Chef shortage could halt Central coast food destination plans
DESPITE the rise of the glamorous celebrity chef and a plethora of high-rating TV cooking shows, it seems that in the real world — everyone wants to eat but few want to cook.
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HOPES of turning the Central Coast into a recognised food destination could be dashed if a chronic shortage of chefs cannot be solved.
Despite the rise of the glamorous celebrity chef and a plethora of high-rating TV cooking shows, it seems that in the real world — everyone wants to eat but few want to cook.
Regional Development Australia Central Coast CEO John Mouland said the problem had become so serious that some restaurants had faced closure because they could not find suitably qualified and experienced chefs.
Mr Moulan said the chef shortage has sparked a “dramatic increase” in applications to employ chefs and cooks under the Federal Government’s Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme.
“The scheme allows employers to nominate highly skilled workers from overseas or skilled temporary residents working in Australia to fill skilled vacancies in their business that they have been unable to fill from the local labour market,” Mr Moulan said.
Owner and chef of l’Isle De France Restaurant at Terrigal, Kavi Hurrydoss, said the shortage was the worst he’s seen in 25 years in the food industry.
“I advertised jobs for a couple of chefs for three months and I got two or three applicants and they are not suitable for the job — so it’s very very tough out there,” Mr Hurrydoss said.
He said qualified local workers were welcome but almost impossible to find and bringing in foreign interns had saved his business from closure.
“Only the international internship program has helped my business to be stable and to keep a high standard — otherwise I would shut the door and go home,” he said.
Under the program, Mr Hurrydoss employs people from overseas who have studied commercial cookery or hospitality and want some international exposure. They are paid award wages and stay on for 12 months. As one intern is coming to the end of his or her tenure, another one comes in to take over the work.
The method has proved so successful that Mr Hurrydoss is assisting other restaurants to stabilise their workforce through the scheme.
Mr Hurrydoss said a fluctuating and unreliable labour force would undermine any plans to create a food destination on the Central Coast.
He said the federal government should consider relaxing foreign labour laws and immigration rules as a means of addressing the chef shortage.
“You cannot get ahead — you can’t be innovative and creative — unless you have a talent pool that is consistent,” he said.
“The Central Coast food scene will stagnate — we will not be going anywhere — unless we solve this, because staff drive the business,” he said.
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