My first job as a waitress
Posted on January 21 2019 at 14:54
My first experience within the hospitality industry started at the Black Bull hotel in Moffat. I started as a waitress there when I was 13 and worked in all 3 of the eating areas. The Black Bull at the time was a very busy place filled with tourists and many locals. Serving a variety of homemade Scottish dishes with a large seating area the restaurant was busy every weekend. Due to having 3 seating areas inside the hotel for food plus outside seating, the shift was often rather busy. In 2016 the Black bull was taken over and was re branded as the home of the pie and mash. The railway bar was converted into 3 disabled friendly rooms and the interior of the bar was completely converted into a modern dining area. The 3 separate rooms were opened up and made into one area. The dining area of the restaurant was filled with large tartan booths and lovely wood stained tables. The menu at the time was based purely on pie and mash, while not a favourite of most people I enjoyed it when I visited. I had a traditional steak pie and mash, served with a lovely gravy.
I was a waitress for around 5 years. I worked at the Black Bull for around 5/6 months where I then moved to the Stag Hotel where I worked for 4 years. The hospitality industry is fast changing and new ideas and trends are coming into fashion all the time. When I worked at the Stag, Draft Ale was becoming very popular, with new ale getting served every week. I have noticed a change in the hospitality industry over the years; with the zero tolerance on drinking and driving I have noticed that many people don’t drink during the week anymore. I would say from when I started at the Stag and being involved in hospitality, Moffat is not the lively town it used to be.
The Black Bull has recently been taken over again within the last few weeks by another couple. They are looking to remove the basic pie and mash menu and bring a more traditional Scottish menu to the table. Whilst the pie and mash may be popular elsewhere, it didn’t really work for a place like Moffat. The new owners are looking too totally re brand, I have been following there social media pages and they have recently changed their logo. I hope the new owners can bring back the traditional feel to the Black Bull which will hopefully attract more business in the coming months. The Black Bull is a lovely place to sit on a summer’s day as it was decorated in the renovation. With lovely large wooden tables and benches and a lovely surrounding garden, it is the prefect sun trap on a summer’s day. I used to enjoy sitting at the Black Bull on a summer’s day when it was previously owned back in 2010, not aged to drink at the time, it was a good place to have lunch and soak up the sun.
The Black Bull has completely changed since I worked there 7 years ago. The general feel of the Black Bull has changed since then and is now a modern hotel/ restaurant compared to the classic, traditional place that many people used to love. Even though the Black Bull is not what it used to be, it is still a lovely place to enjoy a relaxing drink, any day of the week. I wish the new owners the best of luck in their new adventure and hope to visit soon!
This was my first taste of the hospitality industry. Where was your first job in the hospitality industry and what are your thoughts on it today?
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