Where have all the Chefs gone?
"There are plenty of chefs, there's one mowing a lawn, one driving a bus, one painting a house, there are plenty of chefs its just that none of them are cooking anymore"
anonymous internet comment
A week or so ago a good friend of mine, albeit, a chef nearly twenty years my junior, trial-ed for a kitchen position in one of the best restaurants in the world. Arriving early on a Monday morning he found the kitchen bursting with chefs, both full time and "staging" (free work experience). So crowded was the kitchen that some were sent home in order for the kitchen to function normally. This is not the average kitchen experience, this is antithetical to the average kitchen, as so cleverly pointed out by the opening quote which I came across as I browsed the internet.
I have to qualify that the below are my own thoughts, experiences and opinions regarding the current shortage of chefs in Sydney, London and beyond. The opinions are mine only, you may have your own opinion which may differ from mine. Open and considered debate is a wonderful thing. I have linked an article on twitter simply to illustrate the situation not in any way to in-force my views. Interesting enough, as I wrote this, in my favorite cafe just downstairs from my London apartment, I witnessed a "kitchen" meeting just opposite my table. From my devilishly clever eves dropping I could tell that they were planning to alter the menu and service style to overcome a shortfall of kitchen staff. The problem was that the plan mean't trimming kitchen hours and thus pay. There was considerable apprehension that staff would be lost if pays were reduced. Staff that they couldn't afford to lose as they were difficult or nearly impossible to replace. Now I'm not so naive to think that restaurants don't need to be profitable. Without profit a business closes and no one has a job, that said, staff need to be able to afford to live and not be treated simply as a figure on a profit and loss statement. We need to find a balance, as you can't run a service business without staff.
Chefs are a lot like actors, for every Brad Pitt there are a million others attempting to reach the same heights or a least survive and make a living. The same is true for chefs, there are, and can be, only so many Gordon Ramsey's, Jamie Oliver's or Heston Blumenthal's. Maybe the world could continue without "everyday" actors but Im not sure it could without "everyday" chefs. Anecdotally as a society we seem to be becoming more and more "time poor. The victim of which I feel is home cooking. Simultaneously yet paradoxically we are becoming more enamoured with food and dining out, which on both accounts is feeding demand for restaurants and thus chefs. A lot of the most famous kitchens are jammed packed with chefs, all hoping that some of the lustre of working in a "top" kitchen will adhere to them. These chefs are serious and filled with intent. Intent in learning as much as they can as they are trying get a foothold in the most tenuous of ground, the upper reaches of the restaurant game. Others are there to learn and improve there already formidable skills, as kitchens have an osmotic nature which facilitates the creative process. This is long, hard and brutal work, but offers great rewards. Contrast this to the ninety five percent of kitchen's which will experience a shortfall in employable chefs. Scarily enough, particularly for the dining public, this is where most of todays dining is done. In the average pub, cafe or favorite local restaurant. Having said this, even now the top end is finding recruitment a serious challenge, even within this hallowed ground, staff are being spread thin by demand, new openings and a high attrition rate.
In the week since I began this piece, which I must admit is not that little anymore, as it seems to grow longer and longer each day, I have been approached to help find staff for chef friends. Almost daily I read another article about the shortage of chefs and staff in the industry. Particularly interesting was a piece in www.bighospitality.co.uk about Mikael Jonsson's two restaurants and the staffing issues that he faces, with a reference here to the changes that Sat Bains has also made in his restaurant to limit the effects of the same. This is not a new problem it's been developing for many years.
Ten Years ago.
Ten years ago I was running a very upmarket kitchen in an equally upmarket suburb of Sydney. The restaurant itself was well established for fine dining, was in a great location and had a strong and loyal customer base. The business had consistently managed to hold onto a great market share over many many years though good food and great service. We had lost staff though the natural attrition of winter and as long term staff moved on and left the industry. Some of our staff had been with us for more than 10 years, we naturally struggled to replace people with such experience. As summer was approaching, and with the expected increase in demand that comes with the summer season, we ramped up our recruitment process. Our solution was to advertise more and make our positions more attractive against other advertisers. The thinking was that we could attract more staff from further a field if we provided them with a greater incentive. But I could see a looming disaster, as we had struggled all winter to find suitable candidates. For three weeks I waited, receiving no replies or any interest whatsoever for the advertised kitchen positions. Meanwhile the season was getting busier and busier, and as a result I was having to work more and more to cover the short fall in staff in the kitchen. It was now normal for me to do six, often seven, days a week lunch and dinner from 7am to 11pm straight though. Tensions were high both in the kitchen and at home. My other full time staff, exhausted, needed days off. In the end one of my most solid chefs ended up walking out, stating that he just needed time to wash his clothes, take a shit and see his young family. "I don't mind working hard" he told me "but I can't do this anymore, I have a young son, its not worth it for the money" I couldn't blame him. Finally, after many weeks, a trickle of resumes and of interest. Mostly visa chefs either on holiday or studying on the Australian governments skills shortage program. Where I needed highly skilled chefs I was getting transient workers and the barely qualified. Neither of these fulfilled my requirements. After two months of advertising I had employed one chef on a short term visa. I needed 2 or 3 more but I knew they simply weren't out there in the jobs market, which was fierce with competition. We hobbled though that summer, but it left me exhausted and disillusioned. This was the end of the road for me, as I had made the decision to leave restaurant cooking. For me the stress, the hours and the pay didn't match the sacrifice. Turning my back on something that I loved and lived for was incredibly hard as was the thought of what next. My health was terrible, overweight, high blood pressure and almost divorced, I was, as my doctor said a stroke or heartattack in waiting. And all achieved in my thirties. I have only worked casually as a chef ever since in cafes, restaurants, guesthouses and for private clients, or as a teacher of cookery, and, I have loved every minute of it. The joy of just cooking, without all the issues, unrealistic expectations and poor pay that come with a full time gig. A cop out, I hear you say. No not at all, been there, done that, would I do it again, of course.
Today
Walking away, In hindsight, is the best thing that I have ever done. That was ten years ago and I don't really believe that the staffing situation has improved. Case in point here is a twitter link to a piece written in the "Australian" newspaper by well respected food writer John Lethlean (twitter link below)
Having now been involved in the training of chefs as well as maintaining a, albeit reduced presence, in the kitchen I am in a position to reflect back and have a true insight into the dilemmas that are facing my beloved trade. What I see is disturbing. But why write about this? Well I have read many online articles about a chef shortage which have been reinforced with conversations that I have had with other chefs around the world. From Sydney to London I hear the same thing, "I need staff...good staff, do you know anyone". To which my usual, and honest reply is "No, no I don't, all the best guys are working". The catalyst, for writing this was, on my return to Australia watching an interview on ABC TV regarding the abolishing of penalty rates for hospitality and shop workers. With a bad taste in my mouth I penned the following, venting on Facebook in the vain attempt at cathartic healing.
"Watching the news tonight I see that once again that the powers that be want to take away the penalty rates from hospitality workers. I also see that this is supported once again by the pathetically short sighted restaurant and caterers association. GREAT IDEA! I mean, across the industry, there's a shortage of highly skilled and talented chefs now, let's attract more people into the industry by keeping the long and anti-social hours BUT lets decrease the wage! Now I'm sure that will flood the industry with excited Masterchef hopefuls willing to get paided less to serve the people who would only work on a Sunday if they got penalty rates. I bet that they will still be cooking up a storm for the next year or so, if they last that long.
But then lets "streamline" the training, so not only now do you get paid less but you get trained less as well. That will solve the problem of high staff turnover, won't it?
WOW now I can go out on a Sunday, get served by a different staff member each week, wait twice as long for food that is half as good and pay the same price. But wasn't I already paying a weekend surcharge? I'm confused
So next time, in the future, when your out and the food is sh*t and the service bad just remember there's nothing better than putting cheap poorly prepared food inside your body served to you by poorly trained transiant workers who don't care because they will be mowing lawns next week as they can earn more. Great thinking from the guys that brought you the failed "let's save the restaurant industry by giving everyone a Visa" system.
You don't build an business by pulling it down, you build it up and train those in it and by educating, building and growing your customers. The world is already full of cheap food, we should be aiming for good food and empowering the people who cook it, serve it and eat it.
There's a simpler answer; We all should be paying the TRUE cost of the food not our perception of what it should cost, but that's another story."
From this rant I received some interesting replies. Quite a number from trained and experienced chefs saying how they have left the industry because the pay and conditions were too bad for them to rationally continue professionally cooking. That they could in fact earn more, work less, and be happier, as a labourer on a building site rather than running a kitchen. This is a sad indictment of our industry, but it is the reality, an industry which has now been once again knocked off kilter by the emergence of faux-reality shows like Masterchef that create interest in food but do little to improve the perceptions of what cooking professionally actually involves. We are living though an age of media/advertising driven"self entitlement". Some new employee's arrive with a preconception that everything will be laided out for them and that they will be running the kitchen within a week, that they know better than staff that have toiled away for years perfecting their craft. Ive been told on occasions "No I don't do that" when asked to sweep the floor or peel a bag of onions, "Im here to cook". This over fostered false sense of ability coupled with an unwillingness to put in the hard yards is to the detriment of the industry and the individual, as well as the customer sitting at the table. A media profile is now more important than talent in the kitchen.
The reduction in penalty rates is a short sighted fix to a far more complex issue. The argument is that by reducing rates on Saturdays and Sundays businesses would be able to employ more workers. Really? The question for me is, firstly, where are these workers going to come from? And if founded are are most likely to be unskilled workers and juniors, which will not solve the service demands of an ever increasing food aware dining public. Secondly, will highly skilled and trained workers actually want to work for a reduced wage on weekends, sacrificing family or personal time? Or will they just leave the industry to find employment that can actually fulfill their long term need for self actualization? These days, If you pay peanuts your not even going to get monkeys.
I don't think that lessening wages and worsening conditions will attract the staff that are needed to run a successful hospitality business in our modern dining scene. We need well paid and trained professionals. The second argument is that weekend rates are a hangover from the past and that weekends are no different from weekdays. Examining this logically most businesses are closed on weekends, think of law firms and accountants to name but a few. If, as suggested, weekends are no different from weekdays then there would be no increased demand on Saturdays and Sundays as everyone would be at work, right, well No. There is increased demand on these days because as a society we embrace the idea of a weekend, time to rest and enjoy our families and the fruit of our toils. If we are equitable as a society, as we all like to think we are, then staff working on these days should be compensated accordingly. This true cost should be bourne by the dining public not by the employed staff, as basic business practice would suggest, if trading on a particular day is unprofitable then don't trade. Food should be good not cheap.
Which leads me to think, is the profit motive now so ingrained in us that we should give up our family and community for the sake of a balance sheet?. I hope not. A truly altruistic society should endeavor to support and grow the members within the community, not commodify them or view them as an expense or cost. Doing this unravels the threads that weave us together and we begin to view others though cold eyes. This is the antithesis of what food is meant to be, a ritual that that brings us together. Perhaps the real solution lies in consumers having to pay the true cost of the food that they consume, thus allowing the restaurant to make enough profit to pay its employees a fair wage, proportionate not only to skill but to the costs of living within society. A healthy community will foster good business. From a personal perspective as an apprentice chef I relied on penalty rates in order to pay my bills and thus survive. Without them I would have been unable to complete my training, which may have had mixed results, not only for myself, but also for society in general as lack of training leads to higher unemployment and greater reliance on social services which in turn is a cost to taxpayers and the community at large.
And what of training? Well from my unique perspective as a chef and a trainer I see a never ending down-scaling of training with an increased cost. This will be the death knell for chef-ing as a trade. Now a student will be lumped with a student loan before entering a profession whose wage will barely cover the cost of the debt. Really, is this the way forward, a debt driven style of education? This is without the pressure of education as a business and the "tick and flick" mentality that comes with it ultimately leads to a down skilling both in educational providers as well as in the work force. This is without considering the upward and downward pressure from students and faculty, to pass students as they have brought a qualification, and the ethical dilemma that this conjures up. It seems that to solve a skills shortage you just quite simply reduce training content, make it easier and faster to complete and qualify. So in the short term it appears that the number of staff increases but over a longer period a higher industry drop out rate occurs as staff aren't trained to be able to cope with the escalating demands of the kitchen. What also happens is that lesser trained staff are seen as this and paid lesser wages, thus fulfilling profit motive but at the detriment of service and customer satisfaction. Extrapolate this out over time and there is an industry wide dumbing down of, not only the staff but of the customer.
Lets hope for better.