Staff Handbook Template

Marigold Bakehouse

Staff handbook
2026 edition

Welcome to

the bakery.

Everything you need for your first week,
and the hundred small things after it. for Theo, & everyone after

A letter first

Hello, and welcome.

I opened Marigold in 2017 with one oven, a borrowed mixer and a lot of hope. Today there are six of us, and our neighbours start their day with what we bake. That is a big thing to be trusted with, and now you are part of it.

You do not need to know everything on your first day. Nobody does. Watch, ask, taste, and ask again. The best question is the one you ask before you guess.

This handbook tells you how we open, how we make coffee, how we keep people safe, and who to call. Read it once now. Keep it in your locker for the days when you forget, because everyone forgets.

We start early. We look after each other. We never sell a bake we would not eat ourselves.

NadiaOwner & head baker

2017 the year we opened on Alder Street

6 people on the team, now 7 with you

5:30 am, when the first oven goes on

0 bakes we keep from yesterday

Your first five shifts

Your first week

One new thing each day. You will work next to someone the whole week, so you are never alone at the counter.

Day1

Meet the bakery

A tour of the kitchen, the till and the cold room. Shadow Nadia on the morning bake and learn where everything lives.

Tour Uniform Till login

Day2

The coffee bar

Dial in the espresso with Jo. Practise milk for flat whites and lattes until the pattern looks like a leaf, or close to one.

Espresso Milk Cleaning

Day3

Front of house

Serve with Sam. Learn the menu by tasting it, take orders on the till, and answer allergen questions with the chart.

Menu Allergens Till

Day4

Opening

Your first 5:30 start. Run the opening checklist with a partner, fill the cases and open the doors at seven.

Checklist Displays

Day5

Closing & a chat

Close with the team, then twenty minutes with Nadia: what went well, what was hard, and what you want to learn next.

Closing Check-in

Before the doors open

Opening checklist

Tick each line, every morning. Two people open together, always.

Kitchen 5:30 – 6:15

Ovens on: deck to 240°C, convection to 190°C

5:30

Check fridge and cold room temperaturesWrite them in the log. Below 5°C, always.

5:35

Proofed croissants out of the retarder

5:40

Bake the first loaves, then the pastry

5:50

Wash hands, aprons on, hair tied back

6:00

Label today’s bakes with the allergen cards

6:10

Front 6:15 – 7:00

Espresso machine on, flush both heads

6:15

Dial in: 18 g in, 36 g out, 27–30 sTaste it. Adjust the grind if it is sour or bitter.

6:25

Fill the cases, front to back

6:40

Till float counted: $150

6:45

Chalkboard and menus out on the counter

6:50

Lights on, music low, doors open

7:00

Stop.

If a fridge reads above 8°C, do not sell what is inside it. Move it to the cold room and call Nadia, even at 5:40 in the morning. She would rather be woken up.

The coffee bar

How we make coffee

Drink	Shot	Milk	Cup
Espresso	18 g → 36 g	—	3 oz glass
Flat white	double	60–62°C, thin foam	6 oz
Latte	double	60–62°C, silky	10 oz
Cappuccino	double	thick foam, cocoa	8 oz
Maple latte	double	10 ml maple first	10 oz
Chai	—	oat, 65°C	10 oz

Taste one shot every hour. Sour means grind finer; bitter means coarser. When you are not sure, ask Jo, who has pulled more shots than anyone in the city.

1Purge the steam wand before and after every jug.

2Knock out and wipe the basket for every shot.

3Never re-steam milk. Pour it away and start again.

Keeping people safe

Food safety & allergens

One small kitchen, many allergens. When someone asks, check the chart, never guess.

Bake	Gluten	Dairy	Egg	Nuts	Sesame
Country sourdough
Seeded rye
Almond croissant
Cardamom knot
Spiced pumpkin loaf
Pear & frangipane tart
Apple & oat cookie

Contains May contain (shared kitchen)

Hands

Wash for 20 seconds when you come in, after breaks, after money and after raw egg.

Dates

Everything in the fridge gets a label: what it is, the date, and your initials.

Burns & cuts

The first-aid box is above the sink. Write every accident in the book, even small ones.

The practical bits

Shifts, pay & people

EARLY 5:30 – 1:30

Bake and open. Breakfast included, of course.

MIDDLE 8:00 – 4:00

The busy hours: coffee, counter and catering pick-ups.

LATE 11:00 – 5:30

Lunch, close, clean, and tomorrow’s prep list.

Rota & swaps

The rota goes up on Thursday for the next two weeks, on the board by the back door and in the team chat.

Swap with anyone you like, then tell Nadia. No swap is final until she says yes.

Pay & breaks

Pay day is every second Friday. Tips are shared equally between everyone on shift.

Thirty minutes paid break on every shift over six hours. Take it, and sit down.

Who to call

Nadia Owner, anything at all 555 0142

Jo Coffee bar lead 555 0187

Sam Front of house, rota 555 0123

Oven engineer Only if Nadia says so 555 0199

See you at 5:30. We’ll have the coffee on.