After twelve years at the head of the Alumni Board, Alistair Telfer has stepped down to take a well-earned rest following years of dedicated service to his alma mater. We couldn’t let him go without first taking the time to reflect on the many accomplishments of this devoted and inspirational member of the UWL community. Alistair began his education at Ealing College of Higher Education when he was just sixteen, forming close bonds with chefs and lecturers that have lasted to this day.
During his time at the College, he worked under legends such as Chef lecturer Alan Haydn and Derek Hall-Forrest known as DHF who taught him everything to do with the appreciation of wine, including a memorable trip to Champagne! As well as Professor David Foskett OBE, the world renowned Chef and author of textbooks used in every hotel school around the world, who has remained a lifelong friend and mentor.
Many of the people who taught me, I was still in touch with until they were no longer with us. And that’s still the case. The people who were there become your mentors. We were being taught by people who had been there and done it.
It was here at Ealing, studying under these people, that Alistair learned the important skills he’d take with him throughout his career.
Ealing somehow unlocked my potential. It’s really true. I was a shy sixteen year old, not really confident with speaking publicly and those four years between sixteen and twenty just transformed who I was as a person. I was motivated by a subject I liked and the staff encouraged you to be the best.
Alistair recalled times that he was acting as head chef in the Mary King room, now Pillars restaurant, and having his work sent back for being incorrect. But he says they were not spoon fed, his tutors didn’t tell him what he’d done wrong, that was on him to find out.
During the summer, Alistair worked as a waiter at Pinewood Studios, where he looked after stars like James Bond’s Roger Moore and Peter Rogers of Carry On fame. When it came time to do his placement, he opted to work at Pinewood for a full year, during which time he met a young Tom Cruise just starting out on his career and Sir David Lean who was cutting A Passage to India as well as many more Hollywood stars.
Choosing to stay local for his career, Alistair became a barman working for Company Group at the Officer’s Mess at RAF Northolt, the airbase from which Royalty and Prime Ministers are known to fly. Within a month, he was promoted to Bar Manager and quickly rose to the position of Officer’s Mess Manager, the youngest in the history of the Royal Air Force. Eventually working his way up to be General Manager, Alistair’s drive for improvement is evident in every story he tells, and his continuous efforts to take on new challenges has led him to a range of high-profile positions:
I never wanted anyone to open any doors for me, I wanted to open them myself.
Alistair harboured ambitions to teach, and began his postgrad, studying a Diploma in Management Studies in the Business School at The Polytechnic of West London. He then went on to complete his MBA at TVU, all while working as an Operations Manager for Compass looking after all their Ministry of Defence contracts. At the age of 27 he was awarded a coveted 30 under 30 Acorn Award, an industry award identifying stars of the future. It was around then that Alistair felt he wanted to get back to what he trained for, looking after people within an operation, so he took up the position of General Catering Manager at the Hurlingham club. This began a whole new career in Club land.. Throughout this illustrious career, Alistair has maintained a strong relationship with UWL in its many iterations.
I became a governor in 2000, which I again remember thinking I was too young to be a governor because I was only thirty-five. At that time, I was the President of The Hotel and Catering International Management Association, now known as the Institute of Hospitality, which is the professional body of the industry.
Alistair instituted many changes and became the only President to serve two terms. Alistair is involved in a number of other charitable organisations including as a Liveryman of both the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ and Cooks’. He is a Freeman of the City of London and a Prud Homme, La Jurade de Saint Emilion. He has been a school governor and is Founding Life Friend of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.
When the opportunity to be a governor came along it was a chance to give back to the institution that had given me the career I loved. This was when I got to know and understand the university in a different way, how it was run, how it was managed.
When the Alumni Board was formed in 2009, Alistair went straight from his governor position to be Board member taking the position of Chairman of the Alumni Board in 2011. During his tenure in both roles, Alistair has seen a number of changes. Thames Valley University expanded to take on the Reading campus, the Brentford expansion, the building of a new central campus and a general overhaul in the Uni’s reputation. He even chaired the committee to appoint our current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter John, CBE! His work as a Governor was recognised by the University when Alistair was made the very first Honorary Doctor of the newly named University of West London in 2010. He was also made an Honorary Fellow of Westminster Kingsway College in 2018. Asked about what motivated him to dedicate so much time to the University, Alistair said:
It’s all to do with giving back. I believe I owe everything to Ealing, for where I am today. Not just the qualification but the person I became as I went through the schools.
He hopes that other alumni and current students are having that experience, and thinks that it is important to foster this idea of development in our students.
We at UWL would like to thank Alistair for all his hard work over the years, for speaking at countless graduation ceremonies, chairing numerous events and being a constant source of advice and support.
