in CONNECT | 12 May 2016

Jane King

 

 

When Jane King left Auckland, New Zealand, she had no idea that she would end up making superfood smoothies at an organic raw foods and juice bar in Amsterdam. Like many Australians and New Zealanders, Jane planned to spend a year abroad working in advertising in London. After visiting Amsterdam during a two month European backpacking trip, she fell in love with the city, its buildings, the history, the friendly people, and just the overall organic-ness of it and decided that it was where she wanted to live.

 

On one of her many bus trips to Amsterdam from London to arrange her visa, Jane walked past the Herengracht store and saw that we were looking for team members, she decided to go for it and applied. After a Skype interview, during which she was invited for a trial shift, Jane packed up all her stuff, hopped on a bus and made the 11 hour trek to Amsterdam. Luckily for her (and for us!) she got the job and she's been with us making delicious smoothies ever since.

 

 

Two weeks into the job, Jane decided that she wanted to be with us for the duration of her year abroad, something she initially intended to do for a little while while she looked for a job in advertising. She found that working for the Juicery wasn’t as emotionally draining as advertising and three months into it, she started adopting the lifestyle. She started seeing how fun and easy healthy eating is and it opened her eyes and made her more aware of what she was putting into her body. And her knowledge came in handy when two people near and dear to her got diagnosed with cancer. She was able to tell them about superfoods and clean eating and the benefits of cutting out food like meat and dairy. She also recognised that sending someone undergoing chemotherapy a box of fresh coconuts was way better and way more thoughtful than sending them flowers or a card and was able to be there for her loved ones while being thousands of miles away.

 

Q: What's your favourite memory (thus far) of working at TCPJ?
A: Definitely Tiffany and I dancing in the kitchen or summer time when the sun starts shining in the windows at the Willemsparkweg store and the entire vibe just changes.

 

Q: What's your least favourite memory of working at TCPJ?
A: Having to crack open over 100 coconuts on the day that both the Lab and the Herengracht store opened! 

 

Q: What's your favourite TCPJ product? 
A: The Glow.

 

Q: What's your favourite superfood
A: Chia seeds! I love the texture. 

 

Q: How do you unwind after a long day at work?
A: Eating avocado on toast and watching modern family or lying down in museumplein or reading and drinking coffee at my favourite cafe shop Back to Black. 

 

Q: What is your ultimate goal in life?
A: I want to be someone who can help young professionals. I want to mentor, guide, influence and give them opportunities like the ones I was offered.

 

Q: What is most important to you? 
Family, friends, and food! 

 

The time is almost near for Jane to leave us and go back to New Zealand but during her time here, she has become a truly invaluable member of our team and we really don’t know what we’re going to do when she’s gone.