Hakkasan Group is a worldwide hospitality company with establishments across North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa. Its namesake is taken from its Michelin star restaurant that set the high-level standard for the group’s collection of diverse brands. Its ‘brand first’ philosophy builds restaurant, nightlife, daylife and soon-to-open hotels, resorts and residences into world-class hospitality brands, all with a focus on service, design, innovation and experience.

As a brand what drives you and what are you most passionate about?

 

The guest experience – every detail, every action, every bite or sip. I love that a team of talented individuals strive to immerse others. We have an extensive amount of passion and we will all go the extra mile to ensure our guests return. 

As a company you seem to be constantly growing, what are your plans for the future?

 

At Hakkasan Group, we craft experiences and we are continually looking for ways that stay true to our roots but challenge the status quo. It’s an exciting time in the operations and around the office. We have recently been through a period of consolidation and this consolidation has rattled some but with this all in mind, the future is bright with new opportunities and developments – whether you are based in one of our longstanding locations or looking to be part of a new opening, Hakkasan Group is a good place to be.  

What do you look for in a potential employee?

 

Someone who is genuine, passionate, and eager to learn! We welcome new employees from all paths and experience and offer them training to perform their duties. The rest is History ��

Staff retention is a big problem in the hospitality industry, how do you make sure that your employees stay with you?

 

Our Industry is still wrongly underrated, as a “student job” or “temporary solution” to someone’s career, when in fact, it could be much more than that. We have some fantastic success stories within Hakkasan Group; talents who have been with us for over 15 years with an impressive progression throughout the years. We take pride in offering a wide range of training across all levels, and carefully map our succession planning to ensure development of our internal talents. We also offer great benefits and genuinely care about our talents. Hakkasan Group has 5 restaurants in London, under 3 different brands (Hakkasan, Yauatcha and Sake no Hana) which also allows us to move people around when they feel the need for a change of scenery, which increases their commitment to us.

How did you end up working for Hakkasan? Have you always worked in the hospitality industry? 

 

As a child, I was lucky to have travelled around and was always fascinated by hotels and that feeling of “home away from home”. This feeling stayed with me and when it was time to choose, I went into Luxury Hospitality Management and started my career in 5* Hotels. In the last 10 years, I had the chance of being part of 2 hotel openings; one in Paris and one in London and worked for some of the best Hotel Companies in the world. Hakkasan Group naturally came along as being one of the industry leaders, and it would have been a mistake not to join them. They are forward thinking, ambitious and people oriented!

As a company that continuously looks to innovate, what new trends are you excited about?

 

Digital – Food Trends – flexing our industry for the modern world.  

If you didn’t work for Hakkasan what would you do?  

 

I would probably be working for a competitor, trying to make my way into Hakkasan Group ��