Culinary Worker, Sous Chef

Hoping that someone on here might be able to answer a few questions regarding culinary employment in the UK. I'm attempting to move to live with my girlfriend (British citizen and resident) and pursue a career in fine dining. The eventual goal of owning my own business is a priority. Right now, with the way things have been, I'm looking to get out of the States as soon as I can.

I've been looking into the education option as well, but am worried about having the funds/ being accepted to a school, so I've been looking at other work options. I have several years of training with a lot of different food styles. I feel confident that I could fulfill a career on the shortage list regarding trained culinary workers. However, I'm unsure that those options are even available. I'll include some of the training I've had below and if anyone could offer suggestions, I'm all ears.

High School Diploma: 05/2010
Abraham Lincoln High School - Council Bluffs, IA 

Elected to Vice President for Student Council in 2010

Leader of ALHS Food Club, an after school program dedicated to teaching culinary arts to students
Member of ALHS Echoes Newspaper
Founder of Nebraska Culinary Workers Group, 2020 a chapter of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United
ServSave Food Handler Certificate Number: 4301918 Expires: 03/02/2023

Sauté Cook, 11/2019 to Current
Forno Pizzaria – Omaha, Nebraska
Upheld optimal staff and customer protections by monitoring food handling, cleaning and sanitation protocols.
Received food orders from cashiers and cooked items quickly to complete entire order together and serve hot. On a typical night, we would serve more than 50-200 individual orders.
Checked each food item for freshness and provided feedback to Spam supervisor for removal
Adjusted established recipes to remove allergens or alter tastes for customer desires
Maintained well-stocked stations with supplies and spices for maximum productivity
Prepared food items to meet recipes, portioning, cooking and waste control guidelines
Prepared identical dishes numerous times daily with consistent care, attention to detail and quality
Prepared items like bacon ahead of time to promote efficiency in dish garnishing
Prepared cooking supplies, ingredients and workstations when opening and closing Spam
Followed restaurant stock management schedule to monitor product freshness and rotate out old products
Sanitized Spam surfaces and equipment by cleaning grills, griddles, ovens and fryers

Line Cook, 04/2019 to 09/2019
Wings Travel Centers – Avoca, Iowa

Chef De Partie, 11/2018 to 01/2019
The Purple Door – Harlan, IA

Line Cook, 07/2017 to 02/2018
Marcus Hotels – Omaha, NE

Stage Cook, 11/2016 to 05/2017
Culprit Cafe - Omaha, NE

Hello

To come to the UK to work, you need a Tier 2 visa. You can't get it just on your own, you need a sponsorship of an employer. That employer must have a license and pay you at or above the minimum salary rate for new entrant.

The shortage occupation list is published here. When a job is in the list, it's easier to get a visa as the employer is not required to demonstrate that it's not possible to find an employee resident in the UK:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... ation-list

For Chefs:



As you see, it includes Sous-Chef:
So this is the good news part if you like.

Now, you need to find employer in the hospitality who maintains a Tier 2 license and who is willing to hire for nearly £30'000 for your first job in the UK.

A friend of mine in the restoration business and they seem doing badly at the moment. With the current set of circumstances, I believe it will be difficult to find an employer who would value a foreign application.

Also, they don't pay well in the UK. Check this out:

https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Jo ... hef/Salary

90% of Sous-Chefs seem to be under 30K. The median salary is £23,475. That's would be a big challenge too.