– Before, we received applications in droves, but now we have to go out on the market and hunt for people. Those are tough ceilings, says André Hjort. He is the owner and general manager of the restaurant La Famiglia in Kristiansand. In Agder alone, there is a shortage of 175 cooks. For the country as a whole, the figure is 1,450. This is shown by recent figures from Nav’s business survey. Although the number is lower than last year, when there were 2,000 cooks missing, the number is still high. Many chefs disappeared abroad during the pandemic and did not return. This is confirmed by Ricardo Sousa, deputy chairman of NHO Reiseliv Sør-Norge. – We lost quite a few chefs during the pandemic. For example, foreign chefs who left the country and did not return, says Sousa. He believes that more support is needed for apprentices so that taking on one or more apprentices does not affect the profitability of the company. – We must invest more in apprentices. By getting more grants, we will get more apprentices in place. He also believes it is important to give the chefs good training so that they do not just feel “thrown” into a job. Ricardo Sousa in NHO Reiseliv i Sør-Norge believes that the status of the cooking profession should be raised in Norway. – In France, being a chef is a source of pride. Photo: Marcel Tiedje Lower turnover Hjort at La Famiglia in Kristiansand prefers trained chefs. They are not easy to come by now. – The head chef and the assistant have been down to the cooking school a couple of times this autumn to try to get hold of apprentices, but it hasn’t worked. They are already the coup, he says. If Hjort does not get hold of another chef before the summer starts, the lunch service will have to be dropped this summer. – Then we get a lower turnover or we had hoped for, he says. Owner and general manager André Hjort says they need chefs who have experience and are efficient. Photo: Hans Erik Weiby / news – A fun profession One of the apprentice chefs who can now pick and choose jobs is Jarle Strøm. He works at Bønder in the city in Kristiansand. Strøm notices that it has become easier to get an apprenticeship just in the time he has been an apprentice. – Before, it was more difficult to get an apprenticeship. It was full in most places, but the demand has become greater, he says. Another reason for the shortage of chefs is that many leave the profession at a young age. Strøm does not intend to do that. – It probably takes a bit of a toll on the body to work as a chef, but it’s worth it. It’s an incredibly fun profession so people should give it a chance. Apprentice chef Jarle Strøm dreams of working at a Michelin restaurant one day. Photo: Hans Erik Weiby / news Shorter opening hours NHO Reiseliv confirms that the shortage of cooks has decreased slightly nationally, but that it is still great. – After the re-opening it was very precarious, but a lot is now being done both from the companies’ side and in collaboration with Nav to recruit more chefs, says political adviser for skills and recruitment Henrik Hamborg. He says that the most common consequences of a lack of cooks are to shorten the opening hours or to be closed on a weekday. – For many, the summer season is a high season, so of course it is extra boring if you have to stay closed, says Hamborg. – What can be done to get more chefs into work? – Within the culinary profession, there are several people who no longer work as chefs. One solution is to recruit the chefs back by, among other things, making the best possible arrangements to combine work and family life, says Hamborg.
ttn-69
Still a big shortage of cooks across the country – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
