The county of Norfolk is located in the East of England. This part of East Anglia is considered as a rural county, yet it has a population close to one million.
Norfolk has a rich and proud tradition of food production, farming and processing, and many of its locally-produced foodstuffs find their way onto the plates of local restaurants and cafes. The city of Norwich, Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn are densely-populated areas that attract the likes of Pizza Hut, Nando’s and Frankie & Benny’s, so employment opportunities in Norfolk are plentiful. The area also enjoys a very successful tourism trade, so small, independent cafes, hotels, guest houses and restaurants have almost a constant need for waiting staff, bar staff, food production staff and catering managers.
Norfolk’s many factories and office complexes often use leading contract caterers to provide food and drink to staff onsite, so recruitment agencies often advertise vacancies on behalf of leading players in the market such as Sodexo, Compass and Baxter Storey.
The vast majority of catering vacancies in the county can be found in or around Norwich. The city in particular experiences huge trade volumes, and staff turnover in the industry is extremely high. The result is an almost constant supply of catering jobs in Norfolk. Although many roles pay only the National Minimum Wage, waiting staff often get the chance to boost their income significantly through gratuities.