Elio Evangelou

During my time at Cosmic Kitchen, my job evolved from line cook to eventually running the kitchen and being in charge of menu development.

Key responsibilities

• Running the kitchen of a 50+ seater restaurant
• Training new kitchen employees
• Developing new dishes and menus that changed seasonally, including set menus for special events/holidays.
• Conducted or delegated all necessary checks and procedures before, during and after service including fridge/freezer temperature checks, food labels, prep and ordering of produce.
• Set up and broke down kitchen for service.
• Oversaw scheduling, inventory management, and supply ordering to maintain fully stocked kitchen.
• Cultivated a positive work culture among kitchen staff through open communication lines and mutual respect within the team.
• Managed food costs, sourcing ingredients from local suppliers to support community partnerships and sustainable practices.

Achievements

• Cosmic Kitchen was awarded Trip Advisor’s Travellers Choice Award in 2021, naming us #1 Vegan Restaurant in the UK and #3 in the world. This was a huge achievement for us as a team!
• Pioneering new menus inspired by my Greek-Cypriot heritage.
• Co-ordinating events that encompassed my passions for music by creating food & music nights - these events were huge successes and I learnt a lot in the process of planning, promoting and co-ordinating them.

Key responsibilities

• Barista - this included setting up, calibrating, cleaning and closing down the coffee machine
• FOH - providing excellent service at a bustling cafe and restaurant during peak season. This included reservations, table plans, running food and setting up/closing down the restaurant.
• Sous chef/line cook - preparing food, keeping stations clean and organised and generally helping the head chef with whatever he needed. Running my station, plating food to an excellent standard during busy services.

Achievements

• Training in the kitchen was a big achievement for me. I learnt with some of the best chefs I’ve ever worked with, and felt that my progress was exceptional during my time at The Canteen.
• Learning how to design dishes for a daily changing menu based on the produce that our local suppliers would deliver.

• Unloaded food deliveries and stored items in proper locations for easy access.
• Maintained accurate records of cleaning activities, ensuring compliance with health department regulations at all times.
• Delivered washed dishes to various stations throughout restaurant to help team stay productive and focused on customer needs.
• Enhanced workplace safety by adhering to proper handling techniques when using knives, cleaning chemicals, and other hazardous materials.