Chefs and brewers
It's hard to ignore the fact that today's pubs are as much about eating as they are about drinking - and we are not just talking gastropubs.
Nowadays, you are as likely to find roast sea bass and fennel on a chalkboard menu in your local as you are to see the ubiquitous ploughman's lunch. A growing number of pubs can even be found listed in the gourmet's bible, the Michelin guide. And, let's face it, Times restaurant critics such as Giles Coren and AA Gill are always finding an excuse to feast in a boozer.
No wonder, then, that top chefs can be found working in pubs. Pub companies Chef & Brewer and Greene King are bringing in celebrity chefs such as Tony Tobin and Phil Vickery to raise the profile of the pub chef and encourage young talent to sign up and help raise standards further.
Tobin, famous for his appearances on programmes such as Ready Steady Cook, explains what he is trying to achieve with Chef & Brewer, part of pub giant the Spirit Group. "Our customers are getting more and more adventurous, which is great news for us, but our challenge is to tempt them with unusual ingredients, new twists on old classics and creative ideas."
Certainly, those companies that take their food seriously also take their chefs seriously and can be seen to develop them. Whitbread, for instance, has a formal training programme. It also inspires its chefs through competitions and rewards them with promotion.
Needless to say, the smaller gastropubs invest in the kitchen, albeit differently. At the 15-strong Geronimo Inns, senior chef Peter Wright trains his brigades on the job. Recognising that chefs "have a low concentration", he keeps them focused by training them up to the next level within 18 months. He also keeps them stimulated, relocating them to a different pub after about a year.
"Structured training wouldn't work in such a small company," he says. "I need to explain the ‘why' not the ‘how' to chefs and so it needs to be one-to-one."
Wright started out in restaurants and hotels but has been in pubs for the past five-and-a-half years. "There are loads of opportunities," he says, pointing out that five of the Geronimo pubs are listed in the Michelin guide, including the Duke of Cambridge in Battersea, and the Builders Arms in Chelsea. Reflecting this, he says the calibre of chefs he attracts and employs is high. Rupert Clevely, managing director at Geronimo, points out that the standard of cooking in his pubs can be measured by the talent he demands.
"I give them the scrambled eggs test, because it is vital that they don't murder good, fresh ingredients," Clevely says. "They must understand that the customer doesn't want fussy, rich food. It must be cooked simply and well."
Clevely concedes, however, that not all pubs can afford to cook to that standard. He says it is hard to make money out of the food in his London pubs as it accounts for only 35% of turnover (it can soar to 60% in the country). "If a pub has 20-25% of turnover on food then they have to have a different concept of fresh food to balance the books," he explains.
While Paul Glenn, bars consultant at recruitment agency Lister Charles, admits that this can translate to chef salaries, which are rarely higher than those in restaurants, he says the good news is that gastropubs are raising the expectations of pub customers.
"This means pubs need to employ better chefs and those chefs want better money," he explains.
But not everyone wants to be an šberchef. Jackie Metcalfe, HR manager at Charles Wells Brewery, which has 19 managed and 250 leased pubs, agrees food is the only way forward for pubs, but she says not all will demand highly skilled chefs.
"There will be an opportunity for pubs to develop chefs through work placement from colleges - or women-returners," she says.
However, her conclusion is the same: "Chef levels will rise and they will see pubs as an opportunity to make a difference."
From the pub chef
Jason Fretwell, 34, head chef for Greene King at the Plume of Feathers, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
Jason Fretwell didn't set out to work for a big pub company such as Greene King, but he says the experience has been an eye-opener.
"I have really enjoyed it. It has been a good career move," says the man who won the Greene King Pub of the Year competition in his first year.
Fretwell has worked all over the country, including a stint with Rick Stein in Padstow, Cornwall. He confides he has been cooking since he was 14, when he worked for an outside catering company. It inspired him to take his City & Guilds qualifications at Doncaster Catering College, which in turn led to a job in a local hotel where he became a bar-waiter.
"I'm talkative and they wanted me out with the customers," Fretwell says, "but I really wanted to cook. Eventually, I got the opportunity to work in the kitchen and that was that. It was my passion."
So why is he cooking in a pub rather than a restaurant? "I've worked in hotels, restaurants and pubs - I've done the grand tour," he says. "I like the relaxed atmosphere of pubs."
He admits, however, that he did have misgivings about working for such a big company. Ironically, his first head chef role was at the Plume of Feathers eight years ago when it was privately owned, but he left. "I was 26 and it was too young to be head chef," he says.
When he rejoined the Plume two years ago, it had been taken over by 1,900-strong pub company Greene King. "I never worked for a big company before, so I was apprehensive about having to use nominated suppliers and so on," he explains.
But his fears were soon laid to rest. Greene King has slowly been introducing freshly cooked food into its pubs, so Fretwell's role as kitchen manager was to change the menu accordingly, making everything from ice-cream to bread.
Although he does have to use nominated suppliers, the Plume's success has earned him the freedom to buy locally. He has also taken the opportunity to develop his skills, attending courses in management and leadership, getting involved with the company's Chef Academy scheme and giving demonstrations in front of 150 people. He is on a basic salary and bonus scheme with 24 days holiday and says chefs earn anything between £20,000 and £30,000.
As for the future, his sights are set beyond the kitchen. " I have a nice, varied career, but cooking is a burn-out job. In a few years I would like to be in a food-related but more motivational role with Greene King," he says.
Get into training Here is a selection of pub companies that provide various levels of training for chefs:
Whitbread
Tel: 020 7606 4455
www.whitbread.co.uk
Estate: Beefeater, Brewer's Fayre, Brewsters & Co
Training: Whitbread Chef Modern Apprenticeship programme
Qualification: NVQ level three
Who for: Under-24s
Nitty gritty: Two-year course runs in conjunction with 31 colleges across the country. Four days a week in a Whitbread kitchen and one-day in college.
Competitions: chefs compete for national competitions such as Design a Dish or for selection for the Craft Guild of Chefs team heading for the Culinary Olympics.
Chef & Brewer
Tel: 01283 545320
www.thespiritgroup.com
Estate: 130 pubs and 500 chefs (part of the Spirit Group)
Training: induction course; day-release NVQ levels 1,2 and 3 for chefs nominated by their head chef; a series of workshops covering food safety and first aid, plus a scheme whereby trainers work with chefs in their own pubs.
Incentives: TV chef Tony Tobin runs Fundamental Workshops to discuss new ideas and encourage creativity in the kitchen.
Competitions: Chef of the Year has been running for six years. Chefs must create inventive dishes that are suitable "for a busy Saturday night in their own kitchen".
Greene King
Tel: 01284 763222
www.greeneking.co.uk
Estate: more than 1,693 managed, tenanted and leased pubs
Training: Structured and on-the-job training
Competitions: Annual Chef Academy to investigate new craft skills, menu planning and management. Celebrity chef Phil Vickery demonstrates dishes. Competition to suggest new dishes.
Geronimo Inns
The East Hill, 21 Alma Road, London SW18 3AA
www.geronimo-inns.co.uk
Estate: 15 pubs
Training: On the job. Talented chefs can expect to be developed to the next level within 18 months
Mitchells & Butlers
Tel: 0870 609 3000
www.mbplc.com
Estate: 2,000 pubs
Training: No formal chef training but there are courses for developing new menus. Also, managers and chefs are given best practice training when opening new outlets, which they pass on to their teams on the job.
Unique Pub Companywww.uniquepubs.com
Estate: Lessees manage the pubs, of which there are more than 4,000.
Training: Training centre has achieved British Institute of Innkeeping accreditation. Chefs can sign up for courses to get a basic or essential food hygiene certificate and to learn how to target the market with the right menu. There are also BII professional qualifications in, for instance, catering management.
JD Wetherspoon
Tel: 08702 438243
www:jdwetherspoon.co.uk
Estate: More than 640 pubs
Training: Kitchen managers are offered the following training: food hygiene and health & safety; kitchen training; customer management; personnel policies and procedures; people skills; interview skills; stock management; rota-planning; business management and the National Licensee's Certificate
Punch Tavernswww.punchtaverns.com
Estate: 7,400 leased and tenanted pubs
Training: No specific chef training although its Learning & Development programmes contain elements that would be of interest chefs who want to become a licensee.
