At Restaurant Associates, we not only pride ourselves on identifying and recruiting the best talent but also empowering, developing and growing our associates so they can excel in their careers, through our bespoke training programmes such as SHINE, Compass Career Pathways and industry leading front of house, back of house and management apprenticeships of all levels.

We are a collaborative community of associates who are customer focused, growth and standard obsessed while championing creativity not only in the kitchen but in all areas of our business. With this culture we can truly achieve great things together.

Stronger together

Our people are proud to deliver nutritious, sustainably sourced and thoughtfully produced food. We know that satisfying every guest can be tricky, but thanks to our award-winning teams who put their hearts into it, the task becomes simpler, we would love you to be part of the team.

We rely on our people to deliver great service to our clients and guests, so it is important that they are well-trained and well looked after.

Our strategy aims to create a workforce that represents the rich diversity of the guests and clients we serve, as well as society as a whole, enabling everyone in our business to be themselves and have an equal opportunity to progress their career.

Diversity & Inclusivity

We celebrate diversity and strive to create an inclusive work environment for all. We are committed to supporting team members with disabilities and neurodivergence and advocate understanding and support.

Through open dialogue and the right resources, we strive to ensure that every team member can thrive, contributing their unique strengths to our shared success.

Want to join our family of associates?

We pull out all the stops to ensure our training and benefits are unbeatable. That way, we get to attract and retain the best of the best.

This means enormous scope for career development through our Specialist Training Labs, Chef Apprentices, SHINE customer engagement training and Careers programme.

Take a look around to see what we’re all about, and if you are up for a career in the buzzing hospitality industry we would love to hear from you.

Get in touch

SHINE

Our guest experience training programme which is embedded in our culture is called – ‘SHINE’.
This holistic programme has evolved from our award-winning Impressions scheme, to not only deliver first class service for our guests, but to provide a clear framework for continuous learning as well as reward and recognition of our team members.

Our focus is building an unforgettable guest experience for every one of our customers. We do this through a suite of Standard Operating Procedures focused on the different departments. Within this framework there is a set of SHINE training sessions focusing on:

• Guest Journey
• Guest Experience
• Make it Right

Diversity and Inclusion

Our associates are key to creating an inclusive environment and we have several dedicated networks, run by colleagues for colleagues which promote, celebrate, and raise awareness of key topics and issues, to enhance inclusivity including:

Ability

Ability Employee Network is about raising awareness and educating ourselves on the challenges faced by employees and our customers who identify as having a disability. In August 2023, the Government published that 24% of the UK population have a recognised disability.

Through Ability, our goal is to foster a more inclusive workplace by empowering ambassadors in the workplace to lead open conversations about disability. Our ambassadors are equipped to direct individuals to the appropriate resources for help and support. By raising awareness through team-wide activations, we aim to create an environment where everyone feels valued, supported, and included.

Pride in food

Supporting and celebrating our LGBTQ+ community, Pride in Food strives to create an inclusive and diverse environment where everyone can freely be themselves and maximise their potential with an emphasis on Respect, Equality, Teamwork and Growth.

We work closely with our supply chains, partners and customers to share best practice around supporting the LGBTQ+ community. We have also been a key partner with Pride London by delivering large parts of the hospitality for several years and hope to continue and expand our work together in the future.

You Matter

The "You Matter" campaign by Compass Group UK & Ireland is a dedicated mental health support initiative focused on fostering a positive and open culture regarding mental health in the workplace. Its aim is to prioritise mental health, ensuring employees feel supported and empowered to talk about their well-being openly.

The campaign provides tools and resources to help colleagues support each other, promote wellness, and encourage a healthy work environment. By putting mental health at the forefront, "You Matter" aspires to create a workplace where mental well-being is as important as physical health.

Within

Our Within Network aims to promote cultural diversity in our work environment and inspires others to do the same. The community is made up of employees from a range of cultural backgrounds and representative of different areas of our business.

The aim of the network is to design and develop plans, solutions and ideas on how to further improve our diversity within Compass Group UK & Ireland and be a voice for all our colleagues. The network group focusses on four main objectives:

Listen
Take a Stand
Attract
Progress

Women in food

Women make up two-thirds of our people and we’re always looking to attract, retain and develop our female talent, as well as ensure appropriate representation at every level of our organisation. This work includes female specific mentoring, and talent programmes ranging from a partnership with Corndel and Mumsnet, to support new mother’s returning from maternity leave into leadership positions and our Women in Leadership programme.

Having originally launched Women in Food in 2016, to focus on culinary talent, we are now expanding our community to support all job roles both food and non-food related.

Our people