How I got here

26 March 2004
How I got here

Robert Koppens, general manager for Bartlett Mitchell at the Priory Hospital, Roehampton, London A life on the ocean wave was the order of the day when Robert Koppens joined the Royal Dutch Navy in 1987 as part of its catering and hospitality department. Spreading his time between warships and navy bases, he undertook a three-year course at the College for Hotel and Gastronomy in Holland from February 1994 to April 1995.

It was a big break for Koppens, and from there he never looked back. The course included front office management, kitchen management, sommelier and silver service training, full-time and completely sponsored by the navy. This armed Koppens with a comprehensive range of skills that saw him serving Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands at the Royal Palace by April 1995.

After a year it was back to the front line aboard HMS Rotterdam, where he took on the role of chief of catering. This involved managing 80 catering personnel and feeding 600 crew.

In 1998, Koppens ventured to the UK as head chef at Nato headquarters in Middlesex, working for Dutch admiral PC van der Graaf at his private residence. Events here ranged from formal dinner parties for 40 guests to parties for royalty and senior defence ministers for up to 400.

Next stop was London restaurant Incognico, where he became restaurant manager. Koppens puts his success in finding a quality position at a fine-dining restaurant down to building relationships. "Make sure you get the job done but also do a little bit extra. Networking is very important," he says.

The long hours and lack of social life proved too much, and by November Koppens had moved to the world of contract catering and become catering manager for Eaton Group at Withers Solicitors in London. Turning up on Monday, he had an induction the next day, and was put in charge on Wednesday when the bosses decided to sack the two managers above him.

Yet another opportunity was to come when Koppens was headhunted by prestigious celebrity rehab hangout the Priory Hospital in Roehampton, London, to sort out its catering operations in November 2002.

"The Priory had a weakness on the staff-training front, which was very important for me to address," Koppen says. "People doing the same job day in, day out get bored and you need to keep them motivated, even if it's just a 10-minute ‘tea-break' chat." Koppens was instrumental in suggesting that the quickest fix for the hospital's problems would be the services of a contract caterer, and on the strength of a recommendation - and a sincere policy of investing in its staff - Bartlett Mitchell was installed with the Dutchman continuing in his role of general manager.

Career highlights 1995 Royal Dutch Navy, Royal Palace 1996 Takes charge of 80 catering staff aboard HMS Rotterdam 2001 Instant promotion at Eaton Group 2002 Becomes general manager with Bartlett Mitchell
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