Meet our Stein’s Values Champions
Meet Values Champion, Michelle
Michelle, our People Partner recently became one of our Values Champions of 2024 – someone who lives and breathes our company values. Michelle says “It is truly an honour to be a Values Champion. Our company values are the beating heart of our business that helps keep us all on track to delight our customers with memorable experiences.” The value that Michelle relates to most is right thing, right way as she has a very strong sense of fairness and consistency, especially from a people perspective.
Born and raised in Middlesex in west London, she spent time in Berkshire before moving to Cornwall nearly 10 years ago. She brings with her over 20 years’ experience working in HR within IT industry businesses. She also gained a post-graduate diploma in People Management when she was working for Corel UK and is fully qualified in HR, receiving MCIPD status.
When Michelle moved to Cornwall, she owned Old MacDonald’s Farm, now called MacDonald’s Farm just outside of Padstow for over 5 years, which is where she discovered her passion for hospitality and helping people. She gained a lot of skills running the business with her family and saw how rewarding this industry can be by helping people make special memories during their visit.
Michelle joined our People Team in September 2023 as a People Assistant and quickly progressed to People Partner in May this year. When dining in our restaurants, Michelle’s favourite dish would have to be the classic tronçon of turbot with hollandaise sauce paired with a glass of Rick Stein’s White Burgundy.
Outside of work, Michelle loves to explore the Cornish coastal paths with her family and to photograph the stunning views on their adventures.
Meet Values Champion, Rebecca
Rebecca, Supervisor at The Cornish Arms recently became one of our Values Champions of 2024 – someone who lives and breathes our company values. Rebecca was proud to be chosen as a Values Champion and so pleased that she’s able to represent the values to others in her team. She says “awards like this show how much they care and look after their team members.” Out of all the values, Rebecca best represents hospitality is from our hearts and she says “I absolutely love my job, meeting new people, giving them an amazing experience and of course working with the amazing team at The Cornish Arms. Working for Stein’s is so rewarding and a great company to work for, it feels like a big family rather than work colleagues.”
Born in Leeds, Rebecca lived there until 2 years ago when she decided to move to Cornwall with her 2 children and parents for a different way of life. Before joining the team at The Cornish Arms, Rebecca was self-employed, previously working as a childminder and then a courier. Upon moving to Cornwall, she knew she wanted to work with other people and thought the hospitality industry would be great for her. After 2 weeks of settling into her new home, she applied to work at The Cornish Arms and 3 days later, she had her first shift and hasn’t looked back. Since joining the team 2 years ago, she’s been promoted twice to Senior Waitress and now Supervisor and she was also chosen to go on a wine supplier trip to Champagne.
Rebecca’s favourite dish on the pub menu has to be the Pondicherry cod curry with a cold glass of Greek Assyrtiko wine to pair with it. Outside of work, she enjoys going on coastal walks with her children as well as going to the gym and seeing live music with friends and family.
Meet Values Champion, Tom
Tom, our Finance Assistant recently became one of our Values Champions – he lives and breathes our company values. Tom says “I feel very grateful to be a Values Champion, it’s very nice to be recognised for the work I’ve done over the past 12 months”. Out of all of our values, Tom feels he best represents ‘Enjoy learning and improving’ as since he joined the finance team, he’s learnt a lot of new skills across the whole department.
Born and raised in Padstow, Tom moved up the road to Wadebridge at 16 which is where he lives now. He has also spent time in Bath, studying for his degree in Sport Performance at the University of Bath where he achieved a 2:1.
Tom joined in 2020 during the Covid 19 lockdown, helping with the online shop and packing Stein’s at Home orders. Throughout the summer holidays, he worked at the deli and fishmongers and once he finished his degree, he joined the finance team in the summer of 2023 as a Finance Assistant. When dining at our restaurants, Tom’s favourite dishes are a Pondicherry cod curry at the café or lemon sole Veronique when he visits Barnes.
Outside of work, Tom swims competitively, so spends his mornings and evenings either at the gym or in the pool training for competitions. He’s also a fan of Bolton Wanderers Football Club and goes to watch their matches when he can.