What's Killing the Food Service Industry?

I came across a really interesting article this week - an interview with the head of Wahaca (find it in the link below).

Essentially they are having to turn down bookings, and cancel new restaurant openings because they cannot find staff - a problem rife across the entire industry.

Thomasina Miers OBE, co-founder of Wahaca went so far as to say "I think the future of restaurants is in a crisis right now. Unless culturally something shifts in this country, we won't be able to go out to dinner.”

Whilst the drop in EU staff and the pandemic have exacerbated issues, the truth is that employing staff has long been difficult in hospitality.

The truth is that low wages, poor work life balances, insecure working hours (zero hour contracts) are far too common in the industry, making it a particularly unattractive sector to work in.

That’s why Thomasina’s thoughts really resonate with us…but we go one step further. We think that hospitality as it exists today is not long for this world. In the next 5-10 years it’s going to be a very different place.

We think that empowering independent chefs will help shift the industry into a far more positive place. More creative, higher paid, more flexible work is the future of hospitality and we want to be at the forefront of it.

Link: https://www.thecaterer.com/news/wahaca-thomasina-miers-staffing-hospitality-rising