Ruschenberg on Facebook wrote that the procedure of scheduling double shifts does not work as the boss is paying 50% more for at best the same worker. On double shifts, Eugene has seen workers becoming drags on the entire team by losing focus or leading to short tempers. He suggested that by consistently over-scheduling workers, the kitchen naturally becomes short staffed because if one chef was to become injured or ill, there is no-one to fill in without serious juggling of all the employee’s lives.
As a consequence of feeling overworked and underpaid, staff turnover in restaurants is often high. Eugene also suggested that a procedure hotels and restaurants could use in order to prevent this is by paying a living wage and maintaining a drama free kitchen as this would create cohesion and efficiency within the team.
Chris Thornton, head chef at Restaurant Mason in Newcastle, New South Wales, suggested that the lack of young chefs is due to self-gratification as they do not want hard working conditions. Younger chefs do not want to have to progress up the career level: they believe they have the ‘x factor’ and do not want to be sent home being told that their skills are nothing exceptional. Three people on our Facebook thread stated that they had quit their jobs because the hours they worked for so little pay had got worse. They loved their jobs and still miss the thrill of working in the kitchens, but they decided it was not worth the stress associated with the hours and wages. The lack of pay has even caused one chef’s nervous breakdown after ten years of working, and another one to focus more on his expanding family after twelve years of cheffing.
However, Ed Steins, another of our Facebook followers, disagreed with the rest of the commenters on the thread, saying that he did not understand why the chefs were moaning about their hours and pay. Ed stated that when he worked under a chef, he felt that all the head chef was doing was giving orders to the other members of the kitchen, whilst not putting any effort into the job itself. This comment, however was taken up by Elise Chef, head chef at Jude Kitchen and Bar, who says that the majority of chefs work very hard and that Ed had presumably worked as a kitchen hand. Elise suggests that if Ed wanted the head chef’s job then he could have put in the hard work, training and study to fulfil his dream.
It is clear that hours and pay are always going to be significant issues for chefs around the world and one that is not going to disappear anytime soon.
By Jenny Williams
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