Former royal butler lands job after handing out CVs at railway station

A 63-year-old former royal butler whose job search made headlines across the world after he handed out his CV at a railway station has finally landed a new job.

Cruise restaurant manager Trevor Walford, from Keighley, North Yorkshire, resorted to the novel recruitment tactic at Leeds train station, and others in the area, after sending out 700 job applications with little success.

Having started his profession in hospitality as a trainee butler at Buckingham Palace, Walford went on to a highly-successful career working in hotels throughout the UK and Caribbean, including The Ritz Hotel in London, before joining his last employer, a cruise line, in 2006.

But in March, as the coronavirus pandemic reached its peak, he received an email from the company saying he was out of a job. Unsure what the future held and with no support from the cruise ship company, Walford posted a ‘try before you buy’ offer of his services on social media platform LinkedIn.

His post garnered a lot of interest from recruiters, but no concrete job offers. So he donned his best suit (and face mask), drew up a handwritten sign and printed off 100s of CVs, before heading to local train stations in a last-ditch bid to find work.

Walford’s story clearly touched a nerve as his trials to land a job ended up going global – from Yorkshire to France and far-flung places such as the US, Australia and South Africa.

The stunt proved to be the winning ticket when his train station CV handout caught the attention of Rob Campbell, Group CEO of Churrasco. Walford was invited for an interview and got the job.

He has now been appointed training development manager for hospitality group, Churrasco Group, where he will oversee the customer service training of 337 employees across their 10 northern England venues.

“I’m chuffed t’ bits, as we say in Yorkshire,” Walford said about his new role. “I certainly wasn’t ready to be washed up just yet.”

Speaking of Walford’s appointment, Campbell said: “Of course I empathised with Trevor’s situation, but when we met him, his professionalism and wealth of knowledge across the industry is exactly what our operation needs.”

With a lot of the hospitality sector on a knife-edge, he explained: “We are bringing Trevor in at a critical time of our expansion and we are determined to navigate our way through and our venues recognised for their top-level service and fantastic food and atmosphere. Trevor is an integral part of our growth plans for the next 12 months.”

Churrasco Group consists of 3 brands, Estábulo Bar & Grill, Casa Peri Peri, and Fleur Café. The hospitality group was established in 2016 with the first restaurant in Leeds. Two new venues are due to open by the end of December 2020, creating further employment opportunities across the north of England. Estábulo is a Brazilian Style operation bringing the traditional way of cutting the meat on a skewer at the table, Casa Peri Peri specialises in chicken dishes and Fleur Café is offers daytime cake and coffee and an Italian a la carte menu in the evening.