Will Work for Food

I’d been in Melbourne for only three days and I’d already found a place to stay, made a new best friend, joined a tennis league, and landed myself a job in a café.

Finding a job was not easy since I (shhh…) didn’t have a work visa and was not going to be here very long. No one wanted to take the time to train me if I would be giving notice in three weeks. I was at a point though, where I need something “real” to do and didn’t want to just be a tourist anymore. I knew having a routine and getting a job would allow me that insight into a place and its people that you just can’t get as a tourist taking the double-decker city bus tour. Plus, this country ain’t cheap and I could use the dough to help offset some of the costs.

My first day here I searched for jobs all day walking up and down Brunswick Street which is filled with what seemed like hundreds of eateries and cafes. I really had to put on my biggest confident smile and sell myself even though fifteen years of TV experience does not a barista make. I had two ‘real’ retail jobs in high school, but, let’s face it, that was quite a long time ago. Most places I stopped in to would not hire me because:

A. I had NO coffee experience

B. I would not be here very long

C. I had no work visa.

One place I tried is called “Beans & Bagels.” We have a place in Chicago with the same name. And, of course, like nearly everywhere in the city, I’d done a story there. I told them about ours and they knew about it because apparently when you Google (funny how that is now a verb in our vocab) “Beans & Bagels”—the Chicago one comes up first—naturally! I was really excited and thought this would be perfect—I’m a Jew—I have tons of ‘bagel experience’ (well, noshing on them) but, nope, they said by the time they trained me I’d be leaving. Oy Vey! That’s when I had to start lying.

I HATE lying, but toward the end of the day, I was giving up hope and the few people I talked to said I should. Maybe a place would hire me if they didn’t know they would train me and then in less than four weeks I would leave. Plus, many of the area cafes used a lot of ‘casual workers’ that only worked during their school holiday breaks and such.

After about twelve different cafes telling me ‘no’ for one reason or another, I was getting a bit dejected. This is a huge café town and they take their lattes and cappuccinos very seriously. Was this even going to work? I tried one last place. It was a little coffee/deli/sandwich shop. It was more ‘real’ and not as trendy as some of the other cafes. The manager, Vince, greeted me with a smile.

“Do you have coffee experience?” He asked.
“No.”
“Have you worked in a sandwich shop before?”
“No.”
“How long will you be here?”
“Oh, I’m not sure yet… depends if I get the job,” I said with a smile.
“Okay, come in for a trial tomorrow.”

What? He was actually giving me a chance! And I didn’t even know the name of the place! He was the only one all day who didn’t want to see my resume. I had told him I worked in TV and was a professional, but had never really worked in food hospitality before.

“It’s all about the attitude. I can see you’re friendly and have a warm smile—that’s the most important thing when serving our customers.” Vince said.

Cool, I like it here already. I’ve always seen the importance in customer service and completely agreed. No matter where you go or who you call, the person saying “hello” and first helping you is truly acting as an ambassador to that company and this first impression, at least in my opinion, can really determine whether or not you shop there again. I really hoped I’d get the job—then at least I would meet some people, make a little cash, and have a routine.

The next day, I walked into Pane Provinciale and became a student of coffee and sandwiches. Vince showed me how to make lattes (one shot of espresso, steamed milk, and only one centimeter of perfect foam–in a glass not a cup!) and cappuccinos (one third espresso, one third steamed milk, one third foam or ‘froth’ with a sprinkle of cocoa on top. These are named after the Capuchin Monks who wear white flat hats). Then he taught me how to make sandwiches—their way—with margarine as a spread instead of mayo or mustard and besides lettuce and tomato they also love their beet root here! Apparently I’d passed the test because he asked me back the next day and I’ve been working about 20 hours a week ever since.

The Licata Family emigrated to Melbourne years ago from Italy. They had run a catering business and took over this café about two years ago. Charlie and Rose Licata owned the place and ran it with their son, Vince and their niece, Natalie. They were all as nice as could be and I loved their Italian/Australian accents. They reminded me of every warm, funny Italian I’ve ever worked with or for.

My first week I was nervous and in that frustrating new job phase because you don’t know everything yet. I had to keep asking everyone how much the sausage rolls were or what a hedgehog slice was (a brownie). I was hardly a coffee drinker myself so the learning curve was a little steeper. Plus, even the money was new to me—they have way more coins than we do—including two dollar and one dollar coins. Plus they have a twenty cent one and another for fifty cents. Also—they seemed to stock their register backwards—the bigger bills were on the right where I was used to seeing the singles. This took a lot of concentration as I certainly didn’t want to give someone change of a fifty-dollar bill instead of a one dollar coin! I was most nervous that someone would come in and shout some crazy order at me in ‘Aussie speak’ and I wouldn’t be able to understand a word of it. This, of course, didn’t happen–it was just new job jitters. But I certainly was in the disadvantage because not only did I have to learn the way they did things at this particular café, but had a crash course in what they called things here in Australia.

• Whole Meal=Whole Wheat
• Mince Meat=Ground Beef
• To-mah-toe=To-may-toe (“You say To-may-to and I say To-mah-to…”)
• Tasty Cheese=Cheddar Cheese
• Capsicum=Peppers
• Sauce=Ketchup
• Flat White=Coffee with milk
• Short Black=an Espresso
• How ya Going=How are you?

Besides the perks of getting a free lunch and being able to take home sandwiches and breads that would just get thrown out (freebies are always nice for the poor traveler), it was great to be part of the workforce again. I hadn’t worked a job where I was literally on my feet all day since my teenage afternoons at Nagel’s Candy Barn and Image Photo & Video. Now, I was dipping my toes into the chilly waters of manual labor again… and I have to say it really felt good.

My former job as a TV Producer was sometimes tiring, but it was more of a mental exhaustion. Now, I was physically exhausted after a day on my feet running around making sandwiches during the lunch rush, serving up the locals’ daily dose of caffeine, and washing dishes as they stacked up. There is really something to be said for earning money this way—I felt like I was literally working for it, and haven’t felt this for a long, long time. The extra cash would help cover the more expensive costs of traveling in Australia. Plus, I just really liked the feeling of being part of the Melbourne working world and all the benefits that came with that—meeting the locals, the regulars who frequented Pane Provinciale and getting to know my co-workers. And the mocha lattes are starting to win me over.