A chat with Gamba's newest recruit Anna Gillespie

Anna has been working with us part-time since April and is the daughter of chef John Gillespie who Derek worked with in the past.

Said Anna about working at Gamba: “I’m enjoying it a lot. I’m in my last year of secondary school and last summer, I helped out at my mum’s friend’s shop in a clothing store packing orders, but this is my first proper part-time job.

“I like working with the public, learning the ropes seeing how a restaurant works and interacting with customers.”

Is Anna hoping to work in hospitality in the future?

“I’m not really sure what I want to do with my life yet, but I definitely enjoy working in a restaurant so it’s something that I might like to do once I leave school.”

What else does Anna enjoy about working at Gamba?

“The tips! I also enjoy meeting all the different types of people. You’re never bored, and there’s always something to do and learn. I’ve been to Gamba a few times as a guest with my family, so it’s interesting to see it from another point of view.”

Is it a tough job market for young people out there?

“Absolutely. Before I got this opportunity at Gamba, I was applying for months and months for 100s of jobs and I didn’t hear anything back from most of them apart from a few acknowledgements, and it’s the same story with my friends, most of whom don’t have part-time jobs. I can only work at certain times, and most people want you to work full-time. I’m really lucky.”

What is Anna studying?

“I’m doing highers and advanced highers this year in classics, art, home ec, biology and modern studies. I love art – that’s the only advanced higher I’m doing this year. It’ll be a lot of work but I’m looking forward to it.

“I love to draw. I like digital art too - drawing on an iPad with a special pen, painting, watercolours, and comics too - I do a lot of them. I don’t see it being a career choice for me at this stage, it’s more of a hobby. I’m not planning to go to art school or anything.

“I love history, as well, and I would say that it’s also one of my hobbies. Classics is the study of ancient Greek and Roman life, and we touch on mythology too, but it’s mainly literature and poetry. I’ve never studied it before, and I want to study it at university with ancient history.”

What’s it like working with Derek?

“I don’t always see Derek a lot on shift because he’s so busy in the kitchen but he always comes and says hello at the end of my shift. The rest of the staff are also really friendly and great to work with too.”