News

Out and about Friday 1st November

We currently have 55 chefs out working all over Scotland and North England. We have 15 jobs confirmed so far for the week.

Can all chefs doing relief work make sure they have emailed over their hygiene certificates you can send them to jojo@chefsinscotland.co.uk

Can I also ask that you let me know if you are happy to work Christmas and New Year (double time is payable both days)

Relief work coming in, in November will be quieter as expected for the time of year.

Here are some of the chefs we have out working at the moment

Barry Owen finishes his stint at Culcreuch Castle today and then is off to Airds Hotel

Kevin Berry is at The Lerwick Hotel in Shetland

Dougie Gillies is at The Ben Loyal Hotel finishing off the season

Julius Mwanbula is at the Waterside Inn in Peterhead

Philippe Alamichel is at Perth Race Course

James Pratt is finishing at the Isles Inn mid November then off to the Fishmarket at Soul in Aberdeen

Ionel Rizea is still at the Black Bull in Gartmore

Sebastian Luszczynski and Kaspars Lapins are both at The Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness

James McPherson is at Isle Ornsay Hotel in Skye

Sarah Galloway finished yesterday at Toravaig Hotel in Skye

Ross Hunter is finishing at The Bridge of Cally Hotel

Thanks to all our chefs for your hard work and support 😊

Monday 28th October

Monday 28th October

That is me now back in the office after being off on annual leave for a week. I spent my week with my partner in Marmaris, Turkey at the Golden Rock Beach Hotel and it was nice to take some time off to re-charge the batteries.

We enjoyed a boat trip out to a few of the smaller local islands and ate down at the Marina twice where we enjoyed some delicious fresh seafood. We were able to pick our own prawns and mussels and they were cooked to our liking; prawns in a garlic and chilli butter and the mussels were cooked in a white wine and cream sauce. We were given our own private balcony to enjoy our meal which was a nice touch with a view over the Marina.

The weather was hot, around 27-30 degrees most days, a cold week according to the locals. We had our hottest day on the Thursday that just sat above 30. Our hotel had a private beach which we preferred to the pool area and the sea was very calm and warm. We were all inclusive so enjoyed a buffet breakfast and lunch and we ate dinner in the hotel a few nights. They had a rotisserie area available most nights and some fresh seafood too but it can get repetitive eating in every night.

We walked along the beach front most nights as that was where most of the bars and restaurants were. Still rather warm in the evenings with hardly any breeze. The locals were friendly as were all the hotel staff which certainly makes your holiday more enjoyable.

We would definitely go back to our hotel as it was central to where we wanted to be, clean and the weather was great, despite it being October.

Now that our holiday is over, its time to focus on the next big event… Christmas! Dare I say it.

Jade Porteous

Out and about Friday 25th November

We currently have 64 relief chefs out working.

The availability of relief chefs is very good, the jobs coming in are slowing down and this is expected for the time of year.

We have been getting some bookings for over the festive period, if you are available to work please get in touch.

We are keen to meet chefs here in Moffat and we are available Tuesday to Friday just get in touch to check our availability.

We have been getting lots of CV’s sent out this week.

Jade will be back to work on Monday after having a lovely week off in the sun.

Here are some of the chefs we have out at the moment

David Carroll is at The Craig Manor Hotel in Windermere

Tomi Burns was at The Gathering Place Bistro in Braemar

Shaun Murray is just starting at Thainstone Events in Inverurie

Brian Ferguson is back at Inverlochy Castle

Craig Morris is at The Golf View Hotel in Nairn

Alan Roberts is at Leapark Hotel

Stuart Sullivan and Gian Devey are both at The Scores Hotel in St Andrews

Stephen Mcculloch is in Shetland at the Brae Hotel

Marc Wohner was at Auchen Castle

Richard Gunn, Jo Fenner and Andy Westwood are all at The Kings House Hotel in Glencoe

Alan Macpherson is at the Golf View Hotel in Nairn

To all of our relief chefs thanks for all your hard work and continued support 😊

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 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 18th October 2019

We have 78 relief chefs out working this week, the jobs coming in are steady.

Relief work will start to tail off as we get closer to the end October.

We are happy to get chefs registered but this will be for 2020 season which will begin in March.

We are going to be meeting a lot of chefs now the winter is here. If we have not met and you would like to come to Moffat for a chat about relief or permanent work we are available Tuesday to Friday 11am or 2pm.

Jade is on annual leave so Jessica and myself will be picking up junior recruitment, answering her emails and Facebook messages.

Chefs we have out working just now:

Rosie Robertson is filling in at The Fife Arms Turriff

Lee Donaghy is at The Bridge Hotel in Buttermere

Craig Morris is at The Old Manor Hotel in Lundin Links

Ryan Williamson is at The Inveraray Inn

Steve Lyall is at Killiecrankie Hotel in Perthshire

Sean Macgregor is at the Inch Hotel in Fort Augustus

Cheryl Radwell is at Kirkcudbright Bay Hotel

Leon Edgson is at Braeval Hotel in Nairn while helping at Rocpool Reserve 2 days per week

Richard Clark and Ben Mailer are both at The Rav in St Andrews.

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

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