PLATE & GILBERT

Mr Johnny Mills had been ill for some time. But Gilbert was coming. He arrived from Ghana, nervous about the responsibility of being his grandfather’s carer but excited to be in ‘the land of milk and honey’. He lived with his grandad for nearly two years, his visa extended on compassionate grounds. He found a job, tipped off by a Ghanaian friend, Edward, who was working in a restaurant kitchen. But the head chef and coproprietor conformed to the stereotype and Gilbert left after a couple of years. Soon after another young chef left, to head up a new kitchen. He remembered Gilbert and hired him. This was an office kitchen not a restaurant kitchen. Gilbert remembers his manager’s mantra, ‘if you want people to work for you with all their heart, feed them well’. Each weekday, after the rest of the staff have been fed, Gilbert sits down with his kitchen colleagues and they have lunch together. This plate is from all the staff, thanking him for 20 years worth of lunches, ‘cheeky charm and big smiles’.

12 Jan 2014