Lucy Baker
It’s easy to look back on any career and think of text book milestones. Generally big accolades, awards or recognition from industry leaders are seen as the most important achievements – but those in the heart of the hospitality industry understand that career achievements go beyond that. Lucy Baker has experienced first-hand that hospitality is more than just organising a team behind a desk. It's more than serving food. It's the chance to make a lasting difference in peoples’ lives.
Lucy owns and operates St Albi's Bar and Eatery in Moonah, a popular restaurant recognised for its beautiful architecture and impeccable menu. A dynamic and inviting atmosphere welcomes you upon entry – a testament to Lucy’s demeanour and work ethic that have naturally grown through her experience working in hospitality.
Lucy traces her introduction to the hospitality industry back to her childhood, when her parents first moved to Tasmania in 1986. Their love for local produce and people inspired them to buy the Mayfair Hotel, allowing them to play a part in the incredible produce belt of Tasmania. After establishing themselves there for a few years, they went on to buy the Duke of Wellington. This meant that Lucy grew up familiar with the world of hospitality, creating memories that she still fondly looks back on.
“I grew up in pubs with pool tables and thought it was the best. I used to have so much fun going up to the lager bar where I'd get to clean all the glasses, wipe down all the benches and play with everything” she says. “Whenever I used to come over to Tassie and Dad was down a worker, I used to work in the dish pit and jump in wherever I was needed, so it has always been in my blood. I just never thought I would have a career in hospitality like I do now.”
Deterred from following in her parents footsteps, the moment that triggered a career in hospitality wasn't until later in life and in a different country. While living over in Bali, Lucy’s sister proposed the two of them take a leap of faith and partner together to open a gym in Hobart. Attracted to an active lifestyle, Lucy seized the opportunity, and returned to her original roots (and a much cooler climate) in Tassie’s South.
The gym was short-lived, but the building's potential remained. Together with their family’s hospitality insight and experience, they decided it would prosper as a restaurant. Although starting out with the intention of working in a gym, the style of work is surprisingly similar. “Hospitality is a really wonderful career, you meet lots of different people and you get to be walking around in a moving environment. I don't particularly like a typical desk job. I like to be active and talk to a lot of people. We get to work with a range of people and a lot of different personalities, so it really is a fun environment to work in.”
Around the time Lucy was deciding on whether to continue with the gym or try opening a restaurant, there was one fateful night where her father held a function at his restaurant, that would ultimately ignite her passion for food and hospitality. “All I wanted to do was work in the dish pit, I didn't want to meet and talk to people. I was the worst waitress in the world. I couldn’t even open champagne bottles or pour wine, but I just started and absolutely loved it; and here we are now!” she says.
Now, after 7 years running St Albi’s, Lucy understands the positive impact the industry can have on people and staff. “It's pretty beautiful, the stories you hear from others and what you actually do for a lot of people” she says. “A customer told me that one of their dear friends, a customer of St Albi’s, who was passing away, wanted to have one last meal, and that to me is so touching that they wanted one of their last meals to be from us.
We packed it up and drove it to their house (Uber Albi!). Little things like that really touch me about working in this job. That you get to have that experience with someone and you can make a difference, even if it's something as simple as food.”
“These things have changed me immensely. It's given me a lot of understanding and clarity. That I know I want to make people happy. And security in knowing that if everyone else is happy, that has a ripple effect”.
This compassion and lasting impact is often overlooked when considering a job in hospitality. “These things have changed me immensely,” Lucy says. “It's given me a lot of understanding and clarity. That I know I want to make people happy. And security in knowing that if everyone else is happy, that has a ripple effect”.
The young girl who enjoyed frolicking in the lager bar never knew she’d own and run a restaurant one day. “Sometimes I don't even know how I do it, or if I even do a good job. But to be able to lead a team of 40 people, I think that is an achievement, because you are responsible for so many livelihoods and making sure this business still evolves.”
It’s clear that taking the leap to work in the hospitality industry can lead you down incredibly fulfilling and sometimes unexpected pathways. “If you are looking to work, you’re passionate about working hard, you love food or wine and at the end of the day you love to make people happy, venues will always offer training in-house, so you don't have to have all of these qualifications” Lucy encourages. “I think that is a wonderful thing, because it can then become a career. And what that can actually do for your personality and in bringing you out of your shell to give you confidence, I don’t think you can get that anywhere else.”
