Lindsey, queen of Castle’s kitchen, clocks up 20 years

Kitchen manager Lindsey Bell is pictured receiving Champagne and flowers to celebrate 20 years with Wetherspoon.

Area manager John Hudson (left) and her pub manager Kris Lee at The Mile Castle (Newcastle) made the special presentation.

Lindsey joined the company in 2004, originally as a bar associate at The Lord Burton (Burton upon Trent), progressing to team leader before switching to the kitchen team.

Lindsey recalled: “I decided to train in the kitchen and much preferred it, working my way up to become kitchen manager in 2007.

“I spent eight years at Burton before moving to the newly opened The Butler’s Bell (Stafford) (no longer a Wetherspoon pub).”

Originally from the Wirral, Lindsey moved again 10 years ago to Newcastle to be nearer to her family, transferring to Union Rooms (Newcastle) (no longer a Wetherspoon pub).

She said: “When Union Rooms closed, in 2017, I literally moved across the road to The Mile Castle and have been here ever since.”

Recently reopened following a huge refurbishment project, with a new hotel opened in November, Lindsey’s kitchen team has grown from 30 to 50 full- and part-time staff.

Lindsey, whose young son George will be two years old at the turn of the year, worked at The Wicket Gate (Chester-le-Street) during The Mile Castle’s refurbishment.

She said: “This is now the biggest team I have worked with and, although The Mile Castle was already a busy kitchen”

But Lindsey is used to the challenge, having been involved in training kitchen staff at 15 new pub openings, as well as seeing several experienced team members progress, themselves, to kitchen manager roles.

Lindsey said: “It is always nice to see people progressing.

“It is good for the development of the company. I have a great team and love my job.