Christmas party fears as Channel Island restaurants struggle to find chefs

There are fears some hospitality venues will have to scale back over Christmas due to staff shortages in the sector.

Some restaurants say they are once again struggling to recruit locally, with demand outstripping supply.

Chefs are proving especially hard to find, prompting calls for ministers to extend permits for overseas workers who come over to plug gaps in the industry.

The Lookout Cafe in St Helier was in a good position over the summer as they could rely on workers from Antigua, but these workers could only stay for a short period.

Owner Jules Barons said: "We managed in the summer because the Antiguan team came over, but now we're into the winter, we're working on skeleton staff.

"Reality is we are relying on our long-term staff doing split shifts and one lady working for us who has retired three times and has come back to help us.

"It's really difficult to bring someone over for six months, only to start from scratch again, so we need one year, two year, three year visa permits and then we can really invest in people and bring them over from Europe or other parts of the world."

Despite increasing wages, some venues are still struggling to recruit enough staff locally. Credit: ITV Channel TV

Sarah Ransom who runs Ransoms Tearoom in Jersey has also struggled to recruit on island, and recently had to turn to an agency in the UK to find a chef to work over the festive season.

She told ITV Channel TV: "It's a very skilled job, it would be nice to get the younger people back involved.

"Chefs are commanding a big wage these days and they can go around the world and work so it's a fantastic opportunity."

Responding to businesses' concerns, Jersey's Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture, Deputy Kirsten Morel, said: "My colleagues and I on the Population and Skills Ministerial Group understand the difficulty businesses are having in hiring skilled staff and we're determined to develop pragmatic and sustainable solutions to these complex problems that are affecting organisations, not only in Jersey but the UK and Europe as well.

"As a group, we're considering how best to improve our work permits so that Island businesses can more easily access the skilled staff they need."