So I have now been working as the permanent recruitment consultant here for 5 months. I enjoy the job although there is a lot more to placing a chef than I ever thought. There is so much than can go wrong such as chefs not turning up for interviews, un-contactable references and midnight flits to name a few. But when you hear that someone you have placed is getting on well it is all worthwhile. I am working hard on meeting my targets this week which were 30 CVs out 2 perm placements and 10 adverts. So far I am up to 32 CVs out, 1 perm placement and 4 adverts and it is only Wednesday so I am pretty happy with that.
Today I interviewed my first chef. It is interesting to meet the chefs but I had never interviewed before so it was a new experience. After having an informal chat with the chef regarding jobs, life plans and what their ideal job is I take them upstairs to meet the rest of the team, Michael, Johanna and Bentley who has already imposed his way into the interview room. My job now is to try and get the chef placed. After talking to them it seems easier to have a better picture of what the chef is looking for and having spoken to employers knowing which job suits which chef. So I do understand now why it is so important. I sent his CV and reference out to 6 places in the hope of getting him placed in the next two days.
We do have a number of highbrow jobs on the list at the moment, 2 and 3 rosette establishments and even a couple with Michelin-stars, it hasn’t been easy to find candidates for these jobs but they are both at interview stage now so fingers-crossed we can make some more placements this week.
For now it seems as though the availability of chefs is becoming slightly better; however it is finding the job that matches the chef and vice versa which seems to be the key in chef recruitment in my limited experience so far. So I go on to chase up some references, arrange some interviews and get some searches done on what I imagine to be one of the last sunny days in Moffat this year.
Jessica
Relief remain busy as we go into September.
I hope everyone has been enjoying the beautiful sunshine.
Alan MacPherson is back at The Pierhouse Hotel in Port Appin.
Also over in the West Coast is Jenny Quashie, Blair Mackay, Victor Garcia, Robert Birrell, Chris Roberti, Tom Williams, Mark Murray, Iain Scholes, Andre Burney, Paul Chlebek, Ryan Williamson, Derek Snedden and Mark Bellingham (sorry if I have forgotten anyone)
Sara-Jayne Moffat is working up at The Grant Arms Hotel in Grantown on Spey along with Obed Omwoma.
Ismail Kilicaslan is currently working in Montrose at The Links Hotel.
Peter Cullen is doing a 2 weeks stint at the Dores Inn in Inverness-shire.
Kai Stutzkeitz is working at The Torridon Inn while Sam Bernard is working at The Torridon Hotel.
David McConnachie has been extended at The Old Library Inn run by Alan Ritchie.
Over in the Islands – Kirsten Grant is at Harris Hotel, Michael Buchan at Hotel Hebrides, Marion Pohlman is in Orkney at The Albert Hotel, Don Craig, John Ferguson and Rene La Barre are all at The Lerwick Hotel on Shetland.
Lots of Chefs still out working all over Scotland.
Thank you for all your hard work ladies and gents.
With the nights getting darker and Christmas quickly looming it has been a busy week at Chefs In Scotland. This week I made my first head chef placement in the North of England. We have also made placements in the centre of Glasgow and one for a commis chef in Perthshire. Adverts are flowing in steadily with positions available all over Scotland and with the new CIS for chefs tab you can register for jobs in your area to be sent directly to you via email.
The CVs continue to come in with more and more people using our websites and applying for jobs. We are happy to help chefs write their CVs and we do have a basic model we use, so if you are struggling with CV writing please give the office a call. I understand that it is difficult in this industry and sometimes having the correct wording and layout on your CV can be the difference between getting the job and not.
At the moment I am trying to get in touch with colleges and universities offering this service as well as placements for new chefs in places that they would get good training with stable head chefs and a good team in place. However this is proving difficult as the colleges don’t seem to be responding at the moment. But we will continue to push on, as we are with Moffat Business and Training Centre. We are still proceeding with this project as the unsightly old Mercury building continues to lay empty.
Relief is as busy as ever as you would expect at this time in the season. If you need cover please let us know with as much notice as possible.
For now I must get on with chasing up references for chefs so they can then be progressed for jobs they have applied for.
Jessica
Counted up and we have 108 chefs still out working on relief that we have placed this summer.
We stop charging after 8 weeks so there are many we are not charging for anymore
Relief still remains incredibly busy as expected for the time of year. It may ease off a little in the next two weeks, possibly not.
Our “magic 15” list will be getting worked out over the next few weeks and will appear at the beginning / middle of October.
There has been some excellent work from the relief chefs on our books this season and a lot of chefs staying on in their relief jobs along with those chefs who have permanent jobs being able to help out the odd day / week when they have a bit of time off. It is all very much appreciated and noted.
Jonny Lewis has returned up to Tongue at The Ben Loyal Hotel working as sous chef.
Scott MacIntyre is fitting in well at Kincraig Castle in Invergordon.
Daniel Imbuye got excellent feedback from his time on Shetland at The Scalloway Hotel.
Victor Garcia and Blair Mackay are extending their stay at The Oban Caledonian Hotel and reminiscing about working in Edinburgh.
Lillian Clarkson is finishing up in Forres at the Ramnee Hotel where she has been working as Sous Chef.
Allen Jack has also extended his stay until the end of September at The Islay Hotel.
Thanks to you all for all your hardwork.
So finally into September and it is starting to feel like autumn already. Although it remains bright it is starting to feel chilly even though summer hasn’t really been, well not in Moffat anyway. This week at Chefs In Scotland we said goodbye to Annabel who was here helping us over the summer so it is back to Michael, Johanna and myself in the office, and also Bentley the basset-hound who spends most of his day sleeping. Annabel will continue to help with the Moffat Business and Training Centre project which we will continue to progress with.
Relief continues to be extremely busy with 30 jobs out last week and availability of relief chefs is tight. It does change on a daily basis so do get in quick if you need cover. Permanent placements seem to have quietened down with only one last week but there are more chefs available it seems. A position registered yesterday in Glasgow got 20 applicants so far, however the more remote areas such as the Western Isles get only one or two. So we continue to wonder why is it there are so few candidates for the beautiful areas we are lucky to have on our doorstep.
I am currently looking for a chef de partie for a Michelin starred establishment in the north of England where we continue to get more work including relief, adverts and permanent placements. But I am yet to find chefs of that level that are interested as they must have minimum 2AA Rosette experience. So if you are interested in this fantastic opportunity please let me know.
We are happy to meet chefs in Moffat and discuss permanent or relief work and we especially like to meet all of our relief chefs. So if you wish to come and meet us please give the office a call or send an email recruitment@chefsinscotland.co.uk
Anyway best get on and order some more pens as the supply seems depleted from our ever popular competitions.
Jessica
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