’Does the hospitality industry need more skilled chefs?’

‘Absolutely!’

‘How many?’

‘No one knows but anecdotal evidence would suggest the number is in the thousands.’

‘Can we recruit them in the UK?’

‘Not if past experience is anything to go by. Despite (or because of) the celebrity TV chefs, too few British born people want to work in the kitchen.’

‘Is this something new?’

‘Absolutely not! We’ve been complaining of a skilled chef shortage for the past 50 years. Nothing in the immediate future is likely to change this.’

‘That’s odd – particularly in the light of the fact that the renaissance of British cookery has been brought about mainly by British born chefs – Gordon Ramsay, Gary Rhodes, John Burton Race, Rick Stein, Tom Aitkens, Marcus Wareing.’

‘True. There are many excellent British-born chefs. The trouble is, there just aren’t enough of them.’

These are the likely answers by an industry insider to some basic questions about the lack of skilled workers in UK restaurants which, incidentally, is the largest sector in the hospitality industry, with a turnover of more than £17bn and employing over 500,000 people.

It’s also growing – hence the need for more skilled workers. Since 2000, employment in the restaurant sector has grown by 15 per cent. It’s perhaps no coincidence that in this time Britain has won a deserved reputation of being the food capital of the world, surpassing even that of New York in its range and quality of restaurants.

But Britain’s hospitality industry – and London in particular – has traditionally been highly cosmopolitan with workers bringing their skills to this country from all over Europe and much further afield. All these workers have added hugely to the world-class food reputation that Britain currently enjoys.

But as the opening remarks of this article shows, we are now at a stage when the success of the UK restaurant sector is put at risk by a shortage of skilled workers. With the country’s food tastes continuing to evolve, and with more high quality restaurants opening, there is an urgent need for skilled chefs and this will become even more of an issue with the influx of millions of tourists heading to London in advance of the Olympic Games.

If we can’t recruit them from within Britain, our only option is to recruit them from overseas. This is why it’s important that the industry is able to recruit skilled chefs from outside the EU to work not only in our ethnic restaurants but in British kitchens, too.

The BHA is currently lobbying the government to speed up the process by which chefs at NVQ Level 3 and above are accepted in the new points-based for immigrant workers from outside the EU. There is undoubtedly a strong, unsatisfied demand on the part of both restaurateurs and hoteliers for skilled workers at this level. If the UK is to maintain its culinary reputation, these skilled chefs will be needed.

Absolutely!