EFS Team blog – Caitlin

Earlier this year Caitlin joined the Edinburgh Food Social team. Here she shares some of her thoughts on her time with EFS, what she has learnt by being part of the team and talks about some of the events we have been lucky enough to cater or help with. 

In the 6 months of working at Edinburgh Food Social, I have learnt a huge amount, coming into a job having no experience in this type of work has been amazing to open up my knowledge on different things such as cooking, preparation for food and also for the preparation of events big and small, especially around food and how big an impact it has in life. Working with EFS has built my confidence in so many ways that I now communicate and greet large numbers of people and the skills I have learned will help me throughout my future. Every week at EFS is different from doing my job role, to helping out with Kirsty in the kitchen, helping cater for various weddings and also being part of the front-of-house team as well as serving community food, and dinners and being involved in community events. 

We had a very busy month in June. We did a variety of different jobs; we catered a dinner for the deputy first minister which involved a 3-course meal and we were also entertained by children from a local primary school who did a great performance of singing and instruments.

We’ve done numerous weddings, from catering for large and small venues. We catered for the most beautiful wedding in a couple’s parents’ garden which was incredible to set up and be a part of. We have taken on a job to provide catering for the NHS training days which is, as with every other job we do, delivered by the cargo bike delivery service, Farr Out. We have recently had a handful of kids from our local high school Castlebrae come to visit our unit to find out more about how the whole industry works…

I prepared and served lunch for campaigners at the Scottish Parliament, where we served up soup, sandwiches, rolls and some fruit and veg platters. I set the stall up and ran it on my own which felt like a great achievement for me, especially greeting various people and chatting to them about our company and the great things that we do!

I was delighted to be a part of the Edinburgh North Community Festival, helping prepare, serve and run the event. This was a day to celebrate all the amazing talent and opportunities in the North of Edinburgh, with over 100 organisations, groups and individuals living and working in the area offering free activities, stalls and food! We served over 200 people and combined some comfort classics with lots of new flavours and dishes that people had never tried before.