As Co-Founder and CEO at Hobart social enterprise Hamlet, Emily Briffa is tackling unemployment the tasty way.

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Where did you grow up, and when and how did you end up in Tasmania?

I grew up in Melbourne, and worked as a chef at Kinfolk, a social enterprise café that my brother started. We did a dinner event at the venue, and chef David Moyle was brought over to cook. We had similar styles and worked really well together, and he told me about a fine-dining restaurant that he was working on opening in Hobart. We kept in touch and, some time later, he asked if I would have any interest in coming to Tasmania to work in his restaurant. Franklin. I thought that I would come for six months or a year, try my hand at fine-dining, and come home. But I fell in love with Tassie, and I haven’t left since!

What do you love about Tassie?

The proximity to nature was a big drawcard for me. Coming from Melbourne, it’s usually a two-hour drive to get out into the wilderness, but when I moved to Tassie, it was on my doorstep. Also, the connection to suppliers and producers is really special here. I love that sense of really knowing where your food comes from, and having these relationships with people who are growing and making beautiful things.

Now, you’re the co-founder and CEO of Hamlet, a social enterprise café, with catering and condiments arms. What was the journey to here like?

I worked at Franklin for a year. I loved the job and the people I worked with, but I found the nature of working in a fine-dining establishment had its challenges. It sometimes felt a bit soulless, and I questioned what I was really doing with my life.

Before I moved to Tasmania, people would make jokes about how hard it was to get a job here. When I arrived, I realised that it wasn’t a joke - there were real issues of unemployment in Tassie, and it actually had the highest unemployment rate in the country at the time.

At the same time, I was working in an industry where people were always talking about a skills shortage. I’m curious by nature, so I started cold-calling organisations that were working with people facing barriers to employment, and I kept hearing the same story - people needed experience and a reference on their resumé, but nobody would give them a go. I felt really strongly that there was an opportunity for a social enterprise café to address both the unemployment issues and the skills shortage in the hospitality industry. I was in my 20s and pretty naive about starting something, and I invested my whole life savings at the time into getting Hamlet off the ground.

Hamlet Café, Hobart (image: Rosie Hastie)

Hamlet opened in 2016. What has it been like since then?

The first couple of years were really hard. When we first opened, we were operating seven days a week, and I was working as one of the chefs, and trying to do everything else after hours. But, even with all of the challenges, the outcomes that we were seeing with participants were so evident, so quickly.

When we first started, we were working with people who had faced long periods of unemployment or had low levels of English language. We’d been operating for about four months when a woman approached us about working with her daughter. Alex, who has Down Syndrome, was in her early 20s at the time, and it was really important to her mum that she had access to opportunities to increase her independence.

Very quickly, Alex became a part of who and what we were. Customers loved coming in to see her, and it was really special to see Alex quickly develop independence and her own style of hospitality. Since leaving us, she has worked at Mona for almost four years.

These big outcomes of participants going on to secure meaningful employment are obviously really important to us, but we see other outcomes every single day at Hamlet. A participant might come in and hold themselves differently, or make eye contact with customers for the first time, or present themselves really confidently. That’s the really important part of our model. The independence and confidence is the stuff that matters.

What does a day in your life look like?

I wake up relatively early to shower and get ready before my two-year-old daughter Polly wakes up. When she’s up, I go back to bed for a family cuddle.

I aim to arrive at Hamlet by 7.30, and check in with the team, and what’s on for the day in the café and catering. Originally, I was much more involved in the day-to-day operations of the café, but I now operate more in the organisational side of things. I might be applying for grants, or meeting with stakeholders, or writing board reports. A lot of my time is still spent managing the team, and making sure that everyone is feeling supported.

I try to get home early enough to spend time with my husband, Pete, and Polly, and do my best to stay off my emails when I’m not physically in the Hamlet building!

Where do you get away to for a Tassie staycation?

Pete’s family lives in Bicheno, so we spend a fair bit of time on the east coast. We also recently did a little trip to Bruny Island, and stayed in a little Airbnb on the beach. We spent a lot of time taking walks on the beach, and had dinner at The Izzy Bar, where the wine list was as good as the wood-fired pizzas!

Where are your favourite local (and not-so-local) haunts for eats and drinks?

Around Hobart, I love Summer Kitchen at Ranelagh - they’re doing some of the best pastries in the state. The team at The Agrarian Kitchen are doing something very cool, and it’s so special to be able to do their garden tour before lunch. For dinner, I think the food at Ogee is up there with the best, though I’m biased because Pete cooks there. It’s such a nice vibe in there, with little nooks that are perfect for a date night, or a catch-up with friends.

In Launceston, I can’t go past a morning bun at Bread + Butter, and Pete and I go all out with the souvlaki at Turkish Tukka.

On the east coast, we recently had a really good dinner at Le Coq. It’s an unassuming little space, with excellent food.

Describe your perfect Sunday in lutruwita/Tasmania.

Sundays are family days for us. We’ll wake up pretty late, have a snack at home, and then head to Farm Gate Market for something more substantial to eat. Polly is obsessed with the bao buns from Deep End Farm, and we’ll always get a bowl of congee with the lot from Adam at Rough Rice.

After the markets, we usually have a cuppa with my parents, often at Straight Up for their really good brewed chai. Then, we’ll head to the park for a play, or take a drive to the beach if the weather is right.

The ideal Sunday finishes with cooking something that we got from the market for dinner, lighting the fire, and spending time together as a family.

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Q&A: Emily Briffa