Don’t blame us for chef shortage, say chefs
The figures are striking.
According to a Deloitte Access Economics report, more than 38,000 chefs are needed across Australia.
The result: some of the nation’s biggest hospitality groups are recruiting from overseas, spending valuable time, money and resources to find suitable employees in other countries.
Colin Fassnidge, celebrity chef and owner of Sydney’s restaurant 4Fourteen, blames the chef shortage on Gen Y.
To put it simply, he reckons young people just won’t do the hard yards required by the industry.
“I think it’s a generational thing, myself,” Fassnidge told the Daily Telegraph.
“A lot of young people don’t want to work hard — it’s now all about kids with tweezers wanting to put dots on plates. So when they start out, they’re like ‘oh this is hard’. Being a chef is like being in the army. You have to get stuff done, and it has to be good.”
Not so, says Zane Heemi, the head chef at Bluebonnet Barbecue in Melbourne.
He says it’s not a “generational problem” and kitchens around the world are now struggling with finding the talent.
He said that shows like MasterChef got people talking about the industry but failed to show what it really took to be a great chef.
“The show should realistically be a four-year series, to show how they get yelled at and do the shi**y jobs in the beginning, then, after a four-year slog, they are qualified, but not a chef,’’ Heemi told the Daily Telegraph.
“You keep working for a few years, and you may become a sous. A few more years of trying and failing and then maybe, just maybe you’ll be a chef.”
But Brigid Mallet, third year apprentice chef and spokeswoman for the Australian Culinary Federation Young Chef’s Club, says the real problem is the lack of mentoring from the older chefs.
“The problem is filtering down from the top,” Mallet told the Daily Telegraph.
“I am surrounded by qualified chefs, but the problem is a shortage of good, hard working chefs who are willing to mentor, teach and keep apprentices interested.
“There’s a lack of chefs who are willing to take time out and teach the young ones new things. It’s a seriously hard job, and we need that support.”
by Leon Gettler, May 19th 2016
