When it comes to education, you may think of schools and universities, perhaps apprenticeships and internships too — but I reckon some of the most important life lessons you’ll ever learn come from working in hospo.
Think cafe-quality coffee at home, impressing significant others with signature cocktails, dealing with various ‘personalities’, getting those tough grease stains out of a white shirt — the list goes on.
In fact, the list continues below, cos we asked a bunch of hospo workers for their most unexpected life skills learnt on the job and the answers range from wholesome to oh my god. Enjoy.
Jack, 28
“Hospitality really helped me understand how to make someone feel heard and appreciated in very little time. Saying hello, thank you and properly listening are things so many people just don’t do.”
‘Johnny TwoTimes’, 25
“Conflict resolution, and I can make a really good cheese toastie.
To be honest I can make pretty good food from any sort of leftovers. When I was working in a kitchen the only time I was able to touch the oven/flame for the first six months was to make the family meal before or after service, which usually involved throwing a bunch of things about to expire together.”
Amy, 32
“I learnt how to make damn good sandwiches. My go-to hack for always fresh AF sambos: If you have bread that is going slightly stale, you can splash it with a bit of water, wrap it in baking paper and pop it in the oven or air fryer for a few mins and it will come out soft and fresh like its freshly baked.”
Michael, 25
“I can roll the perfect ball of ice cream. Also, I once had to sing happy birthday to a doll — so I guess resilience in absurd situations?”
Nicole, 24
“I learnt by working in a cafe that instead of throwing out stale cake, you can compress them all together, soak them with a bit of rum, throw some icing on, and rebrand it as a heavier cake called ‘Chester slice’. I don’t know who poor Chester was but this is a great life skill, especially when taking Chester slice to someone’s house that you don’t really like.”
Lachlan, 25
“It taught me total resilience, how to be prepared for literally anything and time management. From the moment you are clocked on, the concept of time is literally all you’re aware of (from making the food through to handing the bag away). Packing a paper bag with food is a literal art form, tetris style.”
Shantelle, 27
“I worked at Hoyts and they had a joint venture with a burger place. I ended up being the supervisor of that burger place and was in charge of training people to make everything on the menu ever. And now that skill has come in handy to make every potential first date a disgusting greasy burger. Probably not the best first date food but a good one to show off.”
There ya go folks, wisdom is often found in the unlikeliest of places. If you’re interested in a career in hospo check out the NSW government website and kickstart your career in hospitality.
