'Being a chef is a lifestyle choice it's not just a job'

It takes a great deal of effort to be a chef, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn't have a good work-life balance

In this week’s episode of Grilled by The Staff Canteen Co-host Sally Abé, chef at The Pem, was joined by Stosie Madi, chef-patron of the Parker’s Arms in Lancashire.

How would you get more young people into the kitchen?

Like everybody else at the moment Stosie is having difficulty getting staff, especially given the rural nature of the Parker’s Arms, with it being in the middle of Lancashire with no amenities nearby.

Stosie said: “It's difficult recruiting, it doesn't matter how much you incentivise. We were offering above what anybody would offer around in the area but because of the position [and] the location it's very difficult.

“There's nothing around us. So, either they live in or they'd have to commute."

Despite this when it came to the topic of recruiting young people she wasn’t melancholy.

She said: “You have to make it very fun; you have to make it a very welcoming atmosphere, you have to be very accepting.

“But more than anything you've got to be able to give them time to live because today's generation like to live, and I think it's very important to factor that in somehow.”

Unfortunately, Stosie stated she wasn’t really in a position to attract younger staff due to the accessibility of the restaurant.

"To get to us you've actually got to drive so it's got to be people who are a certain age group.”

Sally agreed: “I think we need to make it more accessible, in terms of working hours and work-life balance. I think my generation of chef is probably the last generation that would happily work 16-hour days.”

However, she said that it wasn’t all about the work-life balance and that 'to get more young people in, we need to change the attitude people have to working in kitchens, specifically in terms of toxic environment and shouting and screaming and all of that'.

“I think we need more people to be out in the media saying, 'this has changed' or 'come to my kitchen and see that it's a good place to work' rather than previous television programs that shed the industry in a slightly darker light.”

‘The attitude to my profession is I live it, breath it, dream it’

While neither chef shied away from the fact that they loved the industry, Sally said that she considers 'being a chef's a lifestyle choice it's not just a job'.

“It's not like you get eight hours and then come home at the end of the day and switch off. It's a constant thing and your entire life revolves around food as well.”

She added: “I look at cooking and being a chef as it's more akin to being an actor or an actress or a musician. We live to go to work because we love our jobs and we love our profession and we're proud to go to work every day.”

“I mean no one in their right mind would open a restaurant if they just wanted to pay the bills. It's just so much more than that.”

Stosie agreed and said: “I think the attitude to my profession is I live it, breath it, dream it. It takes over. I'm completely dedicated to what I do, otherwise, I wouldn't do it because it's a difficult profession to be in in the first place.”