Jonathan Southcott is the Director at Southcott Catering Ltd which has several Café Ambio locations in the Lake District.

What does your job involve?

Café Ambio is a family-run bespoke chain of cafes in the Lake District and Lancashire. As a company director, along with my brother and parents, we control every aspect of the business, from payroll, marketing, social media, purchasing, menu planning, health and safety, HR etc. and this is all done alongside working in the cafes on a full-time basis. I oversee the front of house department, working closely with the managers to ensure that our brand standard is followed closely. My passion is for coffee, I feel that we offer one of the best cups of coffees in the area!

I drive a Ford Transit Custom

Most memorable meal or favourite food

Noma in Copenhagen

My idea of a great weekend involves…

If I’m not working! I enjoy spending time with my family, exploring the lesser known areas of the Lake District and finding great places to eat. If I get a few hours free, you’ll see me on the golf course. I also enjoy watching live football – I have a season ticket at Old Trafford, so I go there as much as I can.

Biggest inspiration – My parents. Growing up in and around the business they established, and been fortunate enough to join and work in, it has shown me what hard work gets you.

Best advice you’ve ever been given – Never be a busy idiot!

Which sport do you follow and who do you support? I follow football, I unfortunately follow Manchester United – it’s been a tough few years! I also like to keep an eye on what’s happening in Golf, Boxing and Formula 1.

Favourite pub, café or restaurant in Cumbria

Home Ground in Windermere is always a favourite place to visit in the day time. If I am going for an evening meal, the Manor House at Oxen Park is always very good!

Favourite walk in Cumbria

Rydal Caves

Early riser or enjoy a lie-in? I have an 18-month-old son, so I have no choice but to be an early riser.

How important is social media to you and what channels do you use?

Social media is great for us to showpiece our dishes, specials and general area we work. We have noticed over the last couple of years that less and less people phone/email us, we tend to get messages on our social media. Keeping on top of social media, finding the content and responding to messages, is something we feel we can do better at!

Apart from a mobile phone, which piece of technology has improved your life in the last couple of years?

Contactless payments – the introduction of contactless has made service for us much faster. This in turn reduces the size of the queues!