Food & Beverage Director
at The Ungasan Clifftop Resort
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E: What are your responsibilities?
Daniel Whitelaw: My main responsibilities are to ensure our guests in the resort and at Sundays Beach Club are being looked after and that we are meeting their expectations. To do that I need to ensure my staff are well taken care of with training, motivation and a great place to work. Happy staff equal happy customers I believe.
E: What makes a typical day
D: Waking up and having a quick swim followed by a good healthy breakfast. I get to work and check all the emails from my F&B department managers and meet my general manager and all department heads for the morning briefing, then we start to tackle the day. It’s very important for all of us at The Ungasan to ensure we make our guests as comfortable as possible and give them all the WOW factor. I spend a lot of my time at Sundays Beach Club supporting my team and the operations manager as it is very busy. I also work closely with the teams in the weddings and events departments.
E: Your best attribute?
D: I’d say my service. I’ve always loved meeting people and get a thrill going above and beyond for our guests. I love working with the Balinese staff and helping them be the best they can through customer service and knowing their stuff. As we say at The Ungasan “service to the end”.
E: Team player or team leader?
D: It has to be both. You can’t run a successful venue without teamwork. And good leadership is most definitely important. I am a big believer in leading by example and that you are only as good as your team.
E: Who has been the most influential figure in your career to date?
D: I would have to say Tetsuya Wakuda who I had the privilege of working for in Sydney for over five years. A true talent, genius and mentor. He taught me not only about food but also about amazing service and that the more you give the more you get back. The service we delivered at Tetsuya’s was world class.
E: Name one really special thing about your hotel or restaurant?
D: The Ungasan Clifftop Resort is one of the most beautiful places ever with stunning cliff-top views. We have seven amazing five-bedroom villas, all designed differently.
E: How do you unwind?
D: I love to hang with my partner and just have a quiet time checking out places we haven’t discovered before on the island. We try and keep it interesting on our days off. A glass of bubbles always helps too.
E: Dead or alive, who would you like to take out to dinner?
D: I am a huge fan of Kylie Minogue so I would have to say her. I know you may think – what!? But hey, she’s the first person that came to mind!
The Ungasan Clifftop Resort
Jalan Pantai Selatan Gau, Banjar Wijaya Kusuma, Ungasan
Bali 80362, Indonesia
T: (+62) 8119421110
E: reservations@theungasan.com
Exquisite Taste September – November 2019
