Catering recruiter Catering Service International (CSI) has called on big companies to address their wages and conditions to help attract new blood into the industry.

“As ex-chefs we are very familiar with the reasons people are leaving the industry,” said group sales manager Simon James.

“Salary is the biggest issue for the industry. In October the minimum wage will be increased, therefore lowering the salary gap between the highly trained staff and those entering the sector, so people will start to think ‘why bother getting trained’?”

James said there is no easy answer to the problem. “It’s a cultural thing. In Britain, we aren’t prepared to pay for good food, unlike in Europe. We view food as a necessity and are prepared to accept it at a mediocre level. We need to start demanding more.”

James added that as a result of the skills shortage, the catering and hospitality sector has seen a huge influx of European workers. “They have a good work ethic but the sector has to start paying or it will become unskilled,” he said.

In a bid to help the skills shortage and encourage youngsters into the sector, CSI has designed and sponsored a competition to be held at catering colleges located near its offices across the UK. The competition, Chef versus Chef, involves a cook-off between chefs in two categories – the under-23s and over-23s.

CSI opened a new office in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, three weeks ago because the location “has the largest trading estate just down the road, is on the doorstep of top restaurants and hotels in London, is a university town and has a ready supply of staff”.