Top New York chefs can earn $300,000, while those in the Hamptons can earn $160,000, said Alfred Ehrlich, a chef turned executive search/personnel consultant who heads Kitchen Maestro.
The demand for experienced restaurant staff has put salaries on a fast boil – with pay skyrocketing as much as 75% and one recently hired chef scoring a $400,000 deal, Side Dish can report.
The salaries are soaring thanks in large part to a labor shortage and rising demand to dine out after pandemic lockdowns, according to interviews with chefs, restaurant consultants and headhunters.
“I think there is a new standard,” said Alfred Ehrlich, a chef turned executive search/personnel consultant who heads Kitchen Maestro. “The people I represent are earning 20 to 75 percent more than normal. The pendulum swings one way or the other, and labor has the upper hand now — especially for highly skilled chefs.”
Top New York chefs can earn $300,000, while those in the Hamptons can earn $160,000, he said, adding that signed NDAs prevent him from divulging details of the deals. A chef he recently placed in Miami got a whopping $400,000 to run the kitchen, he boasted.
“If it’s the season and a restaurant wants to open, they have to pay. They can’t afford not to or they will shut down,” Ehrlich said.
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