Last Friday as it was the end of the month the Chefs In Scotland team took a trip over to The Powfoot Hotel which has recently been taken over by Del Amitri, excellent chef Martin Avey and his wife Lisa. Del Amitri used to be Annan and it was very popular and situated in the centre of town. The new restaurant at The Powfoot Hotel is in an amazing location with a stunning view. We were very lucky to have a dry day and watch the tide come in looking over the Solway Firth.
Martin Avey used to do relief work with CIS and still maintains his grade 1 status on our database so we were keen to sample food from his new venture. I have eaten at Del Amitri before and the food was excellent so I was excited to see the new menu.
To begin with we had a Solway gin and tonic sitting by the floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the sea which I would highly recommend. Then through to the table to be served some delicious tomato and herb, freshly baked rolls and look at the wine list. We chose a dry, Spanish white wine as we were having mainly pork, fish and seafood.
To start I had the crayfish tail with langoustine ketchup, pickled samphire and popcorn. All the flavours balanced together very well and all of the starters looked beautiful. For main I chose belly of pork with creamed cabbage, black pudding bon bon and pomme anna. The pork melted in the mouth and was very tender. We had a portion of chips and aioli on the side which were all homemade and delicious and very moreish.
For pudding with a glass of late harvest desert wine I had Pedro Ximenez cheesecake. Sweet pieces of cheesecake with Pedro Ximenez jelly and a lovely cheesecake base.
I cannot fault the service we received. There when you needed them and the atmosphere in the small 40 cover restaurant was buzzing.
I am hoping to go again next week with the family and I am sure they will enjoy it as much as we all did.
Jessica
Availability of Chefs in Scotland 2nd August
There are candidates in central Scotland if paying good money in excess of £28,000 and upwards for head chef jobs.
In rural Scotland including Inverness and all the highlands and islands, there are not many head chefs and we advise offering accommodation with permanent or seasonal head chef jobs to attract candidates. Otherwise you may have to wait some time until a relevant local candidate becomes available.
In rural Scotland and particularly for 2AA Rosette country house hotels relevant candidates are scarce. Skye, Shetland Islands and rural Argyll, it is proving hard to get relevant candidates despite the payment of good money. (about £35,000 for 2AA Rosette head chef) .
Suggest paying £28,000 upwards to £40,000 according to requirements and demands of the job. Ideally we advise for a five day week and over-time paid on a pro rata basis for extra days worked and for hours in excess of 48 on a pro rata basis.
For seasonal head chef jobs suggest £120 per day or £600 per week with end of season bonus for completion.
Aberdeenshire, Dundee and East coast, there are a few Head Chefs registered.
Inverness and the highlands of Scotland mainland pay good money with good accommodation and you will get some decent candidates unless you are 2AA Rosette or 3AA Rosette in which case it may be a bit tight.
Head Chefs are being put off jobs that offer set wage for 5 or 6 days per week and prefer to work 5 day weeks or if six paid by the day.
In rural Scotland we are advising offering live in also, ideally at no charge to the chef.
The more central, the more candidates you will expect to get and the more rural, the harder it can get.
With all the social media currently available, many chefs are becoming very savvy about where they wish to work and establishments with records of poor chef retention may find it harder to attract good quality permanent candidates. Scotland is quite a small country.
Sous chefs
If it is a live in position for 4 star hotel suggest paying £24,000 to £30,000.
In central areas such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Stirling can try live-out and there are a few relevant chefs. In rural Scotland, it is particularly hard to get candidates at this time of the year but there are some candidates if there is a good package in place.
2AA Rosettes and are quite scarce. Suggest wages of £26,000 - £28,000 upwards to £30,000 for 3AA Rosette sous chef.
A good way to attract candidates is to pay hourly rates for every hour worked by chefs.For sous chefs suggest £11 to £14 per hour this will help to attract and retain good candidates.
If paying salaried, we suggest five day week with overtime pro rata over 48 hours.
Chef de parties
Availability currently ok in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perthshire and central belt. Quality is mixed. In rural Scotland with accommodation there are a few candidates if wages are decent, suggesting £8.50 to £12 per hour.
There are some chefs looking for live in accommodation and may be happy to relocate and again are of varying quality.
If paying by salary suggest £19,000 for a 45 hour week works out £8.11 an hour which is on the low side. Suggest paying up to £22,000 or hourly rate £8.50 - £12 per hour with live in accommodation at a small charge. We would hope you will get decent candidates with this.
Commis chefs
A few bodies available including students coming out of college. Enclosed link to minimum wages.
www.minimum-wage.co.uk/
Pastry a few available happy to have a look
For perm we can look if pay “fee of interest” or advertise
Availability of Relief Chefs change daily and we can advise.
The last year of my career as a chef was spent as a pastry chef in a two rosette restaurant with rooms near Edinburgh. I have always had an interest in pastry although I do think it is important to be able to work all sections of the kitchen especially as you move up the ranks. I know the pastry section is one that divides us all. Some chefs love it and some hate it. But either way I think it is a very good skill to have, even if it is just the basics.
I used to make all our own breads twice a day. These included the rosemary focaccia of which the most important ingredient was the olive oil used to cook it with. The quality of the olive oil could make the bread taste so different but it was nice to pick rosemary from the kitchen garden except in the middle of winter when the gate had frozen shut. We also made a wholemeal loaf with a mixture of seeds, our own roasted and ground spelt and treacle. It was delicious and could be used for toast the next day.
I also made all the desserts from scratch; this usually included a chocolate dessert, a parfait or cheesecake, and one other plus a cheese board. We made our own crackers, oatcakes and quince paste. As well as all of the petit fours which were usually rum and raisin fudge, pate au fruits and either truffles, mini tarts, biscuits or freshly baked orange or lemon and poppy seed madeleines.
I have always enjoyed baking and now even more so as I don’t do it as often. I brought some scones in a few weeks ago and they were a hit at the Chefs In Scotland office. I think nowadays pastry and baking is becoming a really big hobby with the rise of shows like the Great British bake off which is very popular nowadays and some of the skills shown by amateurs is amazing.
I know some chefs aren’t keen on the pastry section but do you think it is a skill that more chefs should try and have even if it is just the ability to cover the section on a day off?
Jessica
One of the things that I have always to be found important in any industry is ongoing training. Over the years I have been lucky enough to work with and learn from some excellent chefs. I think training of younger or less experienced members of the team is such a crucial part of being a chef. I see it as a sharing of knowledge, not giving your best tips away. To work together as a team I feel it is very important to make sure that the junior members have as much information as they are willing to take on.
I know we have all seen it in kitchens we have worked in where the young commis claims to know it all and get it wrong in the end but at the end of the day we are all just learning. Sometimes people find it difficult to admit that yes they need advice or help to do their job but this is all part of the process. I used to enjoy helping to train up some of the more junior members and see their skills grow.
Now I work in chef recruitment, training, especially ongoing, is equally as important. We have training once a week at Chefs In Scotland office and this sometimes can go in all directions as you can always learn new things from other people whether junior or senior members. I quite enjoy training up junior members of the team to see them hit their targets because not only does it mean that the work load is lightened but it also means that they are getting better at the job which is the best thing to see.
I have never worked with a chef who hasn’t been willing to help train junior team members and even some relief chefs we had were excellent also. However I have heard stories of chefs watching things going wrong or not wanting to share their knowledge.
How important do you think training is in the hospitality industry?
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