In this issue:Lumleys Employment Company - history in the making

Festive tips and tricks - a stress-free plan Staff profiles - meet Isobel Richards & Jess Beaumont

How to register with Lumleys

LUMLEYS

LARDERCOOKS WAITING STAFF BUTLERS ASSISTANTS

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Lumleys

2 Lumleys Larder

From humble beginnings in Wilton Street, Lumleys expanded to larger

premises in Pimlico. The white office on the corner of Charlwood Street with

its striking blue signage and trellised windows became a familiar image for

many people. It was the attention to detail which set Lumleys apart and the

personal relationship between the agency and its cooks meant they were

able to provide exactly the right person for the job.

The enduring and unfailing energy of Cleone propelled Lumleys to the top of

its market and fixed its reputation as ‘The’ agency to call. In March 2008, after

38 years Cleone decided to retire and Lumleys was acquired by Greycoat

Placements Ltd, part of the international Empresaria Group. Lumleys now

share an office with Greycoat Placements in Victoria, London, SW1. Lumleys

continue to concentrate on temporary placements and summer seasons in

the country, in London and internationally, while Greycoat now handle the ski

recruitment and permanent chef jobs.

The company is frequently called upon to provide staff for both corporate and

private functions; everything from event managers to experienced waiting

staff, cooks and assistants to traditional silver service waiting staff, washer

uppers and tea people.

Lumleys may have moved on and developed sophisticated methods of

keeping records and job monitoring, but we still pride ourselves on a friendly

and select service. We enjoy talking to our customers and staff and like to

hear how people are. We are here to help you find the best person to fulfil

your needs.

Lumleys employment company - a brief

HISTORY

Our ‘Early Bird Tip’ for the

YULETIDE‘Tis the season to be jolly, but when you have an entire family to shop and cook for, plus endless hours of entertainment to provide, it’s easy to find yourself praying for January to arrive.

Lumleys can help you have a stress-free time and enjoy a festive Christmas

without the need to slave over a hot stove or to do the washing up even

once. We can assist existing clients with re-booking a cook for the festive

season and we welcome those families deciding to have a cook for the first

time. Every year we get cards of congratulations and commendations for the

superb cooks and couples we provide. It has been commented upon that to

have a Lumleys cook once is to become addicted for life.

With Christmas cards and decorations starting to appear in shops already, it

feels like Christmas comes earlier each year. Instead of lamenting about how

quickly time flies, take this as your cue to get planning. The earlier you put in a

request to Lumleys for a member of staff, the quicker we can get you the best

people and the greater the selection you will have.

Staff can be provided throughout the whole holiday period, so if you need a

cook or chef to lighten the load, please call us so we can start looking. We can

provide waiting staff, butlers and extra pairs of hands. There is also

a fantastic array of couples or two team combinations that are an absolute

marvel for large families or parties. In addition Lumleys can provide the

complete collection of staff for your Christmas or New Year parties. From

cocktail mixologists to event managers and experienced canapé chefs -

we can cover all areas at a fraction of the cost some of the larger event

companies can charge. Let us assist you to make the festive season as easy

as possible.

Call us today to find out how we can help you on 020 7630 0545 or email us at admin@lumleyscooks.co.uk

1972 1992 2008 2009

Acquired in 2008 by Greycoat Placements Ltd

Scotland office of Lumleys opened in 1992

Rebranding of Lumleys and launch of the new website

private corporate

events For further information please call Lumleys on 020 7630 0545

or visit us at www.lumleyscooks.co.uk

LUMLEYS provides the highest calibre of professional Catering and

Hospitality staff to Private Clients, Corporate Hospitality and Events

throughout London, UK, Scotland and internationally. We pride ourselves on

a personal, professional and selective service.

Chefs Cooks Assistant Cooks Silver Service Waiting Staff Butlers

Hosts Kitchen Porters General Assistants Extra Pair of Hands

Out of a thick black address book and through tireless efforts to build an excellent reputation, Cleone Stenhouse established Lumleys in 1972, initially to offer a service providing cooks for weekends and great sporting occasions. The company quickly expanded to provide cooks and a full range of waiting staff for Directors’ Dining Rooms, Wine Bars and restaurants on a temporary and permanent basis. The office in Scotland was established in 1992 and deals with the high demand for catering staff north of the border. The Scottish office is run by Cindy Webster who has a 25 year history with Lumleys, having worked in the London office between 1986 and 1992 before setting up the Scottish branch.

The Lumleys Team Contacts:

Claire Prichard - claire@lumleyscooks.co.uk

Ella Prichard - ella@lumleyscooks.co.uk

Lucy Freemantle - lucy@lumleyscooks.co.uk

clientsLumleys Larder 3

employeeWorking with a chef or cook in your home. It’s all in the preparation!

Finding a position through Lumleys is very straightforward. We are happy to have an initial conversation on the phone, however before we are able to put anyone forward for our vacancies we need to see a CV, meet them for a registration interview and check references.

Staff need to prepare their CVs well.

A CV is like a calling card; it needs to highlight the skills and experience

relevant to the position, whilst remaining legible and preferably no more than

2 pages long. A simple CV format can be found within the Staff Resource

Centre on the Lumleys website which can be altered to suit individual

requirements. You can apply online at www.lumleyscooks.co.uk following the

instructions on the application form. Don’t forget to attach a CV and you can

also fill in the ‘Notes’ section if there are any other details relevant to the

application.

The Registration Process.

Once we have reviewed your CV and if we are able to assist, we will arrange

a registration interview at our London or Scottish offices at a mutually

convenient time. During the interview we will discuss your skills and

experience in more depth, as well as any plans and future aspirations you

may have which will give us a clear idea of the kind of position that suits you

best. With your permission, references will then be checked and once this

process has been satisfactorily completed, we can then put you forward for

jobs which we mutually agree are appropriate..

If a client is interested in your details, we will then arrange an

interview for you with the client. If a position is offered, we then

send both parties a confirmation letter and terms of the booking.

We are delighted that you have chosen Lumleys to help you with your requirements. Once you have decided what it is you need you can either contact the London or Scottish offices by telephone or via the Client Enquiry form on the website.

Having taken the brief we will either provide you with the details of a member

of staff who you know you need, or we can give you advice on how to staff

a particular event. We will then start the search for suitable staff. Initially we

may have people in mind, however with your permission we will also advertise

the position discreetly on our website.

Having found suitable people for you to consider, we will forward their details

for you to select who you feel is the best match based on the skills and

experience you are looking for. When you have selected your preferred

member of staff we will then arrange either a face to face or telephone

interview.

Following the interview process and final selection we will then confirm

the details and terms of the booking in writing with you and the member

of staff. During the placement a Lumleys Consultant is always on hand

to help you with any queries you may have.

Lumleys - suitable staff for

FILLING JOBS FOR OUR CLIENTS

How to register with Lumleys as a

JOB SEEKERTOP TIPS

A Lumleys Consultant is always on hand with help and advice through every step of the process - give us a call 020 7630 0545

Ask the cook on their first day if there is anything they need for the kitchen. Give them a guided tour of the kitchen and show them where the rubbish and recycling goes, where the tea towels and oven gloves are and where the washing machine is. Make sure there is a good supply of the all-important washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, j-cloths, anti-bacterial spray and rubber gloves.

Most cooks will come prepared with their own knives and necessary equipment, but do tell them the state of the kitchen before they arrive – whether it is well or ill equipped, as this will help them to know what they will need to bring with them.

Have a brief chat about the schedule of the week/day/night on the day, so that they have a vague idea of timings and numbers. Let them know if there is a likelihood of any extra mouths to feed.

Remember once a professional cook or chef is in the kitchen it becomes their work area. The kitchen can be a dangerous place with hot pans and sharp knives so it would be advisable to encourage your guests, children and animals to avoid any unnecessary visits to the kitchen.

We advise that cooks are given at least one day off a week if the job is over a week long, as this gives them a chance to re-charge their batteries and be ready to work hard for the following few days.

We always advise clients to pay their staff on departure, so do this in the morning of the last day or before things get busy and it can be forgotten. The cook should produce an invoice so you know exactly how much they are owed.

If you feel the cook deserves one, a final tip is always a nice gesture.

To find out more about how to get the right staff, contact our London office on 020 7630 0545 or our Scottish office on 01835 864268 or simply visit us at our website www.lumleyscooks.co.uk

Lumley Employment Company is part of Greycoat Placements Ltd

w. www.lumleyscooks.co.uk e. admin@lumleyscooks.co.uk

Lumleys has been fortunate to have Isobel Richards on our books for two years. After starting as a

Nanny, Isobel went to drama school. On finishing drama school, she went back to being a Nanny and

then was lucky enough to discover us at Lumleys and now works for our corporate and private clients.

She most recently saved the day by going to Portugal to work for a Lumleys client with only one day’s

notice. We always have excellent feedback from all the clients we send Isobel to and we are very proud

to have her on our books.

Thank you Isobel for all your work – a bottle of Champagne is on its way to you.

PR

OF

ILE

S

Waitress of the quarter

Isobel Richards

waitress

Cook of the quarter

Jess BeaumontJess Beaumont fits the profile of the ideal ‘Lumleys cook’ perfectly. All our clients love her and we are

getting bored of the amount of times we hear ‘I would like someone just like Jess!’ One comment from

a client was

So it just goes to show that flexibility is the key to succeeding in Lumleys jobs and Jess has cracked it!

In March last year Jess quit her job in Marketing and Events to pursue a career in food. She attended

Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland and was trained by Darina Allen. Jess loves cooking with fresh

Mediterranean ingredients and enjoys experimenting with a vast array of cooking styles. Having grown

up in Scotland Jess enjoys being in the countryside. Now based in London she embraces the variety of

work she undertakes and has a penchant for canapé parties.

Thank you for your commitment Jess – a little something is coming your way.

‘…quite delightful and very good about changed timings and numbers’.

Jess’s favourite recipe - Seafood Linguine with Parsley & Chilli

Method

1. Skin, deseed & chop tomatoes,

place in bowl.

2. Add lemon juice, olive oil, finely

chopped garlic, chilli flakes &

chopped parsley

3. Mix with seafood, season with

salt and pepper

4. Add linguine to boiling salted

water (1tsp/pint of water used)

cook until ready, be careful not

to overcook: it should be ‘al dente’

5. Whilst the pasta is cooking, gently

heat the tomato & seafood

sauce in a pan, do not let it

get too hot as it will cook the

seafood too much.

6. Drain linguine and toss in the

seafood, taste and add more

seasoning if necessary.

Ingredients

450g Linguine (or Spaghetti)

300g Cooked Mussels & Prawns (Squid or other seafood can also be used)

3 Good sized ripe tomatoes

2tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Garlic Clove

4tbsp Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pinch of Chilli Flakes

Handful of Fresh Chopped Parsley

Black Pepper & Sea Salt

Serve with a rocket salad, avocado and freshly grated Parmesan. This recipe is also delicious with white crab meat. Serves 4

cook

Head OfficeLumley Employment CompanyGrosvenor Gardens House35-37 Grosvenor GardensLondon SW1W 0BS

T +44 (0)20 7630 0545F 0871 911 6085

Scotland OfficeLumley Employment CompanySharplaw Cottage JedburghScotland TD8 6SQ

T +44 (0)1835 864 268 F 0871 911 6085