346: Connecting People Through Coffee w/ Celeste Wong of The Girl in the Cafe

We take for granted the kinds of interactions and connections we make in the course of our daily professional barista lives. An incredible variety of people with unique and interesting stories and perspectives pass through our doors daily. Coupled with the story of coffee itself, this business is a rich and fascinating one. Those are the motivations that led today's guest, Celeste Wong into the coffee industry and inspired her to start The Girl in the Cafe.  Originally from New Zealand, Celeste is has held top positions in leading artisan cafes all over the world for over a decade. Since migrating to the UK, she has been listed as one of London's top five Baristas in The Financial Times and noted for her excellence in a plethora of other publications. With an Honors degree in Commerce & Design she is also an actress, with notable success in her roles in front of the camera, including her last feature-film becoming the highest grossing independent film of the year in New Zealand that won multiple awards internationally. Celeste produces and curates social media content for her own platform and other brands.  She writes and consults on a range of services for cafes and lifestyle brands.  In this conversation we get to experience the arch of Celeste's career from coffee as a job, then coffee as a career, -to the epiphany that led to her starting and growing The Girl in the Cafe.  There are some wonderful insights here and I hope you enjoy! We cover: Beginning her coffee career in cafes Learning from serious professionals Love hate relationship with coffee Developing The Girl in the cafe platform Goals and personal lessons Reflecting coffee to consumers with empathy Finding your voice Memorable insights gleaned form the show Desire for the industry Links: www.thegirlinthecafe.co.uk Instagram: @The_girl_in_the_cafe   Related episodes: 206 : The Emotional and Social Impact of the Cafe Space w/ Noa Berger 242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann 024 : Chermelle D. Edwards, The Coffeetographer : Documenting Art and Culture Through the Lens of Specialty Coffee : Barista Culture, Consumer Experience, Movements in coffee culture 257 : A Conversation w/ Morgan Eckroth of MorganDrinksCoffee! Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com