Only a few companies still want to train staff themselves, but the demand is great. In the Main-Taunus district in particular, there is concern about the next generation of catering staff.

Everyone knows the dandelion. Some people know wild garlic, too, but it’s not quite so easy to find. The budding restaurateurs hit the bushes, Carolin Pfaff trudges ahead.

The forest ranger at the Königstein forestry office is in charge of the area around Kronberg and Altkönig, which also includes the arboretum at Camp Phönix between Eschborn, Schwalbach and Sulzbach. Here are trees from all over the world, sorted by continent. They were planted in the early eighties, and now, in times of climate change, the foresters are happy to be able to observe so many species coping with the dry, hot summers.

For the cooks, the “Hofas” and the “Refas” – as the hotel and restaurant specialists are called – it is above all a nice excursion and a change from everyday life. Besides, the two vocational school groups from the Main-Taunus and Hochtaunus districts, from Kriftel and Usingen, don’t see each other that often. In fact, they often get mixed up when it comes to teaching and schooling locations.

High dropout rate

Joshua from the vocational school in Kriftel, for example: He is learning at Falkenstein Grand in Königstein and is very familiar with the subject thanks to his wild garlic-collecting parents. He is lucky with his business, learns a lot, he reports. And it’s fun, he adds. Others hold up blades of grass questioningly, have to be laughed at and then give up grinning. The fact that people still cook with fresh herbs and not with convenience food is not a matter of course, even in training companies.

Hardly anyone knows lesser celandine, with its rounded leaves the size of a thumbnail. Yet it is particularly spicy, says Rene Westenberger, who trains chefs at the Kriftel vocational school and used to work in the kitchen at Frankfurt’s Tigerpalast. He reports that he regularly roamed the woods in search of edibles. By the way, it’s legal to take herbs or mushrooms the size of a hand bouquet.

Only seven cooks are currently learning in Westenberger’s second year. Until recently, there were nine, and the dropout rate is high – which is not always due to the apprentices. In his class, he has to combine a castle hotel with a country inn, he says.

Not everyone copes well with the job, in which you have to be flexible and a team player, stress-resistant and a bit creative. The profession has little to do with what happens at home at the stove. But due to the pandemic and the associated closures, the good reputation of being a chef, that people always eat and that the industry is therefore solid and crisis-proof, has lost its effectiveness.

Huge demand

Yet the need for cooks is still huge. Some companies call the school and ask for freshly trained specialists. However, the willingness to train cooks themselves is low. Just outside the gates of the Arboretum is Eschborn South with its numerous hotels, none of which accept apprentices, Westenberger reports.

The figures given by the IHK speak for themselves. In the Hochtaunuskreis, about fifty apprentices registered for the catering sector in each of the pandemic years; in 2022, the number doubled to a pleasing 106 new registrations. In the Main-Taunus district, on the other hand, the number has been languishing at around 20 for three years, with 19 new registrations last year. If the numbers stay like this, one of the schools will probably be closed, says Karsten Kleinschmidt, deputy chairman of the umbrella organization Dehoga Taunus, the organizer of today’s excursion.

About two years ago, the Main-Taunus and Hochtaunus district associations were merged. There is also a lack of volunteers who want to get involved in the board of the employers’ association. That’s a shame for many reasons, says Kleinschmidt “Because only if we have enough members can we afford events like the visit to the arboretum.” And that would be a real shame.

“Our biggest problem is that everyone complains, and fewer and fewer want to train!”

“Our biggest problem is that everyone complains, and fewer and fewer want to train,” Kleinschmidt summarizes. He himself runs the Landgasthof Ziegelhütte in Weilrod in the third generation and would very much like to take on apprentices, but can’t find anyone. That’s why Dehoga Taunus has to take action in two directions at once. “We want to actively approach companies and advertise in close cooperation with the IHK,” he says.

But at the same time, he is also looking to the district to promote the catering industry in schools. In addition, the standard wage in Hesse has been raised to one thousand euros for the first year of apprenticeship – even if some companies have to swallow hard. Because the catering trade does not have it easy at the moment. In addition to the increased prices of raw materials and the shortage of skilled workers, the reduced VAT rate of 7 percent on food will be replaced by 19 percent next year.

The trainees from Usingen and Kriftel finally come across an herb in the arboretum that everyone really knows. But chives – in the middle of the forest? “We wondered about that too, in any case it’s there,” says forester Pfaff. Westenberger takes the opportunity to quiz his students on the seven herbs of green sauce. And the right herbs, because according to the standard German textbook “Der junge Koch,” dill also goes into it. Good thing there are vocational school teachers who know better.

Source: F.A.Z. – 25.03.2023 – https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/wirtschaft/junge-koeche-dringend-gesucht-in-der-gastronomie-18768790.html

If you are a foreigner and you want to become a cook in Germany, there are a few steps you would need to take:

1. Obtain a visa: If you are a citizen of a country outside the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA), you would typically need to obtain a visa to enter Germany. The type of visa you would need would depend on the length and purpose of your stay. If you are planning to come to Germany for the purpose of working as a cook, you would typically need to apply for a work visa or a jobseeker visa. You can find more information on visa requirements on the website of the German Federal Foreign Office.
2. Learn German: To work as a cook in Germany, you would need to be fluent in German, both for communication with colleagues and customers and for understanding written instructions and recipes. You can take German language courses in your home country or in Germany.
3. Find an apprenticeship: Once you have obtained a visa and have a good command of German, you can start looking for an apprenticeship as a cook in Germany. You can search for apprenticeships on the website of the Federal Employment Agency or on job portals like Indeed or StepStone. You can also apply directly to restaurants or hotels that offer apprenticeships.
4. Apply for a work permit: Once you have found an employer who is willing to offer you an apprenticeship, your employer would typically need to apply for a work permit on your behalf. The work permit would allow you to work legally in Germany during your apprenticeship.
5. Complete your apprenticeship: Once you have started your apprenticeship, you would need to complete the three-year training program, which would involve both practical training in a restaurant or hotel kitchen and theoretical instruction in a vocational school.

Once you have completed your apprenticeship, you would be qualified to work as a cook in Germany. Your salary would depend on various factors, as mentioned in my previous answer.

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