Initiative aims to alleviate New Zealand chef shortage

The New Zealand hospitality industry has long boasted about its growth, but now that success has led to a problem – an increasing shortage of experienced chefs.

Manukau Institute of Technology has partnered up with a recruitment firm to coach young chefs in to new roles.

Oyster Inn on Waiheke Island is one of New Zealand’s top restaurants. It’s now the workplace of Josh Eisenhut, a former logistics manager who decided to follow his passion.

“I always wanted to cook and always wanted to be a chef, so decided to go for it,” he says.

Mr Eisenhut studied at Manukau Institute of Technology, which has recently partnered with recruitment company Hospoworld to place up-and-coming chefs alongside industry leaders.

“We partner up with them as well and continue to check in with them along their career to make sure they are getting the mentorship they need and that they are in the industry they want to be in,” says Hospoworld’s Tobi Kingsley.

Oyster inn’s master chef, Anthony McNamara, moved to New Zealand after being a private chef to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He says there’s a shortage of chefs in senior roles, and that’s leading to junior staff being promoted too early.

He says that shortage is a result of the industry’s own success.

“Any industry that goes through a growth period like that is always going to face a shortage, and I think that’s where New Zealand is at,” says Mr McNamara.

The Restaurant Association says there are simply not enough skilled chefs to fill the jobs available, especially in hotspots like Auckland and Queenstown.

Immigration New Zealand is encouraging those who are chefs to apply for work in New Zealand to deal with the shortage.

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