From ESC to the Royal Household!

East Sussex College Hospitality & Catering alumni, Jupiter Humphrey Bishop, returned to college last week to speak to current students about her award-winning journey in the industry so far and her current role in the Royal Household!

Jupiter, 23, from Eastbourne, finished her studies in 2019 and returned to college last week to provide current Hospitality and Catering students with a valuable insight into the industry. She spoke in depth to students about her pathway since leaving the College in 2019, and hosted several front-of-house activities for students to get their teeth into.

She has gone on to excel in a variety of high profile roles in the industry, including at The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne and her current role at the Royal Household.

Speaking to the College about returning to the College, Jupiter said, “Coming back to East Sussex College has been an incredible experience, I’ve got to see my lecturers and see all the students and give them a bit of an insight into the hospitality industry and possible career options after college. Rewatching the video back from when I was at college, I was in my chef whites. I came out of College and thought ‘I want to be a chef’. The hospitality industry is ever-changing and working front-of-house just gave me that inspiration and motivation to go out there, chase my dreams and go after those goals.

“The course really prepared me for my career in the hospitality and the catering world. It’s those work placements and opportunities, everything the College provided really, that helped to build up my skills and knowledge for the industry. During my time at College we had work placements, one of which was at The Grand Hotel [Eastbourne]. I worked as a chef there for a couple of weeks and I found it so inspiring. A few years later I actually went on to get a job at The Grand Hotel. That inspiration really lit a spark and helped build up my career later on.”

She added, “The College opened so many doors in my career. I entered competitions including the Young Chef of Eastbourne [which Jupiter won in 2019], The Risotto Chef, the Young Rotary Chef competition. The College really helped support me to apply to competitions , and from those competitions, no matter how far you get, you can take what you learn and what you learn from others. You can bring it into your own career as well - I had those opportunities here, it’s fantastic. I would definitely say to anyone looking to get into the Hospitality industry, turn up every day and give it your absolute best positive attitude, hard work and just really go for it! Take every opportunity that you can.”

In February, Jupiter was also crowned the winner at the 2023 Gold Service Scholarship awards - a prestigious title for anyone keen to reach the heights of Hospitality.

“The Gold Service Scholarship is a national competition,” said Jupiter. “It’s a competition held in the UK every year. It offers an opportunity for you to take your skills and knowledge and test yourself against the highest skilled hospitality individuals going for the competition as well. The leader, judges, and sponsors in the competition are just incredible. They support you and encourage you. You don’t need everything to apply for the competition, because there’s learning along the way. There’s training and experiences to learn along the way. You can take that and develop your skills as you go through the different stages. The networking alone is just amazing, you can meet all these people who share the same passion as you. They’re just going out there to chase their dreams. It’s about making guests feel at home from the minute they walk through the door.”

She added, “When they announced my name at the Gold Service Scholarship awards 2023, I just couldn’t believe it! It was incredible, I almost had to double take and make sure I wasn’t dreaming. It was fantastic, I was over the moon - I still am! This competition represents the highest standard. It’s such a prestigious competition - just to even be a part of it is incredible. Anyone who’s looking to get into the competition, you don't have to get to the finals. Whatever stage you get to , you’re all winners, we’re all in this together. We start out like competitors and end up as friends. You can keep those friendships and relationships forever.”

Jupiter was full of praise for her former tutors at the College and she remained thankful for the opportunities that arose as a result.

“During my time at the College we had fantastic lecturers, they were really there every step of the way to support and encourage you. When you’ve got all these moments with exams coming up, different projects you’re working towards, you’ve got all these questions to ask and they’re there to help and support you. They want the best for you. Tutors helped give us all the opportunities that we could take for the industry, and they really did help a lot.

“Whilst studying at the College there was word going round about Buckingham Palace, a place to work with hospitality and catering at such a prestigious level. From then it just lit a spark of inspiration. It really inspired me and now today I’m working at the Royal Household. It was during that time at college that they gave me all of this motivation and encouragement to look ahead into the future. It got me thinking about my two year, five year, ten year plan. Work placements were really, really important and I’m so thankful for these opportunities.”

If you’re interested in following in Jupiter’s footsteps into the Hospitality and Catering industry, please click here to find all of the relevant courses on offer at East Sussex College.