Jayme  Jeffrey was part from the great Radisson SAS  team  in  the best years of development and business grout  on the position of Executive chef.

·         Jayme ,tell us about the time when you was at Radisson SAS in Sofia

I moved to Bulgaria with my wife (a Bulgarian), from Germany so that we could marry and I could get to know her country.  We settled in Sofia and I went to the Radisson on a whim to see if there were any opportunities available. 

As it turned out they were looking for an Executive Sous Chef at that time and I was lucky enough to get a chance to do a tasting for the position.  I say lucky because all my previous experience had been in restaurants and not hotels.  I had a great time there.  It was very interesting because this was in a time before Bulgaria was in the E.U and sourcing products was very challenging.  My biggest challenge was the language but I found ways to overcome that and the staff was more than willing to forgive me for my lack of Bulgarian; though I learned many interesting phrases.

I found running a hotel was like running a large restaurant and enjoyed the challenges.  I especially loved our breakfast program and it’s one I’d like to do again.  I found the staff to be so eager to learn new things and one of the friendliest groups I have ever worked with.  It was short but very sweet and I miss it very much.

·         You did not want to work with the management of Radisson after Martin Kolb. What was the reason for this divorce?

Anytime you have a major change in a management (we lost our F&B director as well), there are new directions and sometimes the desire of new management to have their “own” team.  I learned so much from Mr. Kolb and Mr. Grahl in such a short time and  I am to this day very thankful for the tools they gave me and the lessons they taught me.  During  the beginning phase of the new management I was asked by the owner of the hotel to work for him in Ireland for the late summer.  I was still the chef at the Radisson yet I was very far away.  It was an awkward situation to say the least.  My son was born right at this time as well.  When I came back from Ireland the new management wasn’t very warm with me and the owner wanted me to go back to Ireland and take an offer there.  I really wanted to stay at the Radisson but the owner really wanted me in Ireland and the new management hadn’t gotten to know me to well.  Saying no to Ireland wasn’t going to make my life very comfortable there and so I resigned in the interest of all parties.

What is your opinion for the situation at Radisson now?

I was disappointed to see that the full renovation never  took place. I was visiting Bulgaria last spring and took a peak and it is still one of the loveliest hotels.  I think the update on Flannigan’s was done quite well.  But it’s the people that make a place and the staff they  continue to have our top notch.

Tell us about your adventures in the estate of the owner in Ireland.

Well, it wasn’t as exciting as it might sound.  I was invited to go but the truth is, I couldn’t say no.  My wife was very late in her pregnancy.  In my 6^th week there my wife called and said I better get back because she was going into labor.  It was a little uncomfortable to have to ask for permission to see my son born.  Needless to say, Ireland was what compelled me to leave the Radisson.  I was sent on the pretext of going to train for a “new” restaurant at the Radisson.  I ended up being a private cook / valet / butler.  The country side was beautiful though and I can say I worked in yet another country.

Now you are working in the USA?

I’m back in my hometown of Detroit, Michigan.  Currently I am working as the Corporate Chef for a restaurant group with many properties throughout the area.  There is talk of opening a new restaurant that I came up with.  We shall see if it materializes.