This week the news broke that there had been a serious incident that took place at Calcot Manor, a high-end hotel in the Cotswolds. A young chef aged 22 had boiling hot butter poured down his trousers resulting in a chef being sacked. Nathan Williams had severe burns and revealed that this was one of many bullying incidents including eating raw meat, being punched and other burns.
It was horrifying to read the way this chef has been treated and very brave of him to bring it to light. Bullying is terrible and no one should have to suffer this daily in their place of work. It is well known throughout the industry that it can be common to play pranks and games on novices but where do you draw the line?
I think gone are the days where it is acceptable for senior chefs to shout, swear and throw pots and pans around the kitchen, no one learns that way, no one learns through fear. I do hope that the young chef involved does go on in the industry and this doesn’t put him off from his chef career. Equally I hope that young chefs reading this story don’t also get put off from this already hard industry which is lacking in young talent. It is quite important I think to distinguish the difference between a joke and bullying and make sure these two things don’t amalgamate. Its also important to make sure that this doesn’t become the norm.
Have you ever felt that you have been on the receiving end of bullying and if you have been how did you deal with it?
https://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Article/2019/07/15/Calcot-Manor-chef-fired-over-bullying-accusations
The availability of relief chefs is very tight, we currently have 87 chefs out working with 22 jobs confirmed for the week so far.
If you have any availability please get in touch.
We have lots of permanent and seasonal jobs to choose from also please visit www.chefsinscotland.co.uk
If you want jobs sent directly to you please sign up to https://www.chefsinscotland.co.uk/content/account/
Here are a few chefs we have out working at the moment
Rosie Robertson is at the Kincraig Castle in Invergordon
Jason Keenan is at Cally Palace in Gatehouse of Fleet
Virginijus Tiskus is at Burts Hotel in Melrose
John Cameron is at Kitchen Brasserie in Inverness
Mike Russell is at The Scores Hotel in St Andrews
Geoffrey Mshila is at The Golf View Hotel in Nairn
Chris Lewis has just finished at Ardanasieg Hotel
Chris Wright is at The Glengarry Castle Hotel
Kevin Pettigrew is at The Black Bull Hotel in Moffat
Stuart Maccoll is at Habitat Café in Aberfeldy
John Taylor is at Killiecrankie Hotel
Colin Thomson is at The Dryfesdale Hotel in Lockerbie
Chris Rush is at The Cabarfeidh Hotel in Stornoway
Lillian Clarkson is at The Links Hotel in Montrose
Andrew Engledow is at The Steam Packet Inn
Thanks to all our relief chefs for your hard work and support 😊
Relief remains tight as expected for the time of year, we have 82 relief chefs out working, we are still managing to get relief chefs booked with 24 so for this week.
After a long busy shift it can be hard to unwind. I would usually arrive home just before 2 and I would often find it hard to go straight to bed even though I was exhausted. Your feet would be throbbing, and your mind would still be buzzing. I found myself not sleeping until around 3am which was not ideal when working the breakfast shift. I found that I wound down better once I had put my phone down and turned off the bright screen. A book or even a bath at that time of the morning often helped me to relax and unwind.
Exercise is proven to be the most effective ways to unwind and let some steam off, a 24 hour gym is always a good idea if you struggle to sleep after a busy shift, if your not working the next day…
What tips can you give others who struggle to unwind after a day/night at work?
Factors to consider when looking for a junior chef
Salaries
Salaries can be variable dependant on level and establishment. As we move further into the season it’s really a chefs market and you need to be competitive with salaries to attract the right candidates. We try and suggest salaries to establishment and try to advise on realistic pay for the chefs to ensure the get the right candidates applying. We are currently seeing salaries of £19,000 per annum plus for commis chefs and from £21,000 per annum for chef de partie. Factors need to be taken into consideration, if some establishments are paying a lower salary this may be because they are offering free accommodation with tv and wi-fi and also full board of meals, so any money made is the chefs to keep. On the other hand, establishments offering a higher salary bracket will often charge for accommodation; the government recommends a charge of £49 per week. A lot of chefs will prefer to be paid by the hour as they will be entitled to be paid for every hour worked as some establishments offering a salary will not pay overtime.
Location
We often find that establishments that are in the more rural areas of Scotland will struggle to get chefs as opposed to those in the central belt. Many chefs do enjoy the outdoors and rural surroundings, but they will often find there is nothing to do on their days off. Central belt jobs are often more attractive as there are usually cities in the surrounding area that they can visit on days off. In the summer the highlands and islands can be a beautiful place to live and work, especially the likes of the Isle of Harris or the Isle of Skye which are usually packed with visiting tourists.
Accommodation
We always advise establishments that offering accommodation will give them the better chance of getting a chef. City centre jobs won’t offer any accommodation which is understandable but for the more rural jobs it is better to offer it. Rural jobs often struggle if they do not provide the accommodation as there isn’t always someone in the area who can commute daily. Offering accommodation will open the pool of chefs a lot more. We always say to establishments that clean; single accommodation must be provided to our relief chefs but on permanent it can be different. It can vary on each establishment; some places will offer a full cottage/ flat or staff accommodation with shared facilities. Accommodation charges depend on the establishment, a lot will offer it as part of the package or some at a small cost.
Hours per week
Full time work is considered anything at 35 hours per week and over. This is where there can be conflict as chefs can often work over their contracted time and can work for less than the national minimum wage when their salary is taken into consideration. We always suggest to establishments that overtime should be paid, or hours can be taken back in lieu. We usually see that hours worked per week are usually 45-50 hours per week but as we all know it can often be a lot more in the peak of the season. Working more than 5 days per week can be very off putting to chefs and we always suggest either a 4- or 5-day working week.
Tips
It is only fair that tips are to be shared out equally amongst both front and back of house. Tips are usually split dependant on how many hours each person works. Many establishments will give tips out at the end of each shift according to who had been working that shift, I personally think this the best way to do it. Many establishments will not offer a bonus scheme, but I had a job last week advertise an available bonus scheme which was only payable after the successful gain of a rosette. Bonus schemes can be very motivating to chefs and if it can be offered then this will always attract candidates.
Jade Porteous
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