The Parkview Café takes on people with learning disabilities and trains them for employment in the catering industry. It’s located in St Luke’s community centre in Canton, and is run by the Innovate Trust, who support people with mental and physical disabilities.
Cardiff native Julie Raymond, 52, has managed Parkview for two years. Before taking on the café, she spent many years as a support worker for people with learning disabilities, then went on to work in other Innovate projects. But the café is special to her. “Trainees come with very little confidence,” she says, “but they seem to thrive. They come on leaps and bounds.”
The goal at the café is for trainees to reach a point where they can move on to paid employment. Many have, and a few have become employees of the Trust. Julie describes the progress of one trainee who began only able to work one day a week but has now progressed to four. “And he’s really reliable and good at what he does,” she adds.
In addition to their café duties, trainees take cooking lessons to expand their repertoires. “Every day, they come in and produce amazing food,” Julie says. They also learn how to handle complicated catering appliances, such as the espresso machine.
The Parkview Café also takes an ethical approach to the wider local community. Most of their food is locally sourced, and they aim to keep their prices lower than the average. Added to the positive attitude of the staff, the result is a relaxed, friendly venue where customers seem to come in as much for a chat as to enjoy their food.
Julie is proud of this, but what makes her happiest is watching the trainees progress and seeing how much they can achieve. “It puts a big smile on my face,” she says.