Kitchen Confessions: What’s It Really Like To Work As A Temp Chef?
Temp cheffing can get a bad rep in the industry. But as a specialist temp chef agency, we have close relationships with our chefs and know exactly what it’s like to work as a relief chef today.
So if you’ve ever wondered what it’s really like to work in a series of short-term temp chef roles, read on to find out.
HOW DOES TEMP CHEFFING WORK?
Working as a temp chef involves taking a series of temporary placements in kitchens across the UK. This could be a day’s cover, or a position lasting several months.
Once we’ve approved you to work as a CJUK temp chef, we’ll start contacting you about live job opportunities in hotels and gastro pubs.
HOW DO I GET REGULAR WORK AS A TEMP CHEF?
Working as a temp chef with CJUK is actually a really good way to get stability and security in your life, because we have a strong network of industry contacts and work closely with you to keep you in work.
Tell us your availability and work preferences, and we’ll contact you whenever we have a job that suits your experience, salary expectations, and goals.
HOW LONG DO THE PLACEMENTS LAST ON AVERAGE?
Placements as a temp chef working with us can typically last anything from a day to several months.
When we start working together, you can tell us whether you’d prefer to do the odd week here and there, or whether you’re looking for a longer-term placement, and we’ll keep this on file along with your other preferences (like location and salary) and make sure we come to you with vacancies that fit your requirements.
CAN YOU FIND ME CHEF WORK IN MY LOCAL AREA?
If you’d prefer to stay close to home, let us know and we’ll get in touch whenever a vacancy comes up in your local area.
Alternatively, if you’re happy to travel, we can find you placements further afield.
As we have close relationships with all our chefs, we get to know things like how far you’d like to travel for work and whether you drive or use public transport.
So, for example, if a vacancy comes up within your preferred travel radius but you rely on public transport, we’ll check where the nearest train station is and how long it will take you to get there before contacting you about the role, so you have all the info you need to make a decision.
ARE MY TRAVEL EXPENSES COVERED?
If you agree to take a temp chef position that involves travelling to a new location, your employer will typically cover your travel costs to and from the placement.
So, for example, if you live in Blackburn and you accept a role in Nottingham and need to travel by train, you’ll receive train fare to get to the placement and to return home once the placement ends.
However, if it’s a longer placement – for example, a month or more – and you decide to travel home on your days off each week, this won’t be covered. So, you’ll have to fund this yourself.
This is why it’s a good idea to be honest when you speak to us and weigh up all of your non-negotiables (like distance and salary) before entering into a new placement.
IS ACCOMMODATION PROVIDED?
Yes, some of our temp chef roles do have accommodation provided, which could be a room in the hotel you’ll be working in, alternative on-site accommodation, or a hotel room nearby.
Again, we’ll get to know your preferences and make sure a role and location will suit you before we approach you to see if you’re interested.
WHAT IF I’M NOT HAPPY WITH MY PLACEMENT?
Although all of our kitchens are vetted by us to make sure we only ever send you into workplaces where you’ll be respected and valued, sometimes you may feel it’s simply not a good fit for you once you arrive.
In this case, we always encourage our chefs to be completely honest with us and keep in contact so we can understand where your head is at.
This way, we can quickly arrange to remove you from the placement and get another chef in quickly so there’s no disruption to service.
Then, providing you’ve been open with us, we can work on finding a placement that’s better suited to you.
The worst thing you can do in this situation is hide – any issues can be fixed. As long as the lines of communication between us stay open, we’ll sort the situation out for you – that’s what we’re here for!
All of our temp chefs have great relationships with their CJUK account managers. They feel comfortable being honest with us so we can continue to work together successfully.
WHAT SORT OF KITCHENS WILL I BE WORKING IN?
We only work with mid-level hotels, pubs, and restaurants.
This is because our chefs like to cook with fresh ingredients and love to work in quality, reputable kitchens.
We don’t work with budget chain restaurants, hotels, and pubs, and we don’t work with Michelin kitchens either – if either of those is what you’re looking for, there are other agencies that can help you 😀
HOW WILL I GET PAID AS A TEMP CHEF?
You will be paid one of two ways – by us, or by your employer directly.
If you’re paid by CJUK, we pay every Friday by PAYE – a week in arrears.
This means you’ll accrue holiday pay (so it’s paid separately when you take time off) and your tax and national insurance deductions are taken care of.
Some of our clients opt to pay chefs directly – with these jobs, we’ll always confirm before you accept the placement how and when you’re going to be paid.
WHAT DO OUR CHEFS LIKE ABOUT WORKING WITH CJUK?
We asked our chefs what they like about working in temp roles for Chefs Jobs UK – this is what they said:
Stable, long-term contracts
Flexibility
Good communication
Positive and friendly staff
Being part of a CJUK family
CJUK looks after its chefs
In fact, several of them mentioned the flexibility, so this is clearly a huge bonus of both the temp chef lifestyle and working with CJUK!
WHAT DO OUR CHEFS LIKE ABOUT THE TEMP CHEF LIFESTYLE?
Again, we wanted this answer to come directly from our chefs, so this is how they responded to this question:
It fits in with my lifestyle
Chance to work with different people in different environments
I don’t feel guilty about saying no
I’m in control of when I work or take holidays
Lifestyle is a big thing for our chefs. They love being able to feel in charge of their own schedule, taking longer breaks in between placements if they want some time to spend with family, travel, or simply rest and recharge.
We also always make sure you get paid for all of the hours you work, which is another huge advantage!
Does this sound like something that could work for you?
WHAT MOTIVATES TEMP CHEFS?
Our chefs are motivated by different factors, for example:
Family
Money
Reputation
People
Doing the job to the best of their ability
Working with a smile
Enjoying their work
What motivates you as a chef?
WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK WITH CJUK AS A TEMP CHEF?
If you’re curious about working as a temp chef and enjoying the flexibility, freedom, and variety it brings, we offer you the security you need to make the most of this lifestyle.
Stacie and Adam are your contacts at Chefs Jobs UK, and our current family of chefs love working with them because they’re patient, friendly, and quick to respond.
We have a number of live vacancies for reliable, talented chefs in kitchens across the country – could we find you your next role?
Let’s start with a chat to get to know each other.
Get in touch with Stacie and Adam by calling 01254 355 666 or emailing info@cjuk.co.uk
