Matthieu
Horeca
Before that, he worked at Café 't Steen and at the Café of Stadsbrouwerij Gruut, where he also gave guided tours. After Matthieu finished his training in Art Secondary Education, he followed a course in Orthopedagogy. The latter caused him to roll into the hospitality world; "Sometimes you have to take on the role of educator a bit in the Café," Matthieu laughs. "The people skills I acquired during that training do help in my job."
Matthieu's start-up coincided with the lockdown. ''On my first day, I immediately played at VIDEODROOM's closing party, which I thought was very cool. Then suddenly everything fell silent, when I had just settled in. That was very strange."
"Through acquaintances among the Café's 'old guard', before I started here I knew quite a bit about what exactly the job entailed. It was nice to walk in as a regular right away. Through my experience at 't Steen and in the Gruut, I have a good background in terms of cocktails on the one hand and beer on the other. I would like to brush up on my knowledge of coffee, which is actually the only thing missing from my catering career," Matthieu laughs.
"What I like most about my job is the variety, the team you can count on and who have become friends in the meantime, and the fact that as a member of the evening shift, you also have time to do other things. For example, I will still spin as a DJ and I can work in my bike workshop, where I restore old racing bikes."
"I really enjoy working in such a big Café. You see a lot of different people passing by. It's not just a small café that only attracts a certain target group. For the evening crew, it's also a real adrenaline rush when the show is done and the visitors stream into the Café."
Because of his background as a DJ, Matthieu enjoys being involved with the music played at the Café and is responsible for scheduling the DJs. Every Thursday and/or Friday, he makes sure a DJ comes to play records at the Café.