A lot of people outside the catering industry were surprised last week when the Restaurants Association called for Home Economics to become a mandatory subject in secondary schools.
A spokesperson for the Association said the restaurant industry was now at crisis level because there was a countrywide shortage of chefs.
He said businesses were trying to open up all over the country but the biggest stumbling block was getting a chef.
“We’re crying out for chefs, you can’t get them. Commis chefs, head chefs, pastry chefs – they’re all as rare as hen’s teeth,” he insisted, pointing out that, at present, the industry needed 5,000 chefs but only 1,200 were coming out of the colleges.
The spokesperson said if Home Economics, as a subject, was made compulsory at second level, it could have the dual purpose of rescuing the industry and giving young people culinary life skills.
