Pairings: Debbie Hart

Debbie Hart

Linen Keeper

I started work at Trinity 31 years ago. I came straight from catering college, when I was 18, and started out in the kitchens as a pastry chef. It was intimidating at first, but I became really good friends with the person I worked next to, Christine. We were godmothers to each other’s daughters, in the end.

We made everything from scratch in those kitchens – petits fours, Christmas puddings, everything. I think my favourite thing to make was the croque en bouche. When my daughter was little, the shifts were hard to manage, so I switched departments, into Housekeeping, and I’ve been there ever since.

I’ve seen some changes in my time at Trinity – we’ve gone from blankets and sheets to duvets, for one thing – and there have been milestones.

I remember especially the year Sebastian Coe came to recreate the famous Great Court Run, and the time I served Princess Anne. But the important things stay the same. The friendliness of the team, the rhythm of the academic year, looking after the students, who seem to keep getting younger!

I love the fact that while everything else changes, Trinity is constant. Every day, as I walk into Great Court, I see that beautiful view. It never fails to lift my spirits.