Recipe for an easier life... the 4-day week
IT is a profession that is notorious for its unsociable hours and bad language.
But a chef is calling time on such practices at his Michelinstarred restaurant.
Paul Kitching has announced that 21212 in Edinburgh will open for only four days a week – one less than at present – so that his young staff have time to ‘explore themselves in the outside world’.
His chefs will work around 45 hours a week, compared to his 90 hours. He says he does not resent the long hours that he worked in the early part of his career but admits that things are different for younger staff today.
Mr Kitching, 55, said: ‘The millennial posse-gang are not driven by money, they are driven by self-awareness.
‘I work 90 hours a week because it makes me happy. It’s devotion and an honour for me, but we were brought up that way.
‘This is a tough industry and we thrive on the energy and passion behind our chefs.’
He added: ‘We’re about constant innovation and re-invention of dishes and the creativity needed for this is incredibly important.
‘We believe by reducing our days this creativity will grow.’
The new hours will come into effect next month. Mr Kitching describes this as giving his team an extra 24 hours to ‘rock and roll, do what you got to do’ with no change to their pay packet.
Reducing the number of days in a week worked to four was ‘by no means a way of scaling back, but a way for us to improve and grow further’.
He explained: ‘It’s a tough job – just as I’m sure working in a busy McDonald’s on any given Saturday night is. I just make sure no one drags that home with them.’
Describing the atmosphere as quieter and more relaxed than it used to be, he said: ‘We can’t be having shouty, screamy, bad language in the kitchen.
‘The conversation, level of intellect and the compassion that these kids give you, they can see when a chef’s hurting or down and it’s really quite an emotional thing.’
He added: ‘When I did my apprenticeship, burns were a badge of honour.
‘People thought. “Wow, look at him – both of his arms are burnt to bits, he must be a great chef”. Nah, he was just a clumsy idiot. That doesn’t happen any more.’
His 21212 restaurant opened in the city nine years ago and received a Michelin star two years later.
Mr Kitching says things have changed with the times.
‘I teach my chefs how to cook and they teach me what to watch on Netflix. They keep grandad young,’ he said.
‘It’s a 30-year gap I have to bridge so I need to stay jiggy and down with the kids.’
‘By reducing days, creativity will grow’