Who's who in recruitment consultancy
The major companies…
Berkeley Scott
Berkeley Scott is a large operation with a lot of consultants, but they are all specialists within their own area of expertise. For example, there's a division concentrating solely on London hotels. Consultants are ex-operators and so understand the market from the viewpoint of candidate and client. Current clients include Conran restaurants, Whitbread restaurants, Claridge's and Moat House Hotels. Berkeley Scott says recruitment is strong in the following areas at present: cruises, restaurants, bars, and contract catering.
Where: London and nationwide, plus specialist cruises division (which is handling the launch of the Queen Mary II).
Contact: Branches in Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Leeds and Manchester. Head office is at Berkeley House, 11-13 Ockford Road, Godalming, Surrey. Tel: 08700 117777. www.berkeley-scott.co.uk
Blue Arrow Catering
With 65 high-street branches nationwide, Blue Arrow Catering is the hospitality recruitment
high-street giant. Supporting a wide range of clients and candidates, its core markets are the food service sector, including hospitals and educational establishments; hotels and restaurants; and the events market, servicing everything from one-off corporate activities to large-scale stadium catering. Positions range from chefs and catering managers to silver-service waiting staff and housekeepers. Permanent and temporary positions available.
Where: Positions nationwide.
Contact: Head office, Blue Arrow Catering, 800 The Boulevard, Capability Green, Luton, Bedfordshire. Tel: 01582 692694. www.bluearrow.co.uk
Reed Hospitality
Hospitality Solutions is the division of Reed Solutions that specialises in recruitment within the hospitality industry. A large part of its business is in the temporary staff market: it often supplies large numbers of staff for giant functions. Recent VIP events have included functions for Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams, and catering for sports events such as the Grand National. Reed also places all categories of permanent staff with hotel, catering and hospitality employers, from five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants to fast-food operators. Jobs range from general and specialist managers, chefs at all grades, service staff, and general staff including back of house and office and kitchen staff. Reed Hospitality is currently expanding and is planning a number of new branches.
Where: Jobs are available nationwide
Contact: There are 14 branches of Reed Hospitality in all, including offices in Birmingham, Crawley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Manchester. Head hospitality office is at 189 Victoria Street, London SW1. Tel: 020 7828 1233. www.reed.co.uk
The generalists…
Action Recruitment Action Recruitment places permanent staff into hospitality jobs within three- to five-star hotels, the licensed trade and restaurants. It recruits all levels of chefs, and the whole range of hospitality posts, including sales and marketing positions, from junior assistant manager level upwards. Action Recruitment is finding most job opportunities occur within branded outlets and budget hotels at present.
Where: Jobs nationwide, occasionally in Europe.
Contact: Action Recruitment, 175 Dalton Lane, Dalton Parva, South Yorkshire. Tel: 08700 852020. www.hotjobsonline.co.uk
Chess Partnership
Chess Partnership specialises in the recruitment of chefs and managers for all areas of the hospitality industry, including hotels, contract catering, restaurants, bars, conference and banqueting events. It has received Investor in People accreditation and has signed up to the campaign for Courtesy in Recruitment (page 72).
Where: Jobs available nationwide and abroad, with the overseas emphasis on Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
Contact: Chess has offices in London, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Exeter. Chess Partnership, 14a Ganton Street, W1. Tel: 020 7025 1888. www.chess-partnership.com
Portfolio International
A long-established consultancy, Portfolio covers eight divisions within the hotel, catering and leisure industries. A team of 36 experienced consultants work in specialist teams, covering all jobs within the following areas: international vacancies, contract and facilities management, leisure, restaurants, bars and retail, chefs, sales and marketing, finance and hotels. At the moment business is booming within the leisure area; chef positions and jobs in restaurants and bars are holding up well.
Where: Nationwide and international including the Caribbean, Europe, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Far East.
Contact: Portfolio International, 28 Essex Street, London, WC2R 3AT Tel: 020 7108 1000. http://www.portfoliointernational.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">www.portfoliointernational.com
Search Consultancy
Search's hospitality division has expanded rapidly from one dedicated consultant to a team of 12 over two years. It offers specialist recruitment services across the areas of general management, front of house, kitchen management and operational management, with permanent, temporary and contract options. Search also places middle and senior management across all disciplines in the food and drink sector. At present, the busiest areas are retail food and contract catering jobs.
Where: Jobs nationwide
Contact: Branches in Crawley, Dundee, Dunfirmline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester and Manchester. A branch in Leeds will open soon. Search Consultancy, 9 St Colme Street, Edinburgh. Tel: 0131-718 8009. www.search.co.uk
Towngate Personnel
Based on the South Coast, Towngate Personnel has been appointing temporary and permanent staff to all levels of catering and hotel positions around the country since 1988. Recruiters are currently finding things slow at the top levels for managers and chef positions, but a healthier market at lower levels including assistant and deputy manager or sous chef level.
Where: Jobs nationwide
Contact: Towngate Personnel, 3 Alum Chine Road, Westbourne, Bournemouth. Tel: 01202 752955. www.towngate-personnel.co.uk
The specialists…
FINANCE
Cameron Kennedy With its large database of hotels, restaurants and leisure companies, Cameron Kennedy specialises in matching finance personnel, with jobs ranging from accounts juniors to finance directors. In addition, a division is dedicated to recruiting senior operational staff within the food and beverage sector. Cameron Kennedy prides itself on its consultancy approach, rather than just acting as an agency. About 50% of candidates are referred by recommendation, and many come back for second and third jobs. Currently good financial controllers are required.
Where: Nationwide, plus mainland Europe, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
Contact: Cameron Kennedy, 125 High Holborn, WC1. Tel: 020 7430 0011. www.cameronkennedy.com
FM Recruitment Established in 1985, FM Recruitment specialises in finance vacancies within the hospitality industry, including recruitment for contract caterers, leisure groups, hotels and restaurants. A team of four consultants, with accountancy backgrounds, works from London's Regent Street, placing all staff functions that report to finance departments, including accountancy positions. Opportunities also arise for those working within related areas, such as IT and procurement.
Where: Job opportunities nationwide, also international vacancies sometimes available including Europe, Dubai and the Caribbean.
Contact: FM Recruitment, 4th floor, Hedges House, 153-155 Regent St, London W1. Tel: 020 7287 5400.
GOLF
Prime Appointments The specialist division of a local Essex generalist agency, Prime Appointments concentrates on finding staff for golf clubs around the country. Two recruiters work on the areas of management and hospitality within golf clubs, finding candidates for positions ranging from chef, bar manager, steward and club secretary.
Where: Positions nationwide.
Contact: Prime Appointments, 98b Newland Street, Witham, Essex. Tel: 01376 502999. www.prime-appointments.co.uk and www.selectgolfjobs.co.uk
CATERING/CHEF
AMR AMR (or Ann Mansfield Recruitment) is a small specialist consultancy placing people in all levels of permanent chef positions, from apprentice to executive chef. Being small and friendly, the emphasis is not just to ensure candidates and clients are well matched, but also to ensure that chefs are on the right track for future goals.
Where: jobs nationwide.
Contact: AMR, 138 Staines Road, Wraysbury, Middlesex. Tel: 01784 488032.
Black Dog An informal atmosphere awaits catering candidates at the Black Dog agency, where staff prefer a casual, no-boots-and-suits approach. As the team does not work on commission, the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity. The team specialises in temporary and permanent positions within hotels, restaurants and events management for chefs, chefs de partie, commis chefs, waiting staff and front-of-house managers.
Where: Mostly nationwide, plus some jobs in Switzerland, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
Contact: Black Dog, 54 Clarendon Road, Watford, Hertfordshire. Tel: 01923 431641. www.blackdogonline.co.uk
Brigade Recruitment
The company specialises in placing chefs across the hospitality and catering industry, with positions ranging from executive and head chefs down to commis chefs. Permanent and temporary positions are available, and all are posted on the website.
Where: Jobs nationwide and in Europe.
Contact: Brigade Recruitment, Brookfield House, Tedburn Road, Whitestone, Exeter. Tel: 01392 811730. www.brigaderecruitment.com
Catabase
This independent recruitment consultancy concentrates on chef and catering positions, as well as finding senior managers. There are permanent and temporary posts available.
Where: Jobs nationwide
Contact: Two offices in the South-east. Catabase, 12 Chiltern Business Centre, 63-65 Woodside Road, Amersham. Tel: 01494 724425. www.catabase.co.uk
Flourish Recruitment
Concentrating mainly on three- to five-star hotels and restaurants, Flourish counts on its active team of relief chefs to provide nationwide cover. Recruiters also find qualified personnel to fill permanent posts, from reception to chefs. Trouble is taken to ensure that candidates' wishes are taken into account in terms of work/life balance and geographical location.
Where: Jobs nationwide, and occasionally the Middle East, France and Spain.
Contact: Flourish Recruitment, 3b Inglewhite Road, Longbridge, Preston, Lancashire. Tel: 0870 2201 418. www.flourish-uk.com
Focus Management consultants Working in partnership with major blue-chip companies, Focus Management Consultants specialises in product-development chef appointments within the areas of food manufacturing, food retail and food service. Three years ago it created a dedicated chef division, tackling the difficult area of taking chefs out of premier restaurants and hotels and placing them in creative product development departments with leading food manufacturers and retailers. This gives chefs the chance to influence and create dishes for millions of shoppers at UK retail and food service chains.
Where: Appointments nationwide.
Contact: Focus Management Consultants, Exchange House, Albert Road, Bollington, Cheshire. Tel: 08705 133231. www.focus-management.co.uk
Leeway recruitment
With a focus on chef appointments, most of Leeway Recruitment's business comes from the busy temporary chef division; however, it also appoints permanent chefs to the hotel and catering sector. Leeway prides itself on a friendly attitude, prompt service and a philosophy of aiming high to ensure satisfied clients and candidates.
Where: Jobs nationwide, also ski companies in France, Italy and Austria.
Contact: Leeway Recruitment, 17 Queen Street, Oldham, Greater Manchester. Tel: 0161-633 0838. www.lee-way.co.uk
MaydayExec
For a wide range of catering posts, MaydayExec is a great first port of call. Clients range from Lewisham hospital to Le Méridian Waldorf hotel, with all catering positions available, within the bands of management, chefs, events, food and beverage service, housekeeping and sales. MaydayExec recruits both permanent and temporary positions.
Where: Permanent positions are predominantly in London and the South-east; temporary positions are nationwide.
Contact: Two offices in the City and West End of London. MaydayExec, 21 Great Chapel Street, London W1. Tel: 020 7434 2627. www.maydayexec.co.uk
Regent Recruitment
Specialising in placing permanent catering staff in top restaurants and hotels, Regent Recruitment fills vacancies from front-of-house to premier chefs. With an office in London and one in Manchester, the company is busy with bread-and-butter operational roles just now, including reception and assistant manager jobs.
Where: Jobs nationwide, plus some international opportunities including France and Dubai
Contact: Offices in London and Manchester. Regent Recruitment, 2nd Floor, 37 Albemarle Street, London W1. Tel: 020 7629 9401. www.regentrecruitment.com
Renard Resources
Founded in 1996, Renard Resources deals with a wide range of mainly food and beverage operational roles for four- and five-star hotels, blue-chip contract caterers and event caterers. Positions range from kitchen porter to executive chef. Emphasis is equally placed on temporary and permanent recruitment at Renard Resources, with a separate office for each.
Where: Work is mainly in London, some nationwide.
Contact: Two London offices. Renard Resources, 12 New Burlington Street, London W1. Tel: 020 7287 2299.
MANAGEMENT
Kerry Robert Associates Taking a very honest and upfront approach to recruitment, Kerry Robert Associates is very specific in what it is looking for and very thorough, rather than trying to be all things to all people. This policy means that candidates can be sure their CV won't be lingering at the bottom of a pile somewhere. Six consultants look after the permanent placement of senior management (with a bias towards recruiting for hotels) and financial appointments.
Where: Nationwide and occasional overseas
Contact: Kerry Robert Associates, 100 Pall Mall, St James's, SW1. Tel: 020 7321 3891. www.kerryrobert.com
Lister Charles
Being a fairly small and youthful operation, Lister Charles uses its position to advantage, offering a very personalised service for clients and candidates. It specialises in management roles, from junior to top executive positions, and prides itself on the ability to consider people with different backgrounds for management jobs within hospitality and catering. In a new initiative, all consultants will be mobile, spending much time out meeting people and even working within client's businesses to get the feel of the company, its culture and jobs.
Where: Jobs nationwide.
Contact: Branches at London, Bristol and Cambridge. Head office is at 36 Tavistock St, London WC2. Tel: 020 7240 2224. www.lister-charles.co.uk
Shortlist
Still at the fledgling stage, the 18-month-old Shortlist matches heads of department upwards to jobs within the hospitality industry, via its website. Acting as a halfway house between a consultancy and a jobs board, the company collects appropriate CVs (it already has more than 1,000 on its books) and then searches for appropriate openings for promising contenders.
Where: Nationwide and international
Contact: Shortlist. Tel: 01483 767646. www.get-shortlisted.com
SVB Recruitment Solutions It's northern hospitality all the way with SVB Recruitment Solutions. Spotting a niche market, husband-and-wife team Matt and Sally Barrett started this consultancy specialising in permanent management positions in bars and restaurants in the North of England. As a small team of three, they are able to react quickly to clients' and candidates' needs. So far, levels of recruitment are at almost the same as last year.
Where: Jobs mainly in the North, Scotland and the Midlands.
Contact: SVB Solutions, 100 Wellington Street, Leeds. Tel: 0113-237 3007. www.svbrecruitment.co.uk
Woodhouse Hughes Linda Woodhouse and Ceri Hughes have combined their considerable experience in the hospitality, service and management arenas to form a new agency that aims to provide an alternative to the mainstream, providing a fun but professional environment. Launched at the end of last year, Woodhouse Hughes deals with jobs within hospitality, retail and catering, from junior management level up. The partners' aim is to understand their clients so well that they come up with only one perfect CV!
Where: Jobs nationwide
Contact: Woodhouse Hughes, Russell House, 8 Percy Street, W1. Tel: 020 7419 1199. www.woodhousehughes.com
Overseas offices…
Advent recruitment With two offices in the UK and a new branch in Sydney, Advent Recruitment can help those wishing to work at home or down under. The agency looks after all types of permanent and temporary catering staff, from senior management to operative level, within hotels, restaurants and contract catering. Consultants are anticipating a rush of rugby union fans wanting to work their way through the forthcoming World Cup, which takes place in Australia later in the year.
Where: Nationwide and Australia
Contact: Offices in Bristol, Cardiff and Sydney, Australia. Advent Recruitment, Park House, 10 Park Street, Bristol. Tel: 0117 907 4764. www.adventrecruitment.com
