Missing Chefs? Let’s Turn Up the Heat on Kitchen Vacancies

The UK hospitality industry is simmering under pressure, and not because of clever new recipes - it's because of a running-out-of-chefs crisis. With a side of ghosting, underpaid talent, and overstretched kitchens, now’s the time to cook up sustainable solutions.

The Current Kitchen Crisis - Stats You Can Taste

• A whopping 85% of hospitality businesses currently report chef vacancies, reflecting a widespread staffing shortfall.

• Within the chef ranks alone, 10% of head chef positions and 21% of production chef roles remain unfilled.

• In some areas—namely London and the South East—nearly half of skilled chef roles prove tough to fill, with 47-66% of vacancies going unfilled due to a lack of suitable applicants.

• Across the hospitality sector overall, the vacancy rate hovers around 9%, and there's a shortage of about 188,000 workers, with chefs increasingly bearing the brunt.

These numbers, paired with high turnover and growing ghosting incidents, mean many kitchens are left cold. But why?

Why the Stove’s Gone Cold: Challenges Behind the Shortage

1. Immigration & Brexit - The Shrinking Talent Pool

• About 120,000 EU hospitality workers left the UK sector post-Brexit and during the pandemic, leaving a gaping hole in the workforce.

• Although chefs have become the most common recipients of UK skilled worker visas - 6,203 granted by March 2024, a 54% jump - the new £38,700 salary threshold means many chef-level roles don’t qualify, and if they do, cost a further £12,000 to be part of the team based on a 2 year contract...

2. Low Pay, Long Hours - and Ghosting to Match

• Wages for chefs are still well below the visa threshold: the average chef salary in April 2023 was about £22,877/year, while Yhangry chefs earn a whopping £60/hour - showing that pay really does make the difference.

• On forums, chefs vent frustration, saying they’re "increasing the rate to £12/hour" but “staff… just don’t exist” - often walking away or ghosting.

• One Reddit user put it bluntly: “Chefs are a dying breed… I’m seeing £16+ an hour jobs… without chefs there’s no food… pay good money or don’t earn any at all.” Reddit

It’s clear: ghosting, burnout, and high turnover - and undercutting pay - are leaving kitchens empty.

Recipe for Recovery: Solutions to Raise (Kitchen) Spirits

1. Develop from Within – Let Talent Rise Like a Soufflé

• Investing in training, mentorship, and clear career progression means loyalty—and better plates.

• Boosting internal mobility keeps your kitchen staff fresh and motivated.

2. Tap into Colleges & Apprenticeships - Cook Skills from the Ground Up

• Helm partnerships with local colleges - like Westminster Kingsway, Leicester College, or Bournemouth & Poole - to establish cookery pipelines.

• Apprenticeships or T-levels offer affordable, hands-on skill development. The cost of growing your own chef is far less than sourcing abroad - and creates long-term ingredients for stability.

• With initiatives like “Young Chef Young Waiter” competitions, talent gets noticed - and valued.

3. Work Smarter with Immigration (When Needed)

• Though no longer on the Shortage Occupation List, some roles - like new entrant visas for under-26s - can ease talent entry.

• Lobby industry bodies (e.g. UKHospitality) to push for flexible immigration recognition and re-inclusion of key roles.

4. Improve Pay & Conditions - Stir in Respect and Stability

• Pay better wages to retain staff - like Yhangry's £60/hour model - that show chefs they’re worth their weight in soufflé.

• Balance rotas, offer time-off, and create healthier work cultures to reduce burnout and ghosting.

In Summary: Let’s Turn Up the Heat - But Not the Burnout

Kitchens across the UK are under-stocked, not because chefs have vanished - but because the industry hasn't valued them enough. It’s time to stop ghosting solutions and start fostering talent:

Strategy	Why It Works
Develop from Within	Builds loyalty, rewards growth, fills gaps organically, with talent systems and structures open to access and transparent developent plans
College Partnerships & Apprenticeships	Cultivates new talent affordably and sustainably, working with an apprentice with save the cost of any NIC!!
Smart Immigration Use	Complements domestic workforce when needed
Better Pay & Working Conditions	Reduces turnover, enhances morale, stops ghosting, you can see our recent FREE 10 page guide to help with more details about it here

Let’s stop relying on ghost chefs - and start growing them, respecting them, and feeding the future of hospitality. With the right ingredients - training, pay, partnerships, and respect - empty kitchens can become full again.

And if any of this has resonated with you, and in need of support for your team or venue, with training and progress support head, to our training tools here