How Much Does An Agency Chef Earn?
How much does an agency chef earn?
Agency chefs are becoming the new buzz in the hospitality and culinary industry. Many chefs are no longer considering a permanent position. Instead, they are prioritizing their lives while earning from their passion. This aspect is the reason for resurfacing of many chef agencies.
As an experienced chef, you witnessed your colleagues moving from a permanent position to consider an agency chef position. It seems like a nice idea. You love the way they have ultimate freedom and choose when and where to work. However, you are in a dilemma whether to join the bandwagon or not.
One of the questions in your mind is how much does an agency chef earn? Though you value your freedom, you have some bills to pay. So, considering the potential earnings from this position is worth it.
An agency chef will earn between £26,405 and £31,786 per year. However, some factors determine your earnings as an agency chef. Here are some of them:
Chef position assigned
Different chef positions attract different compensations. When you work as the Chef de Parte, your earn a higher salary than a sous chef. This aspect is no different in the agency chef field. Your hourly compensations and monthly earnings will depend on the position assigned.
Your work experience
Work experience is another determiner of how much does an agency chef earns. Experienced chefs have special knowledge of different culinary aspects. Their prowess in the kitchen makes them a darling for every hospitality business owner. Hence, if you have vast culinary experience, you can expect t earner more than fresh blood in this sector.
Hours worked
An agency chef has the freedom to determine the number of hours they should work. You can decide to work for 5 or 8 hours per day. Since they receive hourly compensation, how much you earn will be a reflection of the hours worked. More hours will equate to a higher earning, and the opposite is true too.
Type of kitchen
Different hospitality businesses or clients have different kitchen sets. Each of this type of kitchen has its unique demands and skills. For instance, you will require different skills to manage a care home kitchen than the one you need in a pub kitchen set.
These demands form the foundation of your compensation. A kitchen demanding extra skills will come along with a better compensation than one requiring fewer skills. So, the type of kitchen the agency assigns to you will determine your earnings.
Why work as an agency chef?
The desire of any chef is to get paid for each minute they work. Unfortunately, this is sometimes impossible when working in a permanent position. You earn a salary and some overtime, but they cannot match your efforts and energy. For this reason, many chefs are turning to freelancer workers.
Working as a relief or freelance chef offers you the opportunity to meet a work-life balance. You can also maximize earnings from your passion. But this depends on your network. Without a good network, securing gigs will be a hard tackle. The best option to ensure you do not miss some work is working as an agency chef.
Agencies will ensure you have a consistent schedule and negotiate better compensation for you. With the agency, you will likely increase your earnings. For instance, your potential client might be offering £20 per hour.
But when you involve the agency, they might charge them £35 per hour. Though the agency can take £10 per hour as a commission, your rates will still be better.
In a word, your earnings as an agency chef can vary depending on the mentioned aspects. So, it is important to consider them before you decide to join the bandwagon.