1 week until Christmas (my birthday the big 30!!) I hope everyone is organised and getting into the spirit. CIS team are off out tonight for our Christmas meal at The Balmoral Hotel in Moffat. I will be finishing for the Christmas holidays from tonight and back on the 5th of January.
There is still good availability for relief chefs for over Christmas and New Year.
Relief will be quieter in January and February as expected for the time of year.
We are happy to look at new relief chef from March/April 2016 onwards.
We would ideally like to meet all relief chefs at our office in Moffat.
For all new chefs we need an up to date CV with contactable work references we then give you a call to register you.
We all wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year.
So here it is the week before Christmas and I am sure all our chefs are very busy working. Michael is just back from Spain with Bentley the Basset-Hound who seems to have enjoyed himself. It is like Bentley never left and he is already settled asleep on the office floor.
Johanna is off from tomorrow on her well-deserved Christmas holidays and Chefs In Scotland we will be celebrating Christmas tomorrow night at our works do.
This week, although much warmer, it is certainly starting to feel more festive about the town with all the Christmas lights up and lots of Christmas cards coming through the post from our chefs. Thank you to all who has sent cards.
Chefs In Scotland Christmas opening times will be as follows:
Monday 21st December: 9-5pm
Tuesday 22nd December: 9-5pm
Wednesday 23rd December: 9-5pm
Thursday 24th December: Closed
Friday 25th December: Closed
Saturday 26th December: Closed
Monday 28th December: 9-5pm
Tuesday 29th December: 9-5pm
Wednesday 30th December: 9-5pm
Thursday 31st December: Closed
Friday 1st January: Closed
Saturday 2nd January: Closed
Monday 4th January: Open as usual
Chef recruitment is keeping busy with plenty of CVs this week with jobs starting in the New Year. So if you are looking for a new challenge please get in touch with your up-to-date CV and we will see what jobs you would be relevant for. Lots of enquiries and adverts for jobs starting in January, February and March 2016 also.
Thanks for all your hard work and all the best!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2016
From Michael, Johanna, Jessica and Bentley.
We have good availability still for over the festive period this will change however on the run up to Christmas and New year.
Still out working is Stuart MacColl down in Dumfries at The Moraig Hotel, Victor Garcia at Thainstone Events, Lillian Clarkson at The Links Hotel, Graham Smith at The Moorings in Fort William, Mark Murray at The Kirklands Hotel in Kinross, Ionel Rizea and Ryan Williamson at Kastille in Turriff, Alan Baird at Apex Hotel in Dundee, Don Craig, John Ferguson and Mark Bellingham over in Shetland, Sara Jayne Moofat at Jamie Atkinson at The Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness, Martin Nel is working close to home at the Chimney House Hotel in Sandbach, Jonny Lewis is working at the Taybank and there are still many more out working.
David Ironside has won a week at CIS Garden Apartment in Spain next year.
Thanks for everyone’s hard work and commitment to CIS this year it is very much appreciated.
It is nearly two weeks until Christmas and the weather is certainly grim. A lot of shops, houses and roads have been damaged during storm Desmond which hit last week. The weather doesn’t show any sign of breaking with black clouds hanging heavy over the Moffat hills as I look out of the office window. Hopefully this weather will not affect the upcoming festive season for all our hard-working chefs out there. Drive safe and hopefully this weather hasn’t affected any of the hotels and restaurants too badly.
This week at Chefs In Scotland we have been busy making placements all over Scotland including Port Appin, Inverness, Isle of Skye, Fort William and over in the Borders. Most of these placements are starting at the end of December and into the New Year 2016 and it is hard to believe that will take me into my 9th month of working here. So far for me the most rewarding thing about working at Chefs In Scotland is making the permanent placements as it is nice to have a part in the career choices that Chefs make.
Lots of establishments are already looking for permanent staff for January, February and even March 2016. So if you are looking for a change in the New Year please get in touch and we can have a look and see what jobs would be relevant to you.
For now it is time for another search on the database for positions that have recently been registered to get those ever important permanent placements.
Jessica
Head chefs
To attract a good quality of head chefs in the central belt, including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perthshire suggest paying in the region of £28,000 – £30,000 live-out with overtime paid after 48 hours.
For more rural areas of Scotland including Aberdeen suggest paying a minimum of £30,000 with live in accommodation at no charge (or minimal charge) and overtime after 48 hours. Also suggest putting concise, achievable bonuses in place. If you can do this you should expect to attract a number of relevant candidates.
For 2-3AA- Rosette chefs suggest paying £30-40,000 with live-in option and overtime after 48 hours, this should attract stable and good quality candidates.
For pub chefs suggest paying at least £26,000 depending on location with live-in option available.
Sous chefs
Availability of sous chefs in central belt is good. If you are in a central location such as Glasgow or Edinburgh and you pay an hourly rate of £11-13 per hour or £22,000 with overtime after 48 hours you will attract a number of candidates.
For 2-3AAR suggest paying £24-30,000 with live in charged at a minimal rate, especially for rural areas including Aberdeenshire.
Chef de partie
The availability of chef de parties for central areas such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth is good. Suggest paying an hourly rate of £9-11 per hour paid weekly to attract good candidates.
To attract chef de parties for more rural locations suggest having live-in accommodation and charge a minimal rate or free. Ideally Wi-Fi and TV will be available and meals whilst on duty. Suggest also to look at being more innovative with time off such as one weekend off per month and three nights off per week.
Good quality Training systems provided can also help as well as day release for college also.
Commis chef
Availability of commis chefs is reasonably good if there are good quality training and systems in place. Suggest paying minimum wage which is £6.70 if the chef is over 21 and £5.30 if they are over 18. Or put in a salary in of between £13,500 and £15,000 with accommodation to be charged at a minimal rate or free.
Relief chefs
The availability of relief chefs is good at this time of this will remain. Hourly rates of pay apply with relief from £12 - £16 per hour, clean single accommodation at no charge and return travelling expenses subject to completing the agreed stint.
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