Concerning issues keep good staff away from hospitality
The first Good Food Hospitality Symposium raised some concerning issues among industry leaders as venues struggle to attract skilled workers in Australia.
The event was attended by hundreds of hospitality professionals, with the sold-out panel discussion led by The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide editor Callan Boys and hosted by Good Food editor Ardyn Bernoth.
Also in the room were Palisa Anderson (Chat Thai, Boon Luck Farm), Alessandro Pavoni (Ormeggio at The Spit, a’Mare), Huss Rachid (Self Raised Bread Shoppe, My Mother’s Cousin), Rebecca Fanning (Arthur, Jane, Fior) and Lightspeed’s Patrick Ryan-Parker.
A key issue was the cost-of-living crisis, which Parker predicted could close one in every 13 hospitality businesses in the next 12 months.
The industry is being greatly impacted by lower consumer spending, according to 42 per cent of more than 1100 respondents to Good Food’s live blog poll.
Meanwhile Anderson noted resilience as a major factor keeping venues alive.
“You’ve got to have grit,” Anderson said at the event.
“You have to expect not to make much money, and the margins are getting smaller and smaller. If you do not evolve, you will die.”
According to Ursula’s, Lis Davies, the current difficulties of running a restaurant could discourage younger enthusiasts from seeking out hospitality as a career.
“How do we get more young Australians wanting to work in the industry long term … [when] owning your own venue is becoming something a lot of the people working for us are seeing is harder and harder to aspire to?” Davies said.
Panellist Huss Rachid said, “I think it’s not a matter of how we get them in, it’s a matter of how we get them to stay. It’s important to establish a culture [where] … this is not just a job for someone, it’s a career.”
Rashid said casualised standards present another hurdle.
“We casualised all of our businesses after COVID … [because] people need to feel confident they can go to a restaurant and don’t have to take out a mortgage to have a meal,” he said.
Alessandro Pavoni questioned whether staff would go overseas to seek higher wages.
“As we give up on the finer end of dining because the maths don’t make sense at the moment, [will] talented young Australians just look to go overseas?
“Whether they’re in the wine space, whether they’re chefs, they will want to work at the fabulous, successful restaurants in London, Paris and across Europe.”
There is a promising career to be had in Australia.
“You have to change the way people see kitchens and front-of-houses, [get rid of] the yelling and the mildly abusive [behaviour],” Rebecca Fanning said.
“Show [the younger generation] that [the people in your restaurant] are really great at what they do, they have so many skills to teach, they have all of this knowledge, and they’re really great human beings.”
Jonathan Jackson, 27th June 2024
