At midnight, on the evening of New Years Eve 2000, the start of the new millennium, I stood in the middle of the African bush, under a blanket of stars with a glass of champagne in my hand.  Mark McAdam, owner and manager of Bushman’s Kloof and I toasted the end to a perfect year.

We had just been awarded membership into the world’s most exclusive hotel association, Relais et Chateaux.  It had been a long and challenging year.

As the Executive Chef for this relatively new and unknown hotel, it was my responsibility to make sure that the cuisine achieved the highest possible standards.  And thanks to my team and the support of the owners, we had been accepted.   In the next ten years, Bushman’s Kloof would achieve a number of awards including #1 hotel in the world.

After Bushman’s Kloof, my career as a chef really took off.   I had started working in professional kitchens in New York at age 16, and by 33 had made many achievements.

I had been Regional Chairman of the South African Chefs Association twice, owned an award winning restaurant, judged the Chaine de Rotisseurs world championship final, been awarded several culinary awards and appeared in both local and international culinary publications.

In 2004 I was approached by a well-known and established hospitality recruitment agent who was getting ready to retire.  She wanted someone to take over her business and was impressed with the networking I had done while being involved in SACA.  Networking she said, is what recruitment is all about.  If you want to find great people, you have to know great people.

The recruitment world was changing with new technology and recruitment techniques. She felt it was time to hand it over to someone who could take it to the next level.

I acquired the business from her, and modernized the agency using the latest in recruitment techniques, social network marketing, and building a first class global network of top hospitality professionals.

The company grew and Hospitalio’s client list now includes 4 previous winners of best hotel in the world, the world’s largest cruise ship and many of the most recognized hospitality brands in the business including hotels with Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Hilton, IHG, Six Senses and Starwood.  We also now own and manage the largest hospitality social network groups including Luxury Hoteliers, LinkedIn’s largest and most successful group with 40,000+ members.

I now look back at my time at Bushman’s Kloof and realize there was no way I would have been able to attract the talent I did to the hotel's remote location without having a great recruitment agent.   Had I tried to spend the 40 – 50 hours of search time it takes to recruit each new member of my team, I would have taken my eye of the ball.  My cuisine would have suffered and I would not have achieved what I did.

Today I am proud to be able to help other great hotels, resorts and cruise lines recruit the same high level of talented hospitality professionals. They get to keep their eye on the ball and I still get to be part of their winning team.

All the best

Barak

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Barak is featured in the book: Star Chefs - 10 Culinary Masters - by American Express publishing - Buy it at Amazon

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