News

Out and about Friday 7th May

We have 24 relief currently out working.

The availability as you would expect is very tight.

If you are a chef who is known to us and have availability please do get in touch you can PM me, email jojo@chefsinscotland.co.uk or call 01683 222830

The permanent adverts and Fee of Interests are still piling in with over 120 jobs on the website you can visit and apply www.chefsinscotland.co.uk

Here are some of the chefs we have out just now

Frank Davie is at The Stonefield Castle near Loch Fyne

Ionel Rizea and Mitchell Davidson are at Balcary Bay Hotel in Dumfriesshire

Mark Shaw is at The Cairngorm Hotel

Michael Njoroge is at The Royal Dornoch Golf Hotel

Lillian Clarkson and Tony Orr at Kingshouse Hotel in Glencoe

Leon Edgson and Michael George are at Ballachullish Hotel

Thank you to everyone for your continued support and very hard work 😊

Out and about 30th April 2021

I hope everyone is settling back in to work and for those not opening until the 17^th May I hope all preparations are in hand and coming along nicely.

We currently have 7 relief jobs confirmed for the week so far with a few pending. There are currently 18 relief chefs out working all over Scotland.

A few permanent placements this week (some are on 1 week trials) and plenty adverts being placed.

The availability of relief chefs remains pretty tight, if you are a chef who is known to us then please email a copy of your up to date CV to jojo@chefsinscotland.co.uk

Here are a few chefs we have out just now

Dougie Gillies is up in Ullapool at the Ceilidh Place as relief Breakfast Chef

Patrick Johnstone is heading to Skye to got to the Skeabost Hotel as Relief Chef de Partie

Keren Tweedie is down in Dumfries and Galloway at The Springkell as Relief Sous Chef

Kirsty Hamilton is over in Port Appin at The Creagan Inn as Relief Sous Chef

Ally Brown is in Tighnabruich at The Kames Hotel as Relief Chef de Partie

Sarah Pozzi is also on Skye at The Kinloch Lodge Hotel as Relief Chef de Partie

Tim Morris is at The Old Manse of Blair as Relief Head Chef

Ollie Rankin is back helping at The Drovers Inn as Relief Chef de Partie

George McCallum is at The Clachan Inn in Aberdeenshire as Relief Sous Chef

Craig Eggers is in Portpatrick at The Old Colfin Creamery as Relief Chef de Partie

Bobby Ainsworth is at the Royal Golf Hotel in Dornoch as Relief Head Chef

Stuart Agnew is at The Airds Hotel in Port Appin as Relief Sous Chef

Thank you to all our chefs for your hard work and support 😊

Out and About Friday 23rd April.

It is such a nice feeling to be doing this again!!!

We currently have 6 relief chefs who have started work 😊

We have been getting lots of adverts with 20 so far, we also have 1 permanent placement and 7 confirmed relief jobs so far for the week.

There are many jobs available on our website you can apply directly by clicking www.chefsinscotland.co.uk

Here are the chefs we have out just now

Phil Smith starting today at The Cot House in Dunoon

Lillian Clarkson is at The Kingshouse in Glencoe

Ryan Williamson is at The Sligachan Hotel in Skye

Tony Orr is also at The Kingshouse in Glencoe

Michael George and Leon Edgson are both at The Ballachulish Hotel

We really do appreciate your support and hard work.

It has been a very difficult 12 months, looking forward to a busy 2021 season ahead 😊

Take care all and stay safe xx

Availability of Permanent Head Chefs and Relief Chefs

18^th April 2021

The Availability of Permanent Head Chefs and Relief Chefs in Scotland

As we edge closer to much of Scottish Hospitality reopening on Monday the 26^th of April, the availability of chefs is tightening up.

Most Head Chef jobs, if paying decent money, are still attracting applicants, although in many cases each Head Chef is being interviewed for several jobs at the same time, this seems to be particularly true in the major cities.

In rural Scotland, it depends very much on the job as to the number of applicants. 2AA Rosette Head Chef positions may get several applicants but only 1 or 2 who have relevant 2AA Rosette experience.

Hotel jobs paying by the hour in excess of £15 per hour will quite possibly still get a few applicants.

What is “decent money”?

Again, this can vary from job to job and by location. For Head Chefs I would say £35,000 and upwards is starting to be “decent money” This for a 45-hour week equates to just under £15 per hour. For 3AA Rosette Head Chefs, salaries can be in the region and in excess of £50,000 per year.

Bonus Schemes: A good bonus scheme can help to attract and retain Head Chefs. Based on achieving suitable gross profit margins, of say 65% and above. Wages ratio, kitchen cleanliness and customer feedback, all seems to be suitable for being built into a concise bonus scheme, getting certain amounts of money for achieving set criteria.

For relief chefs, the rates have currently stayed the same at Chefs In Scotland as last year as we look to get the season underway.

The availability of good relief chefs, well known to us, at the moment is quite reasonable. Many chefs have left the industry and have not returned at the moment, others have taken on permanent positions, as we move towards opening up the availability is expected to become poor, a bit like what it is like usually at Easter and just before Christmas, i.e., everyone who wants a job is fixed up.

The next couple of weeks promise to be quite challenging for all: hoteliers, restaurateurs and chefs, although hopefully things will begin to settle into some sort of rhythm.