We are a team of designers and cooks operating a daily canteen, a food design studio, and a shop, all at once. At Oficina, we use edible matter as a tool for storytelling. Each dish and drink we make is a translation of where we are now and where we have been. We like to evoke our memories in the process of making new ones. This inspires us to go on voyages that influence our tastes, that we present through Oficina. 

We deeply consider the qualities of what our guests engage with, whether it be through the ingredients on a plate or the features on a printed page or the elements of a communal dining space. It is through these kinds of details that we capture and convey how our team is fascinated by the relationship between people and what they eat.

Our Hours
Thursday — Sunday from 10:00 – 17:00
Breakfast all day. Lunch after 11:30. 

Kitchen closes at 16:00.
Food can be ordered up until then.
Drinks and pastries served until 16:30. 

Our Space
Our daily canteen is a two-floored dining space in Amsterdam. Four days a week, we are open for breakfast and lunch. We also serve an extensive drinks menu, focusing on tea. 

Since May 2021, we have been open in De Baarsjes of Amsterdam. Inside our space, we have a balance between playful moments and mindful pauses. To preserve that atmosphere, we encourage our guests to be offline and present in our space. We do not divulge a wifi password and do not allow the use of laptops. We welcome neighbours and visitors, friends and families of all generations and ages to gather with us. 

The events we host in our canteen are limited to our guest chef series or similar formats through which uncomplicated meals are manifested. These collaborations give us the chance to learn from and with those we hold similar values as.

The atmosphere of our canteen is very much influenced by the songs that are played over the speakers. Our auditory identity should further represent Oficina, rather than individual preferences. We want to be as consistent with this as we are with our other outputs. The list below aims to capture the type of ambiance we aim for in the mornings and afternoons. The music played in the canteen should be similar to the music by these artists. In our Spotify on the iPad, you will find two playlists from which you can start song radios. These playlists are not for being played in full, but rather contain songs through which you can access more algorithmic, relevant recommendations. 

Morning Vibes [Slow Ambient, New Age, Lo-fi Electronic, Avant-Garde]:

Arthur Russell, Nicolaas Jaar, Laraaji, Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Susumu Yokota, Nils Frahm, H Hunt, Jon Hassell, John Cage, Chihei Hatakeyama, Bibio, Teebs, William Basinski

Afternoon Vibes [Post-Modern, Avant-Garde Jazz, Afrobeat, Afro-Funk, Samba] 

Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Makaya McRaven, John Coltrane, Four Tet, Caribou, Romare, Gilberto Gil, Jorge Ben Jor, Fela Kuti, Ebo Taylor, Gil-Scott Heron, Roy Ayers, Alice Coltrane

We refresh our canteen’s food menu every 6 – 8 weeks, a rhythm that is not always in accordance with calendar months. This way, we adapt to the season and work with ingredients that are particular to that time. There are usually four options for breakfast and three options for lunch. 

Our food menu is primarily vegetarian, with the exception of an occasional use of fish. Some of our dishes can be adjusted to accommodate a guests’ dietary preferences. We make an effort to provide two vegan and gluten-free options. If a guest has an allergy or is pregnant, please confirm with the kitchen if certain alterations can be made before registering the order as a ticket. Next to our cookie of the day, we serve a pastry of the day. While the cookie flavour options are fairly consistent, the pastry can vary considerably from day to day. The front of house team should be sure to ask the kitchen team in the morning about what is being served as the pastry that day.

Our drinks menu remains fairly constant. It does not change as frequently as our food menu. While the essence of our drink offerings is tea, we do always provide a range of other drinks, varying in temperature and alcohol content. We serve house-made drinks such as a “Lemonade of the day”, a simple mix of a seasonal syrup and sparkling water, or an “Americano Spritz”, a blend of a natural sparkling white wine and an Italian vermouth made with natural wine, or a “Matcha Beer”, a fusion of a locally-brewed beer with our very own matcha. You can familiarise yourself with our drink recipes on the sheets by the receipt printer. Our simple combinations are meant to emphasise the high-quality ingredients we choose to work with. With a range of categories like beer, cider, mezcal, sake, coffee, tea, and so on, we aim to have a suitable option for everybody.

At Oficina, we concentrate on tea. The acts of making and drinking tea compose the calm rhythm within our canteen. Even when the canteen is bustling, we give time to methods of mixing, stirring, and steeping. We aspire to be especially appreciated for the attention we put towards our care of tea. 

We steep teas that come from various parts of Japan, China and Taiwan. What we serve is only an introduction to all that tea can be. We are fascinated by how different terroirs allow for different methods of cultivation and how a slight variation in those methods can drastically affect flavour profiles. You can learn more about all the teas in our “Drink Details” booklet. Our Japanese teas are especially focused on in the “Tea For Home” catalogue, which was designed for our guests to learn about the teas we sell. We offer 11 Japanese teas that our guests can purchase to take home with them. Not all of these Japanese teas that we sell are on our regular drinks menu, though. This is precisely why we created our tea tasting, in which guests can try a range of three of our Japanese teas. The selection for the tasting rotates every few weeks. You can find the current order listed on a yellow slip in the bundle of Tea Tasting cards, in the cabinet.

Our food design studio conceives productions and develops products. We cater to clients who wish to present a message through gastronomic means. We create refined menus and customised installations for events hosted by various brands or institutions. While we are determining how to display our dishes for these occasions, we are simultaneously deciding the details of the dish itself. When we do these projects, we give as much attention to tastes as we do to sights. Our emphasis on the visual carries over into our branding projects. We design visual identities and strategies for initiatives that work with or adjacent to food. We formulate systems and the means through which those guidelines can be applied. 

While most of our work is commissioned, we also work on projects that are bespoke to Oficina. Our design studio team handles all of Oficina’s digital communications (website, newsletters, social media) and printed matter (menu, publications, posters, packaging design). The studio is also responsible for curating the range of goods in Oficina’s shop. Essentially, our food design studio is responsible for all the means through which Oficina’s philosophy prospers beyond its walls.

We sell food, non-food, tea and tea tools. When a good is purchased at our canteen, staff can retrieve the item from stock in the office in crates with grey labels. If unknown off the top of a team member’s head, prices can be ascertained on price lists adjacent to objects or through Shopify. 

Food
Our food goods are made in-house, made with a similar philosophy as the food on our canteen’s menu. Once a good is produced in the kitchen downstairs, it is enclosed in packaging designed in our studio upstairs. If the supply of a product is running low, please inform the studio team. 

Non-Food
We sell specific objects to accompany one’s dining experiences, some of which guests can become familiar with by dining in our canteen. This consists mostly of various utensils, as well as hemp napkins and candles. This category contains items that were realised with the help of other designers. 

Tea
We sell eleven different teas, all from Japan. Seven of which are green: Sencha Asanoka, Sencha Yabukita, Genmaicha, Kukicha, Matcha, Gyokuro Saemidori, and Tamaryokucha Saemidori. Three of which are roasted: Hojicha, Sannen Bancha and Kamairicha. One of which is black: Tamaryokucha Tsuyuhikari. If a customer wishes to know more about the teas, you may tell them about the teas in person or direct them to read the “Tea for Home” catalogue. If the stock of a type of tea is low, please inform the studio team so they can order and pack more. 

Tea Tools
In this category, we offer an elegant array of tools for preparing matcha and drinking loose leaf tea. These are the same as what we use during service in our canteen.

• Arrive 5 minutes before your shift starts.
• Learn about our various products and taste our dishes when you can. Through first hand experience, you are best able to communicate to the guests what we offer.
• Reservations are announced in the WhatsApp team group chat. Double check this chat before your shift begins.
• Store all the Lindenhoff crates, egg trays, and bottles in one place (outside, on the table) so it’s easy to find when Lindenhoff comes to pick it up.
• Break times: You get a 30-minute break when you work a shift that is 6 – 8 hours long. When working for 8 hours or more, you get a break for 60 minutes, which is split up into two parts, 30 minutes at a time. You do not get a break if you work for less than 6 hours.
• Eating during your break: Order food prior to taking your break. The kitchen will tell you what is available that day for staff lunch. When you are working 6 hours or less, you can still eat before your shift at Oficina. Just make sure to come 30 minutes before your shift.
• When you are sick or unable to work, call Naiara or Zana the day before or in the morning, before 9:00.
• It is not necessary to lock the door of the office if someone is already in there.
• Find the cash container for grocery shopping located in the office on the shelf above the cash box. Always ask for the full receipt that shows what you bought and the taxes. Store the receipt safely in the plastic container where the cash came from.
• All tips are divided amongst the whole team. At the end of the month, you receive your tips in your plastic container above the cash box.
• Clean aprons hang on the coat rack, by the entrance to the office. After wearing an apron and if it is dirty, hang it across from the printer. We run a SEPARATE hand wash program ONLY for aprons.

• If you work for more/less hours than are registered in Sling, please text Zana with the adjustment and correct duration of your shift.
• At the end of the month, always double check your hours.
• The schedule for next month is always posted within the 2nd or 3rd week of the current month.
• Before or on the first day of each month, give your unavailability for the next month so that it can be accounted for as the new schedule is being made.
• Salary payments for each month are always made on the 2nd or 3rd day of the next month.
• Clock-in and -out for the day you work, and for your break.

• Password for Shopify POS app on iPad is 2709.
• All our products are sold through the app.
• Select the goods you would like to sell and add to “Winkelwagen”
• Go to “Winkelwagen” and check-out
• Insert the right total amount on the Lightspeed pin machine and let the guest pay.
• Select the payment method as “Contant.”
• Ask if the guest would like to have the receipt. If so, choose send email and type in email.
• The current stock in this app is always up to date.
• If something is wrong with the stock, ask the studio team. If no one is around, don’t sell it.
• All team members receive a 40% discount on shop goods. You will see the staff discount 40% button in Shopify when opening the app. When selected, the discount gets automatically applied.

• Welcome each guest/party in a friendly way. Let them know that you have seen them. Lead them to a table or communicate an estimated wait time.
• Serve each guest/party water and menu(s) on arrival, if it’s not already on the table. Provide an explanation if they seem new to what we do.
• Always put the correct number of people in Lightspeed.
• Cutlery and napkins are provided with drinks, once food orders are taken. Ask the kitchen which utensils are best for the chosen dish, if unsure.
• For large groups, you can place cutlery and napkins already on the table.
• Keep the metal trays with cutlery and napkins fully stocked.
• No swearing during service or around guests.
• Only open a wine bottle when you are sure that one is not already open.
• In between courses and as soon as a guest/party leaves, remove all dirty utensils/dishes and wipe down the table’s surface. Keep things nice and tidy for the current and next guests.
• When you remove plates, always ask if the guests would like to have a drink. Make sure to tell them about the pastry/cookie of the day!
• Stay sharp and scan all the tables to see how guests are doing.
• Warn all guests that the last order for food is at 16:30, for drinks at 16:45.
• When it’s quiet, do not stand with two people in front of the iPad talking. There is always something to do.
• Before it gets busy and especially for the weekends, you can pre-measure matcha and hojicha in the bowls. Pre-sift matcha in bulk in a small tea canister.
• Extended wine lists are found in the leftmost cabinet on the top shelf.
• Drink recipes can be found on a sheet behind the ticket printer.
• When a wine bottle is empty, take note on the bottle inventory list in the meterkast.
• Tell the kitchen in time when syrups (honey, bergamot, lemonade), hot chocolate and horchata are running low.
• Inform Zana when wine, beers, coffee beans, cocoa nibs, tonics, etc. are running low so more can be ordered.
• Always keep the bar neat and clean, and the tea drip dry.
• No staff drinks on the counter, keep staff drinks in the meterkast.
• Always tell guests what the pastry of the day is to up-sell it.

• We have a no cash policy.
• If a guest pays for their order with a card, but gives a tip in cash, print the receipt and mark on the receipt how much tip was given. This receipt and the cash can be left upstairs in the office at Zana’s desk at the end of the day, with the daily report receipt. For how to print this daily report, see Closing: Front of House on page 46.
• We accept all cards except American Express.
• We offer gift cards, for either dining at our canteen (Offline) or buying goods from our webshop (Online). The possible quantities are €25, €50 and €100.
• If someone has purchased an Offline gift card through our website, this gets recorded in Lightspeed without the first two 00. When you put code in to subtract the gifted amount, make sure to remove the 00’s. Otherwise the code won’t be recognized!
• How to register a new voucher in Lightspeed: Betalen > Voucher, Activeren Heropwaarderen > Add Voucher Number (what is written on the voucher) > Volgende (Insert Amount) > Voeg Toe > Finaliseer.
• How to pay with voucher in Lightspeed: Betalen > Voucher, Betalen met Cadeaubon > Add Voucher Number > Volgende

• Wear professional kitchen shoes.
• Hair should always be tied back.
• Label everything with the name and date.
• If you don’t know how to do something, always ask.
• Always give a dessert spoon/fork with the pastry of the day.
• During service and throughout the day, the kitchen is clean! And so is the floor!
• Rinse everything before bringing it to the dishpit.
• During prep, immediately put dirty things in Remi and keep it running. Avoid piling things up. Don’t put dirty things in the kitchen sink.
• Wash knives, black cutting boards, and pans by hand. Once clean, always completely dry and then put them back in their place.
• Do not place anything on top of the bar counter, close to where guests sit. The bar counter should always be clean for guests. Keep the area with tickets neat.
• Fill the gastronorm (GN) containers with mise en place (MEP) for service. At the end of the day, make sure to refill them for the next day.
• Store large food containers, such as sunflower oil, powdered sugar, and honey, in the shed. Keep a smaller plastic container in the kitchen for service/prep.
• When you have an empty oil can, bring it immediately to the trash disposal.
• For when Lindenhoff arrives: collect all stuff from the table outside.
• Fresh produce is taken out of any plastic packaging and stored in the produce fridge.
• Keep the shed organised and all the food in closed boxes.
• The shed fridge is for produce and catering.
• The kitchen fridges are for MEP.
• The dishpit fridge is for produce/dairy and some MEP.
• Keep track of finished ingredients. Fill it in on our dedicated ordering form. Always send a picture of the ordering list to Naiara after service.
• Always take out spoons from containers after service.

• Sharp knives, black cutting boards, and pans are always cleaned/dried by hand. These items are always stored in the kitchen.
• Organise the dishes on the rack correctly.
• Everyone in the kitchen and front of house should keep Remi running throughout the day.
• During prep, immediately put dirty things in Remi and keep it running. Avoid piling things up. Do not use the kitchen sink to store dirty dishes.
• Throughout the day, also clean the metal countertop and sink to avoid having lots of food scraps in and around the sink. Dishpit should look clean. It represents the way we work in the kitchen, as well.
• Rinse everything, especially dirty plates and bowls, before putting it in Remi.
• Refresh the water in Remi when needed.
• Keep an eye on detergent levels.
• Keep glassware aside on the glass shelf.
• Dirty glassware, which held milk or other fat, and used cutlery should first go in Remi, then it must go in Pamela.
• Use the white cloths only for drying glass and cutlery. The blue checked clothes are for everyday use.
• Every Saturday at the end of the day, put ontkalker (descaling agent) in Remi.
• Every Sunday morning clean and rinse Remi from ontkalker.
• Every Sunday at the end of the day pour vinegar down the sink in the dishpit and the kitchen. Do not run water afterwards, to let this sit overnight.

• Run through the checklist before leaving for the location.
• Use the grey crates and the trolley to carry all the materials and food.
• Label the crates and write down the correct contents. The removable labels can be found in the office in the “Labels” crate. Name and size of the label: Label no. 10307 / 96 x 50,8 mm / repositionable address labels.
• Always bring/wear our aprons to the catering, as well as bin bags.

• Turn on all the lights.
• iPad + pin machine on the counter (keep iPad charged).
• The iPad passcode is 1012.
• Turn on the Flos lamp in the Flos app on iPad.
• Turn on the gas.
• Turn on the dishwashers.
• Terrace tables and chairs outside.
• Remove chairs from the tables. Set the tables.
• Metal tray with 1 water carafe, 6 water glasses and 2 menus on the tables.
• Outside (when it’s dry) 1 menu and 2 water glasses on the tables.
• Play music via Spotify (see page 15 for sonic guidance).
• Prepare the Moccamaster, fill with water, paper filter, and grinded coffee beans.
• Make sparkling water (3x).
• Restock cutlery and napkins, if needed.
• Place cookies in the front with a display pastry.
• Double check if everything is refilled in the fridge.
• Check the quantities of orange and lemon juice and if low, press more before it gets busy.
• Make sure to always have 2 carafes of cold brew coffee and 2 carafes of iced tea ready. When it’s hot outside, always have 4 carafes of iced tea ready. Label everything with name and date.

• Print the daily revenue from the pin machine. Press: 8 and green button > Totalen > Print Icon > Reset totalen
• Make sure there is enough iced tea and cold brew for the following day of service. Restock if necessary!
• Restock products on the shelves, if necessary.
• Make sure everything is clean (bar, dishpit, floors and toilets).
• Bring the trash outside. At the end of every day, bring cardboard too.
• Bring the terrace and traffic cone inside.
• Turn on the laundry when the machine is full. Every Sunday, turn the laundry on even when it’s not full. Otherwise the office will stink!
• Turn off the music.
• Charge the iPad and pin machine / scale in the meterkast.
• Bring the cardboard to the disposal.
• Fold the clean laundry.
• Turn off all the dishwashers .
• Turn all the lights off, including the Flos lamp via the iPad.
• Make sure the gas and extractor are off.
• Check all the doors and windows if they are closed (in kitchen, dish pit, office, tea room).
• The door of the shed should be closed. And make sure the lights are turned off!
• Lock the office door.
• Close and lock the front door.

• Make sure the extractor in the meterkast is on.
• Every one takes only one kitchen towel per day.
• Turn the oven on.
• Turn the salt program on for Remi, if needed.
• Set-up for service.
• Review the MEP list and start from most priority to least.
• Review our cleaning list for that day.
• Bake cookies.
• Prepare a display pastry.

• Turn the oven off to cool. If dirty, turn on the cleaning program.
• Start bringing dirty tools to the dishpit. Rinse first!
• Downsize containers if necessary.
• Store everything in the fridges.
• Clean all the surfaces and fridge doors, oven and stove with Dreft and sponge.
• Dry everything with towels.
• Sweep and mop the floor.
• Check if the dishwasher is cleaned inside and turned off.
• Check if dirty towels are put to wash and the machine is turned on.
• Make sure windows are closed and locked. Especially the garden door!
• Close the shed door.
• Write down the MEP list for the next day.
• If certain ingredients are finished, write them down under “Order List” on the wall, especially if you grabbed the last package of a product.
• Take out all kitchen spoons from containers.
• Check the cleaning tasks for that day and cross off from the weekly cleaning list, once completed.

General

• Metal trays through pamela
• Clean and wipe down all tables and counter surfaces.
• Put the chairs on the tables to vacuum and mop the floors (restaurant, dish pit, restrooms)
• Place leftover cookies in a container and put a date on it.
• Clean, restock, and organise the product shelves

Bar Counter

• Tea-drip
• Kettles
• Milk foamer
• Moccamaster
• Coffee grinder
• Fridge glass, inside and out
• Trash bin
• Matcha whisks and bamboo spoons in 100° coffee cup water

Refill at the end of the day

• Beers / wine / oat milk / syrup
• Cutlery and napkins
• Hot chocolate
• Lemonade
• Iced teas (always 3 carafes, when hot 4)
• Cold brew coffee (always 2, when hot 3)

Restrooms

• Clean all surfaces, including the pot, tap and door handles.
• Empty trash and insert a new bag.
• Restock toilet paper and hand towels, if needed.
• Check if there is enough soap left.

Safe to put in Remi

• Tea pots, pitchers and cups
• Tea-drip
• Whisk holders
• Milk foamer and lid
• Coffee bin strainer and lids
• Trash bucket and lid
• Strainers

Not safe to put in Remi

• Coffee pot
• Aarke water bottles
• Bamboo tea utensils
• Matcha chocolate moulds

Safe to put in Pamela

• All glasses
• Metal trays
• Cutlery for service
• Coffee cups and saucers

Thursday

• Tea caddies and shelves
• Clean mirrors and dust of lamps in restroom
• Clean windows restaurant and entrance door
• Dust of Teti and Muuto lamps
• Charge camera iPad
• Hang camera iPad back

Friday

• Wipe tables with magic sponge 

Saturday

• Bring glass to disposal
• Charge camera front door
• Hang camera front door back

Sunday

• Vacuum the bottom of chair legs
• Bring the big trash outside
• Charge camera iPad
• Hang camera iPad back

• Clean all the surfaces.
• Clean the oven, also on top.
• Clean the stove and surroundings. This especially means the shelf above the stove and the white tiles behind the stove.
• Clean the floor. First vacuum, then mop.
• Wash all the pans and knives by hand.
• Put salt in Remi and run salt program
• Clean rails, trolley and under the oven.

Thursday

• Fill salt in Remi and run salt program
• Clean shed floor
• Organise boxes in the shed
• Make sure all packages are in plastic boxes
• Clean top of the oven and pan shelf
• Clean tiles and floor behind the pastry counter

Friday

• Fill salt in Remi and run salt program
• Organise containers on shelf and clean
• Clean cabinet of plates
• Clean cabinet under sink
• Clean and organise pans and pots under stove
• Clean tiles and floor behind the pastry counter
• Clean top of the oven and pan shelf

Sunday

• Clean all the kitchen fridges (kitchen, dish pit, shed) and freezer from the outside and inside
• Clean the inside oven with the gaspits and gastro trays if needed
• Organise fridges for new service next week
• Clean tiles and floor behind the pastry counter
• Clean top of the oven and pan shelf
• Pour vinegar down the sink in the dish pit and the kitchen

• Take cardboard out every morning before service starts.
• Separate glass and empty bottles in crates.
• Keep the shed organised, out of big packaging.
• Bring the trash from the dishpit and kitchen daily to the trash disposal outside, after every service.
• Separate all oils (sunflower/olive/butter) in the blue bin, in front of the shed.
• All the empty coffee bean buckets from Friedhats are stored in the meterkast. Give them to Friedhats when they come and deliver new coffee on Thursdays.
• If the trash disposal (for restval, papier, glas) outside is full, never put our bag next to it. We can get fined for this! Bring it to the next closest disposal.
• All unwanted glassware (empty bottles/cans or broken items) goes on top of the table outside.

Remi (Dishwasher)

• Press On button. Let the machine warm up.
• There are two different settings, one for a long cycle and one for a shorter cycle. We keep it on the shorter cycle, by pressing the button inward.
• When turning off the machine, clean it. Spray the inside with sink’s moveable hose. Remove the sieve to clean it of the caught particles. Use a small brush to scrub metal grooves. Leave the door open once the machine is clean and off.
• If and when the water gets dirty during service, clean and reset the machine as you would at the end of the day.
• Keep an eye on detergent levels.

Pamela (Glass Cleaner)

• Press On button. Let the machine warm up. Once the light of the button turns green, the machine is at the right temperature and is ready to be used.
• For glasses and metals that are particularly dirty, put them first in Remi. Pamela is especially good for polishing these objects.
• Only use the white rack for wine glasses and metal trays.
• When turning the machine off, make sure to remove the sieve and clean it of the caught particles.
• Keep an eye on detergent levels.

Laundry

• The machine is a washer and dryer in one. For every wash, fill up the cap of the detergent bottle with detergent and pour into the machine. Then press start. When it’s finished, press the dry cleaning program.
• Turn on the laundry when the machine is half full, not more otherwise it doesn’t clean properly.
• Wash program: Normal day-to-day towels = 60° and Hastdroog+
• Hemp napkins + handmade brown aprons = 30° with NO tumble dry, nor dry program. Let them air dry.

Police emergency 112
Police not urgent 09008844

• First Aid Kit can be found in the meterkast.
• Call 112 for emergencies that require an ambulance, the police, or fire department.
• When it is not an emergency but you still need to contact the police, you can call 0900-8844.
• See other necessary phone numbers on the card next to the First Aid Kit.
• Naiara: + 31 6 24 41 55 35
• Zana: +31 6 17 45 78 27
• Quatra (vetput) – 020 260 6060
• Nabil SOSloodgieters (plumber) – 0639396622
• Rhima (remy dishwasher) –  030 2416341
• Vossebeld (pamela dishwasher) – 0546-820202