Nearly half of hospitality operators are cutting trading hours or capacity in order to cope with ongoing staff shortages. The loss of business resulting from reduced trading has cost the industry £21b in lost revenue and an estimated £5b tax loss for the Exchequer. A joint survey conducted by UKHospitality, the British Institute of Innkeeping, and the British Beer and
Continue reading A shortage of skilled kitchen workers is affecting operations in Vancouver, B.C., and beyond HEAD TO ANY to any restaurant right now and at first glance, you might think “Pandemic? What pandemic?” Patios are packed (within the new normal of physical distancing and partitions in place) and even at reduced capacity indoors, the buzz is back. But behind the scenes,
Continue reading 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
Continue reading Not Enough Cooks in the Restaurant Kitchen The drumbeat began about five years ago, as the restaurant industry started to recover from the recession. The sound was faint, but chefs noticed. Openings for junior jobs like prep cook and line cook were taking longer to fill, and the applicants had weaker skills. Cooks with just one or two years of
Continue reading Restaurant industry explores ways to deal with shortage of cooks and chefs The owner of Solly’s Bagelry likes the idea of changing her company’s work schedule by introducing a four-day week of 10-hour shifts as a way to retain staff. Leah Markovitch said like many food service businesses, her three retail stores and one manufacturing outlet are dealing with a labour shortage.
Continue reading LISTEN: What’s the future for the restaurant industry in B.C. as chef shortage continues With ever-advancing technologies and artificial intelligence creeping into the workforce, job security for current and future generations has never been more worrying. CKNW’s Future of Work series focuses on how British Columbia’s job market is going to evolve and how to help workers get the best possible
Continue reading Worker shortage forces restaurants to get creative The owner of Taco Bamba Taqueria peered out from the kitchen at the line of customers snaking around the corner at his latest spot in a suburban Virginia strip mall, and felt terror. Who was going to cook, serve and clean up for all these people? “The cooks had left,” overwhelmed by the
Continue reading During the lunch rush at The Boss on Main, there are about 100 people seated in the booths eating and ordering food. In the kitchen everyone is working full-tilt including cook Shuji Chen. Chen’s specialty is preparing the kinds of Hong Kong-style Chinese food that regulars like. He’s an expert in using a commercial wok. It’s much more challenging to use
Continue reading Too few cooks: Quebec restaurants facing a labour shortage Alex Bastide describes the challenges of finding workers in places like Quebec City and smaller towns with a pair of expletives. “It’s madness,” he continues. “It’s a big problem right now.” Bastide is an owner of L’Gros Luxe, a small Quebec restaurant chain that has locations in Sherbrooke, Victoriaville, Quebec City and
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