Chef recruitment 11th May 2015
The season is fully upon us and the demand for both permanent and relief chefs is strong.
We have changed the way we approach head chef recruitment a little as of today. You can still place a pure advert where candidates apply directly via our website.
Alternatively if you want us to do a search we take a fee of interest of £100 plus VAT and charge a further £700 plus VAT if you employ subject to our usual terms and also some new “rules of engagement” should simplify our work and also make it easier for hoteliers and restaurateurs to recruit head chefs in a straight forward way.
Sous chef jobs and below, we are glad to be able to offer either adverts or us to look, prices remain unchanged.
Relief work is busy and changes by the day.
There are still permanent chefs looking to take on new permanent positions and for well- paying jobs with reasonable or good working conditions you would expect to get applicants, In rural locations out-with Glasgow, Edinburgh and the central belt, offering all year round live-in accommodation is quite probably a must, although you may be able to get live out chefs in Inverness, Fife, The Borders and Ayrshire if you are in a built up area with a good population base. It can very much change depending upon who is available and looking for work at any point in time.
Johanna and Jessica are working full-time in the Chefs In Scotland office and are happy to advize on rates of pay and what is the best way to get good and relevant candidates.
Please call 01683 222830 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm or Saturday between 10am and 12.30 or email admin@chefsinscotland.co.uk with any queries.
Johanna is looking after relief chef recruitment Jessica is looking after sous chef and chef de parties.
I am looking after head chef recruitment.
Michael
Availability of Chefs 23rd March 2015
Head Chefs
Good in central location including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling and Ok in Perthshire. Suggest wage from £25,000 upwards will get some candidates, ideally over £28,000 and suggest paying overtime for extra days and for hours worked over 48 sanctioned by management.
Ideally this will get candidates with verifiable work histories and often well known to Chefs In Scotland. Below that quality will be hit or miss.
In rural Scotland including Aberdeen, may need to offer live in to attract good candidates and pay in region of £30,000 for 3 or 4 star. Smaller places suggest paying £25,000 upwards with accommodation Closer we get to Easter the fewer candidates there are.
3AA Rosette head chefs are scarce, some 2AA and happy to look.
Sous chefs
Availability of bodies is ok for live in sous to 4 star paying £22,000 to £27,000. 2AA Rosettes and above quite scarce. Suggest five day week with overtime pro rata over 45 or 48 hours. Live out there are candidates in Glasgow, Edinburgh and central areas. Aberdeen very occasionally and Inverness and Dundee can have a look there are a few bodies.
Chef de parties
Availability good in Glasgow and Ok Edinburgh and central belt. a few bodies coming through, again scarce at 2AA Rosette and above.
Rural Scotland good ones are quite scarce and will have pick of there jobs. Suggest looking at innovative work patterns to attract. EG 4.5 days per week. Long week-end off once a month. Happy to advise on staff retention.
Suggest £16,000 to £19,000 or hourly rate £7.50 - £10 per hour with live in accommodation.
Commis chefs
A few bodies available. Suggest £14,000 live in or out. Or £6.50 per hour as minimum wage.
Pastry a few available if paying good money, would suggest £25,000 upwards for fully qualifies pastry chef with accommodation if needed.
Relief : Currently quite decent although can change daily but we update our database on a daily basis and very happy to look if you are paid up to date with us.
Head: advertise or we can look
Sous: advertise or we can look if paying money commensurate with our suggestions or advertise and we look.
CDP, Commis and Pastry: advertise only or advertise and we can have a look also.
Friday 20th March
Easter Opening
We will be open on Easter Friday until 1pm, shut Easter Saturday 5th April and back open Easter Monday from 10am until 4pm. Hopefully, we will not take a post Easter posting such as the one of 2006!
Relief work is starting to pick up as Johanna has written about on “out and about” We are very keen not to try and unionise and take up all the decent chefs in the country to do relief work but relief chefs do provide a very necessary and important service to the Scottish Hospitality Industry, often doing difficult jobs under difficult circumstances at short notice and doing them well.
We have had an interesting and busy couple of weeks here in the office with adverts continuing to do well and how pleasing to have picked up a paid for head chef advert from New Zealand last week then another head chef advert today in Tasmania in Australia, both jobs posted directly onto our website.
We have also had a positive reaction to our “Moffat Business and Training Centre” project which we are trying to get off the ground at new offices in Moffat, potentially at the site of the old Mercury Hotel in Moffat where I had my first job as a kitchen porter in 1988. We have commissioned a local architect to draw up plans, have one other local company interested in being part of the development along with Chefs In Scotland which is starting to outgrow by house as it did up on Skye. This will also hopefully enable us to improve our business and grow. We had a good upturn for our last financial year which ended in November 2014 of 35% to make which bettered the turnover of 2008 which was our previous best. This is purely for chef recruitment and excludes any property rental income.
Johanna Watson has now been with CIS for over five years and is still growing in her role. Mark Wildman also contributed very much last year and his seven months here provided some excellent figures in terms of adverts to our site and very importantly permanent placements.
Kim Ellis who had her own restaurant over in Palnackie for four years, The Willow Tree, has joined us working four days per week alongside our other part time workers, Bev, Ian, Ann and Colin and not forgetting Angela who looks after the company cottage in Crocketford.
I am keen to try and push on with the business whilst my enthusiasm remains good and the lure of the golf course doesn’t prove to be too strong.
We continue to meet Head Chef and relief chefs here in Moffat and most weeks we can meet at
Monday 1200 or 4pm
Tuesday 1200 or 4pm
Wednesday 11am (golf afternoon)
Thursday 1200 or 4pm
Friday 1200
I enjoy meeting and having a very good chat with Head Chefs out our (often) shared experiences in Hospitality.
Please email me your Cv if you want to pop down for a meeting and if relevant be delighted to meet.
OK, time to get this up posted and carry on.
Many thanks for continued support and patience
Michael in Moffat
By Johanna
We have over 30 chefs working all over Scotland
Grant Buchanan is back after a bad cut to his hand and is off to Beaufort Hotel in Inverness.
Douglas ‘Denzil’ Gillies is working up at The Moorings Hotel in Fort William with Victor Garcia they both worked together down at The Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries.
Sharon Shearer has completed a couple of relief jobs at The Beaufort in Inverness and Moorings Hotel in Fort William.
Obed Omwoma still working away up in Shetland he is into his 3rd month now.
Gerry Mullen came down to meet us here in Moffat at our office and picked up a 4 week job at the Fiddlers’ Music Bar and Bistro over in Broddick on the Isle of Arran.
Edvinas Stankaitis started working at Ramnee Hotel over the weekend.
Lillian Clarkson is still working at Kames Hotel and getting on brilliantly.
James Sharp after working at The Moffat House Hotel he is away up to The Kenmore Hotel working with newly appointed Head Chef Kenny Bruce.
Ryan Williamson is getting on well at The Tolbooth Seafood Restaurant in Stonehaven where he has been asked to stay on.
Henry Samms’ time is coming to an end at The Palm Court Hotel in Aberdeen where he is also working with Ionel Rizea, Frank McDonald and Allen Jack.
We are still keen to meet relief chef whether you are just starting with us or whether you have worked through us for some time just drop me an email and I can let you know our availability.
Thanks again girls and guys for your hard work and support.
We look forward to busy season ahead.
By Johanna
Lillian Clarkson is still working away at The Kames Hotel in Tighnabruich.
Blair Mackay has joined the relief circuit and is into his 2nd week over on Shetland at the Lerwick Hotel where he has been booked for 3 months.
Jamie Atkinson is up at The Golf View Hotel in Nairn working with Vytis Baltrunas.
Yousef Shengheer after being at Burts Hotel in Melrose for a couple of months he is over on Arran at the Auchrannie Resort.
Ben Mailer is getting on well down at The Dryfesdale Hotel in Lockerbie working with Roger Brown Jason Keenan.
Brian Scanlin is still working at The Kings Seat in Dollar.
Mark Shaw is over at The Crianlarich Hotel for a week working with Steve Moffat.
Relief work is steady and the guys and girls on our books are doing a really good job and providing an excellent service for hotels and restaurants across Scotland with a very high success rate. Very good.
Thanks for all your hard work and continued support.
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