Café & Culinary Manager

Are you a café professional with a passion for scratch baking, team leadership, and creating inclusive spaces? 

 

Melly’s Market + Café is looking for a Café & Culinary Manager to lead daily operations, oversee culinary design, and help deliver meaningful training experiences for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

 

This is a unique opportunity to combine your expertise in food, service, and people development in a social enterprise environment that values community, creativity, and inclusion.

 

Role Overview

 

As the Café & Culinary Manager, you will play a hands-on leadership role at the heart of Melly’s. You’ll ensure smooth daily operations, guide the culinary direction of our café and bakery, and collaborate with our Learning & Development team to support the growth of our apprentices.

 

Key Responsibilities

 

1. Café Operations & Administration (Approx. 60% of the role)

  • Oversee daily café operations, ensuring excellence in service, cleanliness, and product quality.
  • Ensure all food, beverages, and merchandise meet Melly’s standards.
  • Manage inventory, place stock orders, and minimize waste.
  • Monitor product quality, address discrepancies, and maintain vendor relationships.
  • Maintain and update the POS system to reflect current offerings.
  • Merchandise the cafe, market and bakery
  • Submit weekly reports on food waste, staffing, maintenance, and performance.
  • Ensure ongoing compliance with all food safety, health, and hygiene regulations (including temperature logs, cleaning schedules, and internal safety checks).

 

2. Culinary Design & Menu Development (Approx. 20%)

  • Lead the development and testing of recipes and seasonal menus across the café and bakery.
  • Bake and prepare products on-site, using whole foods and fresh, scratch-made ingredients.
  • Create accessible, step-by-step recipes and prep systems that support skill-building across a range of abilities.
  • Report plan to the Program Manager to balance production needs with individual learning goals.
  • Stay informed on food trends and customer feedback to evolve offerings in line with customer interests and Melly’s values.

 

3. Program Collaboration & Staff Training (Approx. 10%)

  • Work closely with the Learning & Development team to support apprentices in the café, kitchen, and Market.
  • Align daily tasks with apprentices’ individual learning styles and developmental goals.
  • Onboard and train new café coaches and apprentices in barista and service skills.
  • Deliver real-time coaching and structured training sessions for team members.
  • Develop clear policies and training materials for barista work, food prep, customer service, and retail.
  • Ensure consistent application of policies across the team.

 

4. Customer Experience & Team Support (Approx. 10%)

  • Set a welcoming, high-standard tone for customer interactions.
  • Respond professionally to customer feedback or concerns.
  • Support on the café floor as needed—including barista shifts, cleaning, food service, or training.
  • Model and reinforce Melly’s expectations around attendance, safety, and service standards.

 

Ideal Candidate Profile

 

  • Certified in Food Safety: Level 1 Food Handler Training required; Advanced Food Safety training preferred.
  • Hospitality Leadership Experience: Minimum 3 years in food and beverage management in a café or bakery environment
  • Culinary Skills: Culinary Background. Confident in baking, recipe creation, and leading scratch-made food prep. Education background in Culinary Management preferred. 
  • Organized & Detail-Oriented: Strong skills in stock management, reporting, and maintaining operational systems.
  • People-Centred Leader: Experience with supervising, coaching, and supporting diverse teams.
  • Inclusive & Supportive: Patient and passionate about fostering growth in individuals with learning disabilities (experience in this area is a strong asset).
  • Tech Savvy and a problem solver: Comfortable using POS systems and digital scheduling/inventory tools and troubleshooting/finding solutions. 
  • Schedule: Available Tuesday to Saturday. 

 

If you are a dynamic and driven individual with a passion for organization, executing, promoting the customer experience and inclusivity, we would love to hear from you.

Additional Requirements:

  • A valid Ontario driver’s license and access to a vehicle as travel is required for this position
  • Flexible hours / evenings / weekends may be required for this position.
  • Background Check: A Police Vulnerable Sector is a requisite for this role.

Qualified applicants are invited to submit their resume along with a cover letter detailing their experience and explaining why they are the ideal candidate for the Cafe and Culinary  position at Melly's Workplace. 

Melly’s Workplace is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

If you require accommodation in order to submit your application, please contact us at info@mellysworkplace.ca 

We embrace diversity and encourage all qualified candidates to apply.

To apply, please email your resume and a cover letter to info@mellysworkplace.ca.

Note: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.

 

Full-time Position – 40 hours per week.

Extending Health, Dental and Health Spending account after 3 months