News

Edinburgh restaurateur hits out at diners that are ‘killing the catering industry’ with 'faux' dietary requirements

There is a difference between not liking a specific food/ingredient and being allergic to it. It can be hard for chefs these days when there are a lot of people that claim to be allergic to ingredients so they don't need to eat them. I always think it is a good idea for those with food allergies or those who are vegan to try and plan ahead when eating out although its not always as easy at that! This means they know exactly what is on the menu and they are able to plan what they eat. More and more restaurants will have vegan/ allergy free options on their menus and its almost always usually highlighted on the menu what they can and cant eat but it can be hard for chefs that have picky eaters in and sometimes have to simply give them a plain salad as this is all they will or can eat. It can be especially hard this time of year with all the social gatherings as the restaurant your friends and family want to eat at may not cater for such needs meaning you could potentially miss out.

After the last year with so many people dying due to real allergies it is making those who work with food that extra careful. Thankfully I have no allergies to food and don't need to carry medication but it makes we wonder how much I could fully trust those in the kitchen to carefully prepare my food. After all it is your life at stake!

Does anyone on here have any food allergies that they need to plan social events ahead of or simple things such as preparing your family meals?

What makes a job attractive?

What makes a job attractive?

Here are some things that might help to attract applicants:

• Can you pay an hourly rate of pay?
• Can you pay weekly even if the payslip is monthly?
• What is the accommodation and is there any charge? Is there tv and wi-fi available?
• What makes the job attractive/what is there to do during time off?
• What are the shifts and how many hours are they expected to work per week, any evenings off?
• Are there tips given to the chef?
• Are meals provided on duty?
• is there a staff uniform provided or is the chef expected to provide their own?
• Is there a bonus scheme in place?
• Discounts at other hotels?
• Is any time off allowed during busy periods like festive period and summer season?
• Can you pay overtime?

Bonus suggestions for head chefs

• wages ratio
• compliancy on health and safety
• gross profit margin

Opening Stock plus purchases - closing stock = cost of goods sold

to work out Gross Profit %

(Sales - Cost of goods Sold) divided by Sales = then multiply by 100 to get the Gross Profit %

Eg:

(100 - 30) = 70 divided by 100 = .7 x 100 = 70%

Out and About Friday 29th November

We currently have 36 relief chefs out working. Relief this week has been quieter but unfortunately, it’s that time of year.

We have had a few more jobs in for over the festive period, if you can let me know what your availability is for over this period by private messaging me.

We have our Christmas opening times confirmed and these will be posted next week.

I will be popping along to The Lowand Brewery and Black Bull Hotel’s 1^st Birthday party where we will get to try the new beer “Santa’s Little Belta”. If you are near Moffat then why not pop in and give it a try, it’s on from 7pm.

Here are some chefs we currently have out

Alan Macpherson is back at Eden Court after celebrating his grandson’s 1^st birthday 😊

Norbert Waniek is finishing today at the Golf View Hotel

Roddy Mackinnon is at the County Hotel in Stornoway

Paul Nisbet is also at Eden Court

Tim Morris is back at Perth Racecourse

Ross Hunter is at Columba Hotel in Oban

George McCallum is back in Shetland at the Scalloway Hotel

Michael George is at Ailean Chraggan in Perthshire

Taylor Mcfarlane is at the Pinetrees Hotel

Thanks to ALL of our chefs 😊

Out and About Friday 22nd November 2019

We currently have 40 relief chefs out working and 12 relief jobs confirmed for the week so far.

This week has been a good week for hits with 3 permanent placements.

We are still looking for some of our chefs to get in touch with their festive availability. Double time is payable on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

I was off for just under 2 weeks and it was nice to recharge the batteries, I was down in Cockermouth for a hen weekend, we rented a large country house with a hot tub and BBQ hut, it was lovely and the weather was kind to us too!!

I then went to Benidorm for the annual Fiesta Festival we arrived on Tuesday and the big British Fancy Dress is on the Thursday, this year our theme was Braveheart 😊 We went our for a few nice meals in the Old Town where there was lots of fish, seafood and steaks it was all lovely. We arrived back in a very cold Glasgow on Sunday.

Jessica is finishing up today for 2 weeks, she is off to NEW YORK NEW YORK to spend time with her family who moved there a few months ago. Jade and myself have already put our order in for Cannoli’s from Carlos’s Bakery……………………..

Here are some of the chefs we have out working now

Daniel Haig has now finished at The Lovat and went to the Inch Hotel for a few days as Sous Chef

Dale Paton is at Tontine Hotel in Peebles

Jo Fenner is back at The Comrie Hotel

Colin Thomson is at Etive Care Home near Oban

Craig Morris and Virginijus Tiskus are both at The Fife Arms in Braemar

James Pratt is in Aberdeen at the Fishmarket @ Soul

Steve Cameron is at The Classroom in Nairn

Stuart MacColl and Shaun Murray are at Thainstone Events in Inverurie

Sarah Pozzi is at The Ship Inn in Elie

Just want to say hope Denzil is feeling better and on the mend soon

Thanks to ALL our relief chef for all your hard work and support 😊