'The best time ever' to get a job in hospitality

The number of jobs available in the hospitality sector is slowly rising

The number of jobs in the south west's hospitality sector is slowly rising following the coronavirus pandemic.

Mick Smith, a partner and chef at the Porthminster Beach Café in St Ives, said he was in the process of trying to rebuild staffing levels following the pandemic.

He said the hospitality industry was undergoing much needed changes.

Mr Smith said: "It's the best time ever to get into hospitality. You can earn great money."

He said: "The working conditions are better because as restaurant owners we've had to look at all of those things to secure and hold on to our staff."

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the industry lost 34,000 posts between March 2020 and December 2020.

Mick Smith said being understaffed meant he was forced to turn "droves of people away"

By March 2022 the number of jobs available had climbed back up to 252,000, a drop of 4.9% since the start of the pandemic.

In the same period across the UK, job vacancies in the sector were up 93%.

Mr Smith said in July and August, before Covid-19, the restaurant was providing 400 meals a day.

"Now, we're doing no more than 250 because we don't have enough staff, which is quite frustrating because there is huge demand for people wanting to eat here."

He said the industry faced other challenges along with staffing: "Food prices are soaring. Energy prices are soaring. Every month when I see the gas bill it's quite scary."

Mr Smith said in the past the restaurant would pride itself on the size of steak or fish it would put on a customer's plate but now, in order to survive, he said they were slightly reducing the protein portions, adding: "We need to make carbohydrates exciting."

Lee Wilson said changes had been made to how the kitchen was run due to rising fuel prices

Lee Wilson, the café's head chef, said: "Everything's gone up. The price of fish has gone through the roof. It's unbelievable."

The 38-year-old said he was adapting how he ran the kitchen in response to rising fuel costs.

"Now all the gas burners are off. It used to be you come in and naturally turn everything on. Now we've got timers set for 11:30 so it's just got enough time to warm up in time for the lunch service."