Tauras Juraska

Experience

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  Bure No.1

  Jun 2013 - Aug 2013

  Chef Apprentice

  • Worked in a high end restaurant serving three course set lunches and a la carte dinner menu to order for 62 covers. • Assisted in preparing the various dishes for lunch and dinner under the head chef’s supervision.• Improved my flexibility and time management skills by overtaking extra workload of colleagues in their absence.

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  Adam's Restaurant

  Feb 2014 - May 2014

  Front of House

  • Worked in a fine dining 60-70 cover restaurant 6 person front of house team. • Was responsible for setting up and maintaining different restaurant sections for lunch and dinner service.• Developed team management skills by running the hot plate in manager’s absence. • Improved highest class dish knowledge including product sourcing and history as well as pairing of the dishes and fine wines what resulted in delivering outstanding service.

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  Workaseason.com

  Jun 2014 - Aug 2014

  Hotel Assistant

  • As a part of my placement program worked in a 54 room four star chalet hotel as member of 15 people front of house team.• Was in charge of setting and smoothly running afternoon tea and housekeeping. • Improved my personal development and organisational skills by assisting the management with bookings and creating schedules and guest lists.

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  Workaseason.com

  Nov 2014 - Apr 2015

  Chalet Host

  • As a part of my placement program hosted a 16 cover chalet, while being more in charge of the kitchen operations.• Was in charge of preping and setting up the continental buffet as well as cooking hot options to order in the mornings and in the evenings; prepping, serving a different five course set dinner menu for every day of the week. • Became more flexible when it came to changing or adapting dishes to customer allergies.• Improved on customer service skills by constructively dealing with customer complaints and needs in a high demanding environment. Show less

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  Workaseason.com

  Jul 2015 - Aug 2015

  Commis Chef

  • As a part of my placement program worked in high end kitchen creating different five course set dinner menus for every day of the week for 60 covers.• Ran every other breakfast service with two chefs under my supervision topping up the continental buffet and cooking hot options to order. • Was in charge of creating new cakes as well as sweet and savoury canapés for afternoon tea.• Improved on leadership, people and time management skills, by communicating between the front of house and the kitchen and supervising two apprentice chefs. Show less

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  Bun & bowl

  Mar 2016 - Aug 2016

  Commis Chef

  • Worked in a high standard kitchen making dishes from an a la carte menu to order for a 64 cover restaurant. • Was able to do stock checks and make food weekly orders in the head chefs absence. • Became more efficient in creating a steady service during busy and challenging evenings. • Created my own dishes for the restaurant’s “Dish of the week” promotion. • Improved on following as well as documenting food safety procedures, temperature checks and daily/ deep cleaning schedules. Show less

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  Bistrot Pierre

  Sept 2016 - Jun 2021

  · Ensured day to day service is carried out smoothly and efficiently.· Lead the team to achieve high service and product delivery standards according to Bistrot Pierre guidelines.· Cultivated company’s values by undertaking tasks from regional managers and made sure those values were represented by the team during day-to-day activities.· Increased staff satisfaction and culture by having regular meetings, personal development plans and debriefs to increase their skillset, which resulted in staff retention increase of 15% and internal mobility - 10%.· Created weekly staff rotas based on team’s availability, booking activity, labour costs and their strengths.· Conducted daily reports that included customer satisfaction, waste, complimentary and void figures, revenue and labour statistics for the day and comparison to previous years.· Controlled stock ordering, managed stock taking onsite.· Was responsible for daily cash up, opening and closing restaurant procedures and weekly banking.· Effectively managed customer complaints and encouraged positive reviews leading to Bistrot Pierre Birmingham receiving Trip Advisor’s Travellers Choice Award 2019. Show less · Managed one or more sections at the same time as big as 40 covers.· Ran the kitchen pass as a team and independently.· Operated the bar (bar service, dispense orders, bar maintenance, stock check and deliveries).· Hosted (welcomed new customers, delegated customer tables, organised table layout, controlled customer flow, managed phone bookings and deposits).· Have been awarded an “Employee of the Month” award for June 2016.· Improved my knowledge on Old World Wines and their pairing with French cuisine as well as successful upselling techniques.· Got introduced and trained on the fundamentals of restaurant management.· Assisted and suppervised teams of 3 new sites during their set up, soft launch and grand opning days. Show less

  • Duty Manager

    Nov 2018 - Jun 2021

  • Front of house

    Sept 2016 - Nov 2018
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  The Embankment

  Jun 2021 - Jan 2022

  Bar Manager

  · Managed and trained staff on bar, floor, cocktails and hosting, all leading to increased dry and wet sales.· Assisted in organising large private and public events: bookings management, deposits, pre-orders, special menu requests and creation of themed drinks/foods menu.· Overseen and running large events that increased my event management skills.· Continued to analyse and adjust menu development and costing based on market research and feedback leading to greater returning customer base.· Assisted in establishing TRONC system for tips management that increased staff’s satisfaction and resulted in retaining at least 5 members of staff at the workplace.· Managed day to day operations and events of sister venue, The Squirrel, Coventry.· Assisted in rebranding of The Squirrel by effectively setting up the table layout, revitalising the general look, establishing interests of a younger audience, increasing brand loyalty. As a result, the venue is now known as a place for everyone with regular events and great street food as opposed to just being a sports bar.· Promoted newly refurbished function room at the Squirrel that resulted in fully booked out weekends for festive period.· I have learned the importance of creating a strong bond between staff and customer by recalling personal details and preferences to increase brand loyalty. Show less

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  Carters of Moseley

  Jan 2022 - May 2022

  Assistant General Manager

  • Closely worked with local suppliers providing best quality, hyper seasonal food ingredients, beer, spirits, wine and coffee as well as producers who make custom tailored cutlery, crockery, knifes and glassware.• Train members of staff on top level customer service with great attention to detail and ability to anticipate every potential customer need. • Ensured detailed staff product knowledge and presentation for every dish, wine, beer, spirit and soft drink.• Hosted drinks pairings to go along with 10 course lunch and 12 course dinner menus. Tailored pairings according to dietary requirements. • Regularly (1-2 times a week) changed the drinks menu depending on seasonality, diversity, dish change or stock availability. Show less

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  Vinoteca

  Jun 2022 - Jun 2023

  Assistant Manager

  • Organised and hosted themed private wine tastings for groups of 12 to 20 people showcasing 4 to 10 incredible wines.• Hosted 40 to 60 people free roaming, bash style ticketed wine tastings showcasing 20 to 40 wines from a selected county or area.• Was in charge of stock control, ordering and negotiating from 18 different suppliers that supply 237 wines along with an extensive menu of spirits, cocktails, beers/ciders and soft drinks. • Organised weekly supplier wine tastings for my team covering 4 to 10 wines per session.• As part of Vinoteca's wine champion group I was charge of my team's wine knowledge and confidence. Manage wine presentations hosted by a different member of staff each week. • Maintained and updated wine by the glass menu consisting of 7 white, 7 red, 3, sparkling, 1 rose, 1 orange wine in a way that all wine would have a different grape, style and country of origin. • Maintained and updated wine pairings that go perfectly with small dishes and main courses of the a la carte menu.• Was in charge of setting up the wine shop, bar, bar back, wine storage, back storage, daily and weekly bar cleaning sheets for the grand opening of Vinoteca Birmingham.• Was a part of the team in charge of conducting interviews and putting together a team for the grand opening and future hires. • Carried out main management duties from opening, overseeing smooth service, staff developement and management to closing procedures. Show less

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  Cafe Lovelife

  Aug 2023 - now

  Incentivising staff using monthly competitions and training on providing excellent, memorable service to boost online reviews. The incentive was so effective Lovelife became the best rated business in the area with a 4.8 rating on Google with 350+ reviews in the first year. Maintaining high health & safety standards for food and drink allergens, staff knowledge, customers confidence in their wellbeing.Conducting on the spot staff training sessions and pop quizzes on topics such as food and beverage knowledge, steps of service, attention to detail, upselling tactics, creating a memorable experience for the customer. Organising local entertainment events to bring awareness to the business and extra revenue outside of normal opening hours. Past events resulted in at least 12% of weekly revenue increase. Managing clients in customising their private event hires with custom food menus, drinks packages, food and drink pairings, tailored themed cocktails, entertainment, live music and/ or DJ sessions. Establishing and maintaining stakeholder and 3rd party relations: various suppliers, business owners, building and restaurant maintenance and overall safety of the workplace.Collaborating with the Marketing Manager to facilitate and create new content to enhance Lovelife’s social media presence and its exposure to the wider market. Show less Was a part of the core team who established the business from the ground up. Planned and organised restaurants layout, menu development, hiring and training.Alongside the team I created, costed and seasonally updated all drinks menus for the bar and restaurant.Helped research and organise different beverage suppliers by negotiating contract details, including pricing. Took part in regular meetings with suppliers to review new stock, trends, deals and business needs.Optimised and maintained the bar area and its processes to make the at least one person comfortably fit on each section (Cocktails, coffee, juice and bar back area) thus making it function optimally for a full restaurant, bar and Walkins for takeaway orders. Took monthly stock and product analysis, best/worst sales, renegotiations with suppliers, product or price amendments. Under my mentorship, a promising front of house staff member was promoted to an Assistant Manager. Show less

  • Assistant General Manager

    Jul 2024 - now

  • Bar Manager

    Aug 2023 - Jul 2024