Behind the Scenes with Kathleen Howard

If you picture a Director of Food & Beverage spending the day tasting wine and choosing menus, you’re partly right. You’re missing the staffing puzzle, the event that needs a last-minute adjustment, the budget meeting, and the urgent search for a working keg fridge.

I’m Kathleen Howard, Director of Food & Beverage at the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club. I’ve been at the Cricket for four years and in the club industry for 13. I also serve on the CMAC Ontario Board and chair its Member Engagement Committee.

The Cricket is an amazing place to work. There’s always so much happening at once. Members might be meeting friends for lunch, grabbing something between activities, celebrating a milestone or attending a Club event. My job is to help our teams make each experience feel personal and welcoming.

A Day in the Life

My day usually starts by finding out what’s on the schedule, then discovering what the day actually has planned for me.

I check in on service, staffing and upcoming events, and connect with the managers and teams who bring it all together. Depending on the day, I might be reviewing menus with Chef Win, working through an event plan with Kaity and Phil, looking at sales and labour, following up on member feedback (I love scrolling through Happometer with my morning coffee) or talking with a supplier.

Often, it’s a little of everything before lunch.

Sometimes it’s all of everything before coffee number three.

One of the things I love about the Cricket is the variety. Members use the Club in so many different ways, and food and beverage is part of many of those experiences. A casual meal needs care and consistency. A major event needs detailed planning and a team ready to adapt. Both matter.

And something unexpected always happens.

Last week, our event keg fridge and our Squash bar keg fridge both broke on the same day, just as we entered our busy season in September. The lead time to replace them? Four to six weeks. I believe my exact thought was, “Excellent timing.”

Moments like that have taught me to make a plan, communicate it clearly and keep my sense of humour while we work through it.

I try to end the day by checking in with the team and making sure the next shift has what it needs. I also try to leave with fewer emails than I arrived with.

Success varies.

Behind the Role

People sometimes assume my role is mainly about food & beverage. Food is certainly a perk (and so is beverage), but much of my work is about people: supporting employees, connecting teams, listening to members and making decisions that balance the experience we want to offer with what it takes to deliver it.

The moments I enjoy most often happen in passing. A member tells us an event meant a lot to their family. A team member comes up with a better way to do something. The kitchen, service and events teams solve a problem together so smoothly that members never know there was a problem at all.

Those moments keep me motivated.

Leadership and Advice

One lesson I’ve learned is that you can have an excellent plan and still need to change it. Listening to the people doing the work makes the plan stronger, and staying calm gives everyone room to respond when the day takes a turn.

Two broken keg fridges are a fairly persuasive reminder.

For someone entering the club industry, my advice is to stay curious. Spend time with every department, ask questions and learn what matters to your members. Clubs give you the chance to build lasting relationships while doing work that changes from one day to the next.

If you enjoy people, teamwork and the occasional plot twist, you’ll find plenty to love here.

A Few Fun Facts

Coffee or tea?
Coffee. Approximately 13 times a day. I haven’t counted, and I’d prefer not to start.

Favourite way to unwind?
A glass of wine on the couch while telling Chris about the jam-packed day I just had. He gets the director’s cut.

Favourite travel destination?
Italy or Greece. Wonderful food, wonderful wine and, ideally, no emails about keg fridges.

Something people may be surprised to know about me?
I love vintage shopping & thrifting and have a knack for finding beautiful pieces. A little treasure hunting is my favourite way to reset.

And yes, I still enjoy going out for dinner after spending all day working in food and beverage.

With Love,

Kat <3