O.M.G I hear you say but what do you get for your money and what are you risking. By choosing to go through a Hospitality Recruitment Agency what you should be looking for is an Agency with experience and a Recruitment Consultant who knows the Hospitality Industry. You need an agency who listens to your requirements and who takes the time to come and visit your establishment. You should expect a shortlist of about 4 - 5 quality Candidates and you should ask if the agency interviews their candidates face to face. If you are using a Recruitment Agency for the first time then you should look at more than one, it shouldn't cost you anything to recieve CV's from them, and don't feel like you have to interview every Candidate they put forward. Make sure the agency outlines their replacement policy before you accept any candidates from them, a 3 month replacement policy is usually normal.

Sometimes there is definitely a shortage in quality, skilled candidates, it may be the very reason you are turning to a recruitment agency. So if an agency turns around and says that they don't have a candidate that suits your establishment, this is better than receiving a bunch of CV's that are just not appropriate.

If you continue to use recruitment agencies I would advise you build a good relationship with the consultants and stick to no more than 2 or 3 agencies you really trust, because when it comes to them having a hot candidate you might be the first call they make.

The hospitality Industry is often a transient industry with staff moving from place to place, especially if you are situated in a holiday resort town. This makes using an recruitment agnecy risky. The obvious worry is that you take a staff member from an agency and then that staff member doesn't work out or leaves after only a couple of months. If this happens make sure you still receive a shortlist of replacements and you get to trial them before you take them on.

Lets face it, looking for quality staff for your establishment is a full time job in its self and its the reason some restaurant groups and hotels dedicate whole departments to it. I think this is the biggest benefit to using a Recruitment Agency and it allows you to get on with what you need to do, run your business.

If you still feel you can't afford to fork out for a $5,000 to $10,000 fee try placing your own adverts on a Hospitality Job Board or find a website that has a free CV Search facility on it.

Good Luck

I recently spent three days in Melbourne for a short city break with my wife who is currently 7 months pregnant. We got a good deal on the internet in a nice hotel in a great location off Chapel Street, (God bless the internet) but unfortunitely I didn't get time to book a restaurant. 
I had a few restaurants in mind that I really wanted to go to and after a brief discussion with the concierge at the Hotel I decided to try MoVida. One of the hottest restaurants in Australia at the moment, the chances of getting a table with only 24 hours notice was slim, but luck it seemed was on my side and the booking was confirmed. Great.

We left for dinner early thinking we could stop for a drink at the bar before taking our table and it was a good job we did because I must have spent half an hour staring at all the graffiti on Hosier Lane.

My first impression of MoVida was, 'this is my kind of restaurant.' It was about 8pm when we arrived and the restaurant was already pretty full, people talking loudly, laughing, drinking, it definately had a real buzz about it. Then we were shown to our table, a small wobbly thing situated in what could well be described as a build in cupboard next to a stack of empty wine boxes. The wife looks over at me with those disapproving eyes, "well we did leave it pretty late in booking, we were lucky to get in" I said. "Mmmmm" she replied.

The menu is split between Tapa, small individual dishes and Racion, which are larger dishes designed for you to share. Obviously the best way to attack such a menu is to order a selection of various different dishes.

Baring in mind that my partner is 7 months pregnant, there are few foods she has been advised that she can and can not have. We asked our waiter just 2 questions, which for a Spanish menu, I think is pretty good. First question we ask was about the Tomato Sorbet which accompanies the Anchovy fillet on Crouton, and whether or not it was made with raw egg white. His relpy was abrupt, "A sorbet is a sorbet he replied", 'OK but did the Chef use any eggs to make it' we asked again. "Its a sorbet" he replied again, "it doesn't have any eggs in it." Being a Chef myself for 15 years I knew very well that sorbet may contain egg whites, so I then asked him if he wouldn't mind double checking with the Chef. He then stormed off to the pass where he pretended to ask a chef who wasn't even there and then he came back and said, "no eggs in the sorbet like I told you".

The second question was about the smoked Spanish Makrell, and if it had been put through a cold or hot smoking process. His reply was, "It's smoked and its up to you whether you want to try it or not." To which I said, 'If its had a hot smoke my wife will be able to try it but not if its only had a cold smoke.' This is the point where the waiter just needs to say,"You know what, I'm not sure, let me just check with the Chef," but no, he simply said "Look it's up to you if you want to try it." I then asked him to check with the Chef. He comes back from the pass in a bit of a strop, "Cold smoke."

On this night the restaurant definately seemed understaffed on the floor, especially for a 2 Chef Hat restaurant. However we did feel a little ingnored, my wine arrived only half way through my second dish and this was after 2 reminders.

The anchovy was like sea salty butter on toast, magic, and the smoky tomato sorbet (which was only eated by me) made the dish. The slow briased beef melted in the mouth but did lack any real punch of flavour. Chorizo and mash bombas was a crispy rich bonanza. Air dried wagyu with poached egg and truffle foam was simply the best dish I've had this year, I could have eaten that all night.

In short the food was great, but in my opinion it's not quite worth the 2 Chef Hats awarded in this years Good Food Guide. On the other end of the scale the service was unprofessional, ill informed and basically a bit rude.

I will be back to indulge in more good food, wine and maybe a Spanish cocktail, and hopefully it will be the previous waiters night off.

Food - 7.5/10
Service - 3/10

Quite honestly this announcement is pointless, other than making news. Why didn't Greg Doyle just annouce he was changing the structure of the restaurant and the experience it is trying to create, rather than shunning The Good Food Guide itself. This is obviously someone who is feeling the pressure and is wanting to let everyone know he is officially 'over it'. Or he is just wanting to generate some free publicity for the new restaurant concept.

In the end you can't stop restaurant reviewers writing about your food and the Guide has said that they will continue to review Pier in the future.

I am originally from the UK and have grown up watching good old Loyd Grossman and more recently John Torode and his mate the Veg man Greg, deconstruct and grill the contestants of the UK Masterchef for years, so for me the hype of Masterchef Australia was nothing new.

I think the first series of Masterchef Australia was generally really good, it created awarness about the Hospitality Industry amongst the general public and it got people talking about food, and as a Chef at heart I can only see that as a good thing.

There was 2 things that really bothered me about the show, as a Hospitality Professional. Firstly there was the glamorization about being a chef. It's bloody hard work, long hours, no breaks and a lot of the time with no thanks for your efforts, and you usually finish the day smelling like fish scales and garlic. The second was how they put all the contestants into a house and made them vote each other off the show and the end of the week, it felt like I was watching Big Brother ot The Biggest Loser, and surely that was the job of the judges.

The new series of Masterchef Australia starts on Monday and I am sure that this series will continue to spark further arguments and discussions amongst the Hospitality Industry across the country, and certainly amongst the chefs in my kitchen.

Skills or Attitude? Do you employ someone who you know has the skills to do the job but feel they don't have their heart in it, or do you take a chance on someone with a possitive attitude who you hope can come up to speed with the skills for the job, and do you as the employer have time to train a new staff member?

For me, attitude wins every time. We are in the Hospitality business afterall and if you have an employee with the wrong attitude towards hard work its never going to happen. You can teach a chef to create a dish but you can't make them want to do it. This is especially true for Waiting Staff and Bar Staff, these are your representatives to customers and with the wrong attitude it will only reflect badly on you and your business.

On a scale of difficulty Heston's book is by far the most challenging, simply because we don't all have access to some of the gadgetry and ingredients that he has and we are not likely to either. Three Star Chef would be next, the recipies are difficult and some are extremely tricky but with patience and a few practice runs you will be impressing your friends or Head Chef in no time. Kitchen Garden Companion is the book that you will go back to time and time again, and in years to come it will still be in your kitchen all worn, torn and covered in what looks like dried food stuff but you can't quite be sure.

Three Star Chef is brilliant in every way. Gordon Ramsay narates the book with his world renowned passion for the industry and as you read you almost feel what it might be like to work in a 3 Michelin Star Restaurant and the pressure involved. The photography of the food is breathtaking, with an entire page dedigated to each dish all you want to do is stick a fork in and go for it. The recipies are really quite hard, it is 3 Star cuisine afterall, but with access to the right ingredients and a bit of time on your hands they are doable. To ease yourself in I would recommend trying the Griddled Asparagus followed by the Slow Braised Pork Belly and finished off with the Caramelised Apple Tarte Tatin with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Heston Blumenthal, whether you love his style of weird science cuisine or think it's a load of crazy old nonsence, after reading this book you might think (if you fell into the latter) it is still a load of crazy old nonsence but you will at least be left with a feeling of admiration for what he has achieved with The Fat Duck and how he has got to where he is today as a Chef.

This is not only a book of recipe's but a detailed history of The Fat Duck, where it all started as a traditional French Bistro to where it is today as one of the most innovative restaurants in the world.

The book is beautifully illistrated by Dave McKean and the photography of the food, like the recipes will leave you scratching your head.

OK, I have to be honest and say the only recipe in this book I have tried is the mash potato, but believe me it is no ordinery mash potato, I mean the man recommends using a glass beaker and an ultrasound gun to emulsify your mayonaise for goodness sake, (see page 493) so you can imagine what you have to do for the perfect mash.

What can I say about Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion apart from, YOU MUST BUY THIS BOOK. If you are in anyway interested about ingrenients this book is a must. It tells you, in amazing detail, how to cultivate, grow, care-for, pick, store and cook as many herbs, vegetables and fruits as you will ever need. I know I will be dipping into this book for as long as it sits in my kitchen.

Stuart Park

Managing Director - CateringAus.com.au

Serves 8 as a Starter

• Duck Liver Parfait
• 1kg fresh duck livers, trimmed
• 400g clarified butter
• 1 egg
• 150ml port
• 150ml red wine
• 120g blueberries
• 120g blackberries
• 4 shallots, finely diced
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• knob butter
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
  
• Vinaigrette
• 300ml extra vergin olive oil
• 35ml fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 100ml verjuice
• 1/2 tsp castor sugar
  
  
• To Serve
• 4 handfuls watercress
• 2 white peaches
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large loaf of turkish bread

Chefs Tip: For a less gamey flavour, soak your livers in milk over night, this will make them milder, but it is purely up to your own personal taste.

Method:
Heat the knob of butter in a large pan until it starts to bubble gently, add shallots and sweat on a low heat until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add port and red wine, blueberries, blackberries and thyme sprigs and reduce to 100ml. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside.

Place the clarified butter in a pot and melt. Put the livers in a food processor and blitz, turning the livers into a paste. Pass the livers through a fine sieve and return to the food processor, blitz again, pass through a fine sieve again and return to the food processor. To the liver mixture add the wine reduction and the egg and blitz, while the motor is running slowly add the clarified butter until you have fully emulsified the entire mixture. To season place a teaspoon of the mixter into a hot frying pan and cook, taste and add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to the mixture to taste. Repeat this until you get the seasoning right, there is no going back once the parfait is in the oven. 

Grease and line a 1lt terrine tin with greaseproof paper and pour in the liver mixture. Place the tin inside a larger baking tin, pour water inbetween the smaller tin and the larger tin, enough to come half way up the side of the smaller tin, cover with foil and place in a pre-heated oven at 100'c. Bake for 1 hour 15minutes or until set. Then place in the fridge to cool right through, at least 4 hours.

For the vinaigrette, place the lemon juice, verjuice and sugar in a mixing bowel and whisk, keep whisking and add the extra virgin olive oil. Pour mixture into a vinaigrette bottle and put in the fridge.

To serve, cut each peach in half and remove the stone, finely slice each half. Place the watercress in a bowel and add the sliced peaches and drizzle with the vinaigrette (shake vinaigrette well first) and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the parfait from the terrine tin and cut a slice about 1.5cm thick each and place onto a 8 seperate plates, sprinkle with sea salt, place a small handful of the watercress salad onto the each plate and drizzle a little more vinaigrette. Toast the turkish bread and serve on a seperate plate.

Scott Park
Website Director - Cateringaus.com.au

It's all to easy to let it all get the better of you and when it comes to the interview you walk away feeling like you blew it. Left with the feeling you didn't come accross professionally or you didn't ask the right questions, the list goes on.

Remember They Need You

They are the ones who put the Job advertisement in the paper in the first place, and you applied for the job because you have the skills. If you have prepared yourself properly, writing a well constructed CV and done your research on your potential employer then you should be able to walk into that interview with confidence.

As an employer, everything you want to know about the Candidate and their skills should be in the Resume. Good CV's are organised, structured, relevant and to the point, employers do not want to read pages of text that don't tell them anything useful about the candidate when they could potentially have lots of CV's to go through.

Organised & Structured
You might be sending your job application through the post, or by email or via an online job board, or in person, it doesn't matter, first impressions count. When a potential employer opens your CV up for the first time you want that CV to be easy to read. If they open it up and it is not formatted properly, or has dates in the wrong place or contains no headings, the only place your application is going to end up is the bin.
Use clear Headings, like Personal Details, Education and Employment History. When writing dates, for some people 16th Nov 2009 is easier to read than 16/11/09.

Relevance
This is a quite important when writing a Personal Statement or Cover Letter and your roles within each place of your previous employment. Keep it relevant to your skills and experience, and to the company you are applying for.

Remember to keep it to the point.

This CV Template is the template I used for my Resume when I was a Chef, and it was the template I used to write other peoples CV's when I was working as a Chef Recruitment Consultant. It is a well structured and organised template that will help you write yours.