Wilkes got a taste for the catering world while working in a kitchen hotel when growing up in her native Wales.
She’s travelled and worked overseas in hospitality, then all over the UK within the banking and insurance sector before getting professional qualifications at Glasgow Metropolitan College.
Hayley, 39, honed her skills in a number of prestigious restaurants and kitchens and, in 2011, became a freelance.
Since 2016, Hayley has been catering at Broughty Golf Club in Monifieth, and has opened the popular ‘WeeCOOK Kitchen’ family restaurant within the premises too.
“I’d always been interested in food and had worked in a local hotel as a kitchen porter when a teenager,” she says. “I loved it.”
She added: “A few years ago I started doing demos and children’s cooking classes at the Farmer’s Market in Forfar and this is where Broughty Golf Club members spotted me.
“They had a kitchen which had been empty for three years so a deal was struck. I’d cater for the club, their members, visitors and functions and, in return, I get to run my own place within.
“It’s busy, sometimes working seven days a week and there are two permanent staff now, one of whom is my apprentice.
“In busy times, staffing needs increased so I employ many local casual or seasonal staff to support me.
“As a chef, I have to manage, lead and organise. As a self-employed chef, I am responsible for every other aspect of the business too.
“Now that I have staff I have an accountant because wages, holiday pay, tax, National insurance, PAYE and pensions also have to be considered when you’re employing people.
“As a chef, I pride myself on serving fresh tasty food, so I endeavour, whenever possible, to source seasonal or local produce from local wholesalers, suppliers and producers. Preparing and serving good food isn’t the whole thing, of course.
“The first and last impressions we make are equally important. We always give customers a sincere and warm welcome.
“And we’re always thinking about new tastes you can offer people such as lamb rogan josh pies, for example.
“It’s also extremely satisfying to create jobs for people who are now learning new skills.
“I’m loving this — the people, the work and the atmosphere.”