A Chef needs help

[sparky]

Can anyone help me please?

I am a Chef with 26 years experience, who after spending many holidays in France would like to move to the Charente.

I would like to know a number of thinks.

Firstly how are British Chefs viewed in the industry?

Is the 35-hour week enforced? If so how? I do not want to work on the Black-market.

What are the rates of pay?

Do any places offer accommodation in the short term.

I had considered campsites/ holiday parks as one option.

Finally if anyone has any suggestions or things that I should bare in mind that I have over looked please feel free to throw in their pennies worth.

 [geek]

[Teamedup]

The 35 even 34 hour week is a bit of a myth. It is in no way universal and depends on where one works and what one does.

I have yet to see contracts for cooks in restos to be less than a 41 or 43 hour week, with up to 15 hours overtime a month. I have heard that some restos respect these laws, but it is still common for people in restauration to work between 50 and 80 hours a week. Ofcourse it is illegal to pay them for these extra hours. It stinks really. My son is a cook, so I know how it all works, ie very hard work, at slave rates.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Sparky,

I've got a couple of friends working as chefs in France. If you've been

working these past 26 years in the UK you should not find the

transition to French kitchen culture too onerous, always provided that

you have the language.

I beleieve that the restaurant trade is currently exempted from the 35

hour week rule, though I am sure that someone will correct me if I am

misinformed: certainly more hours seem to be the norm. The kitchen

rates of pay at the low end (KP, commis) are pretty poor, SMIC or

little better. Up the scale things are better, but less than would be

the norm in the UK - but then the cost of living is often lower too..

British chefs do not suffer any particular handicap by association:

assessment is usually by practical interview anyway, so ability is

checked before employment. You will almost certainly need a CV in

French. Accommodation might be offered in places where it can be

difficult to find (seaside resorts, ski resorts, that sort of thing)

but expect the rent to be deducted from wages.

Campsites and holiday parks do offer a route in, and is precisely what

one of my friends did for a couple of years. He's now chef pâtissier at

a two starred place near Chamonix

The Charante might be a little more difficult, simply because it is not

a mass tourism destination and the population is relatively low and

spread out: have you thought about the resorts of the

Charante-Maritime? I believe that there are agencies in the UK that

specialise in placing British chefs abroad and foreign chefs in the UK

(or there were 24 years ago when a school friend of mine used one to

get himself a job in Switzerland) - if so, it might be worth

researching those.

[sparky]

Thanks to you both for your replies. I think I will stick to my idea of going to a campsite/holiday park, it may not be very glamorous but it is a start and it will give me a chance to find my feet and become more fluent in the language.

Thanks again this site is just what I needed, am spending hours reading it and getting the answers to so many questions.