Any fully qualified chefs on here?!

[peteypete]

MODS: Sorry if this is in the wrong section, please move it if it is and I apologise in advance!

My parents own a pub in south east melbourune (about 10 minutes from pakenham) in a little town called Koo Wee Rup.
They just started working in the hospitality business about a year ago and chefs just seem to come and go as they please (nearly been through 10 chefs this year)
Most of the equip. is new and it's a pretty small town so it's never really strenuous work but for some reason they just seem to have trouble finding a commited chef !

If anyone is near the area and would like to trial feel free to inbox me for details! Or if you have any suggestions on where to find them cause they are still pretty new at this and are struggling at the moment!
(tried gumtree and you just get a lot of people sending out prefabed emails saying how badly they want a job and how they would be an amazing contribution to your team etc. lol)

Thanks for reading!

[Kevxr8Leexr6]

Hard game to be in. most pubs benefit from a chef that can broaden the menu over the pub grub offered in most, but most travellers will enjoy the menu but the patrons will normally stick with counter meals and takeaways. for this reason a younger chef cant express his finer quality of learning and move on quickly. price yourself out of the market and most decline in sales. try finding a good short order cook that can work under pressure well. they can easily learn the menu and adopt recipe cards once good feedback comes back to keep meals uniform and consistent.

[GasoLane]

Forget those that has 'Chef' in his/her name.

Perhaps they should ask around the area for a good cook. Most patrons wouldn't care if the person cooking is qualified just so long as it taste's good !

[peteypete]

Cheers for the help it really is a tough game to be in, but the advice you have both given has definitely put us on a path to find someone more suited.

Lets see how we go, if it all works out again you's will have to come and review it ;) i'll shout yas a pot! hahahaha

Thanks again

[Crazy Dazz]

Oh, where to start…

Since I don’t know you, your pub, or your location, I’ll keep this simple, and restrict it to the question you asked; that is regarding the transient nature of your chefs.
You need to look at the type of people you’re hiring:
Firstly there is a huge mobile labour-force in hospitality, those using their skills to travel the world. So whilst the idea of a French chef may sound great, if he’s on a working holiday that may not be much good for you.
Secondly, by definition top class established chefs aren’t looking for jobs in your pub, and the good chefs who are will still be looking for better opportunities.
My preference, in your circumstances, is to hire locally, preferably female chefs/cooks in a stable relationship. I would suggest hitting every community noticeboard in the vicinity with a big bold headline.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Forget those that has 'Chef' in his/her name.

Perhaps they should ask around the area for a good cook. Most patrons wouldn't care if the person cooking is qualified just so long as it taste's good !

Hell yeah, my Mum cooks the best food I've ever tasted and she does it for free!

Surely there would be some women out there who wouldn't mind the work?

When I go to a pub I judge it by how big the steak is, how nice the steak and the chips taste, cooked to my liking etc.

Most I've paid for a steak was $70 at a pub, 1KG Ribeye

[Pub247]

my mother in law lives in pakenham and needs a job.... oh wait she can't cook for ****.... don't her i said that.

Good luck to you i live in pakky too and go to the pub's here for dinner i don't expect much in the way of fine dining a good steak and chips is what im after.

You dont need to be a chef to cook good food simple food

[CheftonUTD]

Don't get stuck on looking for people with 'titles' or qualifications. I've worked with pub-cooks, French-chefs, fine-dining chefs, and fast-paced 'fish & chips' guys.
They all have strengths and weaknesses from their experience. I've been working in mostly up-market restaurants for the last seven years, recently been doing some pub-food and fish & chip work. There's guys with less than a third of my experience making me look incompetent at their style by comparison.
You probably want the guy who can cook a nice T-bone, not the guy who tastes the sauce and worries that it tastes a "little bit too piquant".

As far as most chefs go, give them a reasonable leash, don't let them buy whatever they want, but do let them play with the menu a bit.
You'd be amazed what letting your staff have one or two knock-off beers for free does for morale, it's a show of good faith, and it lets your staff relax and make amends for any hostilities during a busy dinner service.

Look after your staff, experience can be trained, loyalty and passion can't.

Let us know what happens, a small family owned restaurant can be great if you let it

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by CheftonUTD

recently been doing some pub-food and fish & chip work. There's guys with less than a third of my experience making me look incompetent at their style by comparison.
You probably want the guy who can cook a nice T-bone, not the guy who tastes the sauce and worries that it tastes a "little bit too piquant".

Which pub food/fish & chip places ? We'll be up that way (Pt Douglas) in Feb and could use some non tourist food .

Oh and can you buy Flake up there yet?

[CheftonUTD]

You can get Flake at a few places around here. It's not really the same as what you'll be expecting, down there I think it's mostly Gummy shark, up here it's usually reef shark.

[GasoLane]

You'd better send me their address's then, last year at Pt Douglas we got mostly blank looks

[CheftonUTD]

Haha I'm almost keen to try "Southern" Flake, seems to have a huge following from people down there.
I really don't know much about up in Port, more familiar with Cairns and the northern beaches. Ocean World in Cairns has it most of the time, there's a seafood store at Smithfield that I think has it too, both of them do cooked food. Pantachinni's recently opened for sales to the public somewhere around here, they stock a great range of seafood, not sure if they do any cooked stuff though.
Try some new things too, we get a great selection of local line-caught fish up here .
Be skeptical of the much over-rated Barramundi, everywhere claims theirs is wild caught, a lot of it farmed and really bland/muddy :(