But here we are in 2013 and hearing a very different story. There are fewer courses, and thus fewer opportunities and also fewer skilled chefs, particularly those who value a career in our sector of casual dining.
We now live in an age of celebrity chefs and in the media we see only a one-dimensional view of professional kitchens. Chefs want to cook, to work with fresh ingredients and to be able to showcase their skills and flair. Unless they start up their own restaurant or work in fine dining, the opportunities can be limited. This is discouraging all but the most dedicated people to turn to cooking as an option.
At Las Iguanas, we want chefs to be chefs and that's partly why we keep our menus fresh and exciting. It is certainly a challenge; preparing and cooking an extensive menu from scratch each day leads to higher labour costs on top of ever-rising food prices. Stubbornness in keeping fresh food in our kitchens has meant we've had to look at other ways to streamline our operations. In the past couple of years we have introduced central distribution. This has been a key element in ensuring we can source the right products from the right suppliers while minimising the environmental impact as well as the cost.
But ultimately, it's also the guests who respond to the quality of the food we offer, and to keep that freshness on the plate for them we need to be self-sufficient in growing new chefs and teaching them the skills that the colleges used to. For every good chef, there are many other casual dining brands fighting to snap them up. Developing our own talent has been at the heart of Las Iguanas for many years and we were pleased to be recognised with the Investors in People Gold award last year. Achieving that was one of the biggest challenges of my career, taking us right out of our comfort zone, but we are a much better company for having made the effort.
Attracting staff is easy enough in the current climate, but retaining great staff is the challenge. The reward is then seeing them develop within the business, whether it's in the kitchen or front of house.
Getting out and about in our restaurants, making ourselves visible and approachable is the reason people stick around. Great development and training schemes are expected, but actually making time for your servers, bartenders, kitchen porters and the like is still rare in many businesses.
Did I make a difference today? If the answer was no, then what was the point? I always ask myself that question - have I made a difference to someone today? Have they been inspired or have I helped them learn a new skill?
I am passionate about energising and rewarding our team, so much so that we now have a dedicated incentive and motivation manager. To be honest, I don't know why I didn't employ one years ago. Working in a young industry, having fun is also high on the agenda. Rewarding the team with annual award bashes, incentive trips to South America, and wet and windy camping trips where directors cook the hot dogs can only help in achieving our further goal of wowing each guest who visits our restaurants.
Mos Shamel is operations director at restaurant chain Las Iguanas