Job title: Manager
Age: 61
Nominated by business owner Jamie Russo, who says: “Frances, my mum, started helping me when we first opened. With her only experience being working behind the counter in her dad’s and brother’s shop decades ago, she knew very little about fish and chips, but she took on everything that I sent her way. With little training, she quickly picked up everything and now runs my shop to an extremely high standard, cooking our products to perfection.
How long have you worked at Redcloak Fish Bar?
Officially two years. I started helping my son when he took over the shop, but then he asked me to come on board full-time and trained me to fry and run the shop.
What are your responsibilities?
I am responsible for managing the shop and staff. Preparing and frying orders, staff training and development, food hygiene and safety and maintaining cleanliness within the shop.
What’s your favourite part of the job?
I love it all, but serving and speaking to customers and producing delicious food are at the top of the list. And being a family-run business is also great as we get to spend a lot of time together – although some days it can be enough!
What’s your least favourite part of the job?
There isn’t really anything, but if I had to pick something, it would be preparing our chips as I’m too short to get the bags into the rumbler so I tend to leave the potato prep to our chip technicians!
What is it that you like about working at Redcloak Fish Bar?
For me, it is working alongside a team to serve our customers and building relationships with them. The shop is also very community-focused, so it is great to be able to give back to our brilliant customers and the community through the shop. I also enjoy seeing our young staff develop. They often start as quiet individuals, so it is nice to see them gain confidence and new skills during their time here.
How do you feel about being nominated as an Unsung Hero?
Very, very surprised as I’m just doing my job. I am part of a great team that all enjoy what they do!
