On his journey from working at his uncle’s restaurant to running Coogee Pavilion, Jordan Roche has tried his hand at all things hospo. In partnership with Merivale, we find out what he’s learned along the way.
Jordan Roche got his first taste of hospitality at the age of 18. Living in Forster and working with his dad on building sites, he would pick up shifts at his uncle’s restaurant in Sydney on weekends. It wasn’t long before Roche knew which industry he preferred.
“I loved the idea that you could just make someone’s day in hospitality,” says Roche. “It’s a pretty powerful thing. To have someone see you at five o’clock – they might have had the worst day and you can turn that all around. That’s hospitality in its simplest form, right? You listen to someone and then get them what they want.”
After learning the basics within the family business, Roche worked as a bartender at a lawn bowls club, before moving to Double Bay Yacht Club. Despite starting as a bartender, he soon graduated to venue manager. He was still only 21.
“My time at the yacht club and the progression I had made me realise hospitality was a viable career choice,” he says. “That was the first time I saw a career in the industry was feasible.”
Roche’s experience led him to the Longrain group, where he worked in several management positions before making the leap to Merivale in 2016. He says it was Merivale’s reputation and willingness to expand into the suburbs that drew him in.
“Merivale has always been the leaders of the industry, and as they started moving out to the suburbs I started visiting their venues more often and got to see just how great they were,” says Roche says. “I live and breathe the Inner West, [so] when Merivale opened in my neighbourhood in Enmore, I knew had to jump on board.”
That Enmore opening was Merivale’s Cantonese restaurant, pub, and cocktail bar Queen Chow. Roche started as the venue’s first manager, before moving on to a restaurant manager position at the sprawling Coogee Pavilion precinct, before moving back to Queen Chow Enmore in a more senior role as general manager.
“At Merivale there’s such a wide array of positions that if you want something new, there’s always something for you,” says Roche. “You’re not [just] working for a group with a bunch of the same venues. So if you’re willing to put yourself out there, you’ll find exciting new opportunities.”
After moving from Queen Chow Enmore, to successfully opening Totti’s Rozelle, Roche was again offered a position at Coogee Pavilion, this time as general manager. Now one year into the new role, he’s relishing the responsibility of overseeing one of the group’s major precincts, which encompasses six venues.
“My week still revolves around service,” he says. “It’s what I love and I still get to deliver a great guest experience. I have quite an important role and there’s plenty of admin work, but I’ve got to get my fix somehow.”
While he still jumps into service whenever he can, Roche also spends a lot of time training younger employees. He says he offers up and coming hospo professionals advice that reflects his own diverse journey.
“I highly recommend learning as much as you can in all aspects of hospitality,” he says. “It’s a lot easier to do when you’re young and in a learning phase. I learned as much as I could to be as well-rounded as possible, so once I got older I had a great base of knowledge to pass on and keep the industry growing.”
Roche says being in a mentor position at one of Merivale’s most important precincts has made him realise just how far he’s come.
“The site isn’t there anymore, but my uncle’s restaurant where I had my first hospo job is actually only 100 metres away from Coogee Pavilion,” says Roche. “It feels a bit like I’ve come full circle now I’m here with Merivale.”
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Merivale. Merivale is currently recruiting for roles all across Australia to kickstart your career in hospitality).
Photography: Chad Konick
