David Woodward has worked in the hospitality industry for the past thirty years in both the UK and Switzerland. David worked at the Bluebird restaurant on Kings Road London and then went on to manage the Close Hotel in Tetbury and the Residence in Bath, before setting up his own business, the award-winning Keats Cottage, on the Isle of Wight.
Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of a top hotel? David’s memoir focuses on his life in catering and highlights the ups and downs of the industry, and his time on television, as well as providing readers with an insight into the world of celebrities as he has served the rich and famous “I looked after David Beckham on his birthday, people like Dustin Hoffman and Princess Anne over the years, so maybe about 300 celebrities.”
When asked what readers can expect, he shared “I think that everyone can relate to something in my memoir such as my personal journey and the effect it has on relationships as well as the catering side. It relates to a lot of guests I have served over the years and includes lots of funny stories but it is also very personal so it brings a lot of issues in the industry, like service charges and Tripadvisor, all these things, but also all the funny stuff as well. It is a mixture of everything and it is very personal to me, my mum was very ill a couple of years ago and it depicts our relationship and being in hospital, so it is brutally honest.”
David has received fantastic reviews, with readers describing his memoir as heartwarming, entertaining and fascinating. One review reads “Throughout the book, David gives life lessons that every reader could take onboard, all presented by way of tales generated during years in the hospitality industry. A brutally honest and funny insight into David’s personal and professional journey through life in an industry that touches us all.”
I noted from his reviews that multiple readers asked if there will be a follow-up, David revealed that he is in fact writing a second book. “It is going to be slightly different, looking into lots of relationships and divorces through the eyes of the children which is going to be called The Stupidity of Adults.”
Storytelling
Last year, David relocated to Portugal, to embark on his writing journey, “When I was young I used to enjoy writing short stories in school and my teacher said I had a talent for it and that I should go for it but then being in hospitality your mindset isn’t into writing, you just cope with your day because it is so extreme so I never really thought about it but I am always telling all my guests lots of stories and people would stay after breakfast for hours just to listen to my stories.”
Adding that, “Someone said to me I should really put this on paper so I wrote a chapter, and one of my guests was an editor so she said she would read the first chapter and see if it is any good and she said I think you are really onto something here and when covid hit, I had time on my hands, so I thought this was a good time to do it.”
Book Signings
David shared that he did “four book launches back in the UK, I did one at Galvin at Windows at the top Park Lane Hilton Hotel, because a friend of mine is head chef there now and that is also the restaurant that Fred Sirieux ran, who wrote my book forward. I did one on the Isle of Wight because of my B&B and then one in Bath and also in Shropshire which is my home town.
When asked if he plans to do any book signings in Portugal, David shared “I have been stocking them in B&Bs and hotels back in the UK but “I definitely want to here in Portugal, I have only been here a year so I am still finding my feet but I have been working at Vila Sol so all the members have been buying books and they like it. I am hoping to get into Salted Bookstore in Lisbon and perhaps do a book signing there in the future.”
Supporting Tiny Shelter
David has volunteered and raised money for the Bath Cats and Dogs Home and wanted to get involved when he arrived in Portugal. “I went to volunteer at the Tiny Shelter and I saw that they are really struggling for funds and they rely solely on volunteers.” David ended up adopting his dog from there, “He is a very soft Pitbull who was abused and he had parvo disease so we didn’t think he would make it, we took him home and he seems to have made friends with every stray dog here so now we are feeding the community!”.
With my launches in the UK, I did a charity raffle and made them some money from that and I wanted to carry that on, so as soon as my book starts to flow in enough that I can give them money again, I want to put part of the proceeds to Tiny Shelter because they have massive vet bills and what they do is amazing. For more information please visit https://www.tinyshelter.eu/.
David’s book can be purchased directly on Amazon, where you can order a copy and leave a review. For more information and to keep up to date with David Woodward’s writing please visit www.davidwoodward.uk. Additionally, if any local bookstores would like to stock ‘Confessions of a Waiter’ or if you would like to reach out to David, please email woodyslarder@hotmail.com.