Veryan Palmer has worked in hospitality since she was 10 years old, licking stamps for the Christmas cards in her parents hotel, The Headland in Newquay, Cornwall, as her first job. Since then she has worked in various establishments progressing from chef at Le Chardon Mountain Lodges, to Operations Manager at Cliveden House, to coming full circle and becoming Family Director at The Headland where she started the Young Person Placement Scheme and oversaw the hotel gaining Real Living Wage accreditation and 5* status. She also co-founded The Cornwall Hospitality Collective, where she sits as the Chair on the Board of Directors, and she is about to take the chair for the Board of Directors for the Newquay BID. As you can imagine, I couldn’t wait to chat to Veryan and get to know her a bit better!
What does your Monday morning routine look like?
Being at The Headland, that’s a very difficult question to answer. Being a 7 day week operation, 24 hours a day, it really depends on what’s happened over the weekend. I can either be in the hotel, out in meetings, or attending a school or upcountry meetings – it’s incredibly varied and that’s why I love my job.
What are you currently reading?
I’m going to talk at a global hotel conference in Barcelona in April and so I’m actually reading ‘How to give a great Ted talk’ by Akash Karia. I’m normally pretty confident about presenting but I’m slightly concerned for this one as it’s a whole new level of ‘entertaining’ a lot of delegates for half an hour and give them something that is meaningful. I want to ensure that I do the very best I can do. I’ll be talking about how we engage our local community around The Headland and particularly with our Young Person Placement Scheme and our work with young people and people with additional needs. It’s something I’m very passionate about, which is great as it’s much easier to get that excitement across, but it’s going to be a tough audience, I think.
What’s a hidden talent or skill that most people don’t know you possess?
Mmm, my super skill is proofreading! It’s very random but I’ve been a complete bookworm since I was very young. My parents had to unscrew the light bulb in my bedroom light to stop me reading too late at night. I have a love of written words. I think literature has just developed my brain in such a way that I can spot typos and grammar errors in almost everything. I recently went to Disneyland in Paris and spotted all types of errors there!
Beach vacation, mountain getaway or city escape?
100% Mountain getaway – I would ski all day, every day if I could! I like the long reaching vistas you get in the mountains.
Name one thing on your bucket list that you still need to do.
Tough question – so many things! I’ve been lucky enough to do a lot of the things that I’d wanted to do. Something that I really want to do, but will probably have to wait till I’m retired to have enough time for, is walking the entirety of the South West Coastal Footpath. I’ve done lots of little sections but I want to be able to know I’ve done every single section.
Cats or dogs, or do you prefer another type of pet – and why?
Definitely dogs! My 15 year old Jack Russell is currently on the chair behind me. I think you get more friendship from a dog. Cats like to ignore you and I don’t like to be ignored!
Share a quote or motto that inspires you or by which you live your life.
The one that comes to mind is: “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.” It can be applied to almost any situation and I think I live by that. I wouldn’t expect anyone in my 250 strong team at the Headland to do something that I wouldn’t be prepared to do myself and we all have a degree of personal responsibility to look after our natural environment – I’m the person you’ll find picking up bits of litter when I’m out walking…
What job is the favourite you’ve ever had and what made it so special?
It’s not really a job as such, it’s an aspect of the job. I’d say it’s our Young Person Placement scheme that runs every summer. This year will be Cohort 4, so we’ve had four years of 14 and 15 year olds joining us in the summer for a six week placement. Seeing the difference between day one, when they first start their training, and their graduation when their parents and guardians come to collect them… the children can be somewhat terrified when they start and by the end they are practically running sections of the restaurant at breakfast, so confident in talking to the guests, talking to me and their managers. Hearing from their parents about how their lives have completely changed in six weeks and about how they have the confidence to be themselves when they go back to school. That’s my favourite, most fulfilling part of the job.
What’s a skill you’ve always wanted to learn but haven’t had the chance to yet?
I do my Duolingo for French every night – I’d love to be truly fluent in another language or two, but I think I probably missed my boat now that I’m 40 in becoming truly proficient. I have a few tiny bits in Spanish and weirdly a bit of Japanese but I regret not doing more when I was younger.
What’s your favourite season and what do you love about it?
The very end of autumn, just as winter is coming, with the anticipation of Christmas and my birthday in December. It’s like the wind-down in Cornwall after the summer, the beaches start to empty, most hospitality businesses are feeling as confident as they can around cash flow and general life, our teams are at their strongest because they’ve all come together over the summer period. To me it feels weird. It feels like a fresh start. It feels like we’re closing a chapter and starting a new one. It’s a betwixt between high summer and winter.
If you could meet any living person for a conversation, who would it be?
I’d like to meet David Attenborough. I think that his way of communicating is incredibly important. His way of reaching out to people. No fluffy words, just very simple narrative. I want to pick his brains on how he communicates so succinctly, so carefully and yet gets across so much meaning. I’d also love to hear about his adventures!
What are you currently listening to?
My husband next to me is laughing! I would be quite happy not having any music at all. I don’t listen to music. We have a constant battle at home with my husband going around turning on the music and me going around turning it off. I’m an absolute bookworm as I mentioned so I might listen to a podcast or an audio book when I’m driving long distances, but I don’t listen to music… It’s almost embarrassing to admit that!
What is your go-to pleasure snack or comfort food?
I’d say comfort food is doing a lovely roast for my whole family – I mean it’s not really snack food or quick food, but that idea of spending time preparing something that takes time and brings everyone together, is really lovely for me. A Cornish pork loin or a Cornish chicken from the local Travelli Farm Shop is pretty spectacular!
What would you do if you weren’t in the food, drink & hospitality industry?
I was about 10 when I decided that I wanted to stay in hotels! I’d probably want to run a cake shop or tea room but that is still in hospitality! I think if I could develop a greater sense of patience I would possibly quite like to be a teacher. It’s not so much about teaching someone something…it’s more about helping children realise that there is life out there other than the careers that their parents and teachers talk about.
What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
I’ve been lucky enough to go to South Korea and Japan and I think I probably ate something weird out there that I didn’t even know what I was eating! I would say I’m fairly adventurous, but sometimes when you can’t understand or read the menu and you get given a plate of food that someone ordered for you, you just sit politely and enjoy it even if you have no idea what you’re having.
To connect with Veryan you can check out her LinkedIn page or check out The Headland on their website and follow on Facebook, X and Instagram.