Scarf

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Scarf

We’re a social enterprise which has been transforming young lives through hospitality since 2010.

Scarf is a not-for-profit social enterprise (and registered charity) which runs hospitality training, mentoring and paid work experience programs. For close to 15 years we’ve worked closely with the community sector and the hospitality industry to make employment more equitable for young people facing barriers to work. Scarf trainees are keen, resilient young people seeking protection, and those from refugee and migrant backgrounds who have little to no work experience in Australia. Since 2010 we’ve partnered with over 100 awesome Melbourne restaurants to transform over 350 young lives. Scarf Dinners and events are a positive, supportive environment where participants thrive and gain real-world experience. Scarf graduates are part of a unique learning community and move on to jobs with new skills, knowledge, networks and tons of confidence.

28/10/2026

Scarf Graduate Ana (now working Enter Via Laundry) is creating a very special cocktail list for our upcoming Scarf Dinners Reed House.

We chatted to her to find out more about her time on the program (which included working during Scarf Dinners Bhang | Indian restaurant and bar), and some of the inspiration behind her cocktail list 🍸 🇧🇷

Catch up on Ana's Q&A via the link in our bio!

Photos: Laura May Grogan & Roger That Pictures

26/10/2026

If you haven’t tried Mark Hannell’s Ramen Scotch Eggs yet, what are you waiting for? 🥚

These glorious snacks absolutely live up to the hype, and we’re so stoked they’re part of the set menu for our upcoming Scarf Dinners Reed House, which will provide paid, front-of-house work experience opportunities for the Spring Scarf ‘26 trainees.

Mark’s just confirmed the full menu, which you can check out via the link in our bio.

We’ll be at Reed House for 3 Mondays in November and all dates all getting very close to full, so please head scarfcommunity.org to make your booking ASAP if you want to join us! Tickets are $60pp and include a two course set menu (shared starters + choice of main), and a contribution towards Spring Scarf Trainee wages.

A very delicious and impactful night is in your future… 🔮

23/10/2026

We can’t wait to bring Scarf Dinners to Reed House in November. Rebecca will be helping us run the front-of-house because she is a legend, while Mark and his merry band of chefs will be running the kitchen (we’ll be sharing the full menu very soon!)

Spots are booking up incredibly quickly, so if you’re keen to join us for a Spring Scarf Dinner, we recommend you book soon 🧡

Photo Kate Shanasy

Text in slides reads:
“I love that Scarf is creating opportunities to help transition a wider range of people into hospitality.” Reed House owner, Rebecca Baker

“I love the industry so much, so it’s great to help foster that in others who are equally as excited to be involved.” Reed House owner, Rebecca Baker

Spring Scarf Dinners
will be at Reed House on

Monday 9 November
Monday 16 November
Monday 23 November

All dates are close to full.
Book now: scarfcommunity.org

21/10/2026

The numbers have been crunched, and we’re excited to announce that through this year’s ‘Do More Than Drink’ campaign, a grand total of $18,004 was raised for Scarf programs! 🧡🙏🏾🥹

This will allow us to create 546 hours of paid work experience for Scarf trainees in 2027. HUGE.

The majority of the funds come from our 30 wonderful campaign venue partners, who fundraised for Scarf throughout September, with additional clams coming from raffle ticket sales, online donations and cocktail calendar pre-orders 📆

We’re so grateful for this huge support, which will allow us to create so many wonderful opportunities next year.

We celebrated the end of the campaign recently at a casual event Stomping Ground Brewery & B**r Hall Collingwood. We called it “Scarf’s Shout”, but really it should have been called “Stomping Ground’s Shout”, because the Stomping Ground Brewing Co legends (long-term Scarf Partners) put on the drinks and the food and helped bring great vibes 👏🏽🍻🍕

We were thrilled that some of our campaign partners (Paradise Alley and THE LINCOLN | CARLTON ) could join the party, as well as heaps of Scarf graduates and a few mentors too. Legends, all of them.

We’re incredibly grateful to these wonderful venues, who fundraised for us in September:
bijou bottle store
Boire
Builders Arms Hotel
Caretaker’s Cottage
Death & Company Australia
Dessous
The Empress Hotel
Garden State Hotel
Gin Palace
La Pinta
LILAC W**E
THE LINCOLN | CARLTON
The Local Taphouse (St. Kilda)
Manzé // Eat
Neighbourhood W**e
Ophelia Westgarth
Nomad Events
Paradise Alley
The Pinnacle
Pirate Life South Melbourne
Radio Social Club & Cocktail Bar
Sporting Club Hotel
STARWARD WH**KY
Stomping Ground Brewery & B**r Hall Collingwood
Stomping Ground Morris Moor
STUDIO AMARO
Three Horses
Tokyo Tina
Twang Brewing
Wh**ky & Alement

Whilst the campaign is *officially* over, we’re excited and grateful that the legends Albert Park Hotel and Half Moon will be fundraising for us in November (we’ll share more about that soon!)

19/10/2026

Almost a year ago to this day I had one of the best meals of my life! (And I still think about it far too often!)

I dined Reed House, and the rumours proved to be absolutely true. Mark Hannell’s Ramen Scotch Eggs are life-changing.

And, as a Worcestershire sauce tragic from way back, the Welsh Rarebit Crumpet was a revelation. If you’re not familiar with this dish, it’s a house-made sourdough crumpet topped with Guinness and cheddar sauce, served with a bottle of Worcestershire on the side. Dreamy! 🧀

And the side of “Potatoes, Chicken Salt and Malt Vinegar Mayo”? (swipe to see them)
The name doesn’t tell you nearly as much as what’s actually going on in this ridiculously yummy dish. Reed House recently posted some BTS content of how this dish is created and my gosh, there is a lot of love and labour that goes in. And the result is the best side of potatoes you will ever eat.

For those who haven’t heard, Scarf Dinners are coming to Reed House for three nights only. We’re there on Monday 9, 16 and 23 November, and all nights are booking out quickly.

So if you’re keen to join us, eat some absolutely delicious food, drink some fabulous drinks (we have a few very special things in the works for the Spring ‘26 drinks list) and support the newest group of Scarf trainees as they grow their skills, confidence and experience, then don’t delay.

The Reed House chefs will be in the kitchen, and our wonderful new Spring Scarf ‘26 trainee cohort will be gaining paid work experience by running the front of house (with support from Scarf Mentors) 🧡

Book now via scarfcommunity.org / OpenTable Australia

14/10/2026

A few fun snaps from the recent Foundations Program training session Allpress Espresso in Collingwood.

The session focussed on café skills, hospitality tech and serving customers with confidence! As always, there was lots of hands-on learning ☕️

Very grateful to Helen and the Allpress team for welcoming us into their Rupert St roasters and café for this one.

***

Scarf Foundations is a free hospitality and job-readiness program designed for young people from refugee, migrant and protection-seeking backgrounds who face barriers to employment and prefer not to handle or work with alcohol. It's a fun, practical, inclusive and culturally-safe program which runs with support from many Scarf Partners. Through hands-on hospitality training, workplace readiness workshops and personalised support, participants build confidence, develop transferable skills and strengthen their employment prospects.

***

Photos: Roger That Pictures

12/10/2026

The Scarf Shop is open for business 📆 🎁
www.scarfcommunity.org/shop

And in very exciting news, our 2027 Scarf Cocktail Calendar is now available for pre-order!

The calendar came about because a bunch of talented Scarf Graduates have been co-creating cocktails for Scarf Dinners and events over the past 1.5 years. The creativity and flair is so impressive, and we have a bunch of absolutely delicious recipes which we want to share! 🍸 The calendar will also feature stories and quotes from graduates throughout.

Each month features a new cocktail recipe; the majority co-created by a Scarf Graduate with support from our talented Training & Events Manager Nele. It also features recipes from long-time Scarf trainers & mentors, Chantalle Narith (Caretaker’s Cottage) and Felix Woods (edition Hospitality), as well as cocktail legends Priscilla Leong and Paul Hammond (Creative Hospitality Consultants & Spirits Educators) 🤩

Calendars can be pre-ordered now through the Scarf Shop, or as an ‘Add-On’ when you book a Spring Scarf Dinner at Reed House via OpenTable Australia.

Every calendar purchase will help us create more opportunities for Scarf trainees in 2027 🧡

Photos Roger That Pictures

09/10/2026

The ‘Do More Than Drink’ raffle was drawn on Tuesday night during a special Scarf event with our good friends Stomping Ground Brewery & B**r Hall Collingwood.

Tickets were sold online in the lead up, and on the night. In total we sold 142 raffle tickets which generated $1,320! This will allow us to facilitate 40 hours of paid work experience for Scarf trainees.

Huge!

Congratulations to the prize winners: Sara Webb, Mary Latham, Rose Alquozy and Robyn Mitchell Schultz. We hope you all enjoy your loot! 🎁

And thank you to everyone who bought a ticket… even if you didn’t win, you’ve helped create opportunities for future Scarf trainees.

PS. We’re still tallying up the venue donations from September, but we hope to announce the total ‘Do More Than Drink’ fundraising tally next week!

Huge thanks to our raffle prize contributors; all of them generous Scarf Partners:
Unico Zelo | Australian W**e
NON - 0.0%
Stomping Ground Brewing Co
STARWARD WH**KY
Archie Rose Distilling Co.
Bathtub Gin Co
Daylesford & Hepburn Mineral
Maidenii
Marionette Liqueur

Photos: Roger That Pictures

05/10/2026

Last week’s Spring Scarf ‘26 program induction was a ripper! Thanks for hosting us OpenTable Australia ❤️

The newest trainee cohort – L to R: Rana, Narjis, Honorina, Kye, Anees, Riya, Mikad, Alexandra, Calton and Djamal (not pictured: Mesmerisia) – are excited to start their Scarf training this week, and we can’t wait to see them all grow in skills, networks and confidence throughout the program.

They’ll all be working at our upcoming November Scarf Dinners Reed House as well as engaging in 4 weeks of work experience with Scarf Partners. With 11 (!!!) trainees taking part in the Spring ‘26 seasonal program, we estimate that this group will collectively undertake about 275 hours of PAID work experience in October and November.

In a pre-program survey, we asked these legends “What is the one most important thing you hope to learn or achieve from doing the Scarf Program?” Here are some of their answers:

“Being confident at serving customers and communicating.”

“Important things, skills that I can take places, and my work rights.”

“To learn about alcoholic beverages, the skills to be a bartender, and the social skills required to be in hospitality.”

“To be able to find a suitable job.”

“Socialising and having experience in different hospitality areas.”

Keen to support these legends? Book a Spring Scarf Dinner or donate to our ‘Do More Than Drink’ campaign to support paid work experience hours! You can do both via the links in our bio 😊

02/10/2026

There's still time to support Do More Than Drink '26!

While we tally up the donations from the 32 LEGENDARY venues who raised funds and awareness for Scarf in September, there's still time for YOU to contribute!

Head to domorethandrink.org before 6 October, grab some raffle tickets, pre-order your 2027 Scarf Cocktail Calendar, or make a tax-deductible donation! All of these actions will contribute to the Do More Than Drink '26 fundraising tally.

We're aiming to raise enough funds through the campaign to create 750 hours of paid work experience for Scarf trainees. Can you help us do it?

Big thanks to our campaign partners 🧡🙏🏽
Albert Park Hotel
bijou bottle store
Boire
Builders Arms Hotel
Caretaker’s Cottage
Death & Company Australia
Dessous
The Empress Hotel
Garden State Hotel
Gin Palace
Half Moon
La Pinta
LILAC W**E
THE LINCOLN | CARLTON
The Local Taphouse (St. Kilda)
Manzé // Eat
Neighbourhood W**e
Ophelia Westgarth
Nomad Events
Paradise Alley
The Pinnacle Melbourne
Pirate Life South Melbourne
Radio Social Club & Cocktail Bar
Sporting Club Hotel
STARWARD WH**KY
Stomping Ground Brewery & B**r Hall Collingwood
Stomping Ground Morris Moor
STUDIO AMARO
Three Horses
Tokyo Tina
Twang Brewing
Wh**ky & Alement

Address

Website

http://www.scarfcommunity.org/

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