Jobs

Tracy Graham- Catering Manager, Hertfordshire Catering

When Tracy Graham, her husband and their two young sons came to England from Zimbabwe five years ago they arrived with six suitcases and £2,000.

It was all they were allowed to bring out of the country so finding work to fit in with school hours was a priority when the family came to Hertfordshire in 2001.

That’s why Tracy asked if there were any school meals jobs going when she settled her sons, now aged eight and ten, into their school. She got a job immediately as a general assistant, washing up and helping to prepare food.

Barely four years later, as catering manager at Sir John Lawes School, Harpenden, she oversees a kitchen that provides food for around a thousand pupils a day. The dining area is open for breakfast before the school day starts, again for morning break and then for lunch.

“I’m loving it,” said Tracey. “I’ve got a really good team behind me. They pull together and they know what they’re doing so it’s not difficult.

“Working for school meals fits in so well with being there for my children. The organisation policy is ‘put your children first’ so in this job you don’t have to compromise between work and family. I can be with my children if they need me.”

Tracy’s rapid move up the Hertfordshire Catering career ladder began within two weeks of starting work as a general assistant. The school cook went on sick leave and Tracy held the fort while she was away. That ‘in at the deep end’ start led to a cook’s job at another school, work as a mobile cook - covering sickness and vacancies at schools across the area - and then acting as assistant area manager until she became catering manager at Sir John Lawes last August.

Tracy cheerfully admits to being a jack of all trades while living in Zimbabwe. Teaching catwalk and photographic modelling, computer-based graphic design, floristry and managing a crèche were among her previous jobs.

What she likes about her current job are the challenges that running a busy secondary school canteen presents. “I like to manage people and situations and, while the children need me, it suits me fine.”

Tracy says she is now aiming for a more senior management post. “We left a lot behind in Zimbabwe and, when you have to start again from nothing, you get the itch to go for it.”