Jobs, Inclusion and Empowerment
McCafe Baristas serve the official coffee for the Australian Paralympic team
16 September 2024
McDonald’s Australia has sent four McCafé baristas more than 34,000 kilometres across the world to make coffee for Aussie athletes, as they competed in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
The expert barista team, trained at the McCafé Barista Academy, served up over 10,000 cups of free coffee to more than 150 Australian athletes and their families, ensuring they got a taste of home with McCafé’s great-quality, barista-made coffee.
McDonald’s conducted an Australia-wide search to find the best McCafé Baristas to deliver the world’s best coffee into the hands of the world’s best athletes. The ‘Takeaway Barista’ team included: Drewe-Lochie McConville, Barista for McDonald's Warwick, Queensland, Wilson Carabeo, Barista for McDonald's South Hedland, Alyssa Stevens and Shayla Nguyen, Baristas for McDonald's Mindarie, Western Australia.
Alyssa Stevens, Barista for McDonald's Mindarie said: “In Australia, we know that getting coffee just the way you like it overseas can be a tall order. It was an honour to serve up our gold standard coffee, fuel our athletes with coffee fit for an Aussie, and cheer them on against the rest of the world as they vied for gold.”
Wilson Carabeo, Barista for McDonald's South Hedland added: “We just can’t believe we were able to be part of this experience, going to Paris and making coffee for the Australian team was undoubtedly a career highlight for us all – once in a lifetime!”
In 2023, McDonald’s Australia signed a three year partnership with Paralympics Australia, highlighting McDonald’s support for nation’s elite Para-athletes and providing better access to sport fo the 20% of Australians who live with a disability.
The partnership builds on McDonald’s Australia’s long-standing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in its restaurants and local communities, and focus on providing opportunities for everyone to reach their full potential – whether that’s in sport, business or any other area they are passionate about.
Learn more about the barista’s experience in Paris in the videos below.
McCafé Takeaway Baristas Episode 1 (youtube.com)
McCafe Takeaway Baristas Episode 2 (youtube.com)
McCafé Takeaway Baristas: Episode 3 (youtube.com)
