Global Courant 2023-05-22 06:57:00
JOHOR BAHRU – Eateries in Johor Bahru are facing a double blow as they struggle to hire and retain chefs while also coping with the surge in customers following the reopening of the Singapore border.
John Ang, president of the Johor Baru Cooks Association, said there is fierce competition among restaurant and coffee shop owners for cooks, with many now offering higher salaries to attract workers.
“The problem of lack of cooks has been going on for many years in Johor Bahru due to our proximity to Singapore, but it seems to have become more serious since the reopening of the border last year.
“Many of our local chefs returned to Singapore, where they could earn at least three times as much as working here.
“This came as the food industry was booming here as people were now free to dine without Covid-19 restrictions.
“To keep the chefs, many catering owners have offered higher salaries. Overall, a cook’s salary in Johor Bahru is now up about 30 percent compared to pre-pandemic times,” he told The Star.
He said this has also contributed to a further increase in the price of food in restaurants and coffee shops.
“Competition among eateries to retain chefs, coupled with the rise in the price of goods, has contributed to food being more expensive in such eateries here,” he added.
Meanwhile, Johor Baru Business and Hawker Association chairman Roland Lim, a coffee shop owner, said companies employing foreign workers are facing difficulties in training their cooks.
“Most of our foreign employees, including those we trained in the service line for years, have returned to their home countries due to the pandemic.
“We are now getting new employees who are inexperienced and we have to retrain them. Some eateries also had to remove certain dishes from their menus because their workers couldn’t cook them.
“Some of the foreign workers now working in the food and beverage industry are also those who have to work in the construction industry. They have no cooking skills at all and we need to take the time to teach them how to cook our local food,” he said.
Due to the lack of chefs, some restaurants are also “squeezing” foreign workers from other sectors.
“The competition to get chefs is getting fiercer. Some companies have resorted to “stealing” employees from others out of desperation.
“As the demand for chefs is high, many foreign workers feel they have more options and are willing to take up offers from other restaurants,” he said.
