Food services assistant Sainsbury's interview

Hey, not sure if you'll receive this as it's been a month since your initial post but here goes.

I've been with Sainsbury's since August 2018 as a Food Services Assistant. I work predominantly within the cafe however have also had the opportunity to work in other areas. Firstly, I will explain about what it's like to work in the cafe. I work a variety of shifts, earlies and lates which means I usually open up the front (as we call it) which involves collecting all the sandwiches and milk from the chiller in the warehouse, then collecting the doughnuts, croissants etc from the bakery as well as the cookies, then collecting 5 newspapers and then heading up to the cafe to set up. Everything has to be set up (the fridges with the sandwiches and drinks, the bakery section with all the cakes and pastries, and the coffee machines have to be turned on to warm up). Closing down the cafe basically involves cleaning all machinery/equipment and turning it off and disposing of all bakery items (as they have a one day life) and any sandwiches that are out of date.

If not opening or closing, there are different allocated positions which are cook 1 and cook 2, prep, till, barista, till/barista (this person helps when necessary, if not they will do another job that needs doing), front of house, and dishwash. In my store, anyway, we each get allocated a position on the rota so that we all know what we're doing helping to make the shift run as smoothly as possible. It can get very busy at times and there is a lot of pressure involved but with the right team around you it is bearable and manageable. I'm lucky enough to have a lovely team of colleagues and a great line manager. The cafe is hard work but the rate of pay is better than most jobs and once you've been there for a while you start to become much more confident in yourself and find your own way of dealing with the madness.

Aside from the cafe, I have also had the opportunity to work on the pizza counter and the deli. It's great being able to learn new skills and to broaden knowledge and understanding within the food services department. I hope this makes sense to you.

Hi mate, I’ve got an interview for the food service role on Friday. How did yours go? And what kind of questions did they ask?

Hi mate, I’ve got an interview for the food service role on Friday. How did yours go? And what kind of questions did they ask?

Hey, not sure if you'll receive this as it's been a month since your initial post but here goes.

I've been with Sainsbury's since August 2018 as a Food Services Assistant. I work predominantly within the cafe however have also had the opportunity to work in other areas. Firstly, I will explain about what it's like to work in the cafe. I work a variety of shifts, earlies and lates which means I usually open up the front (as we call it) which involves collecting all the sandwiches and milk from the chiller in the warehouse, then collecting the doughnuts, croissants etc from the bakery as well as the cookies, then collecting 5 newspapers and then heading up to the cafe to set up. Everything has to be set up (the fridges with the sandwiches and drinks, the bakery section with all the cakes and pastries, and the coffee machines have to be turned on to warm up). Closing down the cafe basically involves cleaning all machinery/equipment and turning it off and disposing of all bakery items (as they have a one day life) and any sandwiches that are out of date.

If not opening or closing, there are different allocated positions which are cook 1 and cook 2, prep, till, barista, till/barista (this person helps when necessary, if not they will do another job that needs doing), front of house, and dishwash. In my store, anyway, we each get allocated a position on the rota so that we all know what we're doing helping to make the shift run as smoothly as possible. It can get very busy at times and there is a lot of pressure involved but with the right team around you it is bearable and manageable. I'm lucky enough to have a lovely team of colleagues and a great line manager. The cafe is hard work but the rate of pay is better than most jobs and once you've been there for a while you start to become much more confident in yourself and find your own way of dealing with the madness.

Aside from the cafe, I have also had the opportunity to work on the pizza counter and the deli. It's great being able to learn new skills and to broaden knowledge and understanding within the food services department. I hope this makes sense to you.

Hey everyone, this is like my 5th time at Sainsbury's. I've applied for the food service assistant there. I know what it's like a bit as it did say, however, I want to the full extent of what it's like. I know it's cafe work, working with fish and meat, and working in the bakery. But I want to know what it's like for you lot who actually work at Sainsbury's. What kind of things do you do?