Newspage 24th January 2018
I doubt that I am alone in thinking where have the last 20 years gone!
It is good that Johanna, Jessica and Tom in the office are still young and can keep in touch with the rapidly changing world whilst I cling to our website and Facebook page, never having managed to quite get to grips with Twitter, let alone Instagram and snapchat (spelling!)
I do not know how this year is going to pan out in the CIS offices here in Moffat.
There is much more competition than there was back at the turn of the millennium when I was a fledgling chef recruiter and there were large agencies such as Stafffinders, Reed and Berkeley Scott.
They also traditionally charged percentages for placements, anything from 8.75% up to 20%.
Dee Cooper gave out phone numbers and charged £30 a pop.
Brian Meechan sent out chefs from Clarke Staff Agency and it was a take it or leave it situation.
We have been fortunate to have kept going so long in what is becoming a more and more competitive market. I am quite confident that our relief database of chefs and our permanent database have more information on them than most and perhaps all other agencies.
We actually had our most ever adverts on our website in 2017, over 1000. So far this year they are holding up also.
Since 2013 when we committed to improvements in technology and tried to commit to more in-house training, both turnover and net profit have increased which allows us to diversity into property and this year into Lowland Brewery, down in Lockerbie.
Let’s see how this year pans out.
I am not hands on in the CIS office anymore and have not been for over a year.
One of the things that has saddened me has been the premature death of so many chefs over the years. Many who we met or became friends with such as fellow Aberdonian Stuart Taylor, Tam Dennet who was just in his early sixties and last year it was sad to hear about the early passing away of Paul Burns who had been one of Scotland’s best known chefs for many years.
There is definitely a correlation between working as a chef and poor life expectancy.
On relief, there are quite a few decent, reliable and hard working chefs who now find themselves in their sixties and they continue to pitch up and graft away as their knees begin to give way. I do not know how that story ends.
At the other extreme, there are many young chefs coming into the industry and gaining great experience in some of Scotland’s many quality hotels.
Some of the hotels and restaurants retention levels leave a bit to be desired, although many are now forward thinking and imaginative in their approach to employee retention.
We will have a busy year here at Chefs In Scotland. I hope that it doesn’t pass too quickly.
Many thanks for your continued support and patience.
NB if anyone wants to come down to chat about their career, or their future, I am more than happy to meet here in Moffat for a blether, email Michael@chefsinscotland.co.uk
No guarantees you will get a CIS mug, but you never know.
Relief work still remains quiet / patchy.
We do still have 32 chefs out working which is 15 more than last year.
Feel free to still send over your CV and we can get you registered for when the work piles in March / April time.
Please quote RELIEF and email to jojo@chefsinscotland.co.uk as standard we do take references and will ask you to come for an interview at our office in Moffat.
Out and About
Michael Pallister is a The Dunavon Hotel in Aberdeen, Sarah Jeffrey is at Caley Sample Room in Edinburgh also helping is Rene La Barre and Sarah Pozzi, Peter Norrie is at The Newton Hotel in Nairn Richard Gunn is finishing today, Ionel Rizea is over in Pitlochry helping at The Old Mill Inn, Douglas Gilles and Tim Morris are at The Cartland Bridge Hotel, Scott McKenzie is at The Pierhouse Hotel in Port Appin, Calivin Jeff is heading back to The Cumbria Park Hotel in Carlisle, Jim Miller is in Skye at The Duisdale Hotel, Scott MacIntyre is up in Thurso at the Pentlandview Care Home and Blair Mackay is helping for a few days in The Grant Arms Hotel Grantown on Spey.
Thank you for all your hard work.
Don't forget if you are finishing a stint somewhere to get in touch with your finish date and your next availability.
25 relief chefs out working – 10 up on last year
Relief is holding up considerably considering the time of year
11 chefs booked out this week so far 😊
A little shout out to Lillian hope you feel better soon
Alan Baird and Stephen Falloon our thoughts are with you and your families
We are now into a new year and we are starting to get lots of chefs registered for relief and permanent work, relief work will really start picking up in March and will continue through to the end October early November.
We are getting lots of permanent jobs registered, lots of CV’s getting sent out and interviews arranged for permanent placements
We will be interviewing chefs here in Moffat for relief and senior chef positions if you would like to come and discuss with us please get in touch and we can let you know our availability.
Chefs we got out over the festive period
Shaun Murray at Cobbles Restaurant in Kelso, Calvin Jeff at Parklands Hotel in Perth and Buccleuch & Queensberry Hotel in Thornhill, Thomas Scott at The Crannog in Stirling, John Derrick at Go Glasgow Hotel, Tim Morris at Meadow Park in Bridge of Allan, Gordon Wright at Go Glasgow Hotel, John Derrick at Queens Hotel in Oban, Tim Morris at Cartland Bridge Hotel in Lanark, Alan Anderson at Mackays Hotel in wick, Jorn Koniczek at Esplanade Hotel in Rothesay, Glenn Richards at Kames Hotel in tighnabruich, Stacey Donnelly at Skeabost hotel in Skye, Ryan Williamson at Dram Glasgow, Rene La Barre at Calley Sample Room in Edinburgh and Shaun Murray at Gables Hotel in Gretna.
Lots of excellent feedback
Thanks all 😊
Head chefs
There are quite a lot of head chef candidates in central Scotland if paying good money more than £30,000 and upwards for head chef jobs.
In rural Scotland including Inverness and all the highlands and islands, there are a few head chefs and we advise offering accommodation with permanent head chef jobs to attract candidates. Otherwise you may have to wait some time until a relevant local candidate becomes available.
In rural Scotland and particular 2AA Rosette country house hotels there are some relevant candidates if paying good money (about £35,000 for 2AA Rosette head chef)
Suggest paying £30,000 upwards to £40,000 according to requirements and demands of the job. Ideally we advise for a five day week and over-time paid on a pro rata basis for extra days worked and for hours in excess of 48 on a pro rata basis. Borders, Aberdeenshire, Dundee, East coast, and Perthshire there are a few Head Chefs registered.
The more central, the more candidates you will expect to get and the more rural, the harder it can get.
With all the social media currently available, many chefs are becoming very savvy about where they wish to work and establishments with records of poor chef retention may find it harder to attract good quality permanent candidates. Scotland is quite a small country.
There are lots more chefs available now as we approach the 2018 season. For seasonal positions especially, we do advise paying an hourly rate of pay of £14-£16 per hour with accommodation provided depending on location. This will attract candidates.
Sous chefs
If it is a live-in position for 3 or 4 star hotel suggest paying £25,000 to £27,000.
In central areas such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Stirling can try live-out and there are relevant chefs. In rural Scotland, including Dumfries and Galloway, Aberdeenshire and Perthshire it can be harder to get candidates and there are few candidates available depending on the package in place.
Suggest wages of £28,000 upwards to £30,000 plus for 2 AA and 3AA Rosette sous chefs.
A good way to attract candidates is to pay hourly rates for every hour worked by chefs. For sous chefs suggest £12 to £14 per hour this will help to attract and retain good candidates. If paying salaried, we suggest five day week with overtime pro rata over 48 hours.
Chef de parties
Availability is good in Glasgow, Edinburgh and central belt. In rural Scotland with accommodation there are candidates if wages are decent, suggesting £9 to £11 per hour.
The availability of chefs who are looking for more rural jobs such as Fort William, Inverness-shire and West Coast is limited although there are some chefs looking for live in accommodation or chefs that may be happy to relocate.
If paying by salary £19,000 for a 45 hour week works out £8.11 an hour which is on the low side. Suggest paying up to £22,000 with live in accommodation at a small charge. We would hope you will get decent candidates with this.
Commis chefs
Lots of bodies available. Enclosed link to minimum wages.
We are suggesting thinking outside the box when it comes to chef retention. This could be ideas such as one weekend of a month; working 4 or 4 and a half days per week; overtime after 48 hours worked per week or end of season bonuses
Availability of Relief Chefs changes daily and we can advise.
It’s been four months now since I started here at Chefs In Scotland as the Director of Special Projects.
My main task is the start-up and running of our new brewery, however, my time is split between managing the CIS property and the recruitment office also.
A lot has been achieved since I started. I have made numerous prototype ales and had a very successful beer tasting night, we have sourced equipment and a builder and I have made a comprehensive business plan to help with grant applications. A lot of research has also been done so that when we start trading we are in the best position possible to be successful. I am heading up to the Cuillin brewery on Skye for a week to gain some more experience. After four months we are still waiting for the council to give us our change of use for the building…
In the recruitment office I cover for holidays and now, while we wait for the planning for the brewery, I am chef recruiting most of the time as it gets busier with the new season starting. I am responsible for Commis chef and Chef de Partie permanent recruitment with a placement in Shetland last week. I have also been applying for a trademark for ‘Chefs In Scotland’.
All is quiet on the property front at the moment but I always keep an eye on the 8 properties owned by CIS.
Here’s hoping the next four months run just as smoothly!
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