A Shortage Of Kitchen Help – A Cape Cod Jobs Story

CAPE COD – The cause of one specific problem in many Cape Cod restaurants, a shortage of kitchen help, can be found by the simple process of boiling.

“It boils down to supply and demand,” said Michael Pillarella, executive chef at the Wianno Club in Osterville.

“What we have is a huge demand for a limited supply of cooks and chefs,” said Pillarella.  “Particularly anyone who is a professional or has some industry experience.”

Mac Hay, owner of four restaurants – Mac’s Chatham Fish & Lobster, Mac’s Fish House Provincetown; and two restaurants in Wellfleet, Mac’s Shack, and Mac’s On The Pier – said, “It’s my biggest struggle, bar none. Every single day that I wake up, it’s the first thing I think about.”

In this Cape Cod tourism economy, with its extreme peak season, there is a common and enduring struggle for businesses to find or retain staff. Here is a look at a microcosm of that struggle: kitchen staff on Cape Cod.

An Increase In Cost, Not Quality

“Workforce, or lack of workforce is arguably the biggest challenge employers are facing in the region,” said State Senator Julian Cyr (D-Truro). “It’s particularly acute in the hospitality industry,” he said.

Pillarella said he is paying significantly more for kitchen help in the last three to four years. “The local talent has increased in cost. It has not increased in quality.”

Harry Henry, board president of the Cape Cod Culinary Incubator, which helps prospective business owners in the culinary business, asked, “If you are going to pay people at the rate you paid them three or four years ago, can they still afford to live on the Cape?”

In fact, said Henry, among the things he works on with people looking to get into the business is labor costs and the local demographics. 

“What’s available in the labor force is a lot of people like me, who are retired,” said Henry. There’s not a lot of younger people looking for jobs. You have to pay more.”