Casual Café Assistants – Kai Maori Experience

New Season – New Start! Join a fun and friendly team.

Whakarewarewa – The Living Maori Village is getting ready for an awesome Summer 2025-2026. We are looking for casual (on-call) kaimahi to join our legacy as members of the Cafe Team.

We are looking for friendly, organised, motivated and well-presented hospitality staff to support our food service during our busy summer from November to April, as casual kaimahi.

Your job will be supporting our overall kai Maori experience by attending to our manuhiri who dine with us as part of their experience at Whakarewarewa – The Living Maori Village.

This role would suit someone with prior experience in a café or restaurant food service setting who is keen for some summer mahi, or someone wants to kickstart their hospitality career.

We aim to deliver a café and catering experience that showcases a unique and innovative kai Maori experience, drawing on the heritage, produce, purakau, korero, taiao, matauranga Maori and geothermal food preparation of Whakarewarewa.

As the shifts will be rostered on a casual basis, we are looking for kaimahi who are highly flexible (no set days or shifts), can be available with short-notice and not reliant on minimum weekly hours.

• A genuine interest in kai Maori and delivering an exceptional food & beverage experience for all manuhiri.
• A minimum of 1 year working in a restaurant or café including taking orders, serving kai, plating and serving kai and drinks and clearing tables.
• A can-do, friendly and collaborative attitude.
• Be able to think quickly, on your feet.
• A desire to authentically share our culture, values and manaakitanga with others.

• Reliability and professionalism
• A great positive attitude.
• A passion for coffee, food and particularly kai Maori.
• Ability to flex through daily changes and time pressure.
• Communication skills that enable you and your team to thrive.
• Excellent time management.
• Ability to relate to and inspire others in their day.
• We are a 7-day a week business, so an ability to work weekends is a must.

In return we offer a competitive pay rate, a variety of hours across a 7-day week (no evening or night work), a great team culture and a positive, supportive environment.

Values

Our team members contribute to a company culture based on our vision, mission, and core values: manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, whanaungatanga, mauri ora, tikanga, kotahitanga, tino rangatiratanga and tikanga.

• Ensure that customers receive efficient, courteous and a warm service at all times.
• Deliver plated kai and drinks to manuhiri in a professional and friendly manner. As well as ssisting the Café Front of House service including taking orders, prepare and serve café cabinet kai, make hot and cold drinks in accordance with standard recipes.
• Assist in setting up tables for various group sizes including table décor and dining plateware.
• Clear tables and re-set efficiently and promptly.
• Maintain a high standard of service, using established food handling and serving techniques.
• Maintain and keep clean restaurant equipment, tables, crockery, cutlery and utensils.
• Work closely with the Café Shift Leader(s) to ensure smooth running of service including top-notch communication with kitchen staff to process and expedite food service.
• Ensure the café and dining areas are kept clean, hygienic and tidy.
• Ensure all food, beverage and non-consumables are accounted for and charged for.
• Follow establish protocols – particularly regarding wastage, breakage, presentation, health and safety, operational standards and processes.

Application

• Applications close: Sunday 12th October at midnight
• Start Date: Will range from late October through to late November

For a confidential discussion, patai or further information, email: mahi@whakarewarewa.com