The Sweet Taste of Success

Michael De Marte, owner of Atomic Café, got more than he bargained for when he asked ISA Group to help him recruit an overseas chef for his popular South Perth café six months ago.

Michael, who had been having trouble finding a local chef with the right skills and experience, has nothing but praise for Filipino chef, Jay Blancio, who ISA Group found using its recruitment office in the Philippines.

“Not only has Jay proven to be a skilled and enthusiastic chef, but his strong work ethic has rubbed off onto the others. As a result, productivity and quality has improved,” said Michael.

Jay’s international experience also enabled Michael to be more adventurous with his menu.

“I think the fact we could expand our menu has contributed to a growth in our business of 40 per cent since Jay started,” said Michael.

The café presently opens between 6am and 5pm due to the limited availability of staff, but Michael hopes to expand the opening hours to midnight every day of the week.

Key to increasing the opening hours is the need to recruit an additional chef from the Philippines. ISA Group has identified a candidate that meets Michael’s needs and is in the process of filing an application for a Subclass 457 visa.

Although the Federal Government has tightened the requirements of businesses sponsoring overseas workers, ISA Group’s head of recruitment, Brett Merrey, says the addition of an overseas worker at Atomic Café will boost the Australian economy.

“Atomic already employs 11 local people, but has shown that employing an overseas chef has helped to grow its business, which also has a flow-on effect to local suppliers,” said Brett.

“We are confident that we can demonstrate how the employment of another overseas chef will enable the business to grow as well as provide valuable skills sharing opportunities to the Australian chefs on staff.”

Despite a climate of economic uncertainty, Atomic Café has experienced a dramatic increase in business over the past four months and Michael is optimistic of a bright outlook.

“We are currently preparing to open another restaurant and scouting for a location for a third. If we are successful in recruiting a second chef, I expect we will be asking ISA Group to help us even more in the future,” said Michael.

For more information on recruiting overseas workers, contact brett@isa.com.au