What I most enjoy about the foodservice sector is that every foodservice consultation, from beginning to end, brings me great pleasure.
My childhood dream was to become an architect. I still have a dream that in the future I will design a beautiful house.
Before I became a foodservice consultant I worked in architectural design on residential and bridge projects. I then did some commercial property projects, such as hotel design. I was gradually attracted to more interesting kitchen projects. Since then I have spent all my time among gourmet food.
It is a great honour to be a member of FCSI as it represents the authority of the field. Being an FCSI member means I will also gain more recognition.
The biggest challenge facing the sector right now, as far as China is concerned, is that there is still difficulty in getting widely recognised. Without that it is difficult to influence the industry and promote your business.
With the gradually improving status of foodservice consultants in the Asia Pacific region, more hotel developers are choosing professional consultants to provide technical support, as well as reducing the waste of resources, thus making projects meet the green building standards.
In my career as an architect, I learned how to use drawn lines in the design process to make buildings more solid, beautiful and secure. After joining the FCSI family, I have learned to associate designed lines with foodservice too.
One of my favourite sayings is from the late Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
My advice to young consultants is to get involved in helping FCSI lobby the industry about issues affecting designers, their businesses and the communities they serve.
I relax by listening to music, travelling and hiking.
Michael Jones
