Kaffeine Alumni - 13 years of Legends
When I opened in August 2009, we started with two baristas, 1 chef and 1 part time service person. By March 2020 we had grown to 2 locations and 23 full and part time staff consisting of 2 managers, 4 assistant managers, 2 lead chefs, 2 second chefs, 3 chefs, 2 lead baristas, 5 baristas and 3 service staff.
Here I have contacted some of the former Kaffeine managers, lead baristas, chefs and overall legends who have had integral parts to play in the history of Kaffeine.
Virtually all staff at Kaffeine start off at basic level as service, barista or as a chef and they moved up to their final position listed here, after being promoted through the ranks. I have then listed what they did straight after Kaffeine & finally what they are doing now.
The period of time between 2011 and 2014 was the golden time in London, when the wave of coffee that had been building since 2005 finally crashed, flooding the streets. Those who worked with us over those years in particular are very lucky to have been a part of this era in coffee.
I am truly honoured to have worked with these people. I have learnt a lot along the way myself about how to treat people and look after them. I have not been able to include everyone and this has taken me a long time to complete. It is a long list, but I look forward to reading over this again when I retire and remembering all these people.
Most important to me are the friendships that these people have made when they worked here with each other. Life long, lasting friendships full of laughter, good times, support and love. Reading over their stories as they replied to me with where they are now and what they have achieved since Kaffeine has also been very rewarding. Some of them even met customers here and fell in love and are still together. How good is that?
We have legends currently working for us who have seen many of the below people come and go. Top of the list is Silvio in the kitchen who this year gets to 12 years of service and Senior Lead chef Win who has been here for 9 years. People often ask what is the best thing about owning a coffee shop? That is easy. The people. I never anticipated when first opening that it would lead to this. It is quite an honour.
This is an updated version as of January 2023 with two more legends added to the list. Marni Ollarenshaw and Vasso Kokkinou.
Catherine ‘Catho’ Seay – Manager and Lead Barista – Great Titchfield Street
August 2009 to approx. Nov 2011
@cathosays
Catho was our very first barista, then our first manager and was instrumental in defining the standards of coffee and service at Kaffeine, the basis of which still exist today. London overall became a better coffee location because of Catherine. We worked 60 to 70 hours a week together for the first three months after opening. She went on to open Curators Coffee and continues to educate and inspire baristas with her knowledge and passion. An amazing person.
After: Co-founder Curators Coffee
Now: Online video content manager for Best Coffee. Mother of 1-year-old Emin.
Rhea Caldwell – Our first service person – Great Titchfield Street.
August 2009 to sometime in 2010
@babybluemelb
Rhea was our very first service person who started with us part time as we did not have enough hours for to start with. Eventually she went to full time and I will always remember her for helping to set the standards of service at Kaffeine. An important thing she will be remembered for is putting our juice glasses onto the freezer. A small detail, but hugely important. A few years after leaving, she told me once that I was like a father figure to her during her time at Kaffeine, which I take as a seriously huge honour.
After: El Beit Café, Williamsburg, New York
Now: Kau and co café and Northcote Social Club Melbourne. Photography at www.rheacaldwell.com, has her own band Baby Blue @babybluemelb.
Krysty Prasolik – Assistant Manager – Great Titchfield Street
2010 to 2012
Being one of the early days team members of Kaffeine, working alongside Catherine, Emma, James, Rhea and myself, Krysty was yet another genuine hospitality person who brought joy and laughter, hard work and passion to the bar. She continues to work in coffee back in Australia and will be getting married soon to her long-time partner Micky.
After: Company coffee director at Curators Coffee with Catherine
Now: Working with Five Senses Coffee in Australia as a Sales and Account Manager, she tells me her job is very varied and she works closely with cafes that have different levels of needs and experience to help them grow. There is a lot of travel, working face to face with people and of course making coffee. She is also a trainer and she loves it.
Emma McDougall – Senior Barista – Great Titchfield Street
Dates February 2010 to February 2011
Emma was another early days team members of Kaffeine, working alongside Catherine, Krysty, James, Rhea and myself. She was yet another genuine hospitality person who brought joy and laughter, hard work and passion to the bar but especially through coffee. It was so important to her to be perfect and put out the very best coffee possible, with a fantastically open approach, looking to share as much of her knowledge as possible, which she did constantly.
After: Part time Barista in New Zealand
Now: Communications and Administration Co-ordinator for the NZ Specialty Coffee Association. An amazing part time role where I get to help a small team of passionate coffee people create the NZ Barista Championship, Latte Art Championship, Cup Tasters, write articles, liaise with the media, help members, run small community events, spend way too much time on social media, help with the education, write newsletters, encourage sustainability and everything else in between. Mother to Lillie (10) and Angus (5)
Nan ‘Carnage’ Khan – Senior Lead Chef – Great Titchfield Street
August 2010 to March 2020
Khan almost made it to ten years of service. She started in the kitchen under our first lead chef and when he moved to Eastcastle street in 2015, she took on the role of Lead Chef at GTS. Immediately the food cost improved by 5% and she cut the levels of staffing in the kitchen while still maintaining incredible consistency, innovation and quality. Though she is incredibly humble she literally scared new start kitchen staff with her toughness “Peter, I am strong woman” but she also brought incredible laughter and joy to a basement kitchen team that still continues to produce some banging food. A seriously proper legend.
Now/After: Left on maternity leave/pandemic in March 2020. Proud mother of Liliana born in August 2020.
Amy Newman – Senior Manager – Great Titchfield Street
September 2010 to June 2012
@cobblanebakery
Amy applied for a job as a barista but we offered the job to someone else. Another position suddenly came up so we called her and offered her the role which she accepted. She went on to take on the managers role after Catherine and managed the team into the glory days of coffee in London and took Catherine’s standards even higher. An incredibly hard worker with a natural flair for hospitality. A true asset to the industry. I miss her a lot.
After: Supervisor at 3 Bags Full Café, Melbourne
Now: Operations Manager Cobb Lane Bakery, Melbourne with over 30 staff over a 24 hours a day operation, delivering to over 130 retail outlets with 2 of their own retail outlets including one at Melbourne Airport. Proud mother of Freddie, born in July 2020 and step mum to Theo aged approx. 6.
James Broadhurst – Senior Lead Barista – Great Titchfield Street
March 2011 to approx. June 2012
@jwbroadhurst
James took coffee so seriously. His approach to everything was methodical, highly organised, incredibly intellectual and he is amazing at genuine hospitality. He took the standards that Catherine and Emma set and put them even higher. He was also a fantastic teacher, imparting his knowledge for coffee to absolutely everyone. He also loves music and we still have his 12 hour long playlists on the I-pod in the shop and they are still the most popular ones to play amongst the staff here today, something I am eternally grateful for but also terribly jealous of ha ha.
After: Barista at The Daily Espresso bar, Perth, Western Australia
Now: Restaurant manager of a 96 seat all day 300 cover restaurant Petition in Perth. Shortlisted for Restaurant Manager of The Year twice (2018, 2020), was part of the team that took out the Western Australian Hospitality Association’s Best Restaurant Award (2017) and works alongside some of the best and brightest in Western Australia’s hospitality industry on a daily basis.
Karolina ‘Special K/K-Dog’ Malinowska – Senior Assistant Manager – Great Titchfield Street
2011 to 2013
Karolina worked with us in the glory days where we were literally hammered with customers doing over 600 coffees each weekday and 400 on weekends. She started on service, but at the end could work in the kitchen, on the machine and as a fantastic assistant manager. I remember her as being a shy, polite young lady but over time she blossomed into a superbly confident and amazing woman. I believe Kaffeine was a part of that personal growth. I am incredibly proud of her and what she has achieved at Kaffeine and even more so with her life and career after Kaffeine.
After: Project Executive for a translation company World Writers
Now: Chartered Construction Project manager working on high end West End schemes of residential and commercial mix up to £5m. Proud mother to 3- year-old Ola.
Claire ‘Brice’ Brice – Senior Manager – Great Titchfield Street
Mid 2011 to early 2016
@wearethebricecave
Claire started on service with the dream of opening her own coffee shop one day. By the end of working with us that dream had gone, which is fair, as she had a very good insight into what running a coffee shop is like. Claire took on the manager role from Amy and took us into the absolute glory days of coffee in London. She did an amazing job and was part of the dream teams of that time when coffee was huge and we were super, super busy. Claire also met the man of her dreams at Kaffeine. He worked in a bike shop nearby and we made loads of money when he used to come in so often just to check her out. I still remember the day he sat outside working up the courage to ask her on a date, the super cool manageress of the best coffee shop in London. I am so happy for both of them and am very, very proud of what they have achieved.
After – Part time Barista/Manager in Lennox Head, New South Wales, Australia while doing her jewellery apprenticeship
Now – A fully qualified Jeweller and working for a family run business of 40 years in Byron Bay, her father has retired a happy man being able to say he taught his daughter another set of skills that she can use for her future.
Matthew ‘Burtie’ Burt – Senior Service – Great Titchfield Street
Mid 2011 to mid 2012
@burtiebloggs
Matthew was half-way through a 2 year an internship at a 5-star hotel in London when he applied for a job on service with us with a dream of opening his own cafe one day. I still remember his interview and the smile on my face afterwards because I knew he would be amazing. He certainly was and he has now also achieved his dream of his own cafe. Another true hospitality person. His legend lives on as the best male to ever work on service at Kaffeine. It will be a very hard legend to beat.
After: Barista at Rouge Coffee Roaster, Brisbane Australia
Now: Part Owner John Mills Himself café, Brisbane, Australia
Blazej ‘Blaze’ Stempin – Lead Barista
May 2012 to December 2013
@blazkoblazko
I tried and tried to track him down for this blog, perhaps not hard enough, but basically I had given up, and the way he ended up here was that he came to visit London in October 2021 with his current place of work and surprised me in the shop. Blaze was a proper superstar, one of the first Polish coffee geeks that we had employed, starting a wave of super amazing Polish people who came to London to ride the wave of coffee and working at Kaffeine. His love for coffee, his sense of humour, his hard work, his humility. After leaving us, he went to Poznan in Poland to consult for Minister Cafe and then went to Berlin to roast for The Barn. The last five years he has been in Copenhagen, is now engaged and is now the roastery manager of Prolog Coffee. What a fantastic career and so much more ahead of him. When I saw him recently I asked ‘what does he remember the most about working at Kaffeine?” I thought he would say ‘the people’ or ‘how busy it was’ but instead straight away with a very serious voice he said ‘the hospitality, definitely the hospitality’.
After: Consultant at Minister cafe, Poznan, Poland
Now: Roastery Manager, Prolog Coffee, Copenhagen
Jessica ‘Talbs’ Talbot – Senior Barista and Assistant Manager
July 2012 to April 2014
@jesskiwi85
Jessica is originally from New Zealand but had been working in Melbourne in a busy café. Like many people, she came to us feeling she knew a lot about coffee. Then she met James Broadhurst. I remember her telling me she almost gave up after the first week it was so hard. She persevered and I am very glad she did. Jessica was part of the dream team of 2012/13 when coffee was flooding the streets of London, a very special time with a very special crew of people many of which remain friends to this day. A real superstar of Kaffeine.
After: Barista – Portland Variety, Toronto, Canada
Now: Deloitte – North Island, New Zealand – Studying for degree in Business studies majoring in accounting and building her own house.
Shaun Young – Senior Lead Barista – Great Titchfield Street
July 2012 to Mid 2013
@theestatedairy
@shaunyoung201
Shaun started as a barista after a brief stint at Taylor Street baristas and also winning the English Aeropress championships. He went onto become our Senior Lead Barista and was also part of the dream time of coffee in London. He always had a vision of his own business and he started by setting up his own coffee events cart ‘Beanstalk’, doing coffee at raves in muddy fields. He soon changed the name to Noble Espresso and went onto doing coffee from a cart outside Kings Cross station and at high end events like London Fashion week, for Nike product launches and many more. He then identified that the quality of milk in specialty coffee industry should be focussed on and so set up Estate Dairy, the first of its kind in the UK and Europe, supplying milk and dairy products to the best cafes and restaurants in the business including Kaffeine. If you are looking for an example of hard work and dedication, then Shaun is a fantastic example.
After: Founder Beanstalk Coffee Events/Noble Espresso
Now: Owner of The Estate Dairy
Josephine ‘Josie’ Snee – Senior Assistant Manager – Great Titchfield Street
May 2013 to August 2018
@josiesnee
Josie arrived in London in May 2013 and immediately started with us after working at a five-star hotel back home on the Gold Coast. Her passion has always been fashion, but Josie is also the perfect hospitality person. Her smile, attitude, approach, professionalism and generosity will always be remembered. Josie was part of the dream team and was one of the strongest people on service that I know, also teaching and training many others the Kaffeine way. The Chris Rhea song Josephine is part of a DJ mix on a lot of our playlists. When it comes on, I stand still and reflect and get emotional about the influence Josie had and the memories I have of her time here. She is a very special person & is someone my children always remember too. Inspirational.
After: Barista on the Gold Coast
Now: Online customer service at Zulu and Zephyr swimwear company
Sam ‘Boni’ Boniface – Senior Lead Barista – Great Titchfield Street
July 2014 to sometime in 2018
@samboni.coffee / @ground_coffee
Sam tells me now that when he first arrived in London he had no money but wanted to be a DJ. Instead he ended up working for us and after 6 months had ‘an epithany’ that if he kept working hard, then coffee and hospitality could be his career. He would never say no to anything. ‘Sam can you do an extra shift? Yes. ‘Sam can you take class tonight? Yes. He would work 50 to 60 hours a week in his goal to reach the perfection of 10,000 hours of training to get something right. I remember him telling me he was a 2 handicap on the golf course, so we managed a few games of golf together which I really appreciated. His style of teaching, his manner, his speed, his work ethic and his care for other people and for making things right will always be remembered. He left to go to Catalyst where he kept working hard, but came back to us for about six months as he was planning to eventually go back home. He had announced he was expecting a baby and his partner went back to NZ while he stayed to work a bit longer. I came into work one morning and he had had a phone call from NZ that the baby was on the way prematurely. He made 2 more coffees and we suddenly said goodbye to a proper legend as he flew back home that night. He did not make it for the birth, but he is now back in NZ, with his own cafe and beautiful baby George to make babychinos for. I will never forget him.
After: SNO Cafe , Auckland & Just Like Martha, Mt Eden
Now: Owner Ground Coffee, Auckland.
Katarzyna ‘Kasia’ Maslak – Senior Assistant Manager – Eastcastle Street
September 2014 to December 2018
Kasia started on service at Great Titchfield Street after coming from a role a as a supervisor at Artigiano coffee and before that as supervisor at the 300 cover Embankment cafe. She is what you might call ‘the quiet achiever’ as she progressed through the ranks by simple hard work, dedication, skills and ability and before we knew it she had been here four years and was extremely capable in all areas of the business, from making coffee, baking in the kitchen, managing a team and of course looking after service. Her partner Win is in the Eastcastle kitchen and is still our Senior Lead Chef to this day. It is always a bit scary when an employee says ‘Peter can I talk to you’ but when the news was actually that she was expecting her first child, that is incredible.
After: Maternity leave to have their baby Mikey who is now 2 years old
Now: Back working part time with us on the days that Win has off so that he can look after Mikey. I am very happy to support them both and their family. I have a lot of respect for their hard work and drive to succeed.
Gintare ‘Gina’ Daubaraite – Senior Manager – Eastcastle Street
March 2015 to June 2016
@ginadaubaraite
When I opened Eastcastle street in March 2015, I required an experienced manager and Gina took on the position after being the manager of a café with two locations in South West London called Local Hero. She tells me that….‘Kaffeine was one of the best experiences, I have met incredible and inspiring people and I have learned a lot from Peter. He was so damn demanding but that was the best part of it. Everything and everyone has its purpose and is there for a reason. It is all about people, product, experience, standards, quality.’ But for me, it was Gina’s work ethic, ownership, care and attention to details and ensuring the success of the business that she had during this period. Opening the second store was a very, very hard process. Gina left as she was headhunted by a customer to work in recruitment which broke my heart, but she soon left that and is back working in Hospitality, the career she was born for. I am very happy for her.
After: Executive Hospitality Recruitment
Now: The Ned Hotel- she was the Coffee Quality Control Manager over 12 separate bars but due to Covid has had to take a different role as morning duty manager.
Dan ‘Banana’ Bacantain – Senior Lead Barista – Eastcastle Street
February 2015 to October 2016
@bacantaindan
Dan was one of the initial baristas at Eastcastle street when we first opened and it was not long until he took on the role of lead barista. Again, he is another coffee professional who has continued his career after his initial start with us and the coffee world is a better place for it. He brought humour and humility to his role at Kaffeine, as well as a superb sense of professionalism and work ethic. A pure fountain of knowledge about coffee, super fast and clean on the machine and a pleasure to work with. He made many friends while with us who he is still in contact with today.
After: Moved back to Italy and got married, became a barista trainer and consultant and started preparation for Coffee in Good Spirits 2018 where he ended up coming 6th in the World.
Now: Export manager for VBM coffee, the Technical Manager for Italian Barista school, Owner of Hub coffee lab and roastery with his wife and proud father of Anna.
Alicja ‘Ala’ Kaluziak – Senior Manager – Eastcastle Street
Kaffeine – January 2015 to July 2019
@alicjakal
Alicja started on service at Great Titchfield street after working in waitress positions in restaurants in London. She stayed for five years, ending up as Senior Manager of our Eastcastle street store & is still hugely respected amongst her peers and by myself. She brought Eastcastle street up to over 550 coffees per weekday and helped turn it into a successful location with a great team of people. Her manner and way of talking to staff members was inspirational. I remember when I talked to her about taking on the management role and we stood outside the shop, looking back at the front of it and I said ‘This could be yours’ and she took on the role with a degree of ownership that I will always remember and be grateful for. She tells me that she aims to be as good a boss as I am however I know she will be better than that. I miss her a lot.
After: Manager Etno café, Gdansk, Poland
Now: Manager of CoffeeDesk, Specialty Coffee suppliers, Poland
Holly Walter – Senior Manager – Great Titchfield Street
July 2015 to Sept 2017
@hollymay.l
Holly wanted to be a manager but had to start as a barista. A great commitment for someone who wants to move up, which she did very quickly and she went on to become a legend of managers of Kaffeine. Her legacy will always be the effort she put into developing our training manuals. I will never forget this, because not only does the business get a return on this, but the staff we train with those manuals also grow and become better people too. I respect her immensely and am so happy for her with her new life. I am very much looking forward to seeing her again after the pandemic is over and we return to normal.
After: Manager at Iris and June
Now: On maternity leave from her position as Manager of Alchemy coffee with their new store in Shoreditch. Now moved to Cotswolds with her partner and proud mother to 5-month-old Ari.
Emily ‘Tags’ Tagliaferri – Lead Chef – Eastcastle Street
@degrootcoffeeco
Sometime in 2014 to sometime in 2016
Emily originally started as Second Chef at Great Titchfield Street under Nan Khan. She had just arrived form Australia and had completed the usual 4 year chef apprenticeship at a fancy winery/restaurant in South Australia, working with a large brigade of chefs and working very long, hard hours. I was very happy that she took on the role of second chef, but had to laugh when she told me that her first few weeks under Khan were quite scary as she was so tough! But then she settled in and incredible food that came out of the kitchen with this team was fantastic, as well as a lot of laughter and fun times. She went on take on the role of Lead Chef at Eastcastle after Flavio left, but then left soon after to return to Australia.
After: Pastry then roasting then managing at De Groot Coffee, Port Elliott, South Australia
Now: Mother to 8 month old Oscar and back working part time in the same role of management at De Groot.
Jakub ‘Kubs’ Chwieduk – Senior Lead Barista – Great Titchfield Street
July 2014 to July 2016
Kubs is one of those special people who literally has coffee in his veins. Literally. His knowledge and passion can only be matched by his partner Panda, so for a while when we had both of them working at both locations, we had a true powerhouse of coffee experience. Jakub knows all about the industry, who worked where, who has done what, every coffee origin, process, methods of making, basically everything coffee. He loves the competitions and coached Panda to her win of the World Aeropress Champion in Korea. I very much miss both of them and I very much hope they continue in coffee and have a successful and happy life together.
After: Head Barista Prufrock Coffee
Now: Artisan Roast, Edinburgh. Coffee roaster and trainer and he loves it!
Paulina ‘Panda’ Mizcka – Senior Lead Barista – Eastcastle Street
January 2015 to July 2018
Panda came to us after working in several different coffee companies in London and not quite finding her place. Her partner Jakub was already working for us and she was the first person I employed for Eastcastle Street. An incredible passion and knowledge for coffee, Panda went onto win the World Aeropress Championship in 2017 with Kuba as her coach. She was also part of a dream team of the early days at Eastcastle street. It was not busy but the effort she put into the quality of coffee and service at Kaffeine will always be remembered. Her smile and laughter was a joy and she is a very special person who deserves the very best.
After: They moved back to Poland for a little while before relocating to Edinburgh where she works with Artisan roast as a barista and trainer, hoping to get into roasting one day.
Now: Working with Artisan roast as a barista and trainer, with an aim to get into training soon.
Flavio Cruz – Lead Chef -Eastcastle Street
@quintalmediterraneo
January 2015 to April 2016
Flavio began as second chef at Eastcastle street, working under the lead chef at the time. This lead chef left suddenly in August 2015 and Flavio took on the role of lead immediately. He tells me… ‘It was a great journey and learning curve for all aspects, administration, people skills and of course a huge opportunity to experience in the kitchen developing my skills and creativity. I was so amazed by the food, the staff, the structure and organisation in which everything was done, I had no doubts where I wanted to be.’ Flavio left in 2016 to take on a role as lead chef at a large restaurant in North London but then left the U.K. in 2017 to return to his native Brazil. I am still in contact with Flavio and it is great to hear his stories about how life is in Brazil. I am honoured that we can still talk this way.
After: Lead Chef Tim’s Bistro, North London
Now: Owner of Quintal Mediterraneo restaurant in Brazil with capacity for 130 people, bar, two kitchens, the best equipment that you could dream of. The pandemic has hit hard but he is soldiering on and he has also married the girl of his dreams who he met at his restaurant.
Kinga Kiss – Service & Senior Assistant Manager – Both locations
November 2015 to January 2016 – Service – Great Titchfield
October 2016 to March 2018 – Senior Assistant Manager – Eastcastle
@kinga.kss
As noted above, Kinga started on service at Great Titchfield, left us for another job, then came back to us again and furthered her career to the point of Assistant Manager. I am very happy that she did and she is part of a long line of staff members who worked very hard at Kaffeine and brought high standards, a great work ethic and genuine hospitality. She is a natural at it but due to moving to Wales and the effect of the pandemic, she is no longer in hospitality but has moved into Telephone Customer services. She has again moved up quickly and has now bought her own house with her partner Stuart. I will always remember working at Lord’s Cricket ground with Kinga when she was working with us as a second job and her absolute commitment to getting things done, working hard and packing down and being responsible after a 12 hour shift. It was inspiring.
After: Deputy Events Catering Manager – Curators Coffee – Canary Wharf
Now: Supervisor of telephone communications at a buy to let mortgages company in Wales
Tomas Bajournias – Senior Lead Barista – Great Titchfield Street
June 2017 to November 2019
@thetomche
It is such an honour to be able to say how many of the employees at Kaffeine are naturals at hospitality, because that is what we always try to focus on here. Tomas is another of those. He also took on the lead barista role from the start, which is also unusual for us as we normally promote from within. One of the coolest, calmest and most efficient baristas we have had behind the bar and as you can see from his career path after Kaffeine, he was also a superb teacher for our latte art and espresso classes. Tomas still comes back for guest shifts every now and then and it is fantastic to have him on the bar. A real pleasure to work with and to be around.
After: Mission Coffee Roasters as production roastery assistant
Now: Head of Training at Mission Coffee and AST qualified
Emily Roach – Lead Barista – Great Titchfield Street
June 2017 to Jan 2018 then June 2019 to October 2020
@emilyroach__
It is always interesting to have someone ‘fresh off the boat’ apply for a job. This is a big thing for them, they have just arrived in the country, they are looking to settle in, they are finding their way, they possibly think that back home they were good at what they did, and they usually are. It is just a matter of convincing their new employer. When a 22 year old Emily arrived from the south coast of New South Wales she told us she had been working in cafes since she was 14. She loved and studied interior design but had decided to travel instead. And so here she was in London. She now tells me that ‘Kaffeine quite honestly gave me a new perspective on what the coffee industry really is and can be’. She left in 2018 to go to Climpsons, then moved to online clothing sales with Olli Ella, then came back to us in July 2019 and by November 2019 she was the lead barista. The pandemic changed things of course and she left in 2020 to go back to Olli Ella. Emily still comes back to work the odd weekend shift and it is a pleasure to hear the current staff talk about her after she has left and the high standards she has and how working with her is intimidating because she is so good at her job but also a real pleasure because she is a genuinely lovely, polite and respectful young lady. She has moved back to coffee again with a new job and the coffee world is a better place because of it.
After: Olli Ella Online Guest Happiness Manager
Now: Account Manager Ozone Coffee – a new job starting Nov 2021
Zuzana ‘Zuzka’ Leopold – Senior Manager – Eastcastle Street
September 2016 to September 2020 – now back part time
I remember Zuzka as a customer, then we met again at the London Coffee Festival in 2016 and she asked if we were looking for any staff as she was looking for work soon. I asked her to send her CV. By September Zuzka started on service at GTS and soon moved through the ranks to Senior Assistant Manager before moving to Eastcastle street to take on the Manager role after Alicja left. This was a big move, to go from your favourite store to take on and help grow the second one with a new team after a legend has left their post. She is amazing on service, a superb barista, an excellent hand in the kitchen and is incredibly seriously hard working. A proper legend and I am blessed to still be in contact with her.
After: Studying Art Management in Czech Republic
Now: Studying online. Back and forth between London and Czech as she is studying, then coming back to work. She has set up and launched the Kaffeine webshop, another superb achievement and is also helping manage our social media channels. Also working part time in store when required.
Camilla ‘Millie/Millsy’ Bonnar – Senior Assistant Manager – Eastcastle Street
March 2018 to January 2020
@camillabonnar
Millie is one of many people who have come to me saying ‘I really want to open my own cafe one day, please can I have a job?”. Which of course is amazing and wonderful. Far better to get this experience first before actually opening a cafe. Millie started on service at GTS having taken a large pay cut to follow her dream and soon progressed up to being a super star Assistant Manager. She was a fantastic help with our marketing strategies well as advising on mental health issues in the work place and was simply just a great, fun person to work on shift with. I’m not sure she will follow her initial dream, but whatever she does she will be a success. We miss Millie a lot.
After: Self employed marketing consultant
Now: Self employed marketing consultant and also a qualified mental health first aid instructor for workplace organisations.
Davide Orazi – Senior Lead Barista – Eastcastle Street
July 2018 to February 2020
@davideoraz
Davide took on the lead barista role at Eastcastle after Panda left. We normally promote from within, so to take on this senior role was a very big step for him and us. Davide is hugely passionate about coffee and continued to maintain and set very high standards of efficiency, coffee and hospitality at Kaffeine. His speed at making coffee is fantastic, customers would order at the bar and be able to walk down to the end of counter and pick up their coffee. We are still in contact with Davide and are following his progression within Watch House and are very proud of him.
After: Head Barista Watch House Coffee – Somerset House
Now: Watch House Coffee – New Store Coffee Co-ordinator – Managing the coffee systems and processes, ordering and stock for the new stores as well as induction and training new baristas. Winner 2022 Coffee Masters New York.
Rebecca ‘Becks’ Ford – Senior Assistant Manager – Great Titchfield Street & Eastcastle Street
Aug 2017 to June 2019
Becks started on service and quickly proved herself as a natural for hard work and genuine hospitality. She moved to Eastcastle street as an Assistant manager but still did the occasional shifts at Great Titchfield Street and was a fantastic asset to the company. Becka is one of those who has discovered the joy of hospitality later in her career and she is honestly a natural at it. Genuine, kind, caring and always thinking of others before herself. Her laughter and personality will always be remembered, and the friends she made in her time at Kaffeine have still remained good friends.
After: Manager at SVRL café in Brisbane
Now: Store Manager – Industry Beans, Brisbane, Australia
Prisca Cadamuro – Senior Assistant Manager – Eastcastle Street
March 2018 to March 2019
Prisca started on service at Eastcastle street and was another young lady who had travelled extensively through Asia and Australia before coming to the UK for work, and she also has a dream to open her own coffee shop one day. This is always a great opening to starting work at Kaffeine, as we regard this very highly. Prisca quickly made her way through to be a Senior Assistant Manager before leaving us to pursue her dream in Spain.
After: An Ice cream parlour on the Costa del Sol
Now: Supervisor at Yucas Café Bar in Benalmadena Costa, Spain and also expecting her first child
Bartek ‘Bart’ Jankowski – Lead Barista – Great Titchfield Street
January 2018 to January 2020
@thelifeafterlove
Bart started as a barista and took over from Tomas as Lead Barista. He has always worked in hospitality in various positions in his career and his passion for both coffee and hospitality was what made him succeed at Kaffeine, but it was also the way he got along with all the team and kept up the atmosphere and good times. He also was the opening DJ at the Kaffeine 10 year anniversary/my 50th birthday party which I know was an honour for him. It certainly was an honour for me. He has come back for a few guest spots after leaving and will always be welcome back to work at Kaffeine. A true gentleman and in my mind a proper hero.
After: Bar Manager at a restaurant in Dalston that wanted to improve their coffee offer
Now: He was working as a fitter at a windows replacement company while trying to get back into the coffee and hospitality industry after Covid and has now taken on a role at Craving Coffee at their new location in Tottenham.
Jane Leow – Senior Assistant Manager – Great Titchfield Street
September 2018 to June 2021
@nikkinakjane
Jane started on service but like a lot of legends she soon progressed to being a Senior Assistant Manager with the ability to make delicious espressos, hold her own in the kitchen, manage the shop and be super amazingly hospitable at the same time. I do not remember being as part of her initial interview process, but I do remember when she came to me and asked to be able to go away on a long 6 week holiday. I offered her a position when she came back, to which she agreed. I also remember when we offered her the position of Assistant Manager and her extremely humble reaction. It was not long until she was promoted to Senior Assistant Manager. She leaves to go to Gousto and further her career, but we already have her booked in for extra shifts when we are extra busy.
After: Gousto
Now: Gousto
Mafalda Antunes – Senior Assistant Manager – Great Titchfield Street
October 2018 to October 2021
@mafaldaaantunes
In fact according to our HR system, it was 2 years, 11 months, 3 weeks and 2 days. But it was almost not even that. Mafalda also started on service as so many Kaffeine legends did. She had been working at Ben’s Cookies etc etc after moving to London from her home country of Portugal. However it was March 16th 2020 that she came to me and said “I would like to hand my resignation as I have found a job that I really want to do”. And then end of that day, we actually closed the shop for Covid and it ended up that Mafalda stayed with us for almost 18 months longer. I can happily say in this case that Covid was a blessing, because it meant that Mafalda stayed with us longer. When I asked her on her eventual last day in 2021 which area would she rather work, service or barista, she said straight up ‘ service please, cos I love it so much’. She is now the manager of Layla Bakery in Portobello road, which I am incredibly proud of, because if anyone is going to help a business grow and succeed it will be Mafalda. A true legend who is loved and appreciated by so many, she is one to watch for the future.
After: Manager of Layla Bakery in Portobello Road, London
Now: Manager of Layla Bakery in Portobello Road, London
Claudia Tamas – Senior Assistant Manager – Eastcastle Street
August 2018 to December 2021 then on maternity leave
@claudiatamas
I do not remember interviewing Claudia, I assume one of the managers did. However I do know that she had been working at Black Sheep coffee as a manager/barista but we took the line that she was not yet good enough to work as a barista, the position she applied for, so we put her on service. Of course she was fantastic at it and excelled. I also know that within a year she had been promoted up to Senior barista and by December 2019 was promoted up to Assistant Manager, all at Eastcastle Street. Claudia is gentle, kind and very funny with a wonderful laugh and my goodness she a very hard working young lady. We had a staff party at the shop in May 2021 and as I arrived Claudia immediately said ‘Peter can I talk to you’ which of course is terrifying cos it usually means they might resign. We went downstairs, I crossed my fingers and she took a breath and said….’I am having a baby’. YAYYYYYY!! I was so happy for her. Claudia kept working for us and moved to Milton Keynes with her partner and even when 8 months pregnant still came to work on the train, or her partner dropped her off at 7am. The December Omicron virus made her have to stop work earlier than expected but that was quite okay. She is now the proud mother of Kaiya and already wants to come back to work and I am the proud employer of a wonderful young lady who will always be remembered.
After/Now: Proud mother to Kaiya
Nico Myhre-Downes – Senior Lead Barista – Eastcastle Street
April 2019 to April 2022
@modestcoffeebrewers
Nico started his coffee career at Harris and Hoole in Stanstead airport (in it’s day, HH was a fantastic breeding ground for up and coming talent) and then moved to Black Sheep, then Department and finally to Climpsons. He interviewed with us in 2018 but passed up the opportunity but then applied again in 2019 and we both said ‘yes’. In August 2019 he was promoted to Assistant Manager and by March 2020 was shifted across to Lead Barista. His partner at the time was Emily Roach who he met at Climpsons and when they were working together here we once again had two of the best coffee people in London leading our teams. Nico is obsessed with coffee, literally, and puts in a lot of effort into research and tasting and communication and teaching others. He has taken the role of lead barista to another level altogether and his influence will continue on for a very long time. He left to go to Allpress and get into roasting but that did not quite work out and so in May 2022 he decided to book flights to Melbourne and he has come back to us for 3 months until he leaves in July. He already has a job lined up at Proud Mary. The party where Claudia told me she was pregnant turned into an impromptu dance party with Nico playing tracks off his I-pod while a thunderstorm raged outside on a hot summers night has gone down in history, just as much as his obsessiveness with coffee.
Now: Back temporarily before leaving to go to Melbourne
After: Proud Mary in Melbourne as a barista
Jessica Allen – Senior Manager – Great Titchfield and Eastcastle
August 2015 to June 2022
I remember the interview. It was in the Eastcastle street kitchen and Jessica walked in and we had a good chat about her prior work experience (Gails bakery, Brixton Academy, babysitting) and that she had only lasted at 6 months or less at each of those roles, but also that she had a dream about opening her one cafe one day.
Jess was promoted up through the ranks as per normal and took over the role of manager from Holly when she left in 2017. I really cannot state enough how much I have learnt from Jess and the incredible influence she has had, not only on this business but the many, many employees she has worked with and the thousands of customers. As a ‘pair’ we have really been through a huge amount together over her time here. Working here is very hard work, it is really intense and can be really tough but as Jessica said in her final speech at her leaving party, she would not have stayed so long if it were not for the people who worked at Kaffeine, who all work so hard but who also have such very good morals and enjoy a laugh. Seven years at one place is a very long time and there is simply just not enough space here to tell you all the stories. I am just grateful that I was able to spend so much time with her, it makes me a very lucky person indeed.
Jessica leaves to take up an apprenticeship in pottery which she is so excited about and she has also said ‘let me have a rest for a month or so and then I might come back for a few guest spots’. We would love that.
Now: Resting and enjoying the sunshine
After: An apprenticeship with a pottery studio in South London
Marni Ollerenshaw – Senior Assistant Manager – Great Titchfield
January 2020 to November 2022
I was scrolling twitter back in late 2019 and saw a post from the cafe ‘Melbourne in Lichfield’ about a young lady who was working for them and was moving to London. I contacted them to say please pass on my details if she is interested and quite quickly I received a CV and a cover letter from Marni. Apparently I interviewed her, but she tells me she tried to apply to be a barista but we deemed her ‘not quite good enough’ and so she started on service.
If you have read this far you know this is a pathway to greatness and Marni certainly proved that. Of course when we employed her, it was just before Covid and all was rosy until we all had to shut down and sit at home. Marni always had an interest in silversmith jewellery and took this opportunity to further her business and start making amazing jewellery. Once we returned to work, she asked if she could work part time so she could focus on her jewellery and of course we said yes, but will you also be an Assistant Manager part time here as well? Thankfully she agreed.
She tells me now this is by far the hardest she has ever worked in her life, and it is true, Kaffeine is an intense, busy environment with high expectations, but it is a true testament to Marni how good she was at her job with our staff members both old and new and the thousands of customers she looked after each week. There were tears, but there was also a huge amount of fun and laughter along the way. Marni – a true Kaffeine legend. She leaves us to work in a jewellery studio as an assistant and a teacher and ensure her students focus on the 1% details. Check her out at @mjewelleryuk on instagram.
Now: Teaching assistant in Jewellery making company ‘The Ringsmiths”
Vasso Kokkinou – Senior lead Chef – Great Titchfield Street
October 2017 to December 2022
When Vasso started she was in the role of Second Chef, under the watchful eye of Nan ‘Carnage’ Khan who runs a very strong kitchen with very high expectations. Intimidating for a lady who had grown up in Greece and her family have their own restaurant and had bene working with food all her life? Maybe a little bit. Of course Silvio was in the kitchen too but it was not long until Vasso soon started to show the skills, knowledge and attitude that would turn her into a true Kaffeine legend. When you start work at 6 am each day and work in a basement kitchen close proximity to others, you either start to hate them, or you start to love them.
I am lucky that I was able to sit at my desk under the stairs and just listen to the amount of laughter and banter these three chefs had. Our managers, service staff and baristas also had the opportunity to come and vent to Vasso in the kitchen about all the stuff that happens upstairs and what our customers get up to. When Khan announced she was having her first child, it was natural that Vasso would step up to take on the lead chef role. The pandemic made this happen a bit sooner, but it was from June 2020 that she took this on and instigated our now famous cooked brunch menu. To say that this has saved Kaffeine as a business is an understatement. It has been a revolution.
She has returned to Greece to help in the family restaurant, not something she necessarily wa`nted to do, but she knows she had to and it shows how big her heart is and how much she cares for others. On her last day, Khan, Silvio, Sylvie and I stood in the kitchen at 2 pm and all cried as we said goodbye.
Vasso will forever be remembered and loved by so many people here, mainly of course the staff who she worked with, because not many customers come into the basement kitchen, and I know that many of them will be friends with Vasso for many years to come.
Now: Working in her family restaurant in Thessaloniki, Greece
End note: Writing this took me forever. Not complaining, because good things take time. There is often talk about ‘lack of opportunities for progression in coffee’, but I dismiss this entirely as ridiculous. I think this post proves it. If you want something, you will chase it, if you can’t get it, you need to create it yourself.
I hope that it may inspire people looking for a career, a good employer and a good opportunity, that it does actually exist.
