Restaurants desperate for chefs call on home cooks to fill roles
An unprecedented lack of these workers across the country means businesses are turning to desperate measures and offering huge incentives when hiring. SEE THE TOP-PAYING JOBS
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Queensland’s hospitality industry is facing unprecedented staff shortages, with some restaurants and cafes so desperate for employees they’re even advertising for eager home cooks to work as chefs.
Wes Lambert from Restaurant & Catering Australia said the accommodation and food service industry was reporting a workforce shortage of more than 100,000 people across the country – a shortfall of up to 35 per cent – with in excess of 46,000 ads for hospitality staff on recruitment site seek.com.au this week alone.
“There’s over 600,000 less people in Australia compared to pre-COVID and of those, 225,000 would have been eligible to work either as international students or visa holders and many of them would have worked in hospitality so that’s where a large part of the shortage is coming from,” he said.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE LIST OF QUEENSLAND’S TOP PAYING HOSPITALITY JOBS
Compounding the problem, Mr Lambert said, was that the number of TAFE students completing courses in food services had plummeted by almost 40 per cent in the past five years.
“It means at present most hospitality operations are reporting having to close for certain shifts and periods of the day and many seven-day-a-week operations are now open just four or five days because there aren’t the staff,” he said.
Owner of Brisbane wine bar @Mr & Mrs Jones in Hamilton, Karen Phillips, has been struggling to find a head chef for four months and had now begun advertising for passionate home cooks to work in the kitchen after failing to find a skilled operator.
“It really just comes back to someone who has a passion for food and genuinely loves putting good food on a plate,” she said, describing the lack or workers as “a mess”.
Ms Phillips, who comes from a security background, said she had even been forced to help in the kitchen herself after previous chef hires failed to work out.
“It’s desperate times when Karen’s in the kitchen plating up [and] it’s terrible times when my sous chef says he would rather have me in the kitchen than some of the trained chefs,” she said, revealing she had chefs turn up to work in thongs, while others couldn’t cook a simple steak.
Other hospitality operators have told The Courier-Mail they’ve been forced to team up with fellow restaurateurs to advertise for staff as a group to save money on continually running job ads. While others are planning to spread their employee searches to New Zealand, hoping to take advantage of the trans-Tasman bubble.
Poaching of staff has become a widespread issue across the country, as big name restaurants try to lure workers with lucrative salaries and coverage of interstate moving costs. While local venues have been offering incentives to attract staff from discounted dining to holidays. Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves eateries, for example, are providing a discount of 50 per cent off across the precinct, team recognition rewards, wellbeing initiatives including team yoga, run club, mindfulness sessions and access to independent confidential counselling services.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE LIST OF QUEENSLAND’S TOP PAYING HOSPITALITY JOBS
Nehme Ghanem from The Ghanem Group, which is behind acclaimed Brisbane restaurants such as Donna Chang and Blackbird Bar & Grill, said the staffing situation was “a nightmare”.
It has been particularly problematic for the group recently with the launch of two new restaurants and bars, Bisou Bisou and Iris, at the freshly opened Hotel X in Fortitude Valley.
“It’s been one of the biggest challenges we’ve ever faced,” Mr Ghanem said, revealing they have had to cut back on trading hours at a number of venues to cope with the lack of staff. “To find staff there are slim pickings to say the least. Pre-COVID about 35 per cent of our workforce were international and we’ve lost that.”
Mr Ghanem said the group currently had up to 30 positions vacant from entry level waiter roles to senior restaurant manager positions across their venues, with recruitment companies reporting up to 40 per cent of jobs advertised couldn’t be filled.
“We’re focused on on the ground training at the moment, trying to train the current staff and trying to increase their experience,” he said, revealing they offered bespoke incentives and rewards to hard workers to try to keep them.
“Retaining staff is very important so we make sure that the staff want to come to work and we make it a positive and vibrant environment.”
Co-owner of hugely popular Brisbane restaurants Agnes, Bianca, Same Same and Honto, Ty Simon said his restaurant group had been lucky with staff, attracting many southern state workers, as well as promoting from within.
“We have to be mindful of what are we offering (staff) that someone down the road won’t offer them,” Mr Simon said. “As soon as you try to offer a dollar more than someone else then it becomes a race to the bottom and I don’t think that’s the way to go.”
“We try to create an environment that people want to work in, and we have three other restaurants, so on their days off, they get a group discount to dine at those restaurants and I think that’s a selling point.”
NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO WORK IN HOSPITALITY
The hospitality staffing shortage may be crippling business owners, but for skilled workers there’s never been a better time to be in the industry, with job offers aplenty, working conditions better than ever, bespoke incentives and pay levels reaching new heights.
Pastry chef at Fortitude Valley fire-powered restaurant Agnes, Danny Rahilly, joined the eatery at the beginning of the year from an one Michelin-starred restaurant in Hong Kong and said he has already had eatery owners across the country attempt to poach him.
“Really it’s the greatest time to be a chef in this country and the worst time to be an employer,” he said.
Mr Rahilly made a name for himself working for acclaimed Australian restaurateur Scott Pickett in some of Melbourne’s top eateries, but said it was great working conditions and a terrific team that convinced him to take the job in Brisbane.
“There’s no where else in the country I’d rather be than here at Agnes,” he said. “It’s the culture and I do believe we’re doing some of the most exciting food in the country.”
Agnes has also attracted respected chef Alex Gregg from Melbourne’s coveted MoVida restaurant to be head chef, alongside Rani Parish, who left top Melbourne restaurant Embla, for a group sommelier role across Agnes and sister restaurants Same Same, Honto and Bianca.
“[Owners] Ty (Simon) and Ben (Williamson) are amazing bosses and they inspire me completely,” said Ms Parish. “It’s something I’ve been looking for for a long time.”
She said having a great team and working environment, as well as the opportunity to develop and progress in her career was what made the job so appealing.
“I think for this particular job I see Ben and Ty’s vision and I think I’m invested in that and I want to see these things through,” she said.
QUEENSLAND’S TOP PAYING HOSPITALITY JOBS
Chef de Parties
Gerard’s Bistro, Fortitude Valley
Benefits: Four day working week at restaurant recognised as one of the best in Australia
Apply at info@gerardsbistro.com.au
Head chef
Ricky’s Riverbar and Restaurant, Noosa
Benefits: Working at one of Queenslands best restaurants, with opportunity to earn commission
$95,000 – $109,999
Apply here
Commis and sous chef
La Cache a Vin, Spring Hill
Benefits: Monday to Friday work only – no weekends, no public holidays and six weeks holidays over Christmas
Apply here
Bartender
Mr Percival’s, Howards Smith Wharves, Brisbane City
Benefits: 50 per cent discount at all Howards Smith Wharves venues, team recognition rewards, wellbeing initiatives including team yoga, run club, mindfulness sessions and access to independent confidential counselling services.
Apply here
Head Chef
Elements 85, Hope Island
Benefits: Profit share and ownership opportunity
$80,000-$89,999 per year
Apply here
Chef
Leichhardt Accommodation Village, Moranbah
Benefits: Seven days off every two weeks, free accommodation, travel allowance
$80,000-$83,999 per year
Apply here
Head chef
The Rock, Toowoomba
Benefits: Bonus package and salary sacrificed short-term accommodation
$90,000-$115,000
Apply here
Kitchen Steward
Hamilton Island
Benefits: Live on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef with subsidised accommodation, discounts on restaurants and activities, gym membership for $10/wk
$20-$24.99 per hour + super
Apply here
Chef
I Need A Chef
Requirements: This hospitality agency is recruiting chefs of all levels for temporary and permanent placements within the industry and personal chef assignments in private homes throughout the CBD and inner and outer suburbs.
$30-$60 per hour
Apply here
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