We have 76 relief chefs out working mostly in Scotland and with a few in the north of England.
Head chefs
There are head chef candidates in central Scotland if paying good money in excess of £28,000 and upwards for head chef jobs.
In rural Scotland including Inverness and all the highlands and islands, there are a few head chefs and we advise offering accommodation with permanent head chef jobs to attract candidates. Otherwise you may have to wait some time until a relevant local candidate becomes available.
In rural Scotland and particular 2AA Rosette country house hotels relevant candidates are scarce. Skye, Shetland Islands and rural Argyll there are candidates if paying good money (about £35,000 for 2AA Rosette head chef)
Suggest paying £28,000 upwards to £40,000 according to requirements and demands of the job. Ideally we advise for a five day week and over-time paid on a pro rata basis for extra days worked and for hours in excess of 48 on a pro rata basis.
Northumberland, Borders, Cumbria, Aberdeenshire, Dundee and East coast, and Perthshire there are quite a few Head Chefs registered.
The more central, the more candidates you will expect to get and the more rural, the harder it can get.
With all the social media currently available, many chefs are becoming very savvy about where they wish to work and establishments with records of poor chef retention may find it harder to attract good quality permanent candidates. Scotland is quite a small country.
For seasonal head chefs advise paying an hourly rate of pay of £14-£16 per hour with accommodation provided depending on location. This will attract candidates which may be of mixed quality.
Sous chefs
If it is a live in position for 4 star hotel suggest paying £25,000 to £30,000.
In central areas such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Stirling can try live-out and there are a few relevant chefs. In rural Scotland, it can be harder to get candidates and there are very few candidates available depending on the package in place.
2AA Rosettes there are very few available. Suggest wages of £25,000 - £28,000 upwards to £30,000 for 3AA Rosette sous chef.
A good way to attract candidates is to pay hourly rates for every hour worked by chefs. For sous chefs suggest £12 to £14 per hour this will help to attract and retain good candidates. If paying salaried, we suggest five day week with overtime pro rata over 48 hours.
Chef de parties
Availability is ok in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perthshire and central belt. Quality can be mixed. In rural Scotland with accommodation there are a few candidates if wages are decent, suggesting £9 to £10 per hour.
The availability of chefs who are looking for more rural jobs such as Fort William, Invernesshire and West Coast is poor although there may be some chefs looking for live in accommodation that may be happy to relocate.
If paying by salary £19,000 for a 45 hour week works out £8.11 an hour which is on the low side. Suggest paying up to £22,000 or hourly rate £9.00 - £11 per hour with live in accommodation at a small charge. We would hope you will get decent candidates with this.
Commis chefs
Very few bodies available. Enclosed link to minimum wages.
Availability of Relief Chefs changes daily and we can advise.
Since 2001 there have been 5 general elections in the UK including the one last week.
The results have been as follows.
2001 Labour 40.7%, conservative 31.7% Lib Dem 18.3% - Tony Blair
2005 Labour 35.2%, conservative 32.4% Lib Dem 22% - Tony Blair and Gordon Brown
2010 Labour 29%, conservative 36.1% Lib Dem 23% - David Cameron
2015 Labour 30.4%, conservative 36.9% Lib Dem 7.9% - David Cameron then Theresa May in 2016
Expectations from relief chefs
1. Must complete required stint
2. Jump into the job whatever the situation.
3. If there is an issue with any job please speak to line manager first then refer to CIS to see if we can resolve.
4. We expect you to be punctual for all relief jobs booked.
5. Clean whites and knives.
6. Accommodation that is provided should be looked after and left as found.
7. Sobriety Do not drink any alcohol during working hours, and please drink responsibly after shift or on time off. We do expect you to be an ambassador for CIS and all your fellow relief chefs.
8. We ask for help and loyalty from all relief chefs
9. Holidays – Ideally holidays will be taken out of season (November, January and February) in season we would suggest take up to a maximum of 4 weeks.
10. Flexibility on area and position.
11. Mobile phones – to be switched off during working hours. You can check when you are on your break.
Expectations to the chef.
1. Clear concise information is given to the chef. How many rooms? Style of menu? Covers? Accommodation – what is it? Pay frequency and on which day? Start date and time? What are the shifts? Will you get meals on duty? We stipulate min 40 hours per week over 5 days or 8 hours per day if 4 days or less.
2. Clean single accommodation is to be provided. What it is? How many people sharing with? Where is the accommodation? Tv wifi?
3. We suggest you have a supply of P46 and timesheets which we can pass over to you.
4. We will give guidance on chefs not paid issues 1. Call the establishment 2. Write to the establishment 3. Contact ACAS Tel: 0300 123 1100
5. For good loyal chefs we will try our best and keep you in work all year round.
6. Happy to undertake getting a Disclosure Scotland.
7. Ideally you will be able to come and meet at our office in Moffat.
Chefs In Scotland Limited is pleased to the purchase of the premises at 8 Well Street in Lockerbie.
We expect the handover date to be the 1st of August, our offer has been accepted and our lawyer is completing the transaction.
8 Well Street has been used as a Painter and Decorators Workshop for the last 40 odd years since before I moved to Lockerbie as a young boy in 1975.
We are calling the boutique brewery Galldachd na h-Alba Brewery which translates as Lowlands of Scotland Brewery.
Initially, we plan to make one craft beer and a high end gin.
We are planning to start production in early 2018.
We are recruiting a brewer and if anyone would like to express an interest in the position please email me
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