apologies, there having been little news posted on the website of late, it has all gone onto facebook.
We are still kept busy here at work with some relief work coming in in dribs and drabs, interviewing chefs and still for the operations manager to work here next year at our offices in Moffat.
Still time for some tapas and wine in nerja in Spain also.
Hopefully, we will have the apartment ready to rent out over in Crocketford by Christmas.
Available for short term of 4 days over Christmas for £250 or £400 for the week.
anybody interested please email me Michael@chefsinscotland.co.uk
Other than that as we are, I will try to get this posted up on a more regular basis or should we just put the news up on facebook? any thoughts.
right, I am interviewing a gentleman in ten minutes who has travelled up from London, so I will get ready for that.
Michael in Moffat
Lovely 2 bedroom Cottage in Crocketford 9 miles from Dumfries.
Lovely golf courses close by and good shopping.
a great place to stay for a break or a holiday.
Central heating, garden, sleeps 4 (1 double and 1 twin)
Living room with log burner, great for cosy nights.
Available for minimum of 3 nights at £150 or for longer £350 per week.
Christmas Week £500.
Interested email Michael@chefsinscotland.co.uk with your dates
payment will be taken in advance.
The winning entry to our Photograph competition, which we have run on facebook over the last week, is by Richard Massey, the Head Chef at The 3AA Rosette Ullinish Country Lodge on the beautiful island of Skye.
www.theisleofskye.co.uk
Richard is donating the £50 for winning the competition to Skye and Lochalsh Mental Health Association.
The photo was taken in April this year when on a day off, driving round Skye.
“I took the photos just to show how beautiful this island is and hopefully to get them out there so we can get more people to visit. It shows two different seasons with a beautiful blue sky and light snow fall on the mountain”
Good words Richard and well done.
Friday 25th of October
Two months shy of Christmas the demand for good chefs remains constant. We are enjoying our busiest year since 2008, our last full year on Skye, just before our move to Moffat.
I am concerned that the demand for chefs, particularly on relief and for head and sous chefs for rural parts of Scotland, in 2014 will exceed the supply.
Tourism in Scotland is enjoying resurgence, most hoteliers that I speak too are saying how the season is going on longer and numbers are remaining high. With the Commonwealth Games hitting Glasgow followed by The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September, It looks increasingly likely that the shortage of chefs will be pronounced from May 2014 through to November 2014.
I am off to the south of Spain in late November for a few days and perhaps I should think about placing some adverts and interviewing and recruiting for chefs to come and work in Scotland. Perhaps, I can find an agency to deal with already in Spain.
For relief chefs in 2014, I expect the rates to rise.
Longer Term
We are still seeing requests from established companies, many of them large concerns with shareholders and available to buy on Uk stock exchanges, for junior chefs who are expected to work up to 60 hours per week for a wage of £16,000 or so.
Group financial controllers will see the wages ratios on their analysis and be pleased.
Does this make the industry a long term attractive career? Working off-shore, as many good Scottish based chefs have chosen to, provides a good wage and a three week on, three week off system. Can Scottish Hospitality learn anything from this system? Can it afford to? Can it afford not to? What are Scottish Tourism leaders and politicians doing about these challenges facing our industry?
Out and About
I am writing this on my rota day off from over in the Stewartry in Dumfries-shire, in between defrosting a fridge and listening to Radio 2 with a cup of tea.
Number 1, Paul Waters, was in past for a brief visit on Wednesday afternoon before starting at Auchencastle for a stint. We chatted and stuck coloured pins up on the map of Scotland to indicate where we have relief placements that we are still charging for (up to 8 weeks within a nine month period of day one of employment)
Some four or so up on Shetland where Michael Njoroge and Roger Brown are now at The Queens in Lerwick. Roger, himself, popped in on his way up on Wednesday for a catch up. Roger has a couple of lovely children and is working away, two months on Shetland. Michael Njoroge (the N is silent) himself a very staunch family man, is likewise up for a two month stint on Shetland.
Denzil Gillies is into his fifth week at The Shetland Hotel. The Care homes in Lanarkshire not having materialised just yet.
Who else on Shetland? Billy Steel, Billy Gibson and I am sure a few more.
Perhaps 20 or so in Aberdeenshire. Frank McDonald, John Graham and a couple of others working at Palm Court with Sebastian Schoeder (spelling and not at my computer)
We joke often about www.chefsinbanchory.co.uk and yes plenty of chefs working away, Steve Cameron, Michael Hobbins, Paddy Farren, some more also. I pushed on a bit with head chef recruitment and will hopefully make some progress in the coming week.
Again, four or so in Dumfriesshire. One at Springkell, one at Auchencastle.
Not so many chefs working on the West coast, a few up in Torridon and a couple over on Mull.
Plenty of permanent positions which we are trying to recruit for and a huge amount of adverts going on the new website which is going well.
OK, back to get the fridge cleaned and the floor mopped, then maybe off to the gym in Castle Douglas.
Many thanks for your continued support and patience
Michael, somewhere in Dumfriesshire.
Tuesday 16th October 2013
Times passes.
We held the tenth annual golf competition on Saturday past, sponsored by Chefs In Scotland. The weather stayed dry for perhaps the 4th year on the trot and I think that a good day was had by all the sixteen participants. A mixture of chefs, members at The Moffat Golf Club and assorted friends.
Winners were as last year, Ian Paul and Stuart Yeamans. The local Limetree restaurant owner, Rob Ash, was good enough to supply some nice wine for winners of the longest drive (Colin Fraser again) and Stuart Yeamans, who playing off 20, had a great day out.
We supped some beer and played some pool but no fights broke out this year and no cups were reported missing.
OK
We are a chef recruitment company and not a forum for my stories about my middle aged golfing prowess or lack of.
Out and About
Hot on the tails of all the minions of cyber recruiters who now exist on facebook, we have put up a Chefs In Scotland group which is so new (yesterday) that it doesn’t have a logo up yet, (job for the graduate) https://www.facebook.com/groups/350208565115100/
We will be delighted to take on new members and to see familiar faces.
Right, to the point:
Relief work has eased off a little this week as would be expected as the autumn leaves turn brown.
We can still take on new people for relief, perhaps those who have finished up a seasonal job at a west coast golf club or the like. We will be offering work to those ladies and men who have been on our books the longest though.
Kevin Eassingwood got on well at the Classroom in Nairn as did Mark Murray who has taken a job on trial. Feedback was excellent.
Jason Keenan from Kirkcudbright, is a new name and his first outing via us is up in Montrose at the Links hotel with the super duper kitchen range, working alongside Lillian Clarkson who will be passing on the stories of life on the circuit. Many thanks Jason and hopefully, we can get you a few new jobs.
It has been brought to my attention that sometimes, it says “paid weekly” on a relief confirmation and it turns out that payment is weekly in arrears. We are looking into ways of avoiding this as the chef should be paid for work done promptly.
Kenneth Black received an all excellent reference from Inverurie up in Aberdeenshire and we wish Kenneth the very best for his trial for a permanent job this week and would like to thank you for your relief work over the last couple of months, leaving with grade enhanced.
Michael Hobbins, who we have dealt with many times over the years is on his first or perhaps second job via us on relief, this one is up in Banchory at Tor Na Coille and feedback is excellent from Phillip, the General Manager, as I would expect, many thanks Michael.
Up in Shetland
Well up in Shetland Denzil Gillies is still working away at the Shetland hotel (C IS carehomes has yet to make a strong breakthrough in the central belt) Many thanks Denzil.
I await the invite to the wedding from Billy Gibson who is back at Saxa Vord and engaged into the bargain. I did have a wee dram with your sparring partner Bruce Robertson at Sligachan a week past Saturday when up for the 100th anniversary of the hotel being owned by the Campbell family, an excellent buffet as well.
Ian McGhie has taken a full time position at The Classroom after being up there on relief, a good placement having got Ian back via word of mouth.
Peter Snelgar took on 3 relief jobs via us this summer, at Burts Hotel in Melrose, at Habitat Café in Aberfeldy and then a month at Darroch Learg in Ballater. After a six year placement for permanent position at Dryburgh Abbey, he is now a successful relief chef to go with his excellent permanent pedigree. All the best with the new job Peter and thanks again.
We are only as good as the chefs that we place and trial and error over the last fifteen years has enabled us to make many good placements throughout Scotland.
OK, on that cheerful note, I am going to post this up and move on.
A few interviews to be arranged and still some work to be done, as ever.
Many thanks for your continued support and patience
Michael
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