Head chefs
If paying good money and in a central location such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen and Perth the availability of head chefs is good, basically, the more central and the larger local population the better availability.
What is good money for a head chef? This can vary from a small pub to a large five star or 3AA Rosette Hotel and can be anything from £14 per hour for a one-man job cooking simple food to £45,000 and upwards.
For a standard hotel job we would suggest in the region £35,000+ with overtime paid pro rata over 45 to 48 hours sanctioned by management.
Bonus schemes always help and can be based on getting a gross profit margin of over say 65 to 70% and it is always advisable stressing in advance how often the bonus is paid and what the exact criteria are. Other bonuses may be based on increase in sales. Keeping wages ratio down and helping to achieve certain net profits subject to maintaining quality of food, kitchen cleanliness and staff retention.
In more rural Scotland it is harder to get and retain chefs and often accommodation should be offered to attract suitable candidates.
Sous chefs
The availability of sous chefs in rural Scotland is ok as we move into the end of the season. Sometimes, a mature former head chef will be happy to take a step back to work alongside head chef.
In more central Scotland, there are a few candidates about and if paying decent money (i.e. upwards of £26,000 or £12-13 per hour) and offering good working conditions there is no reason why you cannot keep a good sous chef with a stable track record.
In rural Scotland, there can be a need to think outside of the box to retain and attract good sous chef candidates and many establishments find it easier to take on relief chefs for the season.
Chef de parties
Availability is ok in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the central belt.
In rural Scotland with accommodation there are fewer candidates, but you will get applicants if wages are decent, suggesting £10 to £12 per hour or a salary of between £20,000 - £24,000. The more money you can pay the better the availability of chefs is.
For chef de partie jobs it is a chef market.
Commis chefs
There are usually a few candidates available centrally or further afield if offering accommodation.
Pastry Chefs: this is quite a specialist position and there are often a couple of specialised pastry chefs looking, not always though.
Enclosed link to minimum wages.
www.minimum-wage.co.uk/
Availability of Relief Chefs changes, and we can advise daily. The rates of pay are £13 to £17 per hour according to the position.
We have 75 chefs out working, this is up on last year by 7 chefs, 27 jobs confirmed this week and for the month we have 105 chefs confirmed. These are brilliant statistics!!!
We have been getting excellent feedback from establishments, which we love 😊
We are still meeting relief/permanent chefs here in Moffat, if you want to come and discuss work please get in touch for our availability.
Relief chefs out working
Dale Paton is finishing up at the Mackays Hotel this weekend
Mark Carswell is at The Restoration Yard and has found a permanent job local (thanks for all your hard-work Mark)
Scott Bolton is at The Coul House Hotel getting on very well and is there until mid-November
Ross Hunter is up on the Isle of Skye at Cuillin Hills Hotel as relief chef de partie
Lillian Clarkson is back with Franc at the Links Hotel in Montrose
Callum MacMichael is at the Cross Keys Hotel in Kelso and has been promoted to Sous Chef
David Jones is still working close to home with HF Holidays in Peveril on the Peak
Jason Paxton and David Bedo are both a the Nethy Bridge Hotel
Ignas Narijauskas is in demand and is back helping at Trump International and has then been asked to go back to Ythanview Hotel
We met John Pickering last week and he was back down helping at Calvert Trust in Kielder
Sarah Pozzi is finishing up this weekend at The Milton Inn in Monifieth
Loads more chefs I could mention but better go and get more of you out working.
onRequest: f
Another week in the Chefs In Scotland office…
A new and challenging week for myself as I learn all about relief!
With guidance from both Johanna and Jessica, I am learning to do up relief confirmations and will be learning about confirming jobs with chefs and establishments. I am looking forward to my second Saturday in the office this weekend where I will deal with relief more hands on.
I think with every job you take on you are always learning something new every day you are there. Do any of you chefs still learn on the job? If so, what is the newest thing you have learned?
Jade Porteous
We still have 80 chefs out working all over Scotland, with 19 confirmed so far this week with lots more in the pipeline.
We are still meeting relief chefs and permanent chefs here in Moffat if you want to pop down for a chat to discuss work please get in touch to check our availability.
We are off out tonight for a staff meal to The Willows in Dumfries 😊
Relief chef availability is still tight but looking to ease off at the beginning of October. If you have any availability please can you get in touch.
A few chefs have got back with their availability for over the festive period, got my first relief job confirmed for New Year. Double time is payable on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Relief chefs we got booked at the start of September
Kai Stutzkeitz at Oban Bay Hotel as sous chef
Richard Clark at The Boat Inn in Aboyne as sous chef
Jason Paxton at The Nethy Bridge Hotel as sous chef
Lillian Clarkson at The Cove Bay Hotel as sous chef
George McCallum at The Grant Arms Hotel as chef de partie
Marc Taylor at The Scalloway Hotel as chef de partie
David Bedo at The Nethy Bridge Hotel as chef de partie
Peter Norrie at The Chirnside Hall as sole chef
John Bridgeford at Fonab Castle as chef de partie
Stuart Gibson at Boat Inn in Aboyne as sous chef
Chris Heraty at Glenburn Hotel as chef de partie
Johan Sikkema at Cawdor Tavern as chef de partie
Stuart MacColl at Oban Bay Hotel as sous chef
Gabiele Dianette at Islay Hotel as sous chef
Gavin Mitchell at Buccleuch and Queesbarry Hotel as sous chef
Ally Elder at The Castle Hotel in Huntly as sous chef
Glyn Musker at Killiecrankie Hotel as chef de partie
Philippe Alamichel at The Winking Owl as sou chef
Jamie Mcfadyen at Dryfesdale Hotel as sous chef
Graham Mcleish at Buccleuch and Queesbarry Hotel as sous chef
Alan Kaye at Kames Hotel as sous chef
David Maxwell at Kingsmills Hotel as chef de partie
Mark Carswell at The Restoration Yard as head chef
Chris Roberti at Kinlochewe Hotel as head chef
Chris Wright at Hotel Eilean Iarman as chef de partie
Sebastian Luzszynski at Ballachulish Hotel as chef de partie
And Ally Brown as Colonsay Hotel as head chef
Thanks everyone for all your hard work and nk == null) new
It is well known that a person who is appreciated in their job will go the extra mile by either coming in a bit earlier or working a bit later if needed to get the job done. In the hospitality industry this is something that chefs, me included in the past, are required to do all the time.
Is extra appreciation required for going the extra mile or is that just part of doing a job well done?
Richard Branson who is a well-known entrepreneur with very successful businesses says that if you look after your staff they will look after your customers. Happy staff=happy customers. Does feeling underappreciated in the work place make you less likely to go the extra mile and to just do the bare minimum?
We try and make sure that hoteliers and restaurant owners are aware that chefs are looking for either an hourly rate or overtime payable after the contracted number of hours is worked. We find that chefs are happy to work the extra hours if required if they are being paid for it, which is fair right? However sometimes this isn’t always the case, we find that sometimes it is still presumed to be ‘the industry’ which is frustrating.
Would you prefer to be remunerated for extra hard work or is it things like an odd weekend off, early finish or a good Christmas party that makes you feel appreciated?
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