Winning a Michelin star is nice! Winning a Nobel Peace Prize is something else and José Andrés looks poised to become the first chef to win one. Andrés has just been nominated by politician John Delaney (D-Md.) who confirmed the nomination to the Washington Post.
We made the LinkedIn Top 25 Engaged Agencies
TOPCHEFS Recruitment makes the LinkedIn TOP 25 Most Socially Engaged Staffing Agency list
This award – LinkedIn Top 25 – is down to our engagement with our LinkedIn community, and more importantly, their engagement with us. That’s why we would like to [Read more…]
Roger Verge – Chef Of The Sun – Is Dead
The very sad news of the passing Roger Vergé has just reached us. He was 85 years old and passed away on Friday 6th June 2015.
Vergé was known as one of France’s greatest chefs, especially for his updating of Classic French Mediterranean Cooking which became known as Cuisine of the Sun.
Vergé was born in Commentry (Allier) in 1930, and gets his first taste of serious cuisine with his aunt Celestine. He then commenced working in his hometown at Alexis Chanier at Le Bourbonnais.
He then worked in larger establishments, La Tour d’Argent, and at the Plaza Athénée in Paris. Then he joined Le Club de Cavalière, Var, a restaurant with two Michelin stars. He also gained culinary experience even further afield in Morocco, Algeria and Kenya.
#CalorieGate – Leo Varadkar’s War On The Irish Hospitality Industry
Minister of Health Leo Varadkar, no small irony once Minister for Tourism, has declared war on the Irish Restaurant industry and in particular on Irish chefs.
Restaurant owners and chefs may have thought that with the enacting of last years legislation requiring them to list 14 different allergens on their menus that Minister Varadkar’s crusade would move on to another target. They were wrong, it’s 2015, he’s back and this time he intends to do real damage, so chefs…brace yourselves for the coming storm. Broad Hint of what’s going to be annoying the hell out of you this year: LeoVaradkar is planning on making you count every calorie on every dish you serve, we’ll get back to this later after we’ve vented our spleens a bit more. In any case, before I bring you this rant in full, I have my own professional obligation to fulfill and that’s to remind you that when we’re not foaming at the mouth in a fury about a hyper regulatory, publicity seeking, narcissist we’re in the business of Catering Recruitment and endeavour to offer the finest quality chef jobs, or at least the best ones we can get our hands on. Now, commercial interlude over, back to the meat of savaging this proposed stupidity.
Leo’s Own High Calorie Addiction
Although Minister Varadkar is a leading member of a cabinet which has shown little inclination to curb its own high calorie cravings, overspending for one – they fund an annual budget deficit of €6 Billion plus (through borrowings), while burdening us with a vertigo inducing debt to GDP ratio of 172% (in contrast, Greece’s debt to GDP ratio is a rather shapely 100%) he’s messianic in his belief that he’s the go to guy to cure the everyday slob, that’s us, of our addictions.
Leo’s Healthful, Unhelpful, Advice To Chefs – WORK HARDER
But before he gets there he has a cunning plan to make one of the hardest and most demanding jobs, ahem, harder. So who is in Leo’s sights this time? Yup, a favourite target of Leo’s, chefs.
But see he doesn’t really have it in for chefs, oh no, he’s just worried that you are making Irish people fat. Yeah, because this is a guy so divorced from everyday, common, reality (a frequent affliction affecting those who “hold office”) that he actually believes most Irish people dine out with the same frequency an overpaid government minister, like Leo, does. Thanks for your concern Minister, really you’re too kind, but charity begins at home and your department eats up close to 20% of annual government spending and between 70% – 90%, of that 20%, flows straight out the door on salaries and pensions. Now we know fixing that would be:
- actual hard work
- important
- troublesome and
- YOUR JOB!
Do Your Job Minister – Especially The Difficult Bits
We know this, but, respectfully, it looks like you don’t so can we perhaps suggest that you might busy yourself at least trying to get your own house in order before you come to the catering industry with a wrecking ball in a, sadly, successful attempt to keep yourself in the media spotlight.
DIT Cathal Brugha Street Catering Open Day
Towards the end of day two at CATEX 2011 catering expo I bumped into Joe Erraught Head of The Culinary Arts and Food Technology Department at Cathal Brugha Street. At least that’s Joe’s official title, to those who know Joe well the title “Culinary Arts Evangelist” seems at least equally apt. If you don’t know Joe then you certainly know his “product” because this last thirty years Joe has been, and remains, one of the men on the other end of the catering hire pipeline. While everyone involved in catering recruitment in Ireland relies upon
Philip Uzice Accepts Our “Friend Request”
Philip Uzice
When we first uncovered the demand for a specialist recruitment agency for chefs we realised we’d need someone like Philip Uzice to help us. Someone with a background in hospitality management, human resources and, not least, Health & Safety and Food Safety. That’s a mix that’s as hard to find as it is invaluable to have, so we’re delighted to be able to announce Philip is joining the TOPCHEFS crew in the capacity of Associate Consultant delivering and designing training in the areas of Health & Safety and Food Safety.
Taragh M. O’Kelly Joins TOPCHEFS
Taragh M. O
We’re delighted to announce Taragh M. O’Kelly is joining the TOPCHEFS team as consultant overseeing everything related to relocation and immigration. An acknowledged expert in the field of employment legislation, known for her skills in mediation and the design and implementation of employment policies, Taragh is nowadays more often called upon for her expertise as a Relocation and Immigration Consultant.
Taragh’s association with TOPCHEFS allows us to provide expertise in a vital area which most recruitment agencies can’t and which, in the current market, is much in demand. Welcoming Taragh to TOPCHEFS, Founder Vivienne Hall had this to offer, “when we first researched this market it was clear that Irish chefs [Read more…]
TOPCHEFS in the South West
David will be in the south west between Wednesday 22nd and Friday 24th September. He’ll be dropping in on a number of clients in the Sneem, Kenmare and Kilarney region on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday is for meeting new people so don’t hesitate to give him a shout on his mobile number 087-6890300 if you’d like him to pop in and see you.
