A lot of excellent relief chefs this year getting some great feedback.
Paul Crawford started relief work this year in February and has been in work the whole season getting asked to go back and booked in advance.
Allen Jack is working hard and is currently over at The Islay Hotel and has been very accommodating to each client.
Phil Smith is finishing at the Cairndale Hotel where he has been since March this year, good going Phil.
Lillian Clarkson has also had a good season so far working at The Kames Hotel, Kirkcudbright Bay Hotel, Northern Hotel, Lodge at Carfraemill and The Ramnee Hotel.
Alan Baird after staying at The Learney Arms for over 8 months as relief head chef has been working at Auchrannie since June.
Ionel Rizea went to The Palm Court and stayed for 4 months; he then went to the Highlander Inn and is now into his 3rd month at The Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness.
David Ironside has been working most of the season at The Kinloch Hotel on Arran.
Roger Brown has proven he likes Shetland by going over 4 times in the last 2 years, he is back on the mainland and enjoying spending some well-deserved time with his family.
Thanks for all of your hard work.
Availability of chefs 18th August 2015
Working conditions and terms of employment and looking at chef retention is crucial.
The availability of chefs of all levels remains very tight in mid to late August due to a large demand for chefs and not enough good quality chefs to go round. Many chefs are still choosing to work offshore also in preference to working in hotels and restaurants. Many chefs are also choosing to work as relief chefs rather than take permanent positions.
Head Chefs.
There are a good amount of decent candidates for jobs around the central belt, Edinburgh, Glasgow and some in Perthshire.
If you are paying over £28,000 to £30,000 and pay overtime after 48 hours on a pro rata basis you will expect to attract good candidates for interview.
For rural locations, including Aberdeen, good solid chefs are scarce and we advise paying good wages and looking to put in place concise, achievable objective bonus scheme and offer good time off to enable you to retain good chefs.
We would advise to pay upwards of £28,000 - £30,000 and overtime after 48 hours on a pro rata basis and include accommodation as a package. For pubs we would suggest upwards of £26,000 including accommodation at no charge.
We are advising overtime being paid on a pro rata basis for hours worked over 45 or 48.
Head Chef 2AA Rosette we suggest £29,000 to £34,000. 3AA we would suggest £35,0000 to £40,000. Fine dining chefs are often scarce in rural Scotland.
Sous chefs
To get a good sous chef in the central belt we would advise to pay upwards of £22,000 to £27,000 with overtime after 45 to 48 hours on a pro rata basis. This can equate to £9.40 for £22,000 for 45 hours which is on the low side. Skilled chefs are in demand.
The availability sous chefs in rural Scotland is quite tight. There are candidates out there but good ones with stable work histories and relevant recent work references are quite scarce.
To get a good sous chef in the central belt we would advise to pay upwards of £22,000 to £27,000 with overtime after 45 hours on a pro rata basis, sanctioned by management.
For the more rural locations including Borders, Aberdeen and the islands, we would advise more innovative ways of getting chefs by paying an hourly rate of approximately £12-£13.50 per hour with live-in accommodation and one weekend off a month, one evening free a week or working 4 day weeks with longer hour days.
Chef de partie
In the central belt there are lots of bodies in Glasgow and Edinburgh but fewer chefs wanting to go further afield.
To attract good chefs we are suggesting to employers to think outside the box with regards to wages and hours. We are suggesting paying hourly rates of £8 - £11 per hour or at least £18,000 for a 45 hour week which equates to £7.69 an hour which is on the low side. with live-in accommodation and one weekend off a month.
Training in house or on courses can attract chefs, what makes your job stand out to potential employees? In what way can you enhance their quality of life?
Do you have free wifi and good staff accommodation?
Commis chefs
There are some commis chefs looking for work. To get good commis chefs it helps to have a stable team in place where the commis can learn the trade under other skilled chefs. We would suggest paying minimum wage or £7 per hour with live-in accommodation for more rural areas. Offering in house training or getting them on day-release at college will help get chefs to stay.
Relief
Relief can and does change daily although it is generally quite tight and remains a chefs’ market and looks likely to remain a chefs’ market into September.
Availability of chefs 5th August 2015
Working conditions and terms of employment and looking at chef retention is crucial.
The availability of chefs of all levels remains very tight due to a large demand for chefs and not enough good quality chefs to go round. Many chefs are still choosing to work offshore also in preference to working in hotels and restaurants.
Head Chefs.
There are a good amount of decent candidates for jobs around the central belt, Edinburgh, Glasgow and some in Perthshire.
If you are paying over £28,000 to £30,000 and pay overtime after 48 hours on a pro rata basis you will expect to attract good candidates for interview.
For rural locations, including Aberdeen, good solid chefs can be scarce and we advise paying good wages and looking to put in place concise, achievable objective bonus scheme and offer good time off to enable you to retain good chefs.
We would advise to pay upwards of £28,000 - £30,000 and overtime after 48 hours on a pro rata basis and include accommodation as a package. For pubs we would suggest upwards of £26,000 including accommodation at no charge.
Head Chef 2AA Rosette suggest £29,000 to £34,000. 3AA we would suggest £35,0000 to £40,000. Fine dining chefs can be quite scarce in rural Scotland
Sous chefs
To get a good sous chef in the central belt we would advise to pay upwards of £22,000 to £27,000 with overtime after 45 to 48 hours on a pro rata basis. This can equate to £9.40 for £22,000 for 45 hours which is on the low side. Skilled chefs are in demand.
The availability sous chefs in rural Scotland is quite tight. There are candidates out there but good ones with stable work histories and relevant recent work references are quite scarce.
To get a good sous chef in the central belt we would advise to pay upwards of £22,000 to £27,000 with overtime after 45 hours on a pro rata basis, sanctioned by management.
For the more rural locations including Borders, Aberdeen and the islands, we would advise more innovative ways of getting chefs by paying an hourly rate of approximately £12-£13.50 per hour with live-in accommodation and one weekend off a month, one evening free a week or working 4 day weeks with longer hour days.
Chef de partie
In the central belt there are lots of bodies in Glasgow and Edinburgh but fewer chefs wanting to go further afield.
To attract good chefs we are suggesting to employers to think outside the box with regards to wages and hours. We are suggesting upwards of £18,000 for a 45 hour week which equates to £7.69 an hour which is on the low side. with live-in accommodation and one weekend off a month. Or pay an hourly rate of £8 - £11 per hour. Another way you could attract chefs is to offer training or to send them on courses.
Commis chefs
There are some commis chefs looking for work. To get good commis chefs it is important to have a stable team in place where the commis can learn the trade under other skilled chefs. We would suggest paying minimum wage or £7 per hour with live-in accommodation for more rural areas. Offering training or getting them on day-release at college will help get chefs to stay.
Relief
Relief can and does change daily although it is generally quite tight and remains a chefs’ market and looks likely to remain a chefs’ market into September.
Andre Burney is working at The Ardvasar Hotel as Sous Chef along with Alastair Kelly as Head Chef.
Daniel Imbuye is working up in Shetland at the Scalloway Hotel as Chef de Partie for 1 month.
Ben Mailer has done an excellent job on relief working at the Nort Port, Auchrannie, Dryfesdale, Tolbooth Restaurant, Grant Arms and Kirklands Hotel he is now back at The Four Seasons where he has taken the permanent head chef position. All the best Ben.
Scott Macintyre is still working away at The Oban Caledonian Hotel as Sous Chef.
Kirsten Grant finished her extended stint at The Bridge of Orchy Hotel and is now working at The Ballachulish Hotel.
George Taylor worked well at his first relief job at The Isle Ornsay Hotel in Skye and is now working at The Playfair’s Restaurant at the Argowan Hotel where Douglas ‘Denzil’ Gillies is still working.
Also new relief chefs Michael Devlin is working at Auchrannie in the Cruize kitchen and Adam Beckwith is working at Flodigarry Hotel with Head Chef Richard Booth.
Thanks everyone for all your hardwork.
We are almost in to August and are all praying for better weather, it got to be better than June and July.
Jessica is away to Sunny Spain for 2 weeks – Have fun Jessica!!
Glyn Musker is currently working up at The Archiestown Hotel near Aberlour, he also successfully completed 3 months over in the Borders at The Tontine Hotel.
Bobby Ainsworth worked up at Cawdor Tavern in Nairn and is currently working in Ullapool at The Ferry Boat Inn.
Erika Sionis has come back after doing Pastry courses in Italy and is working up in Oban at The Queens Hotel.
Radek Micia was Sous Chef at Burts Hotel for a few years and is now on the relief circuit and worked 5 days at The Links Hotel in Montrose and has now started another stint as sous chef at The Golf View in Nairn.
Lillian Clarkson is enjoying her time at The Lodge at Carfraemill as Sous Chef.
Sam Bernard is into his 3rd week at The Torridon Hotel.
Steve Moffat at Mark Shaw both getting on well at The Tor Na Coille Hotel in Banchory.
Keep up the good work ladies and gents.
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