Jason Saxby, executive chef and part-owner of Sydney’s Osteria Di Russo & Russo restaurant, says there is a desperate shortage of chefs right across Australia.
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He believes several factors contribute to the shortage but, regardless of the reason, the end result is restaurants are struggling to find people to work in their kitchens.
“It’s bloody hard to get help,” Mr Saxby said. He said he might get 20 applicants for a job, but 18 of those will never be chefs.
A large portion will be overseas applicants looking for sponsorship to come and work in Australia.
Mr Saxby said if you were lucky there would be two suitable applicants, but they still had to survive the trial period.
“It’s really hard. Every week in Sydney an amazing new restaurant opens. In the past year and a half, 50 incredible restaurants opened in Sydney and they all required chefs,” he said.
Mr Saxby said, for a chef, a brand new restaurant was perhaps more exciting than working for an established one. He believes the MasterChef phenomenon has also played a part.
It has created a passion in people to be part of the food industry, but they want a short cut.
He said cooks talk about their “food dream” but don’t want to do the hard yards of an apprenticeship.
However, without an apprenticeship, you can miss some of the foundations that make you a great chef – the discipline, learning to respect the hierarchy of the kitchen, working really hard to get to the next level.
“Without an apprenticeship you miss out on those fundamental skills,” Mr Saxby said.
He said low pay for apprentices and punishing work hours also deterred a lot of people.
“I definitely think the hours are too big for a lot of people,” Mr Saxby said.
“Eighty hours in a hot, sweaty kitchen is not as appealing as another job that pays more money for a lot fewer hours.
“I seriously love the hours. When I started out I was working 90-hour weeks.
“I never get a Saturday night off unless I am between jobs, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
“There is nothing else I can picture myself doing. I have made my life revolve around food.
“That is the kind of passion that drives you,” Mr Saxby said.
He said because the pay for apprentices was so low many could not afford to pay rent, especially in Sydney.
Mr Saxby believes the government needs to ensure more apprentices come through by giving them some support.
Scott Taylor from Al Dente agreed that finding people willing to work the necessary hours was hard.
“It’s not a 9-5, Monday to Friday job,” he said.
“I’ve been looking for baristas. Young people don’t want to work the long hours, they want to go straight to the top.
“I do a lot of catering and the biggest headache can be getting staff.
“I am very lucky to have a lot of loyal staff. I’m blessed.”
Shawn Pyne, general manager Rydges Mount Panorama Bathurst, has only been in the city for eight weeks. However, from what he has already seen, he says there is a shortage of skilled chefs, especially when you are seeking to employee chefs in senior positions.
“To combat this we try and work closely with the local training providers and take on apprentices so we can train them to be able to handle the forever changing needs and demands of our busy kitchens,” Mr Pyne said.
“Possibly this is due to the long hours, hard work and, in some cases, what the industry is paying them.
“The regional location can sometimes also be a challenge,” he said.
Mr Pyne said Rydges always tried to employ people locally, but there were times when they had no choice but to try to attract people from other areas.
