Our fascination with all things food is growing and new restaurants and cafes continue to open to cater for our ever evolving taste. However the hospitality industry is experiencing a serious shortage of chefs and could be heading to crisis point.
The pool of talent is growing ever smaller and keeping a consistent staff in your kitchen is only getting more difficult. This gives top chefs the ability to be more discerning over where and how they work and it’s harder to keep staff long term.
But this is not just a local issue, there is a significant world shortage of skilled chefs. So now you aren’t just competing with the restaurant down the street for staff, you are competing nationally and internationally.
One of the primary causes of the chef shortage is the lack of young fresh talent entering the industry and staying. Reality television has glamourised cooking and given young aspiring cooks an unrealistic impression of the training and years involved to reach top chef level.
The hours are long and taxing and incongruent with other industries. There are many years of apprenticeship training and then kitchen experience doing mundane repetitive tasks before they reach the level of head chef. It is labour intensive work and without true passion it is difficult to stay committed long term.
There is high demand from all over the developed world for talented chefs. With this global demand, a local Australian restaurant has to work hard to find and keep an excellent chef.
As you consider how to fill the gap in your kitchen, think about your options globally, and focus on countries that are training chefs.
For some time now, top restaurants globally have been looking internationally to countries such as the Philippines to fill the talent gaps in their kitchens. Chef training in the Philippines is world class producing skilled and talented chefs.
Australian restaurants have the great advantages of reasonable wages and working conditions, which are very appealing to international chefs looking for long term placement in a reputable restaurant. Australia also has a booming hospitality and tourism industry, providing good prospects for job security for the international job hunter.
Well trained chefs that are considering an international position come ready to commit. They’re already familiar with the long hours and gruelling conditions of a fast paced kitchen. Once integrated into your team, you will have a highly skilled chef with international training and experience for the long term.
If you are considering international recruitment to solve your staffing issues, make sure you employ a reputable and experienced international recruitment company to take you through the right channels. It’s also important that your new employee’s skill are independently assessed to make sure you get the most talented and experienced chef.