And . . . . are there enough chefs anyway? Meanwhile, the shortage of chefs is emphasized by new data from hospitality recruitment agency The Change Group shows that only one in three applicants for top chef positions in London is British. There are even fewer UK candidates at “chef de partie” level (the entry level to supervising a kitchen section) where only one in five applicants is a UK national. British candidates are most strongly represented at “head


chef” level, where one in two applicants is from the UK.


Over half of all applicants for jobs as skilled chefs in London are


from the European Union (53%). Migrants from non-EU countries account for only 14% of people registered with Change for work. This figure includes nationals from Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada and South Africa.


Hospitality is one of the UK’s fastest growing sectors: based on current Office of National Statistics figures, positions in the hospitality industry have grown by 4.8% compared to just 1.9% growth in UK jobs overall.


However, the industry continues to face a significant skills shortage, and figures released in July by


CV-Library show a 30% drop in the number of candidates applying for each position.


The impact of the skills shortage on top London restaurants is enormous, and prompted Duck and Waffle executive chef Dan Doherty recently to tweet “Right. Nobody is allowed to open any more restaurants until the chef situation is sorted. OK?”


hospitalitytoday.com | 29


Tom Kerridge of The Coach, in Marlow


Hospitality is rewarding . . . . but image needs boosting When asked how the hospitality industry could help to attract more people to become chefs, chefs who took part in the survey pointed to investment in intern/ work experience programmes (39%) and building a positive image for careers in hospitality (35%) as the key requirements.


However, a culture of long hours, a lack of structured training and unclear career paths have driven many to look for work elsewhere seeking better work/life balance (24%) or career progression (22%).


Change director Craig Allen says: “These figures are very worrying as they point to the fact that there is not enough British talent applying for chef careers and the number of skilled applicants from the EU isn’t enough to meet the demand. We need to attract more skilled migrants from other countries to bridge the gap. To do this, we need to change immigration policy.


“There is no doubt that the long term solution is to boost the number of Britons wanting a career as a chef. However, we need a short term fix as restaurants in London are struggling to find skilled chefs at all levels with demand simply outweighing supply.


“By reviewing immigration laws relating to skilled migrants, we could encourage freer movement of chef talent which in turn would support growth in the UK hospitality industry”.


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