Work for us

York Cocoa Works is a chocolate factory and visitor destination in York City Centre, celebrating the rich history of chocolate in York and continuing its legacy to bring chocolate innovation into the contemporary city. We pride ourselves on our chocolate events and workshops, making the world of chocolate accessible to everyone! 

If you are interested in working for us please send a copy of your CV with a covering letter to James (Front of House Manager) at chocolate@yorkcocoahouse.co.uk.

Current Vacancies:

Hospitality Team Member

Job Details:
Salary: £6.50 - £9.50 an hour
Hours: 20 - 40 hours per week
Required: November/December 2022

Full Job Description

To assist with the smooth operation of our Front of House areas; cafe, retail and events, at our chocolate manufactory York Cocoa Works situated on Castlegate.

We are an independent business in York and are passionate about bringing back its chocolate manufacturing heritage to the city. We opened York Cocoa House in 2011 and opened the doors to our chocolate manufactory York Cocoa Works in 2018.

We operate our cafe, shop and daily Manufactory Tours, over seven days and Bank Holidays. A flexible approach is required to meet demands in peak periods and in order to respond constructively to demand to fluctuations.

We are a small devoted, hardworking team requiring similarly minded individuals to join us at the beginning of our busiest period. We work in a fast paced environment to ensure we are maximising our cover space. Every day is completely different, with a breadth of duties to ensure our unique experience are delivered to the highest standard.

A typical day includes hosting our Manufactory Tours and/or our Chocolate Bar Making Workshop as well as ensuring our customers in the cafe and shop are being well looked after!

You should be flexible, enthusiastic, an excellent team player and be able to problem solve.

You must be available to work every full weekend from the beginning of November until the end of the year.

Please note that we will be open on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

There will be additional shifts available to assist the Packing department available during the week and during the evenings.

We are looking for part time/casual candidates to work ideally a minimum of two days per week until the end of the year. For the right candidate a permanent position may be available from January 2023 as well as supervisory training.

Overview of our cafe:

You will be working alongside our Hospitality Manager to deliver exceptional customer service and to enhance our customer’s unique experience.

Ideally you will have had some barista training but full training will be given, on how to create our speciality hot chocolate menu. We will also provide full training on all of our menu items so you are able to advise our customers for their own preferences or dietary requirements.

You will have had some experience of working in a similar environment; meeting and greeting, taking orders, service delivery, cash handling, managing the tables and the queue. You will have an understanding of Food Safety and the importance of the completion of paperwork as well as the overall cleanliness and maintenance of the general area.

Overview of our retail

As part of the Retail team, you will be responsible for ensuring the shelves are fully stocked and the stock is packed and rotated in a timely manner.

You will be able to advise our customers across all of our product ranges for their own preferences and/or dietary requirements. You will also be responsible for answering the phone and dealing with telephone and email enquiries. You will also be expected to assist pack up the online orders we receive.

This is role will include welcoming the customer into our store, cash handling, stock management and providing exceptional customer service and experience.

Overview of our Events

Guided Manufactory Tours

Our tours run up to five times a day and you will be trained on how to deliver our guided explanation of how we make our chocolate; moving your group of customers along the production line, which they are able to view through the glass partition.

You will learn what each piece of equipment does and its role in the production process as well as being able to guide your customer's through a tutored tasting at the end of their journey.

Chocolate Bar Making Workshops

The Chocolate Bar Workshop is our core events offering. It runs daily as well as being offered to private groups such as hen parties, birthday parties and for corporate team building activities.

You will be teaching your groups how to professionally temper their chosen chocolate to create their own uniquely flavoured and decorated chocolate bar.

What you'll get in return:

 

  • Free hot drinks on shift
  • Staff discount on any York Cocoa Works products
  • Expert knowledge on the history of chocolate and the chocolate making process
  • Regular chocolate tasting

If you are interested in joining our team then please send across your CV and a short cover letter to James (Front of House Manager).

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Ad-hoc Chocolate Opportunities

Casual working - mix of hours and days available

We are always on the look out for people looking for ad-hoc, seasonal work to help us deliver chocolate experiences and products on and off site on a casual basis.   

This will suit anyone looking for casual work on a semi regular basis to help us share our chocolately experiences and products at public and corporate events.

 

The types of work we have on offer:   

- Chocolate Lollipop workshop support - working alongside our events team to deliver these workshops to large groups. 

- Chocolate Tour & Tasting Guide - you will be trained in how to deliver our Manufactory Tasting Journey around our chocolate factory on Castlegate and how to conduct a chocolate tasting. 

- Hot Chocolate Host - working alongside our sales team to host pop up hot chocolate shops off site. 

- Chocolate Shop Assistant - working alongside our sales team to help retail our chocolate products at off site events such as the York Food & Drink Festival and Food & Drink Markets. 

- Chocolate Packers - During our peak season at Easter & Christmas we always need a spare pair of hands to help package our chocolate gifts and hampers. Stamping, labelling, and gift wrapping is all done by hand so an eye for presentation is key!   

We are looking for people who are passionate about chocolate, our journey and interacting with the public. You will be enthusiastic, articulate and be comfortable dealing with the general public.    

What you’ll get in return:   

 - Free drinks on shift 

 - Staff discount on any York Cocoa Works products 

 - Expert knowledge on the history of chocolate and the chocolate making process 

 - Regular chocolate tasting!   

To apply send a copy of your CV and cover letter to Michelle at chocolate@yorkcocoahouse.co.uk.  We are accepting applications on going for this role.