culture. We’re still in touch 20 years later,” she says. “I was very lucky because they invited me into the financial meetings every Friday. Tat’s where I learned the hospitality skillset.” A firm belief that “this could
be my full-time career” quickly forming, von Massenbach joined Becker’s Roka Restaurants group as project manager in 2004. As well as sales and marketing she was responsible for staff recruiting and establishing ‘corporate standards’ that could be easily transferred to other restaurants across the Roka Restaurants group. Te role brought out her
natural talent for helping to forge inclusive, supportive cultures in operations, as well as seeing how organizational structures can be improved. “I understand structures and situations very quickly,” she says. “Sometimes that is about identifying who the weakest link is, and then trying to support that weak link.” Tis two-year experience
proved to be a brilliant further grounding for her later career as a management advisory services (MAS) consultant. At that point though, she simply saw it as a “big opportunity.” Tere was, she adds, “a lot of pressure, but there was a lot of trust as well.” Von Massenbach moved
back to Munich in 2006 to become operations manager at Tantris, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant still considered one of the finest in Germany. One lure of the role was to help the operator successfully handle a succession plan for the owner to the next generation in their family. “At that time, Tantris
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was 35 years old, and the owner wanted to adapt and make it future-fit. So, that’s what I did with them. It’s the iconic restaurant in Germany. It was always on a mission to get its Michelin stars [the restaurant once held three stars, now it has two]. Like Zuma, it has a very strong appearance from an interior design point of view and they’re both driven to deliver unique experiences for the guests. So, outstanding service is key. Dining there is an emotional experience – that’s the reason people come,” she says.
PAYING BACK THE TEAM
From her office purview behind the kitchens of these hugely successful restaurants, von Massenbach was able to observe the blood, sweat, and tears being produced by the respective front- and back-of-house teams. “I could see the hard work of these amazing people. Tey are artists, doing a brilliant job.
Very focused and all with special personalities. I really adored them.” She also felt a burning desire
to do more to help support restaurant employees on a wider level throughout the industry. After six years at Tantris, in 2012 she decided to strike out on her own, establishing OYSTER Hospitality with the express mission that it was “time to pay back” and help restaurant employees to get “more life quality” from their work.
“I understand structures and situations quickly. Sometimes that is about identifying who the weakest link is, and then trying to support that weak link”
“Tey’re working 14-15 hours each day. So, I wanted to help them to achieve a better balance.” Ever prescient, von
Massenbach also knew that younger generations of workers were far less likely to accept those longer hours. “Te demographic change was already in the pipeline, but no one in the hospitality industry was interested [in addressing the issue]. Instead, we were just always looking for more people to hire, rather than really trying to keep the good ones leaving the sector. I thought, ‘If we’re not doing something now in terms of changing the culture and the way we treat people, we won’t find anybody in the future. Interestingly, Covid was actually a real catalyst for changing that,” she says. With the industry facing
a serious labor issue in the wake of the pandemic, von Massenbach no longer feels such a lone voice in industry, but she still makes it her business to
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