Chefs: 'We must address skilled labour shortage'

Al Bustan Rotana Dubai's Christophe Prud'homme.

According to top chefs, the ongoing shortage of skilled junior chefs is one that could cause serious problems for the industry in the long-term if it is not tackled now

Middle East chefs are facing problems recruiting competent junior staff, resulting in a skills shortage in the lower echelons of the region’s kitchens.

Le Méridien Mina Seyahi and The Westin Dubai complex executive chef Anston Fivaz noted that the matter had seen a short-term solution thanks to the flood of economy-induced redundancies over the past year.

“Over the course of 2009 there were a lot of redundancies, resulting in a larger pool of junior staff with appropriate experience available in the Middle East; this made recruitment much easier,” he explained.

However Al Murooj Rotana executive chef Joachim Textor said that in general, the downturn had made it “more difficult to attract skilled people”.

“In Europe you still have good chefs, but because of [the exchange rate of] the Euro, it’s difficult to draw them over here,” he asserted.

Al Bustan Rotana Dubai executive chef Christophe Prud’homme agreed skilled chefs were in demand and for those with appropriate experience the world was “an open market”.

“Whether you can get them depends on what you can offer in terms of salary and benefits and on the working environment you create for them,” he said.

Aside from applicants having a lack of basic skills, Desert Palm Dubai executive chef Lionel Boyce said he had experienced two other recurring problems.

“I understand candidates will adjust their CVs to try and make them look more attractive to the employer, but I frequently find their actual skill level doesn’t resemble the resumé at all,” he revealed.

Boyce added that junior chefs “chasing pay packets” was another challenge.

Story continues below

Despite the downturn, the region has seen many operators press on with new property openings — which has kept the recruitment market competitive, according to Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain executive chef Kim Gates.

“Unfortunately this means you often find younger chefs moving properties for a higher position with more money, as opposed to gaining better experience,” he said.

“In my opinion there are many young kitchen employees with senior titles that lack the experience to match.”

Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel and Suites executive chef Chris Baker agreed: “Dubai was very quick to promote junior chefs in the past; people got promoted too hastily, so when I’m hiring I make sure to look at their training from the beginning.”

This is a somewhat unstable image of the region’s lower-level kitchen staff and their capabilities — so is this issue unavoidably on course to negatively impact the industry?

According to some, in-house training could go a way towards correcting the imbalance.

Mövenpick’s Gates suggested: “Kitchen managers have to do their best with what they have and focus more on developing skills, so in a positive way they are forced to improve their training techniques to get better results, faster.”

Marriott’s Baker agreed that more chefs were embracing training in the current climate.

“We have always believed in that, so it’s not all bad,” he said. “If you get it right, it does of course mean that other employers will want to poach your staff — but if you want a certain standard from your employees, you just have to get on with it.”

However Desert Palm’s Boyce claimed that the skills situation was “slowing down the region’s progress”.