line cook

sous chef

server

pastry cook

shift manager

Ottolenghi

What is the best part of working at the company?
You get to go home at the end of the day and leave the chaos behind.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Poor organisation and constant pressure from management with little support.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very fast-paced but extremely chaotic, with poor communication from management. The environment can feel cliquey and not particularly supportive if you’re not already part of the core team. Managers raising their voices at staff is often treated as normal, which creates a stressful atmosphere. Scheduling and hours can change with little notice, and overtime expectations can be inconsistent. Overall it feels more like a production line than a professional workplace, and morale among staff is generally quite low. There seems to be a constant need for new staff, which probably says a lot about the working environment.

My experience with this company has not been good.
They called me for a 2-hour unpaid trail, I agreed because it seemed like an excellent opportunity to work in a company that has a very good reputation . 
Actually, the trail consisted of spending 2 hours closing bags of chocolate with a tie, I did not receive more training, which seemed to me a waste of time and a complete abuse (working for free doing something really simple that 20-min trail to do that would have sufficed) .
 The place is a basement with a low ceiling that has no windows, obviously the salary is too low to support these conditions, even with these conditions I asked the manager if I could start part time and then increase hours to which he immediately showed me the door output, which showed me a lack of flexibility . 
Environment did not seem very happy.

I loved working in a fast-paced, well-organised institution with amazing food and cocktails. 

The overseer was an absolute stickler, which I understand is necessary to run a place like Ottolenghi but I found working such long hours and late nights hugely taxing on my wellbeing. I would often be assigned 4 doubles in a week until closing time because the team had to make up for other employees on holiday. I felt like the staff were stretched out too thin and many of my collegues (including myself) had reached breaking point. It is really such a shame that it had to be that way. If the staff are not 100% rested happy, how can they keep customers happy?

Good training opportunities, good pay due to service charge scheme.

Lots of team work and dynamic environment. Mediocre staff food but get discount on dinners and opportunities to try different products in training sessions.

Upper management not attentive nor empathetic with staff, they would assign un-requested extra shifts and expect staff to comply. 

In many occasions worked for over 10-12 days in a row without any breaks. Disregard for work-life balance from managers.

 Managers would also not respect holiday requests and interrogate over sick days in a disrespectful manner.

Worked there for one year and half. Would not do it again.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Good tips and staff food. Books for free to all staff 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Big bosses not understanding how everything works and expect us to deliver things that are impossible. Easy to seat behind a desk at home like they do then to be in the front with us. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Most of the staff are nice. But higher management makes everything terrible. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Very busy. Lots of tables to serve and clean in a fast paced

If you:
- love hospitality
- are genuinely interested in food and drinks
- have great personality 
- have solid experience 
- are a happy person
the company and management will take care of you. 

Yes, work can be hard but you will be appreciated and looked after, as it is important that you have healthy and happy work life balance. 

I would highly recommended Ottolenghi to anyone who wants to challenge themselves, work with great people, earn good money and have nice benefits.

I worked at Ottolenghi a few years ago and recently came back. I explored many other places, from small cafes to new opening restaurants. After exploring new pastures I am pleased to be back and be part of a company packed up with incredible people. The management team are very supportive, the work environment is exciting and respectful; it feels like we achieve a lot everyday. 

The managers are beyond God's there, they can do whatever they want but will ask you to follow the rules. You don't get a properly training, they will let you to learn on your own and they will corect you on everything this is how you are ,,fully trained,, by being constantly corrected for things wich you where never explained. And if you ask ,,you will see during the service,, this is what you get. Pay it's decent but not worth to spend you time in a place where they just look for mistakes

Fast paced kitchens  with demanding customers and busy days and evenings.

It's a hard kitchen to work in but if commitment and passion is shown the company with be on the first line to help support and promote.
Great place to express creativity and exchange ideas. The owners and head chefs always encourage every one in the company (waiters, kitchen porters and chefs, ...) the get hands on a new recipe idea.

Can't trust the management or your colleages, people culture is sneaky here. Matters aren't dealt with correctly, lots of bias amongst management and staff, SUPER COCKEY crowd of people is the culture need. Nobody is supportive and everyone gossips dangerously. Pay is decent for the job, but management don't know what they're doing so they make your job double as hard instead of easier.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Line cook 3 salaries reported	£15.64 per hour
Sous chef 3 salaries reported	£39,000 per year
Server 4 salaries reported	£16.18 per hour
Pastry cook 2 salaries reported	£42,000 per year
Shift manager 5 salaries reported	£39,800 per year

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