Faces of Galway 66/100
Meet Jeff from Galway.
Jeff doesn't like to call himself driven so let's call him pro-active! After completing his commerce degree at NUIG he probably didn't envision owning and running a successful restaurant, starting his own photography company, and helping to set up a community driven project to help develop Salthill.
Jeff's wife is from Hong Kong and her family have had a long history of owning and running restaurants in Galway. When an opportunity arose for them to set up Royal Villa in Salthill they both thought, why not. Despite having no experience in managing a busy restaurant it quickly became apparent that he needed to make sure he was able to work in every role. No role was as important as in the kitchen. So he enrolled in GMIT and completed a four year degree in Culinery Arts. This is what Jeff does. He sees an area in which he can improve and he works to achieve it. Jeff now doesn't have to worry if a chef calls in sick, he can leave his front of house role and work in the kitchen.
Through marketing his own restaurant he found he was hiring photographers to take photos. With an interest in photography he decided to upgrade his camera and spent endless hours on tutorials mastering the techniques he would need to take those photos himself. He also works with other photographers to improve his skills through practical learning. Jeff now works photographing weddings, food and interiors with his company P3B Photography Project (link here.)
After a few years in Salthill Jeff started to see that the area wasn't being used to its full potential. Alongside some other local business people, he set about creating a new image for this well loved part of Galway. "The Village Salthill" was set up and support has started to grow quickly. There is a great sense of community. No one business is trying to improve the area solely so they can get more customers. Everyone is desperately trying to make Salthill even better for both the businesses and residents alike. The aim is to extend life beyond the prom and show the city what the village of Salthill has to offer people of all ages. Although still in its infancy it already looks like this is going to be a success, don't forget to follow them on facebook here.
With the way Jeff approaches life we have no doubt that in ten years time his story is going to be even more detailed and he will have another string of achievements under his belt.