Stosie Madi of the Parkers Arms discusses how passion drives her business

How do you get passionate people to work for you?
Firstly, we look for people who are keen and eager. You can teach so much but you can’t imbibe someone with passion – they have to love what they do, or at least love the idea of starting a career in our industry. We’re a remote country pub so we often rely on casual staff and young part-timers, but even if they’re washing up over a summer, we treat them well and build relationships.

How do you inspire passion in young people?
That’s on me as much as them – we pay over the odds, about £2-3 above the minimum wage, guarantee shifts that don’t go beyond 10 hours, and also promise regularity. It’s important to pay people well and in turn we expect dedication and hard graft. Mostly, we want people to love what they do. We allow all our staff to taste the food we cook, whether it’s rabbit or lobster with caviar.

Finally, how important is passion in fostering a happy industry?
An example here might be Vlad, my assistant. He lives at the pub. He arrived with almost no English and started out doing odd jobs. I could see he was interested in cooking and he would ask to get involved, so I fostered that early passion and nurtured him. We grew together and I love to see staff grow into roles and develop as time goes by. We put him through college to learn English, gave him an apron and started him off as a KP. He got stuck in and is now vital to the business four years later. I couldn’t do this without him. And so it’s about giving people the time to learn and adapt, and that will inspire passion, loyalty, and ultimately happiness. No day should be a chore here and nothing is too much. It’s hard work, but we all see what we can achieve when we pull together. In hospitality today, a workplace must be a loving and caring place to be. This is 2022. I suppose success and happiness go hand in hand.