Hospitality people, not a database
Our managers are ex-chefs, ex-GMs and ex-bar leads. We know the difference between a CV that reads well and a commis who can hold a section on a 200-cover Saturday.
◂ Restaurant staffing, done right ▸
STAFF
(THAT SHOWS UP)
Crespaca puts vetted chefs, waiters, bartenders and kitchen crew on your floor — for a single busy Saturday or a permanent brigade. Briefed, compliant, uniformed and standing at your service door before service starts.
- Head & sous chefs
- Waiting staff
- Bartenders
- Kitchen porters
- Baristas
- Hosts & runners
- Shifts covered a year
- 0
- Average fill time, hours
- 0
- Return clients, %
- 0
◂ Who we are ▸
WE STAFF
(KITCHENS FIRST)
Crespaca was built by people who ran service, not by recruiters who read about it. We started as a small back-of-house cover desk in Doncaster and grew into a staffing partner for restaurants, gastropubs, hotels and catering companies across the UK. Every candidate on our books has been interviewed by someone who has worked a pass.
Vetted before you ever meet them
Right-to-work checks, two trade references, food-safety and allergen certification, plus a practical trial where the role calls for one. No paperwork lands on your desk.
Priced with no surprises
One hourly rate that already includes holiday pay, national insurance and our margin. No booking fees, no weekend loading you find out about on the invoice.
Cover that arrives in hours
A live standby pool across every major city means a dropped shift is refilled in about four hours — and we call you the moment it is confirmed, not after service.
The same faces, on repeat
We rota the crew who already know your menu, your POS and your storeroom. Familiarity is the cheapest quality control a venue can buy.
One manager, one number
You get a named account manager reachable during service — not a ticket queue that opens at nine in the morning when the damage is already done.
How we differ from a typical agency
| What matters on shift | Typical agency | Crespaca |
|---|---|---|
| Screening | CV forwarded, no trade check | Interviewed by an ex-chef, trialled, referenced |
| Fill time | 24–48 hours | From 4 hours, standby pool on call |
| Pricing | Base rate plus hidden fees | One all-in rate, published upfront |
| Continuity | New stranger every booking | Requested regulars kept on your rota |
| Contact | Shared inbox, office hours | Named manager, reachable in service |
| No-show policy | Credit on the next invoice | Replacement dispatched plus that shift free |
◂ What we do ▸
SERVICES
Four ways to put the right person in the right whites. Mix them freely — most venues run temporary cover and permanent search side by side.
S1
Temporary shift cover
Same-day and planned cover for sickness, holidays and unexpected bookings. Book a single shift or a full week; cancel free up to twelve hours before start.
- From 4-hour fill time
- Uniformed and briefed on arrival
- Free replacement on any no-show
S2
Permanent placement
Head chefs, sous chefs, restaurant managers and sommeliers, searched and shortlisted against your actual menu and covers — not a generic job spec.
- Shortlist of 3–5 in 10 days
- Paid trial shift before you commit
- 90-day free replacement guarantee
S3
Opening brigades
A whole team for a new site: kitchen, bar and floor recruited, trained and rota'd to your launch date, with a manager on site through the first week of service.
- Full BOH and FOH structure
- Menu and POS training included
- On-site support through launch week
S4
Events & banqueting
Crews of ten to two hundred for weddings, festivals, corporate dining and pop-ups, led by a Crespaca supervisor who runs the brief so you can run the room.
- Crew supervisor at no extra cost
- Black-tie and casual uniform options
- Nationwide travel arranged by us
◂ Our products ▸
STAFF
(PACKAGED)
Ready-made crew packages with a fixed all-in rate. Pick a category, pick a package, and we build the team around it.
THE PASS
Head chef or sous chef with section-lead experience, dropped straight onto your pass for cover or a permanent seat.
from £28 / hour, all in
THE SECTION
Waiting staff who can hold six tables, upsell a wine list and close a section without being chased.
from £16 / hour, all in
THE RAIL
Cocktail-trained bartenders with licensing awareness, fast on volume and calm on a Friday rush.
from £18 / hour, all in
THE BACK DOOR
Kitchen porters and prep hands who keep the wash up moving and the mise en place stocked all service.
from £13 / hour, all in
THE FRONT DOOR
Hosts and reservations cover who work your booking system, manage the queue and protect the covers plan.
from £15 / hour, all in
THE MORNING
Baristas and breakfast crew for hotels and all-day venues — open the site, run the machine, hit the covers.
from £15 / hour, all in
◂ How we work ▸
FIVE STEPS
(NO PAPERWORK)
From first call to invoice, this is the whole route. Most venues get through steps one to three inside a single afternoon.
-
01
Brief
A fifteen-minute call about your covers, menu style, kitchen layout and the standard you hold. We write the brief so you do not have to.
-
02
Match
We pull candidates who already work your cuisine and venue size, confirm availability and send you profiles with references attached.
-
03
Confirm
You approve the name and rate. We handle the contract, right-to-work file, uniform and travel — you get one confirmation message.
-
04
Service
Staff arrive fifteen minutes early, briefed on your menu and POS. Your account manager stays reachable through the whole shift.
-
05
Review
Digital timesheet, one consolidated weekly invoice, and a quick rating so the crew you liked comes back and the rest do not.
◂ Also included ▸
SUPPORT
(BEHIND THE ROTA)
The work that never appears on a rota but decides whether your service runs. All of it sits inside the same hourly rate.
Payroll & compliance
PAYE, holiday accrual, pensions and right-to-work records are all held and audited by us. You receive one weekly invoice and nothing else.
Training & certification
Level 2 food safety, allergen awareness, COSHH and personal licence support, refreshed on schedule and logged against every candidate.
Rota planning
Send us your covers forecast and we build the staffing plan around it, flagging the weeks where you are about to be short before you feel it.
Uniform & kit
Whites, aprons, non-slip footwear and knife rolls issued from our own store, so nobody turns up to your pass in the wrong blacks.
Emergency line
A staffed phone line from 6:00 to 01:00, seven days. A dropped shift at eight in the evening still gets a human and a replacement.
Performance reporting
Monthly numbers on fill rate, punctuality, spend per site and repeat crew, so you can see exactly what the staffing budget bought.
◂ Regular discounts ▸
LESS
(EVERY MONTH)
Standing discounts, applied automatically to your invoice. No promo codes, no negotiating each time you book.
-10%
Volume weeks
Any week where you book more than 40 staff hours across your sites drops to a ten percent lower rate automatically.
-15%
Rolling contract
Commit to a repeating weekly rota for three months and every hour on that rota is billed fifteen percent below list.
-20%
Quiet shifts
Monday to Wednesday daytime cover and early-morning prep shifts carry a standing twenty percent discount all year.
1st
First shift free
Your first booked shift with Crespaca is on us, up to eight hours. Try the crew before a single invoice is raised.
£150
Refer a venue
Introduce another operator and take a hundred and fifty pounds off your next invoice once their first shift is worked.
-12%
Group rate
Operators with three or more venues get a group rate across the whole estate, billed on one consolidated account.
◂ For candidates ▸
JOIN THE
(BRIGADE)
If you can hold a section, run a pass or build a round of cocktails without dropping the ticket time, we want you on the books. Crespaca crew choose their own shifts, get paid weekly, and never chase an invoice — you work, we handle the rest.
- Weekly pay, every Friday, no exceptions
- Pick your own shifts from the app or by phone
- Free food safety and allergen certification
- Uniform and knife roll issued at no cost
- Travel covered on out-of-town bookings
- A route into permanent roles at venues you liked
◂ Get in touch ▸
TALK
(TO A HUMAN)
Whether you are covering tomorrow's service or hiring a head chef for the spring, start here. Every enquiry is answered by a staffing manager within one working hour.
- Hiring enquiries[email protected]
- Candidates[email protected]
- Accounts[email protected]
- HoursMon–Sun, 06:00–01:00