Café Trainees

MEREDITH                                                                                      29th September 2009

After four months as a trainee at the Drill Hall Café, 18-year old Meredith O'Donoghue has landed a job as a commis chef at the Balmoral Hotel.  Meredith was on the café training programme which is run jointly by Out of the Blue and the Port of Leith Housing Association. She applied for the Balmoral Hotel job, and after one telephone call and a face-to-face interview Meredith started the following week. An assistant chef said to her 'you must have really impressed them to get the job so quickly!'.

Six weeks into the new job and Meredith is beaming with pride and buzzing from the excitement of her new role. But it's no walk in the park. "I'm supposed to work 39 hours with two days off a week, but it's always more than that. Sometimes when there's a function on we work 14 hour shifts".  So far Meredith has worked in the main kitchen and the pastry kitchen, as well as assisting with the hotel breakfasts which means a 4:30am start!  (We thought 8:00 in the morning at the Drill Hall Café was early…). "We wear the whole outfit - tall hat and the chef jacket with all the buttons and checked pattern."

The experience so far has made Meredith even more determined to become a chef. Alongside her traineeship, she will also be sent to college to study subjects such as food hygiene.

What's the best thing you have made so far? "The other day I had to make a macadamia pie, it was really yummy!"

Meredith has always liked cooking and was keen to try out new things whilst working at the Drill Hall Café. Perhaps we can claim a little bit of Meredith's success too - in any case we're extremely proud of her! Other café trainees have gone on to further studies or training in areas such as care work. 17-year old ex-trainee Jodie Boswell was taken on as a full-time café staff member after her placement because she excelled in her role and showed a great level of commitment. Out of the Blue is always working hard on improving the scheme - let's hope for many more success stories in the future!

JODIE                                                                                                       15th August 2009

Jodie, who is from Leith, has just completed a 6 month café traineeship at the Drill Hall Arts Café. Jodie first came to the Drill Hall as a participant in the 'Streetlife' project. Through this project out of the blue worked with teenagers who used the Dalmeny Street Park as a hangout and were seen by some older members of the community as a threat.  A photographer worked with the group to produce images of the park and a youth worker and designer based in a studio at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall helped them produce a magazine with their writing, graphics and photographs. The magazine was launched at an event at the Drill Hall featuring an exhibition and an audio/visual projection of their work. We asked Jodie a few questions about her experiences so far.

How did you find out about the training scheme and what made you decide to give it a go? I first heard about the training scheme from my careers advisor and thought it would be something I'd enjoy.

Do you enjoy it? It has been amazing. I'm getting up in the morning all excited about coming to my work. I have never worked before and didn't know what to expect but working in the café is a great experience.

What have you learned or what have you got out of your time here? I have learned how to make fancy coffees, to cook, deal with customers, use the till and work in a team.

What do you think it will be like over the festival? Very busy with all the fringe crowds! It'll be exciting to see the shows.

Would you like to stay in Leith in the future? Absolutely.

What's your favourite thing on the menu? Would have to be the tomato and lentil soup!

 

Café trainee Quotes

Lucy Robertson, OOTB's first trainee from the Fort area of Leith says:

"Everything that I've learnt here is going to help me so much in all my other jobs and life. When I first came here they all treated me with respect- like an adult and not a kid. Before I started working here I was like I'm never ever going to be good at anything, but now I've worked here I've had a really good confidence boost and it's helped me so much and I can do things that I never ever thought I would do. I'm going to try my hardest to go somewhere in life"