00:00:02 My name is Rob Smith, I’m 45, I’m a bakery supervisor at Gibson’s Foods in Ellesmere Port. Well, basically my day to day work involves supervising the staff, making sure that deadlines are met, making sure that the quality is good and all health and safety issues are dealt with.
00:00:23 Well, in all honesty I always wanted to do something with food, whether it be a chef or in the baking industry and I tried to gear my qualifications on the subjects I chose in school to reflect this. I was always very good creating food and coming up with new recipes and things like that. I was allowed to do a lot of cooking at home. My grandmother was a very good cook. I think she was quite a big influence on me. She didn’t live near me so when I got the chance to go up to Yorkshire to visit her we always spent some time in the kitchen.
00:01:05 I did some food science course and I did some bakery and patisserie courses both at a local technical college and the bakery college in Liverpool as well. I wasn’t the brightest student at school and I think for me to achieve what I achieved at college was a result. At the age of 14 I got a part time job in a bakery and when I left school I stayed with that bakery. I went to college for two years and continued at the bakery Saturdays and during holidays and then they took me on full time when I finished college. And I stayed there for 11 years and then I wanted a change of direction so I went to a larger bakery which was Hot Bread Kitchens at the time and later to become Gibson’s Foods where I’m still now. I never really had any doubt on what I wanted to do and I’ve been very lucky that the opportunities have arisen at the time I was growing up to do that.
00:02:15 To me, money is not important. Not many people are like that but as long as I’ve got enough money to live on I’m quite happy. I think the job is more important to me and my life is more important than money. I have a very good work life balance but I do keep the two completely separate. I don’t take work home with me and I don’t bring any issues to work from home.
00:02:46 As a child I became a Cub Scout and then went to be a Scout and Venture Scout and then I decided to become a leader at the age of 16. So, I’ve been a leader ever since. I do Scouting four nights a week. I’m actually an Area Commissioner for Scouting so that keeps me very busy. What I enjoy about the Scouts is motivation, seeing the youngsters develop from the age of six right through to 25, passing on skills to them, social skills and having a great time when we take them away.
00:03:25 I think my motivation is to pass on skills. I think a number of trades are in great danger of dying out, especially in this day and age. A lot of it’s supermarket bread and I think people who want to go into the bakery industry, as well as qualifications, they need to have hands on experience and have that experience passed down to them. Perhaps in the years to come I would like to start to teach younger children how to do baking. ENDS
Rob Smith
Rob Smith
My name is Rob Smith, I’m 45, I’m a bakery supervisor at Gibson’s Foods in Ellesmere Port. Well, basically my day to day work involves supervising the staff, making sure that deadlines are met, making sure that the quality is good and all health and safety issues are dealt with.
Well, in all honesty I always wanted to do something with food, whether it be a chef or in the baking industry and I tried to gear my qualifications on the subjects I chose in school to reflect this. I was always very good creating food and coming up with new recipes and things like that. I was allowed to do a lot of cooking at home. My grandmother was a very good cook. I think she was quite a big influence on me. She didn’t live near me so when I got the chance to go up to Yorkshire to visit her we always spent some time in the kitchen.
I did some food science course and I did some bakery and patisserie courses both at a local technical college and the bakery college in Liverpool as well. I wasn’t the brightest student at school and I think for me to achieve what I achieved at college was a result. At the age of 14 I got a part time job in a bakery and when I left school I stayed with that bakery. I went to college for two years and continued at the bakery Saturdays and during holidays and then they took me on full time when I finished college. And I stayed there for 11 years and then I wanted a change of direction so I went to a larger bakery which was Hot Bread Kitchens at the time and later to become Gibson’s Foods where I’m still now. I never really had any doubt on what I wanted to do and I’ve been very lucky that the opportunities have arisen at the time I was growing up to do that.
To me, money is not important. Not many people are like that but as long as I’ve got enough money to live on I’m quite happy. I think the job is more important to me and my life is more important than money. I have a very good work life balance but I do keep the two completely separate. I don’t take work home with me and I don’t bring any issues to work from home.
As a child I became a Cub Scout and then went to be a Scout and Venture Scout and then I decided to become a leader at the age of 16. So, I’ve been a leader ever since. I do Scouting four nights a week. I’m actually an Area Commissioner for Scouting so that keeps me very busy. What I enjoy about the Scouts is motivation, seeing the youngsters develop from the age of six right through to 25, passing on skills to them, social skills and having a great time when we take them away.
I think my motivation is to pass on skills. I think a number of trades are in great danger of dying out, especially in this day and age. A lot of it’s supermarket bread and I think people who want to go into the bakery industry, as well as qualifications, they need to have hands on experience and have that experience passed down to them. Perhaps in the years to come I would like to start to teach younger children how to do baking. ENDS
Rob Smith is a Bakery Supervisor at Gibsons Foods. He's worked in a bakery since he was 14. He had a part time job there which he kept until he left college and went to work for them full time. He likes to keep his work and leisure time separate. "I do Scouting four nights a week. I'm actually an Area Commissioner for Scouting so that keeps me very busy."
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