Barista high: The cafe schooling Melbourne’s next gen of hospitality

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Growing up in Brunswick, you would think the locals are born knowing how to make a good flat white.

But at Lux Foundry, Melbourne’s next generation of baristas are perfecting the art of coffee and customer service before they have even graduated from school.

Lux Foundry owner Daniel Amato (left) with 18-year-old barista-in-training Daniel Wise.Credit: Penny Stephens

The cafe has recently begun a mentoring program with nearby schools, including Brunswick High School, aimed at training students who aspire to have a career in the hospitality industry.

The catalyst for the idea was Daniel Wise, who Lux Foundry owner Daniel Amato took under his wing in 2019 as a shy and inexperienced 14-year-old.

Wise, affectionately known by staff as “Junior”, started out cleaning cutlery on weekends. As his confidence grew, he became a waiter, before excelling in a front-of-house role. Last year he started working behind the bar.

Amato said his protege was now ready for the hardest job of all: barista training.

“There were so many learnings that we took out of Daniel, just watching his growth from 14 to 18,” Amato said.

“As a 14-year-old you’ve got literally no skills at all. But we did all the training in the background and just ticked little boxes across the journey.

“He’s become such a valuable part of the team. Everybody loves him. Even talking to his parents, the level of confidence that he’s gained through working here has just been incredible.”

Amato said it had highlighted to him the value of putting time and effort into his community’s younger generation.

Wise said the staff at Lux Foundry had become like a second family to him and sparked a passion to immerse himself in the industry and learn the ropes of being a barista.

“I just love the vibe of it and getting to talk to people every day,” he said.

The 18-year-old has begun putting espresso shots in the cups on weekends and said he is slowly perfecting pouring coffee.

After approaching local schools, Amato said the cafe was flooded with applications from teenagers.

He has since picked several year 12 students to train on weekends, who will be partnered with a mentor at the cafe in the hope of giving them an early pathway into hospitality.

Amato said he trained at the William Angliss Institute after finishing school, but would have loved the chance to learn on the ground during his teenage years.

“This is something a little different to what is being offered anywhere else,” he said. “It is an example of just backing younger kids and giving them an opportunity.”

Lux Foundry has made headlines before. In 2017, when demographer Bernard Salt suggested in a newspaper column that millennials were spending too much on expensive luxuries like smashed avocado on toast, the cafe soared in popularity after offering a free side of avo with any main meal for non-homeowners.

“Since COVID we’ve seen the community really embrace us and support us,” Amato said. “We just wanted to give back to the community.”

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