There are two competitions that are very prominent in Scottish hospitality today. They are The Great British Menu and Masterchef The Professionals. At Chefs In Scotland we get to speak to some of the chefs who have either won or been runners up in these competitions. But where are they now?
Jamie Scott won Masterchef
The Professionals in 2014 and was previously Head Chef ay Rocca in St
Andrews. This year he has opened his own restaurant Newport which is doing very well.
Scott Davies who was runner up in Masterchef The Professionals 2013,
previous Head Chef at The Adamson also in St Andrews is now Head Chef at
the very well-known Three Chimneys. Taking over from Michael Smith who
was there for 11 years.
Adam Handling who was also runner up in MasterChef The Professionals
with Scott Davies, he has now opened up The Frog Restaurant in London.
He is also appearing in the new series of The Great British Menu in the
Scottish heats.
Another chef who has taken part in the Great British
Menu is Jak O’Donnell who own The Sisters Restaurant which have a
number of places in Glasgow. She was in the last series and got to the
final but did not make it to the banquet.
There are so many chefs out there all over Scotland taking part in these
competitions of which I have named only a few. It is a great privilege
to speak to some of these chefs on a regular basis and watch their
careers go from strength to strength.
If you had to take part in either Great British Menu or Masterchef: The Professionals which would it be?
Head Chef
There are candidates in central Scotland if paying good money in excess of £28,000 and upwards for head chef jobs.
In rural Scotland including Inverness and all the highlands and
islands, there are not many head chefs and we advise offering
accommodation with permanent or seasonal 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 relevant candidates are
scarce. Skye, Shetland Islands and rural Argyll, it is proving hard to
get relevant candidates despite the payment of good money (about £35,000
for 2AA Rosette head chef)
Suggest paying £28,000 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.
For seasonal head chef jobs suggest £120 per day or £600 per week with end of season bonus for completion.
Aberdeenshire, Dundee and East coast, there are a few Head Chefs registered.
In rural Scotland we are advising offering live in also, ideally at no charge to the chef.
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.
Sous chefs
If it is a live in position for 4 star hotel suggest paying £24,000 to £30,000.
In central areas such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Stirling can try
live-out and there are a few relevant chefs. In rural Scotland, it is
particularly hard to get candidates at this time of the year but there
are some candidates if there is a good package in place.
2AA Rosettes and are quite scarce. Suggest wages of £26,000 - £28,000 upwards to £30,000 for 3AA Rosette sous chef.
A good way to attract candidates is to pay hourly rates for every hour worked by chefs.For sous chefs suggest £11 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 currently ok in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perthshire and central
belt. Quality is mixed. In rural Scotland with accommodation there are a
few candidates if wages are decent, suggesting £8.50 to £12 per hour.
There are some chefs looking for live in accommodation and may be happy to relocate and again are of varying quality.
If paying by salary suggest £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 or hourly rate £8.50 - £12 per hour with live in accommodation at a small charge. We would hope you will get decent candidates with this.
Commis
A few bodies available including students coming out of college. Enclosed link to minimum wages.
Pastry a few available happy to have a look
For perm we can look if pay “fee of interest” or advertise
Availability of Relief Chefs change daily and we can advise.
What I love about living in Scotland is the abundance of fresh, quality produce we have access to, especially fresh seafood. When I am cooking at home, probably as like most chefs I like to keep it simple. However, last night I was out for dinner and I had a beautiful piece of fresh plaice with parmentier potatoes, confit fennel and a chive butter sauce. The fish itself was so beautifully cooked it literally melted in the mouth and didn’t require a single other thing. Restaurants have such good access to quality produce at this time of year and I love to see it on the menu. In August with strawberries and cherries now going out of season means room for other fruit such as raspberries, nectarines, apricots and apples.
When I am cooking at home I do like to experiment but usually don’t follow the recipe as I always find bits I like and bits I don’t but I guess that’s just each to their own to use their initiative. Now summer doesn’t have many days left I will be trying to fit in as many barbecues as possible and some smoking with our new barbecue smoker. Any hints or tips will be much appreciated.
After working quite a few barbecues during the summer season up north I have lots of recipes and ideas for different salads with bulgar, couscous, grilled vegetables and lots more other than just lettuce and tomato. I also picked up lots of marinades for fish, meat and vegetables. What is your favourite thing to cook at this time of the year either at home or in the kitchen that you work in?
Last Friday as it was the end of the month the Chefs In Scotland team took a trip over to The Powfoot Hotel which has recently been taken over by Del Amitri, excellent chef Martin Avey and his wife Lisa. Del Amitri used to be Annan and it was very popular and situated in the centre of town. The new restaurant at The Powfoot Hotel is in an amazing location with a stunning view. We were very lucky to have a dry day and watch the tide come in looking over the Solway Firth.
Martin Avey used to do relief work with CIS and still maintains his grade 1 status on our database so we were keen to sample food from his new venture. I have eaten at Del Amitri before and the food was excellent so I was excited to see the new menu.
To begin with we had a Solway gin and tonic sitting by the floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the sea which I would highly recommend. Then through to the table to be served some delicious tomato and herb, freshly baked rolls and look at the wine list. We chose a dry, Spanish white wine as we were having mainly pork, fish and seafood.
To start I had the crayfish tail with langoustine ketchup, pickled samphire and popcorn. All the flavours balanced together very well and all of the starters looked beautiful. For main I chose belly of pork with creamed cabbage, black pudding bon bon and pomme anna. The pork melted in the mouth and was very tender. We had a portion of chips and aioli on the side which were all homemade and delicious and very moreish.
For pudding with a glass of late harvest desert wine I had Pedro Ximenez cheesecake. Sweet pieces of cheesecake with Pedro Ximenez jelly and a lovely cheesecake base.
I cannot fault the service we received. There when you needed them and the atmosphere in the small 40 cover restaurant was buzzing.
I am hoping to go again next week with the family and I am sure they will enjoy it as much as we all did.
Jessica
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