SINGAPORE: Cooks are not easy to come by for the many Indian restaurants in Singapore, and festive periods like Deepavali put further strain on them.
"During (the festive season), we require a lot of hands because of catering (orders), because there are also certain special items which are made like sweet meats which are not on our normal menu, " said Indian Restaurants Association president Gurcharan Singh.
However, things are a little easier for these eateries after the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) allowed Indian restaurants to hire cooks from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on work permits.
Four hundred Indian cuisine restaurants tapped the work permits in the first three months after applications were accepted in September last year, MOM said.
Applications from restaurants are assessed by industry stakeholders such as renowned chefs. Government agencies are also involved, including the Indian Heritage Centre.
Among the businesses that have benefitted is Riverwalk Tandoor along Rangoon Road.
Its managing director Sharonjeet Kaur went as far as saying the move was a “dream come true” amid the challenges the restaurant was facing in hiring chefs.
“Anyone can say, ‘I'm a chef’, but to specialise in tandoor, curry, even frying is a bit difficult because it's Indian food. It's not something that any person can just come in and do,” she said.
The restaurant was able to hire three more cooks over the past year. With a small shift in manpower strength, the restaurant was able to take more than 40 catering orders per day in the lead-up to Deepavali last Thursday (Oct 31), compared with about 30 previously.
Ms Kaur said it has even been exploring new types of dishes, taking inspiration from Western and Chinese cuisine.
“In India currently, the trend is Indian fusion everywhere, so … we started on it, new ideas, new chefs. When they come in, they come up with their own cooking style. So that's how we actually grow,” she said.
The move has allowed Indian restaurants to up their game, said Gayatri Restaurant managing director S Mahendran. “Within this one year, I think we have seen tremendous changes within the Indian culinary space. I speak for my restaurant and my fellow restaurateurs who have been in the industry for quite some time,” he added.
While restaurants expressed gratitude for being able to hire more chefs, they said a higher quota for such foreign workers would help meet demand even more.
Currently, the cap for such workers is 8 per cent of its total workforce.
“You need to have a total of 12 local workers to have that one foreign Indian chef in your kitchen,” noted Mr Mahendran, adding that he hopes the proportion of work permits allowed will increase.
Besides the quota, Riverwalk Tandoor also hopes it can retain the Employment Pass (EP) holders it hires when they are up for renewal. The restaurant hires 11 EP holders who have been with the company for more than 10 years, said Ms Kaur.
“The EP (holders) that we have right now in hand, I believe they should be extended or given a chance, because that's how we are surviving,” she said.
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