Approximately 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem in the UK. Anxiety disorder is the most common form of mental in the UK followed quickly by depression. Mental health problems are one of the biggest killers in the UK alongside cancer and heart disease. There is a lot of stigma around mental health and the general attitude that females are most susceptible to developing a mental health issue. There is a general stigma that if you don’t look ill then you aren’t ill. Just because you cannot see someone illness, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist and they aren’t suffering. There are strong links between physical and mental health problems. Research has found that 30% of people with a long-term physical health problem also have a mental health problem and 46% of people with a mental health problem also had a long-term physical health problem.
The hospitality industry, alongside the health service, is one of the most stressful environments to work in. Long shifts and late nights often take chefs away from the normality of family life and socializing. Working in a kitchen and front of house means working unsociable hours, often late at night. It has been widely debated on whether being a chef is actually bad for your mental health or not. In a recent survey, more than half of the chefs asked said they took some form of medication or alcohol during a shift.
I have worked in busy hotels and can understand fully the level of stress some chefs go through. Often being asked to do more than they are capable of, having to work longer hours than they were being paid for. It is very easy for a chef to fall into a rut, the bar is only on the other side of the door, and all your friends are out. It slowly but surely becomes a habit for chefs, it starts as a few drinks here and there and quickly escalates into a problem. By no means am I saying this happens to all chefs but this is becoming a problem in our industry.
Balancing family life along with work can also be a contributing factor to mental health issues. In general, many parents often feel guilt when prioritizing work over their children. It can be difficult to spend time with your children, leaving before they are up for school and not getting home until after they are in bed. Days off are to be cherished and spent with loved ones, whether you have children or not. It can often be extremely hard for those single parents as well having to find the time to work and support their children whilst wanting to spend time with them.
What can we do to fight against mental health?
It has been suggested that finding a hobby, alongside seeking medical attention, is one of the most successful ways of battling mental health. Whether that hobby is the gym or a simple puzzle after a shift, something to take your mind elsewhere after a long day. A balanced diet is also a contributing factor to better health, physically and mentally. We all know what it is like working in the kitchen, a few chips here or some left overs at the end of the night. It can often be difficult to find the time to eat when you are so busy, working as a waitress I often found myself eating a full meal at 1am after a shift and not being able to sleep for a while after it. You need to be able to find the balance.
Many people suffering with mental health issues are often too embarrassed to visit their GP or talk to a relative or friend. Venting out to someone is one of the most powerful ways of getting it all out and can often make you feel relieved and take a weight off your shoulders. In this industry we need to start talking and start asking people if they are okay. Simply asking someone can make all the difference. If you or someone you know is suffering from mental health issues then encourage them or yourself to speak out!
When ‘I’ is replaced with ‘We’. Illness’ becomes ‘Wellness’.
Jade Porteous
We have 35 relief chefs out working in Scotland / North England, we have 14 relief jobs confirmed so far this week.
The availability of relief chefs is very good, we are registering new chefs on a daily basis for permanent/seasonal and relief work.
I have met 2 relief chefs this week here in Moffat and will continue to do so. Please get in touch to check our availability. We meet Tuesday – Friday at either 11am or 2pm.
We have made lots of permanent placements over the last few weeks, if you are looking for a new challenge or looking for the next step up please get in touch with your up to date CV, reference details and any certificates (including Hygiene) you may have. You can email over to recruitment@chefsinscotland.co.uk
Don’t forget if you have holidays planned it’s never too early to get in touch to secure a relief chef.
A few chefs we have booked out
Phil Smith is over at The Loch Nell Arms in Argyll
Julian Robinson is at the Onich Hotel for 5 days
Bill Brankin is at the Craig Manor Hotel in Windermere
Gian Devey and Philippe Alamichel are both at the Fife Arms Hotel in Braemar
Ionel Rizea is at The Kirkcudbright Bay Hotel in Dumfriesshire
Steve Nye is at The Lovat Arms in Beauly
George McCallum is at the Nevis Bank Inn in Fort William
Stuart MacColl is at the Lomond Hills Hotel as Head Chef
Keren Tweedie is at The Old Manor Hotel in Fife
Thanks to all of our relief chefs for your hard work and support we really do appreciate it 😊
Head chefs
If paying good money and in a central location such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen and Perth the availability of head chefs is very good, basically, the more central and the larger local population the better availability. Now is a good time in general to recruit for staff.
What is good money for a head chef? This can vary from a small pub to a large five star or 3AA Rosette Hotel and can be anything from £15 per hour for a one-man job cooking simple food to £45,000 and upwards.
For a standard hotel job, we would suggest in the region £35,000+ with overtime paid pro rata over 45 to 48 hours sanctioned by management.
Bonus schemes always help and can be based on getting a gross profit margin of over say 65 to 70% and it is always advisable stressing in advance how often the bonus is paid and what the exact criteria are. Other bonuses may be based on increase in sales. Keeping wages ratio down and helping to achieve certain net profits subject to maintaining quality of food, kitchen cleanliness and staff retention.
In more rural Scotland it is harder to get and retain chefs and often accommodation should be offered to attract suitable candidates.
Sous chefs
The availability of sous chefs in rural Scotland is good. Sometimes, a mature former head chef will be happy to take a step back to work alongside head chef.
In more central Scotland, there are candidates about if paying decent money (i.e. upwards of £27,000 or £12-14 per hour) and offering good working conditions there is no reason why you cannot keep a good sous chef with a stable track record.
In rural Scotland, there can be a need to think outside of the box to retain and attract good sous chef candidates. Its is almost essential that you will need to provide accommodation in rural areas.
Chef de parties
Availability is very good in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the central belt.
In rural Scotland with accommodation there are candidates and you will get applicants if wages are decent, suggesting £10 to £12 per hour or a salary of between £21,000 - £24,000. The more money you can pay the better the availability there is.
Commis chefs
There are usually a few candidates available centrally or further afield if offering accommodation.
Pastry Chefs: this is quite a specialist position and there can be a couple of specialised pastry chefs looking, not always though.
Enclosed link to minimum wages.
www.minimum-wage.co.uk/
Availability of Relief Chefs changes, and we can advise daily. The rates of pay are £13 to £17 per hour according to the position.
Is the customer always right? The most debatable topic in our industry…
"The customer is always right" is a motto or slogan which exhorts service staff to give a high priority to customer satisfaction. ... "If we adopt the policy of admitting whatever claims the customer makes to be proper, and if we always settle them at face value, we shall be subjected to inevitable losses."
Working in the hospitality industry you are constantly working with the general public. Working with the public on a daily basis can prove to be difficult at times. ‘Is the customer always right?’ is one of the most debatable topics in every section of the working industry. It often causes unwanted conflict between the customer and the employees. It makes the employee’s job very difficult if the customer is complaining on things they cannot control.
Customers often make unreasonable expectations and requests that sometimes cannot be resolved and it leaves us as the employees trying to make the best out of a bad situation often offering discounts on their next return etc. As employees it can be difficult to give other customers your best service when you are stuck dealing with the complaining customers. This can reflect badly on other customers and if you receive one bad complaint on places such as trip advisor then it can completely change the way customers view your establishment. I personally think sites such as trip advisor are a good way of expressing your opinion but can also cause a lot of bother for establishments when one bad customer leaves a terrible review.
It makes you often wonder if some customers just complain for the sake of a discount or a full refund, this is something I seen a few times when I worked as waitress. As a waitress it is often a hard one, you need to take complaints on food that you never cooked yourself, often relaying back and forth between the customer and kitchen. I previously worked in a family friendly hotel and one couple complained of young kids making noise at the table across, as a waitress this is something completely out of my control. I wasn’t able to tell the young children to be quiet but at the same time all I could do was apologise on their behalf. When walking in to a family friendly establishment then you need to expect families with young children to be around. I was in utter shock but again, I could only do my best to ‘help’ the complaining customer and offered them a discounted bill at the end.
When looking at reviews myself I often look on one or more pages of the reviews as one bad complaint can be out ruled by several good reviews. Complaints are an excellent way for businesses to build and change things that may not be working for them; it allows the business to grow.
So it brings to me to ask the question, do you think the customer is always right?
So today marks my 9 year anniversary of working with Chefs In Scotland. I was first asked to come in for a couple of weeks to do some filing and here we are 9 years later. Its been a great experience working with Michael and seeing a few other come and go and now we have a stable team with Jessica and Jade. Here is to the next 9 years 😊😊
We have over 30 relief chefs working all over Scotland, relief work is still pretty quiet, but we are managing to get a few chefs out. A lot of the jobs coming in are more area specific and have no accommodation, so this time of year it is no problem getting a chef booked because we have good availability. We have had more relief jobs coming in for mid-season and the positions have been filled with chefs happy to get confirmed in advance.
We are happy to meet you here in Moffat to discuss relief work or permanent work we are available Tuesday – Friday just get in touch to check our availability.
To register for relief work for the new season ahead please email your CV to jojo@chefsinscotland.co.uk including at least 2 recent work references and your up to date hygiene certificate.
Relief chefs we have out working at the moment include:
Sharon Shearer is back at the Kitchen Brasserie where she is covering the head chef for a couple of weeks
Ross Hunter is at the Glenburn Hotel where he was last year in the summer, he is there for another 2 weeks
Dale Paton is booked again at The Fife Arms Turriff
Phil Smith was back helping at Loch Nell Hotel
David Ironside is starting today at the Breadalbane Hotel in Aberfeldy
Pawel Cimek is at The Inn on The Tay working with Jamie Atkinson
George McCallum is at Nevis Bank Inn
Jamie Shand is at the Nethybridge Hotel
Ionel Rizea is at the Bridge of Cally Hotel
Leon Edgson is at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness
Stuart MacColl is at Lomond Hills Hotel
Thanks to all of our relief chefs for all of your hard work and continued support 😊
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