Hospitality trades: careers worth waitressing for

Waiters, baristas and bartenders wanted.

The pay? Excellent. Opportunities? Endless.

The times, they are a-changing -what were once considered dead-end, transient or low-paying jobs are now being taken on as careers, filled with promise, incredible opportunities and plenty of money to be made.

Rebecca Walker, 21, works as a barista at award-winning Fortitude Valley roastery and café Campos Coffee and considers her job as a long-term commitment.

"Some people perceive working in a cafe as something you do in between real jobs, or while you're studying, but I definitely see it as a career," she said.

Ms Walker's enthusiasm for her career is backed by her Campos, which gives employees paid college education, 12 months of training, work exchanges to Sydney and team bonding trips.

During her first couple of weeks, the New Farm local was "blown away" by the enthusiasm of staff, their commitment to quality and attention to detail.

"In some cafés it's not uncommon for the barista to send out a cup of coffee that they know is substandard, but here the approach is totally different - everyone takes coffee very seriously," she said.

Co-owner John Ronchi said although the sterotypes were no longer applicable, they were still very much alive in the mind of the general public.

"The fact is, these are excellent careers and people who are successful can earn a lot of money and get incredible opportunities," he said.

"The Australian who won the World Barista Competition now has a deal with Sunbeam, his own TV show and his own line of coffee.

"The problem is perception - I'd say the majority of people still see these jobs as something you do on your way to something else - which is very unfortunate. We have excellent levels of staff rentention because we take the job so seriously."

Peter Sullivan, co-owner and operator of Brisbane fine dining newcomer ARIA, said most people did not realise the potential of the mere waiter.

"The whole shtick is how to get the message across that there is a huge scope for success in this industry - and I'm not talking about chefs here," he said.

"Excellent restaurateurs are highly sought after and there's huge money in it," he said.

"A lot of the success of a restaurant depends on its floor staff and who's running it. It's a dynamic career with excellent opportunities to work all over the world."

ARIA section waiter Chloe Jackson, 24, said she studied hospitality at TAFE and after winning a scholarship to work in the UK for 12 months, realised how significant her career choice was.

"People over there really respect the industry and everyone in it. The scholarship and working in London gave me a lot of insight into the opportunities available to me," she said.

"I learnt a lot - I still have a lot to learn - but I know that this is it for me, this is what I want to do and I'm going to work hard to make this my living," she said.

Bartender-turned-guru Justinn De Beer, 35, said people were too quick to dismiss hospitality as a viable career.

Currently managing luxurious new Fortitude Valley bar and supper club Laruche, Mr De Beer has opened a long line of exclusive bars and clubs around the world and said what started out as a part-time job for him in South Africa has become his passion.

"It was while I was working in London that I realised people there treated a job that I thought of as silly, with a lot of respect," he said.

"I think a lot of people in Brisbane still think like that - although I have noticed in the past five years or so that attitudes are improving.

"Certainly a lot of the people I work with take their jobs very seriously, they do a lot of study and are absolutely amazing at what they do."

Published in Brisbane Times 31 January.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/hospitality-trades-careers-wo...