What is your role?
“My role is actually in the Muffin Break training team.”
In head office, directly above EQ store. She trains new franchisees. They travel from around Australia and New Zealand. This is the central training facility.
“We have a big kitchen at the back where we train them on baking. Upstairs we have a theory room and coffee room.”
What were you doing before this?
“I’ve been in this role for six years, but before that my family owned a Muffin Break for 11 years.”
Her sister and mum helped run the store in Penrith and now they also work at Muffin Break head office.
“So we kept it in the family.”
Are you originally from Sydney, Australia?
Yes, born and grew up in Penrith.
What is your favourite thing to do when not at work?
“My favourite thing to do on the weekend is to visit all the different cafes and try all the coffee. I’m a big coffee addict.”
She loves everything about hospitality.
What is the happiest moment of your life?
“I travel a lot, I’m always really happy then.”
Recently went to Canada for a friends wedding.
Also getting a role through Foodco.
“And the way that they’ve supported me through being a worker in Muffin Break, then a franchisee, and now at head office, it’s been so great. I’ve been at Muffin Break now nearly 17 years.”
If it was your last day on earth, what would your last meal be?
“My last meal would definitely be something Mexican.”
Not a muffin.
“It would definitely be like nachos and a margharita, I would say.”
A bit more…
Started working at Muffin Break when she was 14 years old.
“I got a job at the local Muffin Break down the road in Penrith…just on the weekends while I was at school. Worked there for a few years and then my family bought that business.”
She taught her mum and then her sister how to run the store.
Soon afterwards Megan spotted a job ad for a trainer on the internal bulletin board and applied.
“I thought, I love training in my store, I love training new staff, I might go for that – I don’t know what I want to do.”
She got the job.
“And I’ve never looked back”
Foodco put Megan through the Certificate IV in Training & Assessment course. She has attained other qualifications over time through Foodco.
She loves training franchisees and then going to visit their stores months later and seeing how successful they are.
“It’s one of the most rewarding things,” she says.
Foodco is the parent company for Muffin Break and Jamaica Blue. It’s an Australian company. The first Muffin Break opened in Coolangatta, Qld in 1988.
There are now about 200 stores in Australia, 35 in New Zealand, and various others around the world.
Her parents became interested in Muffin Break after deciding they really wanted to buy their own business.
“They weren’t really sure what they wanted to do or what kind of business they wanted to buy, so they did a lot of research … they knew they wanted to be in hospitality. We’re all very ‘people people’ in my family.”
When Megan’s parents looked into Foodco, they were impressed with the level of support Foodco gave its franchisees. As luck would have it, Megan’s boss was selling the store she was working in at the time. The rest is history.
Foodco offers a lot of career opportunities and really looks after its staff which is why many employees end up being there for a long time.
Muffin Break’s highest selling menu items are muffins and coffee.
“We can bake up to 25 dozen muffins a day.”
Also have a chilled cabin which is comprised of savoury breakfast items and sweets like cakes and slices.
“Every single thing is made on premises.”
They do a lot of catering for businesses around EQ and the AFL office. They sometimes do inhouse functions too.
While they have very strict processes around food preparation, especially with regard to gluten free and vegan, they can do custom muffins to an extent.
For the regular, high fibre range, they can play around with creations.
“We’ve done Mars Bar, Cherry Ripe…all kinds of things. We’ve got different promotions that we do every month, and we usually do a Muffin of the Month. Last month in February was Valentines day, so we’ve made a ruby muffin which is made with pink ruby chocolate.”
The Halloween muffins are works of art.
They often do a $2 muffin day promotion.
Muffin Break has its own muffin mix which is used as a base. They also do gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.
Megan loves being in EQ.
“I feel like I’m in the city but not. It’s so close to the CBD, like it’s just down the road, but yet we’re still like our own little community here. And we know all the local businesses – they come here for a coffee, we go there for a sandwich. We know all the offices nearby.”
The park across the road, all the markets, the movies.
“I love this area… It’s a village. I feel excited to be part of that village, actually.”
