Harry Widgery is the BII NITAs Hospitality Apprentice of the Year. His passion for hospitality and his unstoppable appetite to do well and continue to learn makes Harry Our Hospitality Hero!
“I want to work my way up and hopefully one day run my own pub. There are so many doors to be opened”
It was an incredibly proud moment for Harry Widgery when, at the NITAs ceremony in London last November, he was declared the Hospitality Apprentice of the Year. “Craig Parsons, Fuller’s Apprenticeship Manager, nominated me for the award, as I’d just won Apprentice of the Year at college. I did the best I could do, when I was interviewed as part of the judging process, but when they called out my name on the night, I just sat there – I was shocked – it was a proud moment.”
Harry left school at 16 and got a job working in a kitchen, with on-the-job training. A few years later, having left the kitchen to get his weekends back and to explore the sort of jobs that his friends were doing, mainly working on building sites as brickies, sparkies and general builders, he returned to cheffing and got a job with Fuller’s.
“I really missed working in the kitchen. I think it’s a lot to do with the adrenaline you get from doing it. You have a really busy service and at the end of it, you’ve got this amazing feeling of pride. You all look at each other and think thank god’s that over, but it was great,” says Harry, admitting that to love it, you have got to be able to take the pressure as well as the heat!
Now, aged 22-years-old and with a three-old son, Harry is an Apprentice Chef de Partie at the Wykeham Arms in Winchester, working under the renowned Chef Luke Emmess, Fuller’s Chef of the Year 2019.
“I’ve been learning loads since I’ve been here working under Chef Emmess. He has taught me everything. I did a trial shift with him and instantly fell in love with working in his kitchen. He has helped me broaden my skill base and now I am very versatile and able to go on any section without a fuss.”
The apprenticeship training route has proved to be highly successfully for Harry, who admits to not being very academically inclined. “I might not be great at putting pen to paper, but show me how to do anything and I will be able to do it,” he says. “A full-time course really wouldn’t have been for me. I’m dyslexic and have a short attention span, so an apprenticeship for me has been the way to go – especially as you get paid to learn, which offers me financial security too.”
Harry loves working in hospitality, as he sees that there are no limits to what he can achieve. “I see Head Chefs in their 50s and 60s still learning stuff they didn’t know yesterday. There is so much to learn and you can continue to develop your skills.
“Hospitality is such a broad industry too, with so many opportunities. Plus everyone has to eat and loves food – it’s a job based on love!”
Harry has a particular passion for Asian and Mexican cuisine. He spent three weeks in Puebla, Mexico, to gain work experience and to learn about the culture, thanks to his college course at Havant & Southdowns College. The trip placed students in seven restaurants across Puebla.
“I want to work my way up and hopefully one day run my own pub. There are so many doors to be opened; an old Head Chef friend of mine is now doing private cheffing for Premier League footballers – there’s no end to what you can do.”
