CAFE MANAGER
CAFE MOJO
Making coffee is both an art and a science and combining this with pleasing people that is what I really like.
Tell us how you spend your days. What do you do?
My days are spent serving our wonderful customers, our community, and guiding staff in gaining experience, skills and knowledge for our hospitality industry. I love working with junior staff and seeing them thrive and grow. Typically, it’s a 7.30am until 4.00pm day which I find are great hours! I usually end up at the end of the day doing some minor bookkeeping, financial management and attending to our social media, I just love the variety that the industry offers.
Did you always plan to work in the hospitality industry?
No, I have always worked in the IT industry, originally as a developer, in the end more project and people management. I am glad I shifted to hospitality as I love working with people, and the challenge of creating the perfect cuppa. I love the variety and challenge I get on a daily basis.
So, how did you get into tourism and hospitality?
My wife started our cafe and I just loved making coffees for her, so I joined her in her business. My wife is a professional chef of many years, and she has a passion for people, community, and food. Making the switch was easy, I love what I do now. Being responsible for our coffee area allows me to play with different suppliers, beans and machinery.
How would you describe yourself?
I am a mature aged worker who likes a challenge, I am both social and detail orientated. Love the broader aspect of my work and having some fun in the work environment. Making coffee is both an art and a science and combining this with pleasing people that is what I really like.
What do you love most about the industry?
I love a challenge, making people smile when they come in is my number one priority and we succeed in this. I also love that most things we do are art AND science, from workflow processes to making coffee, it’s all really exciting.
What’s the best part of your job?
Seeing juniors grow, from no experience to very confident baristas is a great enjoyment for me. Helping wherever we can in community efforts, from connecting small businesses to be able to host volunteer groups like SES and senior groups is wonderful.
What’s your best advice for anyone starting out?
My best advice is prepare. Make sure you have looked up the company on their website and social media, you can study the venue’s menu and come prepared with meaningful questions. After that is simply to follow instructions, we have many years of perfecting our cafe and we really know what we do. Last but not least, it might be your millionth coffee today, but for your customer it might be their only one, so try and make it special for people.
And what’s next for you?
I want to grow my passion for coffee, so would love to introduce new beans, roasts, and different types of coffee, I find that coffee is an endless area of expertise, you can never grow too much. And maybe, just maybe… managing a second cafe, one day?
