We have 53 relief currently out working in Scotland and North England.
Unfortunately, there have been a few fall downs on relief over the past 10 days – this is very frustrating but fortunately we have managed to fill these gaps – Thanks Guys 😊
Our Festive opening hours will be
Monday 20th 9am to 5pm
Tuesday 21st 9am to 5pm
Wednesday 22nd 9am to 5pm
Thursday 23rd 9am to 4pm
Closed from 24th December and re-opening the office on Tuesday 4th January 2022 – ready and raring to take on a brand New Year
Here are some of the chefs who have stuck it out and are working hard – thank you all 😊
Ally Brown and George McCallum still in Tighnabruich at The Kames Hotel
Gillet Libabu has taken some leave at Balcary Bay Hotel to go back home to Kenya to spend time with his family
Lee Robertson has found his feet and has been getting on really well at Fernhill and is now working at the Cally Palace in Dumfriesshire
Ricky Leyland is still at the Sure Hotel in Lockerbie where he had the pleasure of working with Stuart MacColl and would very much like to cross paths with him again next year
Shun Murray is seeing out the rest of the year (and maybe longer) at The Airds hotel
Lorne Brown another chef who stayed put and this was at The Cally Palace where he spent near 5/6 months
Colin Thomson headed north to Scourie Hotel, then to The Glengarry Castle, Mackays Hotel in Wick over to Kylesku Hotel and is now South of the Border at The Bridge Hotel in Buttermere
Mark Shaw also spent his summer at Altskeith Country House with the odd day helping at Monachyle Mhor when he had some days off – he is currently at Easterbrook Hall in Dumfries, a care home then south for Christmas and New Year and has his January sorted in Stornoway
This is just a few chefs to mention – thanks to all our loyal, hard working relief chefs your support is greatly appreciated 😊
Take Care and Stay Safe xx
We currently have 47 relief chefs out working in Scotland and North England, this is the most we have had out this year 😊
We have 14 relief jobs confirmed so far for the week I’m hoping for another 4 or 5 today.
We are still happy to register new relief chefs or to see if you have any availability even if it’s a few days this may help out an establishment to get another fellow chef a couple of days off.
Tel: 01683 222830 or Email: jojo@chefsinscotland.co.uk
Here are a few we have out just now
Tony Orr has returned to The Bridge Hotel in Buttermere for another 4 weeks.
Dale Paton and Anthony Howard are at The Friars Carse Hotel in Auldgirth.
Joe Wright is at Ednam House Hotel in Kelso.
Ste Flindall is working away in Fort William at Glen Nevis Holidays.
Martin Ross has now left Skye and is down in Dumfriesshire at The Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright, looking forward to some more fab photographs.
Glyn Council working odd days here and there at the Holiday Inn in Dumfries.
Robert McHugh worked his 1st stint in Skye at the Duisdale Hotel and is now a little closer to home working at The Rowardennan Hotel.
Steve Lyall has headed upwards to the Boat Inn in Aboyne for 4 weeks.
We thank all our relief chefs for your continued support and hard work 😊
It is such a nice feeling to be doing this again!!!
We currently have 6 relief chefs who have started work 😊
We have been getting lots of adverts with 20 so far, we also have 1 permanent placement and 7 confirmed relief jobs so far for the week.
There are many jobs available on our website you can apply directly by clicking www.chefsinscotland.co.uk
Here are the chefs we have out just now
Phil Smith starting today at The Cot House in Dunoon
Lillian Clarkson is at The Kingshouse in Glencoe
Ryan Williamson is at The Sligachan Hotel in Skye
Tony Orr is also at The Kingshouse in Glencoe
Michael George and Leon Edgson are both at The Ballachulish Hotel
We really do appreciate your support and hard work.
It has been a very difficult 12 months, looking forward to a busy 2021 season ahead 😊
Take care all and stay safe xx
18th April 2021
The Availability of Permanent Head Chefs and Relief Chefs in Scotland
As we edge closer to much of Scottish Hospitality reopening on Monday the 26th of April, the availability of chefs is tightening up.
Most Head Chef jobs, if paying decent money, are still attracting applicants, although in many cases each Head Chef is being interviewed for several jobs at the same time, this seems to be particularly true in the major cities.
In rural Scotland, it depends very much on the job as to the number of applicants. 2AA Rosette Head Chef positions may get several applicants but only 1 or 2 who have relevant 2AA Rosette experience.
Hotel jobs paying by the hour in excess of £15 per hour will quite possibly still get a few applicants.
What is “decent money”?
Again, this can vary from job to job and by location. For Head Chefs I would say £35,000 and upwards is starting to be “decent money” This for a 45-hour week equates to just under £15 per hour. For 3AA Rosette Head Chefs, salaries can be in the region and in excess of £50,000 per year.
Bonus Schemes: A good bonus scheme can help to attract and retain Head Chefs. Based on achieving suitable gross profit margins, of say 65% and above. Wages ratio, kitchen cleanliness and customer feedback, all seems to be suitable for being built into a concise bonus scheme, getting certain amounts of money for achieving set criteria.
For relief chefs, the rates have currently stayed the same at Chefs In Scotland as last year as we look to get the season underway.
The availability of good relief chefs, well known to us, at the moment is quite reasonable. Many chefs have left the industry and have not returned at the moment, others have taken on permanent positions, as we move towards opening up the availability is expected to become poor, a bit like what it is like usually at Easter and just before Christmas, i.e., everyone who wants a job is fixed up.
The next couple of weeks promise to be quite challenging for all: hoteliers, restaurateurs and chefs, although hopefully things will begin to settle into some sort of rhythm.
Spouse Visa in the UK
A very basic outline
If you are married or in a long term civil relationship to a Uk citizen, you should be able to apply for a Spouse Visa.
This can take between 3 to 6 months to be granted as long as certain criteria are met.
The process can be speeded up by paying an extra amount and may be doable within 3 weeks.
The costs are quite high and will usually be in excess of £1000 but not more than £3000.
Applications are made to the Uk government through
www.gov.uk or google spouse visa uk
You must have a good knowledge of English and have either a specific amount of funds (c £62,000) or have a job offer in excess of a figure in the region of £20,000 per annum.
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