Tag Archives: glasgow

And that’s a wrap! … Well, a taco!

Summer means a chance to get outdoors, and for our Hospitality School classes that is no exception!

We’ve been starting to wrap up our year long cookery courses with local schools in the traditional Hub way, through a celebration of all things food & drink of course!

This Summer Street Food event held at Parkhill Enterprise Academy, Glasgow, was particularly special, a culmination of a year long foodie journey involving four schools that started back in August.

The FOOD SCHOOL SCOTLAND Programme was originally started in 2018 with a small seed fund from Connect Local Regional Food Fund, the aim was to inspire communities to explore local produce, how its grow and how it can be used to bring the community together.

Since 2018 we have been focused on growing this programme to include more young people from across the region, its great to see many more school get involved.

Mr Pepin, Deputy Head of Parkhill Secondary and founder of the Enterprise Academy is a huge ambassador for culinary education and has been instrumental in getting this project off the ground, believing in the vision that we had at Hub International.

‘Programmes like Food School Scotland are immensely beneficial for our students, allowing them access to the industry through hands on masterclasses, immersive visits to local businesses, farms and getting to work with the producers, suppliers and operators of the full Scottish Hospitality supply chain. It has become a flagship programme for our school and one that we can all get involved in, including teachers & parents, a chance for us all to learn about on of Scotland’s biggest industries.’

The Food School Scotland Programme Manager, Lauren said ‘These young people are well equipped to gain experience or employment in the Hospitality, Food & Drink sector. They have a variety of unique skills from butchery, handling game birds, patisserie, barista & mixology as well as the theory and understanding of our vast sector. My self and the team of ambassadors at Hub International absolutely adore working here each week and supporting the new cohort to progress one step at a time. Today is a proud day seeing them complete such an intense course.’

We couldn’t make this programme as exciting as it has been without our brilliant programme partners, so a huge thanks to this years supporters:

Glasgow City Council, Wiseman Dairies, Johnston Stallbridge, Royal Highland Education Trust, Chocolatia, Bare Bones Chocolate, The Fish Plaice, Clydeside Distillery, Braehead Foods, Tantrum Doughnuts, Rapscallion, Monin, Chef Garry Gill, Forager Brody Mac, Brakes Scotland.

If your business would like to be involved in Food School Scotland next year we would love to talk.

If you are interested in working with Hub International to develop your schools culinary programmes please do get in touch with lauren@hi-people.org

Join our training team! Barista Trainer opportunity at Hub International

Are you looking for a change of pace from the daily grind?

Do you have a keen interest in coffee and a passion for building skills in others?

Ready to rise to a new challenge? If so, we want to hear from you!

At Hub International we are looking for an experienced barista to join the team and help us develop the next generation of café superstars.

Trainee Barista

Training on the coffee machine at schoolWhat does a normal day look like?

As a barista trainer there are many different challenges from a standard day in a café.

The majority of our young trainees will have never made a coffee before, and so the right person will be patient and encouraging while supporting them through this process. We work very closely with schools and charities who support young people to get in to work (sometimes for the first time), so positivity and support is at the heart of what we do. No day will be the same, you might be teaching a school group how to froth milk one day and serving the public in a pop-up educational event the next.

Our team can travel all over the central belt, and often beyond, so while a drivers license and car is not essential, flexibility to travel is required from time to time.

What are we looking for in our Barista Trainer?

A natural passion for delivering hospitality
A confident barista with excellent communication skills
Patience, some of our trainees will need more support than others
Flexibility and willingness to travel to more than one location in a day
Hospitality Management or supervisory experience is beneficial but not essential

Trainees celebrate end of year achievements at the Hub International Hospitality School

What’s in it for you?

Excellent training and support in achieving your next steps in your career
Very limited weekend work, we are busiest Monday to Friday, mainly daytimes!
Annual leave during school holidays & no more working during Christmas festivities
Regular appraisal, funded qualifications and room to progress within our company
A rewarding role where you can watch those you train develop and grow in confidence
Trips to a ton of coffee houses and exciting industry experiences

If this sounds like the right fit then get in touch, we are eager to meet likeminded people with a shared love of coffee!

Where do I apply?

Send your CV or Video intro to: info@hi-people.org

Oh Dear! Lucky Lisa’s locked in my kind of paradise

In March 2020, just before the world as we know it went from under us and was replaced by nothing but our own four walls, we were delighted to be invited behind the scenes of Glasgow’s Dear Green Coffee Roasters. We knew we were in for a treat, a tour of the roastery, a curated coffee class just for our fresh faced trainees but I think the unexpected gift was to hear the story of a fabulous female entrepreneur, Lisa Lawson.

HI! Hospitality Trainees recent visit to Dear Green HQ

Grab a cuppa, and take a minute to watch her message from the eerily quiet roastery to the hospitality trainees https://youtu.be/my35oEW-7LU

I had heard of Dear Green, tried their coffee at the last Glasgow Coffee festival and even have one of their Keep Cups knocking about somewhere, but until our visit had never appreciated how the business started and just how much of a heart it has, it’s safe to safe I am now a BIG fan and even started my own monthly coffee subscription which has given me another reason to be cheerful in the morning lockdown routine.

It was really quite inspiring for me and the young people to hear how Lisa started roasting coffee using her last savings to buy her first roaster and within a matter of years was being flown out across the world to the coffee farms to inspect the conditions of the workers, ensuring they were being looked after and benefiting from their supply partnership. I felt like I was with her for a second when she described the magical experiences she had, hearing the soulful singing of the Ethiopian women in the plantation, happy in their work providing for their families. I sense she feels very proud knowing the more she expands her business the more work, income and stability she is providing for other women, children and families around the world.

Lisa on a visit to meet women coffee producers

Her approach to ethical business makes her a good person, but this teamed with her strong work ethic and respect for others in her team has clearly been a key factor in her success to date. Her business has grown organically, Dear Green has a strong following of indy cafes, bars and restaurants and now a roaring trade from lockdown coffee addicts who are ordering beans online in an attempt to become a pro stay-at-home barista. It’s nice to see so many people are valuing her approach to sourcing coffee transparently, and paying her own staff a fair wage, seeing Lisa’s business growth has given me a little more faith that our buying habits are changing for the better and we’re not just happy to settle for the cheapest of products at all costs.

I MISS COFFEE. I have it every day and yet I feel like I am missing it. The ritual of grabbing a coffee I suppose. Nothing will beat the smell of freshly ground coffee in the morning, the hiss of the milk wand and the chitter chatter of people from all walks of life milling about a coffee shop. I know we all cannot wait to get back to enjoying basic freedoms like a morning coffee..with PEOPLE! Although I do wonder how we are all going to have a brew with a face mask on?

SO…for now all we can do is put the kettle on and enjoy some peace, this is probably the only time in your lifetime that you will have to be so relaxed and de-stressed with little pressure to do anything, so before the world awakens again try to savour this special quiet time, if you can.

Stay Home, Stay Safe, Drink Coffee

Steph