searchSo what is to blame for the apparent chef shortage?+5The Staff CanteenThe Staff CanteenEditor1 Likes11 Comments1 SharesLikeCommentShareMember Sign UpSign up as a member of The Staff Canteen and get the latest updates on news, recipes, jobs, videos, podcasts and much more.enter email addressIt’s the ‘hot’ topic uniting chefs of all levels; from the Michelin-starred like René Redzepi to those producing pub-grub there is an ever growing concern over the shortage of chefs and the impact it is having on the industry. Discussions between peers have been prominent on social media, along with desperate pleas for staff, all of which have opened up . The Staff Canteen takes a look at what has to change.Rene Redzepi+5So what is to blame for this apparent chef shortage? Is it the culture of the kitchen, money or are people simply just lazy?As the ‘foodie’ culture has brought a boom to the restaurant trade in recent years, several big names in the industry have had their say on the lack of staff – most recently Noma’s René Redzepi. He made a brave move openly admitting he himself is guilty of bullying in the kitchen and how ‘confronting the unpleasant legacies of our past’ is the only way to move forward.Writing for the Lucky Peach, René said: “I’ve been a bully for a large part of my career. I’ve yelled and pushed people. I’ve been a terrible boss at times.”
He went on to say: “Maybe the old way has worked so far. But in the long run, it burns people out. There’s a reason people are struggling to find cooks right now. Our industry is populated by young people. As they get older, they fall out of the trade because they can only take the abuse when they’re young and strong. How many of your cooks are thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four years old? Maybe the head chef and the sous chef—that’s it. We’re on course to really mess things up if we don’t start getting better at what we do.”