Thursday 17th October
As we approach the end of our third week in October and with Halloween and Christmas in sight, the work in the CIS office continues to come in. This week I have been starting to learn more about property within the CIS company. We have many properties throughout Dumfries and Galloway as well as the apartment in Spain. It is sometimes nice to take a break from Chef recruitment and focus myself on something else for a change.
Permanent jobs are still being registered and the CV’s are still coming in. There appears to be more chefs looking again as a lot of the seasonal jobs have now finished for the winter. However, with the Brexit deal hanging in the balance, many chefs who have come from abroad are now unsure of where their future stands here in the UK. We will soon see come the 31stof this month…
I will be on holiday for a week as of the end of today and will be back in the office on Monday the 28th. Jessica and Johanna will be picking up my emails and Facebook messages and will continue with the junior chef recruitment on my behalf.
We have 68 relief chefs out working all over Scotland.
Relief has been steady this week, the availability for immediate relief is still quite tight and availability from the 25th October is better.
I have counted all the chefs we have had registered this year and the total was 248.
If all relief chefs can PM, call 01683 222830 or email jojo@chefsinscotland.co.uk with your availability over the festive period please. Christmas Day and New Years day is double time.
Jessica and Jade have been getting lots of CV’s sent out, interview and trials confirmed.
Here are some of the chefs we have out at the moment……………………….
Leon Edgson is work in 2 places he is helping 2 days per week at Rocpool Reserve and full time at Braeval Hotel.
Glenn Richards is at Platform 1864 in Tain.
Bobby Ainsworth braved the ferry up to Shetland and is at The Sumburgh Hotel.
James Avery is at Inverlochy Castle Hotel until the end of the month.
Lee Pattie is helping out at Eden Court Theatre.
Chris Rush is at Grantown on East.
Salvi Batalla is in Skye at The Duisdale Hotel.
Jo Fenner is at Auchen Castle near Moffat.
James Buckley is at Scotland’s Hotel in Pitlochry.
Alan Roberts is at The Glenburn Hotel in Rothesay.
Roddy Mackinnon is at Cawdor Tavern in Cawdor.
We appreciate all your hard work and support 😊
Today, 10th October is World Mental Health Day. There is lots of information these days about mental health and I think there is more awareness now than there ever has been. Whilst lots of establishments are trying to be competitive with pay and think outside of the box to attract staff, one of the ways some places are doing this is by adapting work-life balance policies. According to the Mental Health Foundation, one in 6 people are experiencing current mental health issues. It seems that this can be mostly due to work-related stress which costs Britain 10.4 million working days a year.
To ensure a better work/life balance for the industry some establishments are aiming to be more flexible in their approach. This includes:
Hopefully by implementing approaches like the ones mentioned, employees have more motivation and generally a better wellbeing. Is a good work life balance ever going to be something the industry can move towards?
As the first Michelin Star has been revealed on Friday 4th October, awarded to Alchemilla in Nottingham, the remaining winners will be announced tonight at 4pm at an awards night in London.
We are now into October. So far so good with 19 jobs confirmed this week with a few establishments still to get back to me.
In total we have 71 relief chefs out working 😊
If you have been out working on relief this season and would like to pop in for a chat, just get in touch to check our availability, best days for us are Tuesday to Thursday.
Here are some chefs we have out working
New chef James Buckley is at The Scotland’s Hotel in Pitlochry
Another new chef Alan Roberts has come up all the way from Wales to go to the Glenburn Hotel in Rothesay.
Roddy Mackinnon is at Cawdor Tavern
Sarah Pozzi is at Carfraemill in Lauder
Tim Morris is back at East Haugh House Hotel
New chef Martin Kelly is out at The Taychreggan Hotel
George McCallum is at Achnagairn Estate
Mike Pallister is also at The Glenburn Hotel
Gian Devey is at The Scores Hotel in St Andrews
Phil Smith is over in the Borders at the Cross Keys Hotel
Lee Donaghy is at The Old Manor Hotel
Donnie Lamont is at The Golf View Hotel in Nairn
Thank you to all our relief chefs for all your hard work and support
RSS