‘It’s like a family’: the restaurant staff who stay in the same job for decades

As a photographic project highlights long service in London’s restaurant trade, six stalwarts tell us why they’ve stayed put for all these years

“Very seldom are we who work in the catering industry appreciated for what we do,” says Gino Nardella, master sommelier at London hotel the Stafford. “We don’t get the awards or OBEs, and yet our contribution is great.”

Nardella is one of the subjects of photographer Peter Jackson’s latest personal project, Long Service: London. Jackson heard about a restaurant in Paris with an employee of more than 40 years standing, and thought there must be similar examples in the UK capital. Last summer, he started calling and emailing London restaurants: “If I walked past a place that looked quite old, I’d pop in.”