London restaurants 'face major shortage of top chefs due to Brexit'

04/06/2017
London’s top restaurants say they are facing a shortage of high-quality chefs as Brexit puts Europe’s Michelin-starred staff off moving to London.

The Ned, the City venue with nine restaurants and a hotel that was opened last month by the Soho House group, said it had to send scouting parties to Spain and Italy to lure top talent here.

It even offered nearly a month’s free accommodation in central London as an incentive.

A Ned spokesman said: “All hospitality businesses in London need clarity. We need to be able to assure Europeans they will be able to come over here and stay after Brexit.”

The owner of another top London restaurant group said an Italian chef had just turned down a senior role at his new London venue.

“He just decided it was too risky to uproot his family to London, invest in a new home when we couldn’t guarantee he’d be able to stay here in two years’ time.”
The Soho House group had to hire 250 staff for the Ned just as London’s fast-growing restaurant scene is struggling for new talent.

It sent recruiters to Rome, Milan and Barcelona. “We want diversity in our business — but as Brexit gets closer it becomes more and more of an issue,” said the spokesman.

He said the firm did not want to damage other London restaurants by poaching their chefs at a time good staff are so hard to come by.

Recruiters point out Europeans’ concerns about coming to the UK are creating shortages as London’s restaurant scene grows at its quickest. According to restaurant bible Harden’s, a record 200 newcomers opened their doors in the capital in the past year.

Bruce Poole, of Michelin-starred Chez Bruce, spoke for most top restaurateurs telling an audience recently: “Without Europeans, we’re f***ed.”

Soho House founder Nick Jones said: “We have very loyal staff from all over Europe working with us, and we believe they’re the reason behind the success of London’s diverse food scene.

"We certainly wouldn’t be where we are without them. They deserve and need to know what lies ahead for them.”

Others said the problem is not just about hiring senior staff from Europe. While younger, junior kitchen workers lack families to relocate so are more mobile, they are still being put off coming to London by the weak pound, which makes their wages worth less when they send money back home.

Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, said Britain faced a shortage of more than 11,000 chefs by 2020 as visa restrictions keep away chefs from Europe, but also India and China.

She added: “A quarter of all chefs are from the EU and owners have had to delay or abandon plans for new restaurants due to uncertainty on EU citizens’ future. This level of uncertainty is putting off skilled workers and now impacting investment decisions.”

Fonte:http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-restaurants-face-major-shortage-of-top-chefs-due-to-brexit-a3553006.html

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