Taking Hospitality into Primary Schools

Yesterday (Monday) we did our first ever primary school hospitality workshop at Newton Primary School in Chester… and honestly, it was epic.

This was our first one. The first proper test. The first time we’ve taken Bee Our Guest out of our heads, off the page, and into a room full of real kids.

And the children at Newton were brilliant.

We originally connected through their careers fair and ended up securing a full workshop slot too, which meant the pressure was properly on. Four stations set up, 60 Year 6 pupils rotating through, and that moment of thinking, “Right then… let’s do this properly.”

It was amazing.

We set up four little stations in the hall and ran two Year 6 classes back-to-back, 30 in each one. And I know 30 doesn’t sound that wild until you’re trying to keep 30 eleven-year-olds engaged, moving, and excited.

One station was mocktail making. The kids got to design their own mocktail, name it, choose juices, straws, lemons… the whole thing. And I’ll be honest, it was chaotic… but it was also the one they loved most, from measuring apple juice to adding syrups. Like you could just see it, they felt like they were doing something “grown up” and creative and they were so proud of what they’d made. Even when it looked like a crime scene on the table.

Then we had napkin folding, which sounds simple, but it was actually really satisfying to watch. We taught them the fan napkin fold, and it was one of those moments where you could literally see the pride hit them. Like, “Wait… I made that? That looks like a proper restaurant.” Those small wins matter, especially at that age.

We had a shortbread icing station too, which was our little “chef” moment. They iced a piece of shortbread, made it look good, and got a tiny taste of what it means to create something for someone else. Again… messy, obviously, because kids. But brilliant.

And then my table… the restaurant design station. This one might be my favourite thing we’ve ever done.

We had a worksheet with prompts like: what would you call your restaurant, what’s on your menu, what’s the theme, what experience do you want people to have… and I swear, the stuff they came out with was unreal.

Superhero restaurants. Cat cafés. Animal themed places. Gaming restaurants. Menus that were absolutely unhinged in the best way. They’re so imaginative it’s actually scary. Like their brains haven’t been boxed in yet by what’s “realistic” or what’s “not a proper job” or what people think is “cool.”

They just go for it.

And that’s the bit that hit me. Because you hear so much negativity around hospitality, it’s hard, it’s long hours, it’s not respected, people don’t see it as a future… and then you walk into a room like that, and you’re reminded what hospitality actually is when it’s stripped back.

It’s creativity. It’s people. It’s experience. It’s energy. It’s making someone feel something.

The teachers were happy. The kids were happy. And I genuinely believe those kids went home yesterday talking about hospitality. Not just “hotel jobs” or “waitressing.” Like, properly talking about it… as something exciting, something they could actually imagine themselves doing.

And this is the mad part, we had kids say to us, out loud, “I want to work in hospitality.”

That’s the game changer. That is literally what we’ve been hoping for.

Because yes, it’s only our first workshop. But it’s the first time I’ve seen that immediate reaction in real life.

And I can’t lie, we did go a bit over the top.

We gave every single child one of our books.

That is not something we can afford to do every time. We knew that when we did it. But we just wanted maximum impact for the first one. We wanted them leaving with something tangible. Something they could take home, show their family, and remember.

But here’s the honest truth: if we want to do this properly, at scale, and do it the way it deserves… we need funding.

Because the dream is to go into loads of schools and leave every child with a book, resources, the full lot. But that isn’t realistic on our own budget. Not if we want this to grow and last.

So realistically, it would need to be funded by the schools, or by sponsorship, or by grants, or by government schemes, or by businesses who want to invest in the future of the industry. That’s the level we need to get to.

And the mad thing is… this is exactly the kind of work people say they want.

Everyone talks about “the staffing crisis” and “getting young people into hospitality” and “changing perceptions”  but this is what that actually looks like. It starts in primary school, before kids have decided what’s “cool” and what isn’t. Before they’ve been told hospitality is “just a job.” Before they write it off.

This is the pipeline. This is the start.

Also, we learned loads.

If I’m being picky, we maybe wouldn’t do mocktail making exactly the same again because it was so messy… but then I’m like, they loved it the most, so do you change it? Maybe you control it better. Maybe you simplify it. Or maybe you keep it because kids should be allowed to make a mess when they’re learning something hands-on.

And I’d love more time. We could have done so much more if we had longer with them. It felt like we’d just got into the flow and then it was time to switch classes.

But overall… what a day. Truly.

It was inspiring. It was emotional. It was one of those days where you feel like the effort and the energy and the money and the “what are we doing?” moments suddenly come back to you in one big hit of validation.

Yesterday made me feel like… we’re doing something bigger than we even realise yet.

So I’m going to ask, properly, because we can’t grow this without people helping open doors.

If anyone reading this has contacts in schools, headteachers, careers leads, school trusts, councils, youth programmes, please get in touch. Jessica@thehospitalityhero.com

If you know anyone who understands funding, grants, sponsorship, education partnerships - Get in touch, Jessica@thehospitalityhero.com

If you work for a business that would sponsor books for schools (and have your logo in the book) - Get in touch, Jessica@thehospitalityhero.com

We want to take this everywhere. We want to get this into as many schools as possible. And yesterday showed us we can do it.

This is just the start.