with her career and answered an advert for a Hotel and Restaurant Inspector with the AA.
She said: “To be honest, I never thought I’d ever get the job in a month of Sundays and to be fair, I hadn’t done my research and I hadn’t got a clue what the job entailed. It sounded interesting and I thought I would be able to use my skills for writing alongside my passion for food.”
Her application was successful and the first area she was assigned to was Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Flintshire.
“I was basically inspecting hotels, B&B’s and restaurants Monday through to Thursday and then I’d come back home and work in our restaurant from Thursday night through to Sunday night, slotting in my planning and reservations and finishing off reports in my afternoon splits. Looking back, I’m not sure how I did that for four years. I could never do it now; it would kill me!”
Over the next 18 years Giovanna covered a number of locations in the UK including the Lake District, Cambridgeshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and London. In 2006 she became Area Manager for London and the South East and says: “I didn’t actually throw my hat into the ring and then on the final day before applications closed, my then manager, Simon Numphud, and a couple of colleagues happened to say to me they were surprised that I wasn’t applying for the role having had the experience of working in London for three years.
"It was really agonising as I was just starting to love and learn so much in my new role. Simon was an inspiration, just as Gillian (Scott) had been to me and I was enjoying the challenge working for him. Did I really want to take on the headache of managing a team that from the outside seemed to include a couple of challenging people and to start spending most weeks travelling not only all the way from Manchester to London but also beyond to Kent, Sussex and Surrey.
“My late partner Mario always supported me and my career decisions throughout the 20 years we were together. He rarely interfered or swayed my decisions but I remember he sat me down and told me what an amazing opportunity this was for me and so, apprehensively I applied for the role.”
She added: “I loved that job and contrary to my concerns, I had the most amazing, loyal, hardworking team I could ever have wished for.”
She became Group Area Manager 18 months later but sadly six years into that role she lost her ‘amazing partner and soul mate of 20 years’. She admits this was a dark time for her and in 2016 after months of deliberating she submitted her notice.
“The reaction to my departure could not have surprised me more if I’m honest; the outpouring from all corners of the industry was just amazing. I remember my parents, who had been so nervous about me leaving, reading some of the comments on social media and saying to me that they couldn’t have been prouder of me.”
There are not many people within hospitality who Giovanna doesn’t know including the UK's chefs, she said: “I guess I’ve been exposed to working with chefs since I first started helping in my parents’ restaurants when I was still at junior school. I learned at a very early age that chefs are artists and as such they can have very creative and at times, very addictive personalities.
“I love to chat to established chefs with great experience and to learn from them as well as to support and mentor young chefs who are commencing their journey and are very much the future of our industry.”
Tonight the great and the good will descend on Grosvenor House for the AA’s Hospitality Awards, what started as a lunch for 200 people is now a black tie gala dinner for 1000 people with entertainment.
Giovanna said: “I love the event…but then I love socialising, eating good food and drinking good wines and I am passionate about celebrating achievement in the industry. For me it’s very much about a year’s journey that starts even before each event finishes. We start looking at new Rosette Awards and our main award winners from June really and that continues until about May when the guides go to bed. As such there’s so much gone into it that you can’t help but look forward to it.
“Each year we try to make it better, which isn’t easy. This year we’ve added a new element which we haven’t done before, which hasn’t been without challenges, but I leave that reveal till the night!”
Giovanna’s role with the AA is now part time which she says allows her to dedicate her time giving back to the industry by helping to fundraise for Hospitality Action, judging on various panels and trying to promote initiatives that she is passionate about such as The Gold Service Scholarship.
“I just love this industry in short; I never tire of it and I am passionate about attracting young people into it as I feel they could have amazing rewarding careers if they are as passionate about it as I am.”
