"It is pretty much the perfect job – I am passionate about people and coffee and as a people powered business this role gives access to both in abundance."
- Sonia Carvalho, Head of Hot Beverage
Sonia Carvalho
I head up all the coffee and hot beverage operations in Restaurant Associates. This encompasses a number of responsibilities, ranging from liaising with our brand partners and training our baristas to hosting client tasting sessions and working with our sales team on bids. In addition to my day-to-day role I am also developing a hot beverage pathway, as part of the Restaurant Associates Coffee Lab, to nurture and progress the talent I see in all our baristas.
What are your key responsibilities/areas of focus?
My core responsibility is to continually improve the hot beverage offer we provide for our clients and customers. We have done this by building stronger relationships with our suppliers as well as training our baristas to the highest standard.
What do you enjoy most about working for Restaurant Associates?
The business prides itself on identifying people’s passions and talents – I feel I am a walking example of this ethos. Every colleague has potential and Restaurant Associates invests in their people to bring out their best.
It is pretty much the perfect job – I am passionate about people and coffee and as a people-powered business this role gives access to both in abundance. I love hearing from a barista who recently undertook training and learning about all the amazing things they have done back on their site. It shows a real appetite for coffee within the business.
I am most proud of playing an active role in Restaurant Associates’ attitude towards a progressive coffee culture. We have really developed our beverage offer to fully reflect the choice and quality seen on the high street.