On Friday evening after work, Chefs In Scotland went to Thornhill for a meal at the Buccleuch and Queensberry which is where Jessica, our Recruitment Consultant used to be a chef and also an establishment where Chefs In Scotland have placed chefs.
First of all when we arrived in Thornhill, we went to the small holding which is where Jessica had previously set up an arrangement between the farm and the Buccleuch and Queensberry for the farm to supply pigs to the hotel.
For our starters we had all decided to have something different from the menu so we could sample as many dishes as possible. Johanna had the Courgette and Spinach soup with homemade bread, Jessica had the Goats Cheese Salad, I had the eggs benedict (which was a nice big portion!) and Michael had the Tamworth Pork Terrine which was made using one of the pigs supplied from the small holding we had previously visited. We all thoroughly enjoyed the starters and could not wait to see what the main course was like.
For our main courses, Johanna had the Gnocchi in a tomato fondue with broad beans and asparagus, I had The Duke burger with chips, onion rings, salad and a homemade Buccleuch and Queensberry burger sauce and Jessica and Michael both had the Tamworth Pork Trio with chargrilled fennel and creamed spinach. We all agreed that the main course was lovely – so much variety on the menu and there really is something for everyone!
Lastly, we all managed to find enough room to squeeze in some dessert! Johanna had the Chocolate Fondant with cherry compote and Vanilla Ice Cream, I had 2 scoops of raspberry and lemon sorbets, Michael had a selection of local cheeses, oatcakes and chutney and definitely the star of all the selection of desserts we had was Jessica’s! She had the Elderflower and Gooseberry Baked Alaska which was a huge portion and presented so well! We all had a bit of dessert envy watching her dessert come out!
Overall, our meal at the Buccleuch and Queensberry was amazing, so much flavour, variety and great portion sizes! Definitely one to recommend!
Alannah Morrison
om":0}D�1kN�E Availability of
permanent head chefs is getting tighter and whilst employers may get 1
to 3 good to decent candidates, they are unlikely to get a stream of
head chef candidates.
There are more candidates in central Scotland if paying good money in excess of £28,000 and upwards.
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 although as the oil price increases so the demand for chefs
is increasing rapidly.
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.
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 Stirling can try live-out.
More rural availability including Aberdeen and Invernesshire is
becoming difficult, there are some candidates about but this is getting
tighter as we are now in the middle of the season. The quality of
candidates is mixed and trying to get a good sous chef is very
difficult.
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.
Availability is becoming much tighter in rural Scotland even if offering accommodation.
There are some chefs looking for live in accommodation and may be happy to relocate and again are of varying quality.
£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. Suggest £15,000 live
in or out. Or minimum wage which is £7.20.
Age 18 to 20 the minimum wage will still be £5.30 per hour.
Pastry a few available happy to have a look
For perm we can look if pay “fee of interest” or advertise
Relief is very tight at the moment but does change daily.
The world’s best 50 restaurants list was released this week and it got me thinking. With the EU referendum imminently looming how many of the restaurants are from Britain and how many from Europe?
The restaurants are located all over the world including New York, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Singapore, China, and Japan. A lot of the restaurants on the lists are EU countries such as Spain, France, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden. In the 50 best restaurants I would say there is about a 50/50 split of jobs between European countries and the rest of the world.
I think that it is amazing to be a part of Europe which has all of these amazing chefs including Britain with the likes of Isaac Mchale (Scottish) at Clove Club, Ashley Palmer Watts at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Brett Graham at The Ledbury to name a few.
Some of the amazing European chefs listed on there include Massimo Bottura from Osteria Francescana in Italy. One of my favourite books and a chef that oozes real passion for his ingredients such as his famous Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano which explores the region’s amazing cheese via temperature, texture and taste.
Next up on the list is Celler de San Roca which is run by the famous Roca brothers and situated in Catalunya, north east of Barcelona. The brothers are very well respected in the culinary industry.
At number 5 is the famous Noma which is owned by Rene Redzepi. The restaurant which is in Denmark, focuses on foraged food. Rene Redzepi plans to close the restaurant at the end of the year so if you want to go to this one you need to get in quick.
Back to spain at number 21 is the famous Arzak in the famous san Sebastian region, an area which has the most Michelin stars in the world. Run by Juan Mari and is being taken over by his daughter Elena.
At number 50 is Septime situated in Paris and one of its most talked about addresses. Run by chef-owner Bertrand Grebaut.
Have any of our chefs been too or worked at any of the restaurants on this list? http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners#t21-30
Who in your opinion is the greatest European chef?
This week I have been thinking about the different positions and levels in the kitchen.
The head chef looks after the day-to-day running of the kitchen including ordering, stock control, menu planning and health and safety and hygiene and all the relevant paper work of the kitchen.
The sous chef is responsible for this on the head chef’s days off.
A chef de partie is responsible for their own section in the kitchen and should be able to jump around all the sections, a useful skill to have.
A commis chef is the most junior position in the kitchen. Usually either fresh out of college or school, or with little experience or should be given direction and instruction from the more senior members of the kitchen.
My question is how much can these positions overlap and how difficult are they do understand by people who don’t have any experience of working in a kitchen be that a hotelier or a chef just starting out.
We have had some instances of places looking for commis chefs when in fact they need someone with more experience who can cover on the main chef’s days off. And equally ask for a sous chef when they really just need a reliable pair of hands.
How do these positions vary on the size of the kitchen?
We have many different cuisines in the UK which have come from other countries such as Poland, Spain, India, China, Greece, France, Turkey, Italy, Thailand and Japan just to name a few. But how much of an influence is this in the UK?
Many of the high street brands of restaurants resonate from other cultures for example Jamie’s Italian, Zizzi’s, Wagamama, Nando’s, La Tasca and Las Iguanas. We all have our local Chinese and Indian restaurants as well but how far derived from the original cuisine. It’s a well-known fact that most of the dishes in an Indian restaurant such as the British favourite Tikka Masala, aren’t dishes you would find in India. It has been developed for the British palate as it is less spicy.
I think what has really come in recently is the influence of Eastern European cuisine such as Poland and Hungary. It is so much easier nowadays to get ingredients of different cuisines just in your local supermarket. There isn’t the necessity for the specialised food shops. In every supermarket there is a Chinese, polish, Japanese, Thai and Indian section at least. Some of the larger supermarkets stock a bigger range of foods from around the world.
I personally love Greek food as I love how fresh everything tastes. What is your favourite food from another culture?
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