When I were a lad growing up in Yorkshire, virtually the only means of eating out or getting a take away was to make your way to Park Road Chippy and pick up your fish, cake and chips. They were wrapped in old editions of the Bradford Telegraph and Argus or the Bingley News. They tasted delicious around the kitchen table eaten off the unwrapped news print; at least that’s what I remember in my mind’s eye.  What a treat! You could go to a local hotel for a meal or to a café for coffee, tea and cakes, but Pubs were for a pint and this was largely before the age of Italian, Chinese or Indian meals. What a contrast there is today thanks to immigration, the EU and foreign travel. The insular world of yesterday’s culinary cull de sac has opened up to the delights of the whole world here on our doorstep.

I recently took a trip down to the South coast and my brother in law and I did our favourite walk over the top of the Sussex Down ending up at Lewes. We arrived in time for a late lunch and started to walk down the High St. The first pub looked interesting and we walked in only to be told that they were short of staff in the kitchen and they would not be able to provide food. We walked on, this time being a bit choosy. After rejecting a few other potential establishments, we were attracted by a classy Brasserie on the right hand side. However we had no luck being told that a table would be available in about 45 minutes. So we crossed the road to a Prezzo, an Italian chain which neither of us had sampled before. 

Although it was quite busy, we had a delightful pizza and a great salad for a very reasonable price. Our table was opposite the kitchen where we were able to observe the chefs going about their work. They worked efficiently, producing our meal within 15 minutes. It got me wondering how a plethora of eating establishments in Lewes could possibly have enough chefs to supply the dozens of outlets in this small town. How have we gone from a nation who only knew how to cook fish and chips to the current situation today? The fact is that most places we choose to eat in provide a decent enough meal and that must depend on a reasonable level of culinary expertise and training, not to mention immigrant labour and knowhow.

There some tricks of the trade. I once met a guy whose business was to provide specialist sauces to restaurants to provide the basic ingredients for a kitchen of a quality standard. Their business was growing rapidly and they had certainly tapped into a gap in the market. No longer did a restaurant need quite the same level of expertise to produce quality food. He provided a quick and efficient solution to improve standards and save time.

There was a time when it was very easy to get work permits for a qualified chef, but gradually the Government have made this route more and more difficult. It is now much easier to import labour from the EU or train local staff. However this former route is now also threatened as we prepare our departure from the single market. I wonder if in three years’ time we will find it more difficult to get a decent pizza on the High Streets of our towns and cities.

We have a specialist team dealing with work permit issues to help restaurants obtain the labour they need. Whilst it is difficult to find a way through the regulatory haze, it is still possible to get expert chefs into the UK. Being well-fed and watered is a wonderful feature of the modern age and let’s hope the world’s best will still be available in years to come, partly thanks to the work we are doing.