Workers needed: How to pave a $100k+ career in SA hospitality

Think the hospitality industry isn’t the place to make big bucks? Think again! Hospo work could earn you up to $180k a year – and there are currently 7000 jobs in SA up for grabs.

There are high-paying restaurant jobs for the taking in SA, with potential salaries reaching $180,000 for those who build a career in the industry, experts say.

As The Advertiser revealed on Monday, 7000 hospitality workers are required ahead of Christmas. Job search website Seek shows a number of vacancies across some of SA’s top food and wine businesses, from the head chef role at city French brasserie Hey Jupiter ($90,000-$119,999) to Penfolds’ Hospitality Business Manager (in the $120,000-$150,000 search filter).

Industry representative Emily Raven, who owns cafe My Kingdom for a Horse and is involved in a number of bodies including Restaurant and Catering SA, said the onus was on employers to innovate and help staff pave their career path.

“We need to try to create the business owners of tomorrow, otherwise we’re not going to have any restaurants and cafes,” Ms Raven said.

“There is a lot of demand for what we do and there are some great career opportunities. Here in SA we have a restaurant industry that has the opportunity for a complete reset. We are on the verge of something really special – we need talent and we need lots of it.”

Barista Hung-Yu (Nikki) Chen with My Kingdom for a Horse cafe owner, Emily Raven. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

More than a third of this year’s delicious. 100 – SA’s top 100 restaurants – are new or have reopened after significant changes since 2019, pre-Covid.

Ms Raven said she was working with government on a new careers expo for 2023, which would showcase modern apprenticeships and career opportunities in hospitality. For example, barista Nikki Chen is undertaking a Certificate III in hospitality management, and is also learning coffee roasting. She will assume a management position in Raven’s future third venue. Miss Chen, 32, said she developed a love for latte art, and enjoys working in hospitality because of the “customer service, the environment, and (because) everyone respects each other”.

Award rates vary according to skill and penalties apply. Sundays, for instance, attract 150 per cent loading for grade 3 staff upwards. Ms Raven said salaried roles, such as that of an executive chef overseeing several kitchens, could earn as much as $180,000 “depending on international experience and reputation”.

Hey Jupiter owner Christophe Zauner said budding chefs needed to be willing to invest the time and effort to reach higher pay and benefits.

“Like any job, you don’t just walk in and get all the perks right away,” he said.

Mr Zauner was recently forced to close his restaurant on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because he had been unable to find the right chef replacement. He is willing to pay up to $120,000 for the right candidate. “It’s not an easy job … but for people who stay (long term), they can have a good job and work life balance,” he said.