Simon Soar is a manager with a mission. Recently appointed to the Jersey Hospitality Association, he is only too well aware that members are currently facing a raft of potential challenges, including the proposed liquid waste charge, a new population policy, an overhaul of licensing laws and the ongoing battle to win more business for Jersey’s tourism industry.
‘Personally I feel that a gap has developed between Jersey and its hospitality industry,’ observed Mr Soar, who has worked as far afield as Australia. ‘I don’t feel that the Island loves hospitality any more and is constantly trying to find problems with it, whereas people used to embrace it and be right behind it.’
Social media, for example, has been quite damning, he says. ‘People can say things that are trivial and you do see the public come to its defence, but that has a lot of impact. It is a lot easier to have your reputation damaged than to build it up.
‘I still remember restaurants like Broadway and Central Park and Manhattan, when I was younger, so busy, when Jersey loved this industry. But something has happened, as if hospitality was no longer fundamental to the economy. Who would provide services to the finance industry if there was no hospitality industry?’
What attracted him to the industry in the first place was a taste of foreign cuisine. ‘I’d studied maths, psychology, physics and French A-levels at Victoria College and I was looking at going into engineering after university, but instead went travelling, went to Australia and trained there as a chef.
‘I’ve always had two sides to me and in Sydney you get everything from classic meat-based Aussie cuisine to Pacific Rim fusion. Over there, because of the amalgamation of cultures, it comes naturally, and everything is so fresh.’
His father, Ken, can also take some of the responsibility for his career choice. ‘Dad taught me to cook from a young age. For me there is nothing better than enjoying a meal with friends and family, understanding the passion behind it, creating fantastic dishes, the company, the ambiance.’
After two years Down Under it was time to move on, this time to Brighton. ‘I ended up in a really tough kitchen. I was used to being shouted at in kitchens, but I don’t like seeing people treated unfairly. I was one of 40 staff to leave within a month.
‘So I moved into the bar trade, looking after a friend’s bar, was offered a position there and ended up going into cocktails, which I found had a lot of similarity with cheffing – using different flavours. Just as there are hundreds of different kinds of mushroom, there are a million different flavours in rum.
‘The place I was working in at the time, Above Audio, was very up and coming, it had won 13 national awards and the bartenders were passionate about what they were doing.’
Bar work, particularly in Jersey, may not be as well appreciated. ‘Salvatori Calabresi, for instance, is globally known in the industry. Some amazing people passed on their passion and knowledge to me and I always want to pass that on to others.
‘So by the time I came back here, in 2007, I had already started doing some training in Brighton and set up my own company, Bartechnics, which has flitted in and out of existence for nearly 12 years now, based purely on demand. Sometimes it is just me, going out and doing training, sometimes bespoke events or business launches – for instance the Waitrose franchise in both islands – weddings, parties, consultation, cocktails on superyachts.
‘The most recent I’ve done was the opening for the Cow and Lobster restaurant on the Waterfront, and before that Cheffins, on the old Foresters Arms site at Beaumont. Most of the work is about cocktails and bar service, but also how to engage with customers – a lot of service is quite often lacking and that is something the industry really needs to look at, the relationship between the guest and the waiter or bartender.
‘There are many different things that contribute to that, but it’s mainly about people enjoying what they do and feeling that their job has worth.’
He’s also worked in Guernsey where, he says, there is certainly more support for hospitality. ‘There is a love for it over there and they are passionate about their staff and they have some incredible venues. The Channel Islands as a whole is very lucky with its venues.’
He’s also spent five years at the distribution end, working for JJ Le Sueur. ‘I was looking after the big brands – Smirnoff, San Pelegrino, Gordon’s, mostly spirits – as a distributor and agent, so no direct selling. You get a real bird’s eye view of the industry, from tied venues to free trade. I did a lot of training, using that to encourage people to use our brands. I also built a lot of connections in the trade.’
When his son, Jackson, was born last year, though, he knew it was time for a change. ‘The opportunity at Cheffins came up and meant I could enjoy longer family time with my wife, Lynsey, who had decided not to go back to her job at Randalls.
‘Having a family has been a really big thing for us and the end idea was not to be working evenings.’
Then the post at Jersey Hospitality came up and his predecessor, Helen Hart, could see the potential for him to take on the role. His office is conveniently within the Ommaroo Hotel at Havre des Pas, the premises owned and managed by JHA president Fiona Kerley, so there’s plenty of opportunity for a flow of ideas.
‘This really suits me, because people know we are in hospitality and they understand the reason for this venue.’ Havre des Pas also runs in the family – Mr Soar’s grandparents, aunts and uncles have all lived in the area and his forebears were involved in the Allix Shipyards business which is commemorated just along the promenade.
‘Most of my summers were spent here, in the rockpools, and there is that link to the seaside. Nowadays people give a child a paddling pool in the garden and an iPad.
‘I think Jersey needs to reconnect, go out and enjoy some nice pub meals – there are some great venues, like the Lamplighter, on our doorstep, but we have to embrace it otherwise the industry won’t be able to afford to invest or even pay themselves.’
One of the issues that is concentrating industry minds at the moment is the impact of the new Vehicle Emissions Duty increase, which he says will affect everyone in the supply chain, from shipping companies to wholesalers, retailers and hoteliers, ending up with higher charges for consumers and visitors. ‘This was a hundred-word proposition debated in the States in under 30 minutes, but it has seen charges for some go up from by 177% for some vehicles, with no consultation at all.’
Another potential challenge is Brexit and the impact on employing staff from mainland Europe. ‘Years ago, a lot of local people worked in hospitality part time, but now they don’t want to. For younger people it is a massive opportunity to earn money and an understanding of a service industry.
‘This year we really want to try and get the Island’s youngsters interested in hospitality. Highlands is one of the best colleges, but they are not filling up their courses now because hospitality is seen as low value, even though all the students will get jobs.
‘It’s not just about washing pots,’ he stressed. ‘Nowadays a chef will need technical skills, be able to work out costs, balance the menu, use spreadsheets and manage staff. But you have to work at it and start from the bottom up, just like any other trade.’
In addition to the rise in vehicle duty, there has also in recent years been a compound increase in duty on liquor. ‘I would like to see the justification for the disproportionate ratios over the past eight to ten years, compared to the UK.’
Another red tape issue is that unlike the UK, licensed premises in Jersey are not permitted to offer deals such as ‘happy hours’ or rainy-day discounts, whereas the off-licences and supermarkets are able to offer much lower prices. ‘People now are just buying cheaper booze in the supermarket and drinking before they go out, whereas years ago they met in the pub and socialised.
‘The scary thing is that in a pub the units are measured, so you know how much you are drinking, but at home it is easy to get carried away in a short space of time.’
Probably the biggest problem the industry faces at the current time, in political terms, is not being listened to by politicians. ‘Decisions are being made without any consultation that are having a massive effect. We would like to see things carefully thought through and we want our voice to be heard, so that the States can make educated decisions with the correct facts in front of them.
‘We’re also looking to the future, to what we can do with some of the other groups in the Island, such as Visit Jersey, to benefit our members.’
Jersey is still one of the world’s most beautiful places, he observes again. ‘Every time I come back I realise just how lucky we are. It’s easy to forget, especially if you don’t visit a location like Devil’s Hole for maybe 20 years, but you really appreciate it once you start to look around.
‘Thirty years ago our beaches were packed in summer, but somehow we’ve lost that association. We need to get that back.’
