School children in Chester were given a hands-on introduction to the world of hospitality as part of plans designed to inspire young people to consider careers in the industry.
The awareness drive is being led by hotelier Steven Hesketh, owner of the Chester Townhouse Hotel and Hotel Wrexham, and founder of the Hospitality Hero programme.
Steven recently published Bee Our Guest , a children’s book aimed at opening young minds to the creativity and opportunities within hospitality.
During a visit to Newton Primary School in Chester, he gifted 60 copies of the book to Year Six pupils before leading a series of interactive workshops.
Pupils took part in activities including mocktail making, napkin folding, restaurant design and biscuit icing, giving them a practical insight into the skills involved in hospitality roles.
Reflecting on the visit, Steven said it went better than hoped for and reminded himself of the reasons why he entered into the industry in the first place.
“Their ideas were so imaginative – from superhero restaurants to gaming cafés and animal-themed venues.
“There’s so much negativity around hospitality – long hours, lack of respect – but when you see a room full of children excited by the idea of creating something and making people feel welcome, it changes everything.”
Steven said he believes the pupils went home talking about hospitality not just as “hotel jobs” or “waitressing”, but as an exciting and creative career path.
The Hospitality Hero team now hopes to expand the programme to more schools locally, with the long-term ambition of taking it nationwide.
For the full story, see Chester Standard