About Cleous Bites
Cleous Bites is a busy and growing independent food business operating cafés at Laura Trott Leisure Centre and John Warner Sports Centre. We also run a mobile food van, provide outside catering and cater for private functions, community programmes and events.
There is always something happening at Cleous Bites. No two days are quite the same, and we are looking for an experienced, capable person who enjoys variety and is happy to get involved in all areas of the business.
About the role
We are looking for a highly experienced Café All-Rounder who is barista trained and has a strong background in food preparation and café work.
This is not a quiet role where you will only make coffees or serve customers. Our cafés are large, busy environments, and everyone is expected to contribute to food preparation, customer service, displays, stock rotation, cleaning, opening and closing duties.
The right person will have strong practical judgement, plenty of common sense and the confidence to use their initiative without having to be constantly directed.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Preparing and serving high-quality barista-style drinks
- Preparing hot and cold food safely and efficiently
- Setting up attractive, well-stocked front counter displays
- Regularly changing displays to keep our food offering fresh and interesting
- Rotating food correctly and monitoring use-by dates
- Finding safe and creative ways to use ingredients approaching their use-by date to reduce waste
- Suggesting new food ideas, specials, displays and ways to improve sales
- Maintaining excellent food hygiene and allergen standards
- Serving customers warmly and professionally, even during busy periods
- Restocking and keeping all customer-facing areas presentable
- Completing thorough opening and closing procedures
- Cleaning equipment, counters, floors, kitchen areas and customer areas to a high standard
- Supporting our cafés, food van, events and outside catering when required
- Taking on different duties depending on what the business needs that day
The person we are looking for
You must:
- Have previous café or similar hospitality experience
- Be fully barista trained and confident using a commercial coffee machine
- Have good food preparation and food-handling experience
- Be hardworking, reliable and proactive
- Have strong common sense and practical problem-solving skills
- Be able to see what needs doing and get on with it
- Be comfortable working in a fast-paced and sometimes challenging environment
- Be organised and able to manage several tasks at once
- Understand food rotation, date labelling, stock control and waste reduction
- Have high cleaning standards and be willing to complete demanding close-downs
- Be creative and confident enough to contribute ideas and suggestions
- Work well independently while also supporting the wider team
- Be flexible and willing to take on different roles when needed
- Take pride in their appearance, work and customer service
A Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate is required, although further training will be provided to the right experienced candidate.
An honest description of the role
We want to be completely open: this is a hands-on and demanding position. Our cafés are large, the close-downs require real effort, and there can be several things happening at once. Cleaning is a significant and essential part of the job.
However, it is also a varied, friendly and rewarding place to work. You will never be bored, your ideas will be welcomed, and there will be opportunities to get involved in different parts of the business. For someone who enjoys a challenge, takes pride in doing a job properly and wants the opportunity to grow, this could be a very enjoyable role.
We recognise hardworking people. For the right person, there may be opportunities to increase hours and progress into senior, supervisory or other roles as the business continues to grow.
Pay
The starting rate for this position is the applicable National Minimum Wage, depending on your age and experience.
Your pay will be reviewed within the first few weeks or after approximately one month of employment. This allows us to see your experience, reliability, initiative and quality of work in practice.
If you demonstrate the level of skill and performance we are looking for, we will consider increasing your hourly rate following this review. Any increase will depend on your overall performance and suitability for the role.
How to apply
Please apply with your CV and a short explanation of your café, barista and food experience. Applicants without relevant experience will not be considered.
Pay: From £10.85 per hour
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
