Bob Bob Ricard Soho fills £91,000 head chef vacancy

London’s Bob Bob Ricard Soho restaurant has filled a £91,000 head chef vacancy after several months of searching.

In January a tweet advertising the job sparked a debate about salaries on social media at a time many operators were raising wages and struggling to recruit.

Now the restaurant has hired Luke Underhill, a former agency chef who has cooked at Harrods, the Royal Lancaster London, and Shangri-La the Shard hotel among others.

Leonid Shutov, owner of Bob Bob Ricard, told The Caterer: “I think [the job advert] got a lot of attention because it seemed like a huge [salary]. We found there were very few applicants and the ones that we had were not really experienced enough to lead a restaurant of that size. But the role got filled once the right person applied.”

He added that recruitment issues had improved over the last two months and both Bob Bob Ricard Soho and sister restaurant Bob Bob Cité in London's Leadenhall building were now fully staffed.

“We’ve seen a dramatic easing of the situation, all of a sudden, a substantial number of candidates are responding to vacancies.

“I can’t really tell [what has caused the shift]. It could be that there is less work generally out there as we’re seeing more restaurants running on limited schedules. Not every restaurant has reopened after the pandemic.”

Bob Bob Ricard Soho opened in 2008 and now serves a British and French-inspired menu including dégustation of three types of caviar (£45) and a Beef Wellington for two (£44). It is famous for its ‘press for Champagne' button and policy limiting the mark-up on fine wines to £50.

Since its inception the group has worked with chefs including Anna Haugh, Eric Chavot and MasterChef: The Professionals finalist Tom Peters.

Shutov added salaries at Bob Bob Ricard were “substantially up” compared to last summer but said they were in line with the industry standard.

He added: “We’re not immune from the same issues that every restaurant in the UK is facing. You have to be really efficient so you can be profitable and commercially viable at that level of pay. There is no magic solution for any one restaurant.”