Finding A Job You Love : Lorraine Heskin CEO & Founder of Gourmet Food Parlour

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This podcast is sponsored by Kinexis Recruit,

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Ireland's leading digital recruitment agency.

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Whether you're looking to reach top talents,

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considering a career switch, or in need of guidance

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on the ever -changing talent landscape, partnering

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with Kinexis is a no -brainer. Hey everyone,

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welcome to the Interview Expert Podcast. I'm

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your host, Owen Murray, the CEO of YourHeart

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.ie. I help you secure your job in less than

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90 days. Thanks to each and every one of you

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who come back to listen, learn and grow. This

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podcast is where hiring managers from diverse

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backgrounds share their insights to support you

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on your interview journey. Join us as we explore

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tips, strategies, and real world experiences

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to help you ace your next interview and land

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your dream job. Super excited to have Lorraine

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Heskin on the pod this week. She is the CEO of

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Gourmet Food Parlor, hailing from a small village

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in County Galway. She studied in University of

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Limerick. before heading off to New York for

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four years, working in a diverse range of food

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businesses. On returning to Dublin, Lorraine

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made the decision to open their first 25 -seater

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in Dunleary in 2006. Through hard work and dedication,

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Gourmet Food Parlor has grown into a very successful

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business, employing a team of almost 300 across

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the group. With eight locations across Dublin,

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Galway and Mead, Dunleary, Swords, Malahide,

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Santry, three restaurants in Arnett, on Henry

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Street, Saltelle, Galway, and Dunshock in the

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County Mead. With their ever -growing catering

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and event businesses, it has been a busy 18 years.

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Lorraine's hands -on approach is to running the

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business as the driving force behind GFP. Her

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dedication, determination, and hard work filters

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down throughout the company. She creates a positive

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working environment throughout head office and

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each location. Lorraine often speaks of team

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GFP and how the strength of the brand is down

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to every person that works for her. Lorraine

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sets high standards and expectations for her

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team, which constantly challenge each individual

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to strive for better and to ensure there is attention

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paid to every detail. To become a successful

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business, there needs to be a very committed,

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hardworking and driven leader at the helm and

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Lorraine is certainly all of these. Lorraine

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was an EY entrepreneur of the year finalist in

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2023, representing GFP in the established category

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of CEO and founder. You will often see Lorraine

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featured on various panel discussions and networking

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events as a leader in the food and beverage industry.

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Lorraine has been a judge for the Network Ireland

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Women in Business Awards. She has also been invited

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as a keynote speaker at many separate networking

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events and as a keynote speaker at many high

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profile corporate and business events. Gourmet

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Food Parlor recently won an award for the Deloitte

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Best Managed Company for five years running.

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Let's dive in. Lorraine, how are you? Welcome

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to the show. I'm very well, Owen. Thank you so

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much. Thanks for having me. Fantastic. It's so

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great to have you on the founder and CEO of For

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My Food Parlor. And just to kind of give you

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a bit of background about how we are talking

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here, Lorraine, you came up in a networking event

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a few weeks ago. And when I started doing my

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research about you and your business, I had to

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have you on the show. So I'm so happy to have

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you. So thank you. Go to my food parlor, established

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around 2006, I think, turning over 16 million

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euro partners with the FAI, RFU, the Olympic

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team. So just success storying around. But I'll

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let you sort of explain it in a bit more detail.

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And I'd love for our listeners to hear your story.

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It would be great. Absolutely. We'd be delighted

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to tell you the story. God, it feels like a lifetime

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ago. It's 18 years ago this month. So, yeah,

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it's... It's been an incredible journey. So I

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moved back from the States and I went to work

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for Jacob Prudefield, which was I spent four

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or five years working in the food business over

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in America, which is an incredible experience.

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And then got to work for for Jacob Prudefield

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Food Group. But I kind of knew when I was living

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in America that I always wanted to have my own

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business. And to cut a very long story short,

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I knew when I was working in Jacob's, I loved

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the experience and loved working for Irish friends.

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particularly those brands and Fruitfields have

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bought over Jacobs at the time but I always knew

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that if I didn't try now that I would never would

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never never go and take the leap so I decided

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to go and search for a unit in 2006 when the

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Celtic Tiger was in full swing and it was very

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very difficult there was a lot of nose a lot

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of slam doors and a lot of knockbacks but eventually

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I found a unit Offa Side Street, Offa Side Street

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in Dun Laoghaire. To cut a very long story short,

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I opened 25 Caesar Cafe on Cumberland Street

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on the 28th of July when it all started. Fantastic.

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And it's been a success story ever since. I know

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we were speaking before, but. Just for our listeners,

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I go to your restaurant in Dunleary quite a bit.

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And we love it because we bring the kids and

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there's plenty of space and the food is great.

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So, yeah, we're always in there on a Saturday

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morning. Yeah, very good. Very good. Not even

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the location that I opened. I actually had opened

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on Cumberland Street. It was a really small building.

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It was a very old building. OK, we had to be

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like I invested a little bit of quite a bit of

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money into it at the time to bring it up to standard.

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So it started kind of in a separate location.

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but then I realized 10 years into being in Dunleary

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that I wanted a bigger location. I wanted to

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make it bigger because I suppose the brand had

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changed over the years. And you know, the recession

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came in in 2008. And at the beginning, I think

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I remember the day that we opened, there was

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queues going down the street to come in because

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I opened at 1pm. And there was queues going down

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the street and I could see, oh my God, there

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was great excitement around the town for the

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cafe. And there was a demand for the brand. That's

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what I always say, you know, and it was incredible.

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It was absolutely incredible. And from there,

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you know, the brand started. We started to make

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a name for ourselves, which was which was just

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incredible. And, you know, our philosophy was

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to support Irish, to support local producers

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and to make everything fresh to order. And that

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is still very much our philosophy today. So,

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yeah, it's been it's been very exciting. Lots

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of highs and lows, but very exciting journey.

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Absolutely, I can relate to that. I have my own

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business myself, Lorraine. The lows are low,

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but the highs are incredibly high, if that makes

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sense. Absolutely. Your philosophy, Lorraine,

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is to serve food in a fantastic atmosphere with

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the best customer service. How do you gauge a

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candidate's customer service skills during an

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interview process? So what we would look for

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very much is personality and a love for what

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they do, that they're not just doing this because

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they have to, you know, and that's really, really

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important because you can get a sense from somebody,

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you know, somebody couldn't come in with a CV

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that has all the credentials in the world that

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you're looking for, might not actually have the

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passion for what they're doing. And when you're

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working in customer service, it is so important

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to get that point across from the second a customer

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walks in the door. You do need to be very much.

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Hi, how are you? Lovely to see you. It's a lovely

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day. There has to be an energy and a positivity

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because you need to make people feel special.

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You know, the Irish food industry is an incredible

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industry in this country and there's a lot of

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competition out there. So you've got to make

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sure that you're making your customer feel welcome

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from every sense. Customer service, food quality,

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enjoyment, everything. But when we're looking

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for a candidate, it is very much about somebody's

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personality, you know, how they portray and how

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they carry themselves and how... excited they

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are to be in the job. I think that's really important.

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Absolutely. And I think you're right there as

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well. Like when you go to a restaurant, I think

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it's an experience, isn't it? Absolutely, without

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a doubt. The person serving you needs to have

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those customer skills to create a great experience

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from the beginning, as you say, when you get

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in the door right till you leave. And you said

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personality is important there, right? Do you

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ask your Candidates for examples on how they've

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worked with customers before. How do you kind

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of, you know, get it from them that this person

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has the right personality and do they need to

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show you something in practice or how would you

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ask that? Well, first of all, you get it from

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the way they carry themselves when they walk

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in to when they sit down, to how they speak to

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you, to how they hold your eye contact. All of

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that is vitally important. But it is important

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to ask the question as well, you know, ask them,

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how have they dealt with a difficult situation?

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Have you ever worked with customers before? How

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have you ever dealt with a difficult person in

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your life? That could be personally or it could

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be just at work, you know, because, you know,

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everybody has to start and get a job somewhere.

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So it could be an example of how they've actually

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dealt with a difficult friend or a scenario at

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school. school or something like that, and or

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in a previous job as well. And it is important

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to be able to deal with those situations. And

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I think that's an important life lesson more

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so than anything else. So really, it's about

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their demeanor and their personality when they

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come in. And I just think when somebody has a

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positive, strong attitude, then, you know, you

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can you can you can teach them anything. A hundred

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percent. And I think you said how a candidate

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carries themselves when they come in the door.

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It's so important to get the handshake right,

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the eye contact, the body language. We had Joseph

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McGuire on the podcast a few weeks ago, and he

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talked about how we talk more with our bodies

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than we do with our words, which is so true.

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So true, so true. It really is. And I think as

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well, just kind of maybe this is linked to that

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question also, but, you know, when I was hiring

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staff myself in recruitment, values were really

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important to me, right? So, you know, finding

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that right cultural fit. How do you ensure that

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a candidate's values align with the culture of

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Gourmet Food Parlor? Well, I think honestly I

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think own it has to be mutually beneficial because

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I think we have to create a very strong culture

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as an organization and that is extremely important

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to us So we would set a very high precedent And

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for anybody coming in to work for the business

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and that they are coming into a welcome very

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caring very hard -working very genuine Lots of

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love for our brand environment. So they're going

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to come into a high energy. So it's a high energy

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environment because hospitality tends to be that

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way. So when you are very strong and sure that

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you know that you're providing that platform

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and that foundation for for your new staff members

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who are coming in. then that's a really strong

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first step. And then in turn, the values are

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exactly as I said, that they respect the company

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that they're coming in to work for and the values

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that we have. And our values are very simple.

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It is to come in with a positive attitude. It

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is to come in and love what you do. It is to

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come in and learn and grow and develop and have

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fun and look after our customers and make sure

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that we give them the best that they can absolutely

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get. And that is really, really solid and very

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I suppose it's one of the things our HR department

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really looks after extremely well. You know,

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we have an online training system. It's called

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Olive and it's absolutely fantastic. So when

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you start working with us, you get a full induction

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training course and you know, you fulfill all

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the different aspects that you need to fulfill

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before you even start from passive training to

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customer service, depending on your department.

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So it's all it's all there online for you, but

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it also gives you a real good, strong sense of

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the foundation of the business. I speak about

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how I started the company. You know, what's really

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important to me that you're when you're working

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for Gourmet Food Parlor for yourself, for the

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business. And as I say, it really has to be mutually

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beneficial. That would be very important to me

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and to all our senior team that anybody who comes

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in comes in and they love it. Absolutely, and

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do you ask, like, is the expectation when a candidate

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comes in to interview for Going My Food Parlor

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round that they've done a bit of research about

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the business and should they have some knowledge

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about that before they come in for interview?

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Well, absolutely. I've sat in front of some candidates

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who wouldn't even have known, not a clue who

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I was, and that doesn't matter, but it's about

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the business 100 per cent, the brand. and the

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company, how it was founded, you know, you'd

00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:19.740
need to do your research. But it's not because

00:12:19.740 --> 00:12:22.100
you need, you know, it's for yourself, first

00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:25.669
of all, but it shows a certain attribute. in

00:12:25.669 --> 00:12:27.830
your approach to your job when you do that, that

00:12:27.830 --> 00:12:30.350
you care, you know, you're going over and above,

00:12:30.470 --> 00:12:32.409
you're going a little bit over and above to get

00:12:32.409 --> 00:12:34.210
more information than maybe another candidate

00:12:34.210 --> 00:12:36.730
would. And that shows that somebody really wants

00:12:36.730 --> 00:12:38.789
that job. And there goes back to what I said

00:12:38.789 --> 00:12:40.629
at the very beginning, it is about attitude and

00:12:40.629 --> 00:12:43.690
about, you know, somebody's approach to getting

00:12:43.690 --> 00:12:46.559
that job and how much they want it. Absolutely.

00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:49.120
And I actually think at a bare minimum, you should

00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:51.379
do research about the business, no matter what

00:12:51.379 --> 00:12:53.840
business you're interviewing for, to show your

00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:56.980
motivation towards working for that business.

00:12:57.220 --> 00:12:59.580
And we talked about values earlier as well. Like

00:12:59.580 --> 00:13:01.960
if a candidate can come in and actually mirror

00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:05.220
the company's values to how they work. That's

00:13:05.220 --> 00:13:06.580
where you're getting extra points in interviews,

00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:09.539
right? Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And we're

00:13:09.539 --> 00:13:13.600
very much, so we, I would be very emphatic about

00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:15.639
a path of progression and a path within your

00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:18.320
career. So for, I'll give you examples, right?

00:13:18.779 --> 00:13:21.259
I have people working for me currently, you know,

00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:25.080
eight, nine years, 15, 16 years, you know, I've,

00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.720
Longevity in the team and their loyalty to the

00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:32.320
brand and to their job and to the company is

00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:35.000
just an absolute credit to each individual person.

00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:38.679
And how lucky am I to have a team that just loves

00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:40.480
what they do so much that they have been such

00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:43.340
a huge part of the brand. I always say Gormay

00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:45.340
Foopiler is not about Lorraine Heskin. It is

00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:48.120
about the people who work in the business. And

00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:49.659
that is the truest thing that I can say to you

00:13:49.659 --> 00:13:52.879
on this podcast. It is about the people. and

00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:54.539
what they bring and you could have somebody who

00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:57.080
could come into the organization owned for a

00:13:57.080 --> 00:13:59.740
month and they could bring so much high energy

00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:02.100
but they will motivate everybody around them

00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:04.620
and that's the culture that we're looking for

00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:07.419
within gourmet food parlor it is a motivational

00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:10.409
culture. I've had people who came in as kitchen

00:14:10.409 --> 00:14:13.769
porters, who've worked so hard and trained, who

00:14:13.769 --> 00:14:16.389
are now head chefs. People come in as chef to

00:14:16.389 --> 00:14:18.330
parties. They're now executive chefs. I've had

00:14:18.330 --> 00:14:20.889
people come in as deli assistants. They're now

00:14:20.889 --> 00:14:23.629
trained up and went to college and they're now

00:14:23.629 --> 00:14:26.350
working in the finance department. I've had managers

00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:28.690
who are now working in my HR department. I could

00:14:28.690 --> 00:14:31.419
go on and on and on and on and on. But I am,

00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:33.580
if you tell me you're ambitious, you know, be

00:14:33.580 --> 00:14:34.899
careful what you wish for, because I'm like,

00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:36.600
OK, great. So this is what we'll do. We'll get

00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:38.940
you. And you're gone. You're gone. You're on

00:14:38.940 --> 00:14:41.460
the path like the guy who heads up my operations

00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:44.139
department. What an incredible guy was one example

00:14:44.139 --> 00:14:46.860
of money. And he came in as a supervisor in my

00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:49.960
old cafe in Dunleary years and years ago. And

00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:52.159
he is now heading up the operations department,

00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:55.679
such an intelligent, capable, caring, genuine

00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:58.120
man. And how lucky we are to still have him in

00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:01.600
the business. He's one example of Manny and we

00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:03.840
are a very lucky food business, let me tell you,

00:15:03.860 --> 00:15:05.539
to have so many incredible people working in

00:15:05.539 --> 00:15:08.039
it. That is brilliant. I mean, it sounds like

00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:09.919
you've so many success stories there. And actually,

00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:12.419
that's one thing I always say to job seekers

00:15:12.419 --> 00:15:14.299
is that when you're doing research about a business,

00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:17.159
try and find out, you know, about the current

00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:19.840
incumbents and how long they've been there and

00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:23.340
have they progressed. And if you find a company

00:15:23.340 --> 00:15:25.320
like that, where they have employees that have

00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:27.320
been there, as you said, 15, 16 years, that's

00:15:27.320 --> 00:15:29.889
an amazing amount of time. Yeah, that's a company

00:15:29.889 --> 00:15:31.769
you want to hold on to because actually you can

00:15:31.769 --> 00:15:34.389
build your career there because others have.

00:15:35.169 --> 00:15:37.990
Yeah. And I think maybe sort of red flags go

00:15:37.990 --> 00:15:40.889
off when you're doing your research and you see

00:15:40.889 --> 00:15:44.389
that the, you know, attrition rate is quite high.

00:15:45.230 --> 00:15:47.169
There's usually a reason for that. Right. And

00:15:47.169 --> 00:15:49.649
they're probably not the best employers. And

00:15:49.649 --> 00:15:53.669
actually on red flags, are there any red flags

00:15:53.669 --> 00:15:57.289
that you would sort of notice that they would,

00:15:57.289 --> 00:16:00.779
you know, maybe result in a candidate not being

00:16:00.779 --> 00:16:02.879
successful during an interview process that maybe

00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:05.620
you've seen in the past or any examples would

00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:09.440
be great. Yeah. Well, look, I have plenty of

00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:12.159
examples. Some I could probably say in the podcast,

00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:16.809
some I probably can't answer. But look, again,

00:16:16.990 --> 00:16:19.429
it's, it's, it's really, you know, your research,

00:16:19.710 --> 00:16:22.049
it's, you know, it's your love for the potential

00:16:22.049 --> 00:16:24.049
of this job. How do you see yourself fitting

00:16:24.049 --> 00:16:27.429
into this job? And how, you know, can you set

00:16:27.429 --> 00:16:29.710
yourself aside from other candidates? Because,

00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:32.429
you know, it doesn't matter whether you're interviewing

00:16:32.429 --> 00:16:34.590
for a waitress position in a restaurant and it's

00:16:34.590 --> 00:16:37.009
your first job, or if you're interviewing to

00:16:37.009 --> 00:16:40.129
be head of the HR department or a marketing manager

00:16:40.129 --> 00:16:43.110
in gourmet food, it doesn't matter. It's the

00:16:43.110 --> 00:16:45.450
research that you've done is the genuine love

00:16:45.450 --> 00:16:47.610
that you potentially have for this job and the

00:16:47.610 --> 00:16:50.029
interest you know it's not about well I'm interviewing

00:16:50.029 --> 00:16:51.889
for five or six positions and you know I don't

00:16:51.889 --> 00:16:53.929
really know like that that doesn't that doesn't

00:16:53.929 --> 00:16:55.669
cut it and it doesn't cut it particularly in

00:16:55.669 --> 00:16:58.149
hospitality because I just think it's such a

00:16:58.149 --> 00:17:00.049
special industry and you really have to love

00:17:00.049 --> 00:17:01.789
it so much so when you're going to apply for

00:17:01.789 --> 00:17:04.150
a job in it you have to love it you absolutely

00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:07.390
do because it is hard work It's very rewarding.

00:17:07.930 --> 00:17:10.650
It's very fulfilling. It is very character building.

00:17:10.849 --> 00:17:13.529
And I'll tell you, it's the best job that you

00:17:13.529 --> 00:17:15.750
can ever have, no matter whether you're starting

00:17:15.750 --> 00:17:18.210
off in a foundation as being a waitress or a

00:17:18.210 --> 00:17:20.150
waiter or a bar president. Doesn't matter when

00:17:20.150 --> 00:17:21.769
you're working your way up to something else.

00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:24.309
It is an incredible industry, and particularly

00:17:24.309 --> 00:17:27.210
in Ireland, where food is absolutely phenomenal

00:17:27.210 --> 00:17:30.309
as well. But, you know, for me, it would be how

00:17:30.309 --> 00:17:32.349
you set yourself aside from other candidates.

00:17:32.430 --> 00:17:35.140
Again, how you carry yourself. your eye contact,

00:17:35.220 --> 00:17:36.920
do you really want this? You know, when someone

00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:39.700
walks out of a room, I like to say, I like to

00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:42.160
know, I like to say, yeah, wow, I really, really

00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:44.380
like that person. It's like when a customer sees

00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:46.660
a plate of food going to the table, if I don't

00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:48.819
nearly hear, wow, great, you know, then I'm thinking

00:17:48.819 --> 00:17:50.519
we're not doing, we're not doing what we should

00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:52.039
be doing, you know, if we're not getting, oh,

00:17:52.220 --> 00:17:54.539
lovely, that looks lovely. You know, it's a reaction

00:17:54.539 --> 00:17:56.940
after you get something or after a person walks

00:17:56.940 --> 00:17:59.460
out. And I'm always looking for that extra special.

00:18:00.190 --> 00:18:02.750
Absolutely. I'd say it's very satisfying when

00:18:02.750 --> 00:18:04.289
you hear something like that as well, because

00:18:04.289 --> 00:18:06.670
you know you're doing something right. I think

00:18:06.670 --> 00:18:08.769
they're so right there, the way you mentioned

00:18:08.769 --> 00:18:13.190
what you can get from a waitress role or chef

00:18:13.190 --> 00:18:15.990
role or whatever it is in a restaurant. And this

00:18:15.990 --> 00:18:18.589
is kind of coming from a guy who did this myself

00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:22.069
earlier in my career. But you don't actually

00:18:22.069 --> 00:18:24.359
notice it, but you're building... relationship

00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:27.259
management skills, because you're dealing with

00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:30.460
people face to face. All the time, all the time.

00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:31.819
You're building relationships, but you don't

00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:33.880
actually realize that you're going to use those

00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:37.019
skills later on in your career, whether it be

00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:41.079
at your food parlor or some other business. And

00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:44.779
it's also person to person life skills, because,

00:18:45.259 --> 00:18:49.220
you know, I feel a conversation face to face

00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:50.839
is one of the best things that you can do in

00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:53.339
your day. And you don't have to do it more than

00:18:53.339 --> 00:18:55.200
once. You can just do it once and it can be enough.

00:18:55.319 --> 00:18:58.720
But I think person to person contact is something

00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:01.319
that will that will really build somebody's confidence,

00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:04.339
somebody's experience and somebody's love of

00:19:04.339 --> 00:19:06.799
people and the way that the way that you are

00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:08.559
around people and the way that people might react

00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:11.779
to you. Yeah. You know, I worked many, many,

00:19:11.859 --> 00:19:14.779
many, many, many years ago in a place called

00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:17.559
Rocha stores. Oh, and if you've ever heard of

00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:19.480
it. I do, I do. I think I'm old enough to remember

00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:21.299
it, Lorraine. Yeah, yeah. I was on, was it on

00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:23.740
O 'Connell Street? Well, I worked in the one

00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:27.140
in Galway. I'm from Galway originally. But you

00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:29.539
know what, from time, I worked in the supermarket

00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:31.680
mainly and then I worked there every summer when

00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:33.400
I was in college for years and it was one of

00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:35.740
the best jobs I ever had. I loved it. But I was

00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:38.380
dealing with people all the time and I just loved

00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:41.420
it. And I remember one day I had to fill in in

00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:43.880
the restaurant on the first floor and I was thinking

00:19:44.860 --> 00:19:47.119
The big deal now, and they really they need me.

00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:49.579
They need me to be brilliant, you know. And I

00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:52.240
remember one customer, an elderly gentleman pulled

00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:54.680
me aside and he said, well, you're just a lovely

00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:56.920
girl. You're talking to every table. He said,

00:19:56.940 --> 00:19:59.680
what do you want to do when you get older and

00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:01.539
when you grow up, I suppose, or whatever, you

00:20:01.539 --> 00:20:03.079
know, are you going to go to college? And I said,

00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:05.940
I am, I absolutely am. I told him what I was

00:20:05.940 --> 00:20:07.339
thinking of doing, which wasn't what I'm doing

00:20:07.339 --> 00:20:09.660
now. Of course it wasn't, you know. But he said,

00:20:09.660 --> 00:20:11.339
oh, that's great. And he was so encouraging.

00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:13.690
I'll never forget that conversation. So you can

00:20:13.690 --> 00:20:16.529
just never underestimate the value of being around

00:20:16.529 --> 00:20:18.970
people and being around kind people. You know,

00:20:19.529 --> 00:20:21.309
it's surround yourself with good people. I say

00:20:21.309 --> 00:20:23.490
that all the time, all the time. Absolutely,

00:20:23.569 --> 00:20:26.970
absolutely. The best way to build a team. Can

00:20:26.970 --> 00:20:30.910
you share a memorable interview experience that

00:20:30.910 --> 00:20:34.710
taught you something valuable around you? With

00:20:34.710 --> 00:20:37.670
a potential candidate? Yeah, it could have been

00:20:37.670 --> 00:20:41.509
successful or maybe non -successful. Wow, that's

00:20:41.509 --> 00:20:45.769
an excellent, excellent question. Let me think

00:20:45.769 --> 00:20:47.789
now about anybody specifically. You know what,

00:20:48.029 --> 00:20:51.890
I interviewed somebody who's still with me, she

00:20:51.890 --> 00:20:54.369
heads up our HR department, I love her, Laura.

00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:57.980
And I interviewed her a few years ago. And I

00:20:57.980 --> 00:20:59.440
remember when she came in, she'd been in her

00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:01.579
previous job for so long. She was so nervous.

00:21:02.660 --> 00:21:05.880
And I always, you know, I mean, I remember being

00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:07.880
absolutely shaking when I was going into interviews.

00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:11.000
I was so nervous because it meant so much. And

00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:13.279
I remember thinking, first of all, you know,

00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:16.160
I loved her CV, but I just she was she was nervous.

00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.000
And I thought that's such a genuine attribute

00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.440
in a person. But I always say to somebody, you

00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:22.279
know, it's not a strict interview. We don't need

00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:24.680
to have massive formalities in this. It is literally

00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:26.880
just to check about what you've done you know

00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:29.259
you've proved yourself in your career and she

00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:31.319
ended up speaking to me about everything that

00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:33.440
she had achieved and what she did and she's not

00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:35.900
one to shout from from the rooftops about herself

00:21:35.900 --> 00:21:39.200
but she explained herself in such a genuine way

00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.380
I just remember thinking oh my goodness there's

00:21:41.380 --> 00:21:43.599
nobody else I can absolutely talk this girl because

00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:47.369
she was just so fantastic at explaining how much

00:21:47.369 --> 00:21:50.630
she loved what she did and how she really wanted

00:21:50.630 --> 00:21:52.490
to build her own department into the future,

00:21:52.529 --> 00:21:56.250
which really mirrored my own dreams for the structure

00:21:56.250 --> 00:21:58.349
that's in the organisation in Gormay Food Parlor,

00:21:58.630 --> 00:22:00.750
which is one of the things I'm most proud of

00:22:00.750 --> 00:22:02.269
actually is the structure that we've built up

00:22:02.269 --> 00:22:05.299
over the years. And she explained herself in

00:22:05.299 --> 00:22:07.920
such a genuine way, I felt that it really stood

00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:10.259
out to me over many, many, many years of interviewing

00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:13.519
people that, you know, I suppose maybe how few

00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:16.319
times that might happen. But she had just been

00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:19.359
so, I suppose, proud of herself. And she got

00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:21.720
that across so lovely. And I remember thinking

00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:23.299
it was one of the best interviews that I'd ever

00:22:23.299 --> 00:22:27.619
had. So that was a was a lovely experience. Yeah,

00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:30.240
absolutely. When you meet a candidate like that,

00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:33.599
I'm sure Lorraine, you know, I've kind of experienced

00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:35.480
that myself. You're just sitting there going,

00:22:35.700 --> 00:22:39.039
yes, this is the person there. Yeah, absolutely.

00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.160
Yeah, absolutely. And you feel so excited. You

00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.140
know, you're not excited for yourself, but you're

00:22:44.140 --> 00:22:46.359
excited for the team. You're excited for your

00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:48.279
colleagues. You're excited for the business and

00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:50.619
you're excited about the future. And like, you

00:22:50.619 --> 00:22:53.220
know, many, many years of doing this, I'm still

00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:56.180
as excited today on as I was when I started,

00:22:56.180 --> 00:22:59.619
you know, and it's so important that, you know,

00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:01.579
that you keep that going. And as a business owner,

00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:03.900
it is my responsibility to keep that spark going

00:23:03.900 --> 00:23:06.339
for everybody around me. You know, I'm the CEO,

00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:09.599
but at the same time, I still love it as much

00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:12.759
now as I as I did when I started, which is a

00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:14.900
lot more actually, which is kind of crazy. Not

00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:17.259
every day, but most days. No, absolutely. And

00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:19.720
when it works out, when you hire someone like

00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:22.680
Laura there and it works out and years later

00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:25.539
you're looking back, you're just so happy you

00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:27.759
made that decision to hire that person because

00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:31.700
they make a huge impact professionally, but personally

00:23:31.700 --> 00:23:34.960
as well. You spend a lot of time with these people.

00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:38.700
You need to make the right buyers. You also mentioned

00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:40.220
nerves there as well. I just wanted to touch

00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:45.329
on that slightly. And, you know, over my 13 years

00:23:45.329 --> 00:23:47.450
experience in recruitment, I actually never had

00:23:47.450 --> 00:23:50.529
a hiring manager say no to a candidate because

00:23:50.529 --> 00:23:53.690
of nerves. And you mentioned there as well that,

00:23:53.690 --> 00:23:56.910
you know, if you're nervous, you want us, right?

00:23:57.690 --> 00:24:00.009
So I would say to anyone out there doing the

00:24:00.009 --> 00:24:02.519
interview process. It's not going to be no, because

00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:04.880
you're nervous. In fact, that can actually be

00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:07.819
a positive in an interview. Absolutely. And you

00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:09.299
know what I've learned over the years as well

00:24:09.299 --> 00:24:11.960
is I still get nervous, you know, I can get nervous.

00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:13.960
I don't get nervous very often, but I can get

00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:16.299
nervous, you know, if I'm speaking at something

00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:18.859
that really means something to me or I might,

00:24:18.859 --> 00:24:21.579
you know, be in a more emotional state because,

00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:23.660
you know, we're we have different feelings every

00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:25.900
day and there's things going on in our lives.

00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:29.319
And that's all. extremely natural. And I've learned

00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:31.519
over the years to just be OK with that. I've

00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:33.059
learned to be OK with that. I've learned to say

00:24:33.059 --> 00:24:35.900
sometimes, sorry, can I just take a sip of water?

00:24:36.019 --> 00:24:38.339
I'm just a little bit nervous. Of course you

00:24:38.339 --> 00:24:40.900
can take your time, take as much time as you

00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:43.559
need. And I think I don't know, I just think

00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:46.480
it just shows how genuine a person is and you

00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:49.259
just can't buy that. You cannot buy that. Absolutely.

00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:51.920
And you can see it in them as well. And I always

00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:54.140
sort of have a lot of empathy for someone in

00:24:54.140 --> 00:24:56.740
an interview process because I still get nervous

00:24:56.740 --> 00:24:58.720
in interviews, I still get nervous in presentations.

00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:03.579
Just like yourself, it's a natural, we're humans

00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:06.819
and that's the way we work. Absolutely. What

00:25:06.819 --> 00:25:10.039
are your top tips for anyone looking for a job,

00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:14.119
Lorraine? Well, first of all, you know, I would

00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:16.529
always say to somebody, please Wake up every

00:25:16.529 --> 00:25:18.509
morning and do something that you love. Do something

00:25:18.509 --> 00:25:20.130
that you're passionate about. Don't do it because

00:25:20.130 --> 00:25:21.990
you feel like you have to do it because it won't

00:25:21.990 --> 00:25:24.269
bring you happiness. And the number one most

00:25:24.269 --> 00:25:26.470
important thing that I have seen over the years

00:25:26.470 --> 00:25:29.230
that I've had Gourmet Food Parlor is when you

00:25:29.230 --> 00:25:31.869
have people who are working in an environment

00:25:31.869 --> 00:25:35.009
that they love, it brings something special to

00:25:35.009 --> 00:25:37.910
that business, to those individual people. So

00:25:37.910 --> 00:25:40.690
first of all, you know, take your time, decide

00:25:40.690 --> 00:25:43.289
what you want to do, spend time with people.

00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:46.559
who, you know, who are who are working in jobs

00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:48.700
or who have companies that maybe you want to

00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:50.799
aspire to open your own company or maybe you

00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:52.240
want to, you know, you're applying for a job

00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:54.640
in an organization. Spend time with them. You

00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:56.680
know, I remember when I left college, I thought

00:25:56.680 --> 00:25:58.200
I have to leave college, I've got to do my master's,

00:25:58.220 --> 00:26:00.740
I've got to get a job. And it was all go, go,

00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:04.460
go, go, go. If I look back now, I'd love to have

00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:06.440
taken a minute. You know, I'd love to have taken

00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:09.119
a minute. I took a job that I ended up liking.

00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:12.500
I didn't love it. I was working for IBM. I look

00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:15.160
at it was fantastic. Again, people, the people

00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:17.180
part of it was amazing because I learned so much

00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:19.359
from people. I learned how to give presentations

00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:21.759
when I was just out of university. It was like

00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:24.140
it was in front of like very high up, you know,

00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:27.519
managers and directors. And I was part of something

00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:30.000
very special. And that always, always stood to

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.500
me. It was the people that was amazing. But I

00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:34.960
didn't really love the job itself. And that is

00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:38.059
something, you know, taking your time to really

00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:40.819
understand what you're going to do because you're

00:26:40.819 --> 00:26:43.160
very young when you come out of university. You

00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:44.559
know, you don't have, you know, you haven't bought

00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:46.140
a house and you haven't got a car and there's

00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:48.400
all these things that you need to aspire towards.

00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:50.200
You know, maybe you want to travel, you know,

00:26:50.259 --> 00:26:52.420
maybe you want to try a couple of things. But

00:26:52.420 --> 00:26:54.359
I think it's very important to really take your

00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:56.680
time and understand, you know, also, what are

00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:59.160
you good at? You know, sometimes you think maybe

00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:00.960
I need to do this, but I'm actually better at

00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:03.539
something else. And that could lead you. I definitely

00:27:03.539 --> 00:27:06.059
fell into a very different path when I set up

00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:09.480
Gourmet Food Parlor and You know, I didn't study

00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:13.839
food. I am not a qualified chef. I love food.

00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:16.220
I worked in the food business over in New York.

00:27:16.339 --> 00:27:19.160
I didn't work in restaurants, but I worked with

00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:21.599
an Irish and English food import company. And

00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:24.519
then I became a broker where I represented manufacturers

00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:27.680
to the retailers. Very long story short, an incredible

00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:30.960
experience in my early 20s, traveling the States,

00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:33.299
entertaining clients. That's where I got into

00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:36.170
the whole food scenario thinking. I love how

00:27:36.170 --> 00:27:38.930
positive Americans are. Oh, my God. I love them.

00:27:39.289 --> 00:27:41.170
And they're all have a great day. And I say that

00:27:41.170 --> 00:27:43.210
to everybody now. Always. And I moved from America

00:27:43.210 --> 00:27:45.410
a long time. Have a great isn't that a lovely

00:27:45.410 --> 00:27:46.890
thing to say to somebody because I genuinely

00:27:46.890 --> 00:27:49.529
mean we'll have a lovely day. So, you know, I

00:27:49.529 --> 00:27:51.450
came back and then I always in my head, I was

00:27:51.450 --> 00:27:53.230
thinking I want to have a food business in Ireland.

00:27:53.289 --> 00:27:55.049
I don't know what it's going to be, but I'm going

00:27:55.049 --> 00:27:57.569
to do it and I have to do it. And then I loved

00:27:57.569 --> 00:28:00.450
my job in Jacobs, but I knew that if I didn't

00:28:00.450 --> 00:28:02.450
take this chance now, I would never take it.

00:28:02.470 --> 00:28:05.569
And I tell you. When I started Gourmet Food Parlor,

00:28:05.750 --> 00:28:08.650
I said earlier on, the amount of no's, shaking

00:28:08.650 --> 00:28:11.569
of heads, closed doors, you can't have the money.

00:28:11.910 --> 00:28:13.910
I mean, without my family and friends and my

00:28:13.910 --> 00:28:16.509
now husband, who supported me all the way, like

00:28:16.509 --> 00:28:18.230
we wouldn't be sitting here in this conversation.

00:28:18.549 --> 00:28:21.309
I didn't take no for an answer. I wasn't qualified.

00:28:21.450 --> 00:28:22.950
I wasn't going to be cooking the food in the

00:28:22.950 --> 00:28:24.869
kitchen, but I knew that this is what I wanted

00:28:24.869 --> 00:28:28.210
to do. And I created a brand out of love and

00:28:28.210 --> 00:28:32.809
passion and pure determination and opened a 25

00:28:32.809 --> 00:28:35.369
-seater cafe, as I said earlier on, where we

00:28:35.369 --> 00:28:37.089
now, you know, as you said, we turned, well,

00:28:37.250 --> 00:28:39.390
16 million was last year. It's a lot more this

00:28:39.390 --> 00:28:43.210
year. And we have a great growth trajectory in

00:28:43.210 --> 00:28:46.029
the pipeline, which I am so proud of. A team

00:28:46.029 --> 00:28:49.690
of 300 people, nine locations, you know, 7 ,000

00:28:49.690 --> 00:28:52.170
square foot catering facility in Sanctuary. It's

00:28:52.170 --> 00:28:54.009
bananas when you think about it. It's just bananas.

00:28:54.589 --> 00:28:56.509
But I'll go through this whole conversation that

00:28:56.509 --> 00:29:00.109
we've had. It's grown and become what it is because

00:29:00.109 --> 00:29:02.529
of the people. and the people who are doing what

00:29:02.529 --> 00:29:06.849
they love. So do what you love. I love it. And

00:29:06.849 --> 00:29:10.349
not taking no for an answer there, you know,

00:29:10.349 --> 00:29:12.549
is so important in an interview process as well.

00:29:12.690 --> 00:29:15.009
If you're and what I'm getting from you as well,

00:29:15.009 --> 00:29:16.789
Lorraine, is the passion around what you want

00:29:16.789 --> 00:29:20.349
to do. And you needed that passion to go and

00:29:20.349 --> 00:29:23.849
get to where you are today. Right. And anyone

00:29:23.849 --> 00:29:26.029
in an interview process, you know, if you're

00:29:26.029 --> 00:29:27.970
passionate about it and you love what you do.

00:29:28.599 --> 00:29:30.240
Don't take no for an answer. If you get a no

00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:32.619
from someone, try again, try again. You will

00:29:32.619 --> 00:29:35.059
get a yes eventually. That passion will come

00:29:35.059 --> 00:29:37.819
through and you'll get where you want to go.

00:29:37.859 --> 00:29:41.220
I absolutely love that. And also, can I say one

00:29:41.220 --> 00:29:44.180
last thing, Sarion? No, of course. If you think

00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:46.339
that you've got your heart set on the job and

00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:48.079
you don't get it, then it wasn't the job for

00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:50.539
you. Don't be devastated over it because your

00:29:50.539 --> 00:29:53.259
next better job is coming down the line. And

00:29:53.259 --> 00:29:56.400
I always firmly believe that. Yeah, absolutely.

00:29:56.759 --> 00:29:58.619
And it's about learning from the process as well.

00:29:58.619 --> 00:30:00.920
If it isn't now, get the constructive feedback,

00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:03.339
bring it on to your next interview. Absolutely.

00:30:03.619 --> 00:30:06.559
The next one would be yes. Any podcast or book

00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:09.160
recommendations? I know you're a big listener

00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:12.599
of podcast learning. Oh, I love loads of podcasts.

00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:15.680
Yeah, I do. I love anything to do with news talk.

00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:20.640
And Sheila's show, I guess, the podcast is absolutely

00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:24.640
fantastic. Georgia Crawford is absolutely fantastic.

00:30:26.479 --> 00:30:28.940
Frank Graney, I think any of his podcasts that

00:30:28.940 --> 00:30:30.900
he's done as well through News Talk has been

00:30:30.900 --> 00:30:33.799
amazing. Frank is a fellow Galway man, fellow

00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:37.740
Barnerman. Well, not man, I'm woman, but we're

00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:39.559
both from the same village, but he's just really

00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:42.779
excellent at what he does. I listen to so many

00:30:42.779 --> 00:30:45.619
podcasts, you know, anything through RTE, BBC

00:30:45.619 --> 00:30:49.039
Sounds, any of the podcasts there. Oh, loads.

00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:51.559
Yeah, and absolutely. I'm addicted to them as

00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:56.089
well. And where can our audience find you, Lorraine?

00:30:56.589 --> 00:30:58.849
So you can find me on LinkedIn, Lorraine Heskin.

00:30:59.269 --> 00:31:03.210
I'm also Lorraine Heskin on Instagram. And I

00:31:03.210 --> 00:31:04.950
highly recommend you follow Gourmet Food Parlor

00:31:04.950 --> 00:31:07.230
on Instagram as well, because it's very fun.

00:31:07.890 --> 00:31:09.869
And our marketing team are very talented at showing

00:31:09.869 --> 00:31:12.789
what we do behind closed doors, in front of closed

00:31:12.789 --> 00:31:15.150
doors, with customers, around food, everything.

00:31:15.589 --> 00:31:17.710
It's an amazing journey and it's a great, great

00:31:17.710 --> 00:31:19.309
account to follow as well. Gourmet Food Parlor

00:31:19.309 --> 00:31:28.960
on Instagram. I'll add for our listeners that

00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:31.700
link to Instagram to the bottom of the podcast

00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:34.400
and they can easily link into it there. Thank

00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:36.640
you so much. Lorraine, thank you so much. It's

00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:39.079
been so great to have you on. I really enjoyed

00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:41.980
our chat and yeah, all the best and everything.

00:31:42.220 --> 00:31:44.240
Great to have you on. Great to meet you. Thank

00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:46.759
you. Thank you for listening to the Interview

00:31:46.759 --> 00:31:50.240
Expert. Make sure to check out our website yourhire

00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:53.519
.ie where you can subscribe to the show and also

00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:56.359
find out more interview tips and tricks. While

00:31:56.359 --> 00:31:58.420
you're at it if you found value in this show

00:31:58.420 --> 00:32:00.519
we'd appreciate a rating wherever you get your

00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:02.839
podcasts or if you simply tell a friend about

00:32:02.839 --> 00:32:05.299
the show that would help us out too. Owen Murray

00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:08.339
is available for private coaching. See our website

00:32:08.339 --> 00:32:11.700
for details at yourhire .ie. Until next time,

00:32:12.059 --> 00:32:14.299
do good, feel good and be good.