Chef Hiring Hacks: 8 tips to help you find the best chef talent

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The hospitality industry has not been the same post-covid and continues to face new challenges every day, including hiring and attracting new chefs.

Over the years, the hiring pool has shrunk immensely. However, all is not lost, if you are willing to use your creativity and innovation, you will find exciting and new ways to hire great chefs.

Here are 8 tips to help you find the best chef talent in the industry today:

Engage with talent

Adverts are not as effective as they used to be. Although there is a shortage of chefs, all the best ones have already been snatched up and are currently slicing and dicing away at another job. If you want the best talent, you need to be prepared for a little scouting, and not wait for them to come to you. Think and act like a head-hunter.

Network

Any good businessman will tell you that networking is very important. Use yours to ask for recommendations, the art of word of mouth is not yet dead! Also, don’t forget to put in some queries with your current staff. Ask around, maybe they might know some suitable candidates. And if you ask, nicely, they might even be willing to post the opportunity on their social media pages.

Social Media, use it!

As mentioned before, networking is important in this industry, and social media has made it even easier to do so. Use social media to your advantage by building up a network of chefs via social media, when you have a role, you need to feel you can target a relevant audience. LinkedIn was literally made for the sole purpose of networking, but do not underestimate the power of other social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Facebook in particular has lots of large chef groups, perhaps even contact the group admins and ask if you could post your job listing or ask if they could give you a shout-out on their page.

Be aware of your online presence

It is important to be aware of how your company culture is portrayed online as anyone considering joining your business will look at your website and social media accounts, most likely before contacting you. Do not underestimate the power of your online presence and its ability to help you hire the best candidates.

Your current staff matter too

Ensure that your current staff are happy and have a good working environment, they will spread the word and make your business and company look appealing to any talent looking for work.

Keep a record of everything

Play the long game, and keep records of every chef you have met, they may not be interested right away, but if they are ever in need of work in the future, they could be a possible candidate.

Plan the interview carefully

Ensure that you have thoroughly planned the entire interview process accordingly, every contact your potential new chef has with your business needs to impress them, so don’t leave anything to chance. Also make sure that what you are offering is in line with market expectations, which have been updated and changed due to Covid regulations. Pay, benefits, perks and your approach to work-life balance should all be reviewed.

Invest in your team

Investing in ongoing personal development for your team will improve your staff retention rates and make your business look like an extremely attractive option for potential and future employees.

With these eight tips in mind, you’ll have chefs banging down your doors at all hours just to get a moment of your time and a chance to work at such a fine establishment.