line cook

chef

sous chef

chef manager

bar manager

Ch&Co

I didn't want this to sound like one of those bitter reviews, but it's all true! 

I worked as a duty manager at a few venues in London. They don't pay expenses at all, so if you have driven into London - forget parking or petrol expenses, or public transport - they wont cover that, especially as the events usually finish late. 
My last jobs were late November 2019 on weddings and that was the end of the season. So I was expecting this work to start again in March 2020, however as we all know Covid kicked in. I eventually asked about being furloughed and they said no as I last worked end of November 2019. I explained that thats the wedding season and I am on the books with them, but they weren't interested and kept replying with the same message. Even though it wouldn't have cost them anything to furlough staff, they weren't interested. 
Event graduates who start are treated badly. I'm a lot older and although I believe in hard work, when you are younger in a new venue, training is essential.
Not paying staff on time as always issues with pay day, 
They move pay day constantly so you don't know what day is cut off and then you have to wait 6 weeks for that payment. And then they will mess that payment up. 
SO getting paid is a constant battle. 
They don't pay suppliers, and suppliers contact you for payment! 
There is no support at the venues from management, so if you have an issue with guests or venue issues, like plumbing or gas running out, you are expected to fix it there and then, so no pre planning or advance checks of supplies. 
Very basic communication from event manager in hand over notes/ forms to onsite duty manager. 
Random couples turn up onsite whilst an event is on to have show rounds - management book that in!! 
We always had a lot of suppliers turning up not knowing the venue regs and H&S regs, and a lot of the production that is built or arrive on site is dangerous. So no communication to suppliers from management and you are expected to deal with it onsite, if anything happens, on your head be it. 

PLEASE don't even consider this as work experience as it will bitter your experience of the industry. They don't give a shXt about you.

Overall, working at CH&Co has been a great experience but the potential to progress is very limited.

I have learnt a lot about the catering industry, from a front of house perspective.  I have met some fantastic people whilst I have been working there and have made a great number of new friends that have been there from the very first day to help and guide me through my training period.

During the warmer months of the year, the restaurant could see approximately 1500+ people per day and it proved to be demanding, chaotic and messy.  However, these days were to prove to be the best days for me.  The pressure that was created from these days allowed me to learn how best to thrive instead of crumble in this type of situation.

The best aspects of my job are the people that I meet.  On any given day, I can speak to people from all over the world.  The variation from one person to the next is really impressive.  

The hardest part is keeping up your energy levels after being on your feet for 10 hours a day.  Whilst I am very used to being in restaurants and kitchens for long periods of time, working in a restaurant that seats 700 people and having to constantly be on the move at a very fast pace means that you expel a lot more energy than you realise and it can take its toll on you very quickly.

The people that I work with are incredible.  They come from all over the world and all have different and unique experiences.  From the very first day of working there, I wasn't part of a team, I was part of a family.  We all understood the pressure, the stresses, the good days and the bad days and it keeps the team working very well and very closely.

Management have no clue what they're doing. The chef manager just sits down and doesn't help out with other duties in & around the kitchen. 
When in need of cover operational manager doesn't organise agency or in company help. Just expects us to cope with busy  weeks.
Management keep overloading us with new showy practices that are driving custom away. They keep avoiding simple problems by fixing them with even bigger ones example need more staff but introduce self service - we've seen loss in custom. 

Although they say you get a break & free lunch, there's never a allocated time. You usually have to wait till after lunch service or not have one at all but, they still take it from your pay. Even when it's quiet they won't let you take a break.

No matter how much money they offer you, I would personally avoid this company at all costs. Worse company I've worked for so far! At first they'll make you think that the grass Is greener than where you were before then, once you get used to things they'll stop caring about your opinion on things. 

I can't stress enough how bad the management is in this place. If you love working in catering, I suggest you find another company to work for because, CH&Co will have you wishing you did something else with your life. 

Be warned, if the staff below management can see that it's a mess then believe you me, that isn't a good sign.

I am looking after 2200 customer on site. There are 3 coffee shop and one staff restaurant along with 30 meeting rooms hospitality.
We served 4-500 covers a day.
I look after a team of 14. 
There isn't any hard part of the job as it is predictable the job day to day. I love working with customer and built good relationship with them. The workplace atmosphere also really important that we have good communication with staff and customers..
Typical day:
Start 6.30 check emails make sure there isn't any last minute hospitality request. Then 6.45 walk around and check all staff member are in ready to work. Make sure all areas ready for service and we are fully stocked. 7.30 opening all catering areas, then I have time to check deliveries, invoices and communicate with kitchen about the agenda for the day.
Check hospitality is all clear, check free kitchenette and make sure service runs smoothly.
At 10.30 we are getting ready for service and make sure everyone got their break, all covers are run their station smoothly and hospitality service is all in good place. Lunch time be there and served customer, look after service then in the afternoon I catch up with some paperwork, check safe, money counting, sort out sales and finally before I go walk around that all areas are being cleaned and coffee shop is ready to close down.
Finish at 5.00.

Cost of living/poor harvest last year has seen our supplies more than double in price, meaning we’ve had to cut back or cut out completely. Company are still willing to make unjustified purchases though. Prices of food within the restaurant have increased to unrealistic prices which means less customers, every service is dead, restaurants like a ghost town. Did have job security until there were talks of redundancies being made due to the possibility of the company being massively in debt by the end of the year, so more cut backs. Higher ups bickering and using us as bait which meant we got the brunt of it 24/7, which is incredibly childish. Awful back stabbing cliquey vibes actually within the kitchen as well which caused a front of house/back of house divide and tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. All in all an incredibly miserable work life. Only good thing I can say about it is that the hours were set, mon-fri sociable hours due to the setting. Won’t catch me working there again. 

The goal was to completely turn around the business by bringing the restaurant and food up to date with current food trends using my knowledge of fine dining and high standards. This resulted in a 30% increase of sales all within 3 months severing breakfast, plated bistro lunches and evening dinner. With safety as important to me as great tasting food, my team and I received an award for the highest scoring kitchen in the company for hygiene and cleanliness.
 
Developing exciting menus, executing new concepts from plated Bistro style main courses, Chefs theatres customer interaction through to street food. 
Retrained Front of house, all Chefs and Kitchen Porters to work more efficiently.
New HACCP procedures and the reorganisation of all sections of the kitchen, wash ups and storage areas. 
The planning and running of function’s and events. 
Supporting the hospitality head chef with fine dinning dinners, bowl food and canapé functions

Working for such a company like CH&Co I had the opportunity to be able to grow internally and become a Manager.
This is a really challenging position where I had to be on top of many aspects, not just in the events organisation, also as a management team controlling, training and being responsable of 20 members of my team.

I enjoy giving the very best of me in each event. Making our clients be proud of the amazing results and outcomes. And creating new relationships and connections with all of them

Of course, every department or site needs to be headed for a professional and capable person, who mentor you and support you in all legal and professional aspects of your career. This has not being my case. And it is for this reason I looking to expand my experience to another companies, where be able to learn, work hard and grow personally and professionally.

While the people doing the actual work at this company (Kitchen Assistants, Chefs, etc) are often great, the management and HR let it down hugely. 

Probably the most shambolic Human Resources and payroll I’ve ever encountered, they should be ashamed. Absolutely no professional support, and frequently incorrect payments that have to be queried several times before resolved.

As part of a smaller company that was taken over by CH & Co, the writing was on the wall from the outset - lots of layers of bureaucracy and nonsense from Head Office with no benefit to staff or customers.

I lasted a couple of years under CH & Co rule but I’m really relieved to be out of there.

If you’re considering it as a potential employee, think long and hard if this is the sort of company you want to work for.

Please avoid CH&CO as the management will bully you unless you're a brown nose. I was threatened by violence by my line manager in the training process as the man has zero patience & always looked to throw me under the bus. Whenever i raised grievances with the General Manager, she would automatically take my line managers side & i quote  go on to say if "X says jump you say how high!" They also like to discriminate against people with disabilities such as myself & would not recommend anyone to join this company as no matter how hard you try, they will try & strip you off any credibility you believe you may have.

Typical day for a KP would involve putting away deliveries, packing away kitchen tools & Utensils. 

The most enjoyable part was, certain colleagues whom are ufnortuantely in the same boat as you.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Non mangerial team members are fantastic with a pure love of hospitality. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Central team very disorganised - procurement , HR 

Certain core MD’s promote a very toxic environment. Far too many ego’s trying to make thier make at the detriment of the various companies and individuals under their leadership. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic / Clicky

Think mean girls , and masculine thinking men

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Over worked 

Not enough staff to cover roles , creating a blame culture for mistakes .

Biderline illegal behaviour in standards.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Line cook 4 salaries reported	£20,438 per year
Chef 1 salary reported	£16.50 per hour
Sous chef 3 salaries reported	£14.67 per hour
Chef manager 2 salaries reported	£35,250 per year
Bar manager 1 salary reported	£32,500 per year

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