Critic hits out at chefs for accepting low pay

Chefs have only their own "thick heads" to blame for poor levels of pay, Sunday Times restaurant critic AA Gill said this week.

Mr Gill was speaking to a 230-strong audience at the 1997 Chef Conference, sponsored by British Meat, at the Royal Garden Hotel, London.

During a controversial question-and-answer session, Mr Gill responded to an earlier speech by John Scott, proprietor of the Fräre Jacques restaurant in Kingston, Surrey. Mr Scott told delegates how his decision to pay salaries of £40,000 plus bonuses to attract the right head chef and head waiter had dramatically increased business.

Since the salaries for these two key positions were doubled six months ago, turnover at the 150-seat French brasserie has jumped from £650,000 to £1m a year, with gross profit margins rising from 63% to 73%.

But Mr Gill was appalled that paying only £40,000 for a head chef was regarded by the delegates as a high salary, saying he earned a lot more than that by writing one article a week at the Sunday Times.

Chefs should stand up for themselves and demand higher salaries, he said.

Mr Gill also criticised large restaurants that turned over tables two or three times in an evening. "It is a shocking and quite monstrous way to treat people who are paying your wages," he said. "Customers should be fed at the time they want to be fed, not at a time to suit you."