The Absolute Jaffa estate employs specialists across fifteen disciplines. Some have been here for decades. Some arrived last season and show no signs of leaving. All of them understand, without needing to be told, that the fruit comes first, the cricket comes second, and everything else can wait until after tea.
We do not hold interviews. People tend to arrive at the grove when they are needed, usually during harvest, and stay because they cannot think of a good reason not to.
Cultivation, harvest, and the general wellbeing of the trees.
Fifth-generation custodian. Maintains that the fruit responds to commentary. Delays harvest if the light is good. Believes Ebony Rainford-Brent produces the sweetest crop and that this is not a coincidence.
Has never been wrong. Not once. The grove's most reliable pair of hands, and nobody is close.
Manages logistics from the Lower Orchard to the packing shed. Owns a clipboard he has never been seen writing on. Refuses to go anywhere without it.
Pitch maintenance, boundary upkeep, and estate presentation.
Keeps the pitch, outfield, and boundary in order. Once turned away a delivery driver for inappropriate footwear near the square. Has opinions about what people wear on his ground.
Maintains the practice oval. Quieter than his colleague on the main ground, though no less particular. Keeps a soil moisture log going back 23 years and reads it for pleasure.
Hospitality, provisions, and the important business of tea.
Believes the decline of the traditional cricket tea is a civilisational issue and has written about it at length. Makes a marmalade people travel considerable distances for. Will not disclose the recipe, the method, or even the variety of fruit.
Oversees the Members' Enclosure. Knows every member by name and preferred drink. Has never rushed anyone. The pavilion clock has run four minutes slow since 1962 and he sees no reason to interfere.
Wine, pressing, and the more experimental side of the grove's output.
Trained in Georgian winemaking. Brought back a conviction that skin-contact is the only honest way to work with citrus. Experimenting with cricket-ball aged varietals. The cellar smells better since she arrived.
Arrived as a mechanical engineer and stayed because the machines are more interesting. Maintains the Victorian press with a devotion that borders on the romantic. Nobody else is allowed to touch it.
Administration, correspondence, and the careful management of not explaining things.
A hereditary position within the Jaffa family. The current holder prefers not to be named in public directories. Correspondence may be directed to the Estate Office.
Has never reported an incident. We are not entirely sure what he does during his rounds, though the trees look noticeably calmer in the morning. Communicates exclusively via handwritten notes on the Pavilion noticeboard.
Holds no formal title but attends all departmental meetings. Leaves the orchard whenever Tufnell is on air. Named after the batsman, not the verb, though he does both.
The estate also employs a Head Sommelier, a Cellar Master, and various seasonal staff during harvest.
If you believe you belong at the grove, we suggest you simply turn up during harvest. That is how most of us got here.