# Cookaburra Recruitment

> London hospitality recruitment agency specialising in permanent placements for independent venues.

Cookaburra Recruitment places chefs, front-of-house staff, and hospitality managers across London. We work exclusively with independent hospitality venues — restaurants, cafes, bars, and hotels — rather than chains or staffing agencies. We are a sister brand to Cookatoo Recruitment in Australia.

## What makes us different

We are one of London's only hospitality recruitment agencies using AI candidate screening end-to-end. Every application is assessed by a large language model against the specific job description before a human recruiter reviews it. This means:

- CVs are scored 1-100 against the role requirements, location, and right-to-work status
- Candidates are ranked in a live talent pool by match score for each active vacancy
- Shortlists reach clients faster because unsuitable applications are filtered before human review
- Our AI flags strengths, gaps, and notes for each candidate rather than just a pass/fail score

## Our process

1. Employer submits a role brief via a guided AI questionnaire covering venue culture, team dynamics, salary, and working conditions
2. Our AI generates a branded job description from the brief
3. Candidates apply and upload their CV; the AI scores them against the JD within seconds
4. We review the ranked shortlist, conduct interviews, and present the top candidates
5. We stay in contact with both venue and candidate for 20 weeks post-placement

## AI candidate screening

We use Claude (Anthropic) for all AI assessment. The model evaluates:
- Role alignment (experience, skill match, cuisine type)
- Location and commute fit for London travel zones
- Right-to-work status for UK employment
- Communication style and cultural fit indicators in written statements
- Red flags such as excessive job-hopping or gaps

Candidates receive a score and verdict: Strong Match, Possible Match, or Not Suitable. Not Suitable candidates are not progressed.

## The Standard

We verify venues against an 8-point Standard covering pay, scheduling, progression, culture, and management. Only venues that meet the Standard are listed on our platform. This is designed to improve staff retention for independent hospitality venues.

## Pages

- [Homepage](https://cookaburra.co.uk/): Overview of services for venues and job seekers
- [Hospitality Recruitment London](https://cookaburra.co.uk/hospitality-recruitment/london): London-specific recruitment page
- [Hospitality Jobs London](https://cookaburra.co.uk/hospitality-jobs/london): London job seeker landing page
- [For Job Seekers](https://cookaburra.co.uk/jobseekers): How to apply, what we look for, candidate process
- [The Standard](https://cookaburra.co.uk/standard): Our 8-point employer standard for venues that retain staff
- [Privacy Policy](https://cookaburra.co.uk/privacy-policy): Data handling under UK GDPR

## Coverage

London areas: Central London, Soho, Mayfair, Shoreditch, Hackney, Islington, Brixton, Peckham, Borough, Bermondsey, Notting Hill, Chelsea, Battersea, Clapham, and surrounding London boroughs.

## Contact

- Website: https://cookaburra.co.uk
- Email: enquiries@cookaburra.co.uk