Experienced Front of House Member Vacancy (36h - 45h per week)

The ever-adventurous, creative, ambitious TestTafel* kitchen is looking for a new addition to the team.

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*What is TestTafel?

TestTafel is an experimental, plant-based restaurant that serves a new seven-course menu every week. We do this to fund De Sering, a community kitchen, public space and activist kitchen operating from the same location. 

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What do we offer:

• Creative freedom and input

Within the front-of-house team, you can spend time on what you personally find most important and interesting. This can be wines, cocktails, additions to our homemade alcohol-free menu or even a cake or bite to serve behind the bar. We are constantly looking for improvements and experimentation is at the heart of what we do, so your experience and vision are more than welcome.

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• A non-toxic and egalitarian team

At TestTafel we try to build the best possible balance between effectiveness and egalitarianism. We do this by rotating positions of responsibility and authority within the core team and sharing how we feel about a task or how it's done. What we absolutely do not do is shout, throw plates or exercise any form of bullying that is still too common in restaurants.

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• Quick access to positions of responsibility

When you become part of our team you will have access to positions and roles of responsibility within the first weeks of working here (depending on experience). We want you to be a full member of the core team as quickly as possible and will value you as such. 

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• The possibility to learn within and outside FOH broadly and quickly

At TestTafel we try to set up everything in such a way that new roles can be learned in a matter of weeks, not months or years. Depending on your interest and what’s going on in our team at the time it’s also possible to branch out and join the kitchen for a period of time, for example.

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• Space for your own projects and interests

We offer lots of space to work on your own projects and interests. This might be during working hours (think of improving/changing something about the restaurant you are passionate about) or outside of working hours (using our equipment, space, materials). 

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• The possibility of opening a new restaurant with us

It is the goal of De Sering to build a network of community kitchens and free spaces throughout the country. We hope to open our second location on a much larger scale this year. As a part of this new location, we want to open a fine dining restaurant that takes the very best of TestTafel and pushes it further. As a full-time member of our team, you can be a part of this journey.

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What are we looking for:

• Ambition

Ideally, you see working at TestTafel as an opportunity to maximise experimentation and learning to be a fine-dining FOH member. This could be with the potential to stay with us in the long term or to use it as a stepping stone to opening your own restaurant. This is not a part-time job to do besides your studies/other jobs, it is an investment of your time and efforts.

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• Creativity

A full-time member of our team not only has the opportunity to greatly influence our way of working and our offerings, we also seek this input. We are looking for people who are not afraid to share their vision, try something they have never done before and are then willing to put in the energy to make what we do here excellent. 

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• Experience

Ideally, you have either +/- two years of experience in fine dining or experience in large volume restaurants in positions of leadership, or a good understanding of what it takes to lead a team, make orders and so on. Specialisation in wines, cocktails or other types of drinks and the initiative to find new orders aligning with our concept is a plus.

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• Endurance

While we do not require 80-hour weeks (more like 36-45 depending on your needs) a full TestTafel shift on the FOH would normally be 8-10 hours (with unforeseen circumstances possibly more). We need someone who can maintain energy and focus throughout and wants to be there!

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• Flexibility

With an ever-changing menu, a quickly expanding location, and a busy calendar with a great variety of activities (normal service as well as events and catering) TestTafel can require flexibility and fast-thinking at times. Although some staff are Dutch the majority of our operations are carried out in English and so we ask you to feel comfortable communicating in English.

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The practicalities:

Salary

At TestTafel everyone earns the same irrespective of experience or position. 35% of our income and 20% of our profit is earmarked for salary. If we spend less than 35% on salary we pay out the difference in a bonus spread over the hours worked (for example, if we spend 33% on salary that would roughly mean an additional 1.50,- per hour). If we dip under 35% month after month we raise the salary permanently. At the moment the base salary is 13.27,- per hour + the usual 8% vacation money and 4 weeks paid vacation.

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Vacations / extended time off

You can take time off for vacations, other projects or internships/stages with a month's notice. This can be at any point in the year. 

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Breaks are paid

Every hour you are clocked in is a paid hour, however we do not pay overtime.

Staff food

Lunch and dinner are always free (Volkskeuken), also when you are not working.

Hours and days

We require a minimum of 3 days of cooking and half a day on Tuesday. On Tuesday we have the core team meeting and menu meeting, and we all work on improving the place on a variety of levels. This makes for a total of about 36 to 40 hours per week. If you want there is often the possibility of taking on additional shifts.

When? 

As soon as possible.

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Application procedure

Send your motivation letter and CV (in English) as soon as possible to info@desering.org.

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Do you have any questions? Use the same email address to ask them.