16. mart 2026. Nenad Živković 10 min read 10 min čitanja

The Kitchen Workforce Crisis, and What We Can Do About It

Kriza radne snage u kuhinjama, i šta možemo da uradimo

Why young people aren't entering professional kitchens, and how a better way of working can bring order, dignity and motivation back to the trade.

Zašto mladi ne ulaze u profesionalne kuhinje i kako bolji način rada može da vrati red, dostojanstvo i volju u zanat.

Almost every chef I know says the same sentence at least once a month: “I can't find people.” Restaurant owners say it too, and usually blame the generation, the economy or the pandemic. All of that is real, but I don't think the root is there.

The root is simpler, and harder to fix: the kitchen as a workplace hasn't changed. The food has, a lot: techniques, sourcing, plating, what guests expect. But in most kitchens I have seen, the way the work is run still comes from the 19th century: the loudest person decides, you learn by enduring, and people are managed by pressure.

Young people today have more choices than we had. And they choose not to walk into a place where the work is exhausting and nobody says clearly what is expected or where it leads.

So I don't ask “where are all the young cooks?” I ask “what kind of kitchen would a young person want to stay in?”

01 — The Problem

What Is Actually Wrong

There isn't one problem here but several, each feeding the next. And the numbers show what kitchens already feel.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the quit rate in accommodation and food services was 5.6% in 2023, nearly double the national average across all industries. Europe looks similar: a 2024 study by HOTREC (the European hospitality confederation) found that 61% of hospitality businesses across the EU reported serious difficulty filling kitchen positions. In the UK, the Office for National Statistics listed chef as a “shortage occupation” for the fourth year running. Here in Serbia and the wider Balkans, emigration adds to it: many good young cooks leave for Western Europe, where the job is the same but at least the pay is better.

In the kitchen it looks like this: two empty stations, a head chef covering three positions, a prep list that never gets finished because there is no one to do it. The problem is in how the kitchen is set up, not in the generation.

No visible way up. A cook comes in, works the line, and maybe becomes a sous chef after a few years, without anyone ever saying what was expected. The path from beginner to experienced cook is rarely agreed on and almost never written down. In many kitchens “progression” means lasting until someone above you leaves. That is more a lottery than a path.
Knowledge is passed on by word of mouth, by chance. You learn by watching, by getting it wrong, by being told once. Recipes aren't written down, there is no training manual, no written routine. When an experienced cook leaves, what they know leaves with them, and one resignation costs the kitchen months or years of experience.
The pay doesn't match the job. The hours are long, the body gets tired, and the pay can't compete with jobs that offer less stress and more freedom. As far as I know, a line cook in most European cities earns between €1,200 and €1,800 net a month, for 50–60 hour weeks, split shifts, weekends and no working from home. A warehouse worker earns more, with regular hours and air conditioning. The sum is simple, and young people can count.
Endurance counts for more than knowledge. In too many kitchens the badge of honour is still “I survived”, not “I learned” or “I built something”. Suffering gets romanticised: 16-hour days, burned hands, chefs who shout, as if pain taught you something. It doesn't. What makes a cook is repetition with order, clear feedback and tasks that get harder step by step. Exactly what most kitchens don't offer.
No order in the work. When a kitchen has no clear roles, clear prep lists, accurate costing and a steady way of running service, the chaos isn't creative. It's just chaos, and it wears out the people inside it. The sous chef who stays until midnight because nobody wrote down how to close the kitchen isn't dedicated. They are making up for an order that isn't there.

02 — The History

Why We're Still Running an 1890s Model

The brigade system, the kitchen hierarchy most restaurants still use, was codified by Auguste Escoffier in the 1890s. For its time it was a big step. Escoffier borrowed from the army to organise the kitchen: a clear chain of command, specialised stations, disciplined execution. He replaced the chaos of 19th-century hotel kitchens with an order that worked.

But the world Escoffier designed it for is gone. His brigade was built for grand hotels serving 500 covers of classical French cuisine with a staff of 80. It assumed a labour market with no alternatives: men who entered the kitchen at 14 and had no other skill. It assumed that being physically present was the only way to supervise, and that whoever gave the orders also knew the most.

None of that holds in 2026. Today's kitchen is smaller, faster, more varied, and it competes with every other industry for the same young people. Yet we still promote by seniority rather than skill, expect people to pick the job up by osmosis instead of teaching it step by step, and measure dedication in hours worked rather than in the work done.

Escoffier gave us the brigade. He didn't give us a way to develop people, because in his day people were replaceable. Today they aren't.

03 — The Myth

You Can't Hire Passion

In hospitality people keep saying the answer is to “find people with passion”. As if passion were something you dig out of the ground.

In my experience passion comes after, not before. People grow to love work where they feel they know something, are moving forward and belong. You can't hire passion; you set up the conditions for it.

I have seen this more than once. A cook arrives without much will, already thinking of leaving. You give them a clear role. You show them exactly what is expected this week. You teach them one technique until they have it. You let them cost a dish and see where the margin is. Three months later the same person comes in early, asks questions, suggests things. They didn't find passion, they found order, and that gave them a reason to care.

I have seen the opposite too: talented young cooks who came into the kitchen genuinely excited, burned out within a year, because the place gave them no order, no feedback and no way forward. They had the passion. What they lacked was a kitchen worth the effort.

The conditions I mean are quite concrete:

A cook knows what is expected of them today, this week and this month.
Training that lets skills be passed on and progress be seen.
The rules are said out loud and written down, not unwritten and in the hands of whoever is loudest that day.
The work is hard, but it is clear why and where it leads.

04 — The Shift

What a Modern Kitchen Looks Like

Modernising a kitchen doesn't mean buying new equipment or changing the menu. It means sorting out how the work is done: the unwritten arrangement that decides how the team holds up when it gets busy.

In AsketCuisine this rests on one equation and five steps of learning. The equation says who does what and why: the same formula that writes a dish also divides the work. The steps show what a cook becomes as they grow. Together they replace the vague hierarchy inherited from the brigade with something clear, measurable and, most of all, teachable.

04.1

Roles, Not Just Titles

In the traditional kitchen “line cook” is a title. It says nothing about what that person actually does, what they answer for or where they are headed. Two line cooks can work side by side for years, each with a different idea of their job.

In AsketCuisine, the jobs follow the equation of the dish. Terra is the ingredient and the pantry: purchasing, receiving, the season, bases of known concentration, the cost of every gram. Ars is the stations, and every place on the plate has one — the anchor, the hot station for base and sauce, the cold station for sharpness, crust and breath, pastry for sweetness — each performing reactions with a number over every arrow. Modus is the tasting: the line check, the salt balance of the bite, feedback about the plate and never the person. Mensa is the table: the pass, the pace of courses, the link to the floor. The chef writes the dish card, which binds all four, and develops the people who carry them.

When roles are clear, there is less friction. A cook who knows exactly what their job is, and what it isn't, stops guessing, stops stepping on other people's toes and stops pulling back. To me, clarity is the most underrated tool in running a kitchen. And with less friction, people stay longer: few leave a job where they know what they are doing and feel valued.

04.2

Written Standards, Not Knowledge in One Head

Every recipe should be written down with its yield, prep method, plating and allergen flags. Every routine, from receiving goods to closing the kitchen, should have written instructions. That isn't bureaucracy; it is how a kitchen stops depending on a few particular people.

When the senior cook is off sick, does the kitchen stall? When the sous chef goes on holiday, does quality drop? If the answer to either is yes, the kitchen isn't running on order, it is hanging on people. And that breaks easily.

Writing things down does something else too: a junior cook can improve on their own. When the standard is written, they can read it, practise it and measure themselves against it. When it lives only in someone's head, the junior cook depends on whether that person is around and what mood they are in.

04.3

Training as Investment, Not Cost

When I suggest proper training, the answer I hear most is: “We don't have time.” I think it is the other way round: you don't have time because you don't train. Untrained people make mistakes, work slowly, need watching all the time and leave within months. Then you hire again, and again, and that costs far more than any training.

Proper training means: you watch, you assess, you practise exactly what is missing, and you follow up. It means setting aside real hours, not “when we get a quiet day” hours. It means the head chef spends two hours this week teaching a cook how to break down a lamb shoulder properly, instead of doing it alone for the fifteenth time while the cook watches from the side.

In a kitchen, training pays back quickly and you can see it: fewer mistakes, faster work, lower food cost, people staying longer. A cook who has been properly trained on a station can run it alone within a few weeks. A cook left to figure it out may need months, and the mistakes along the way cost real money.

04.4

Open Costs, Not Just Orders

When a cook knows that the lamb shoulder they are trimming has a 30% yield loss, and that every 10 grams of waste costs real money, they trim it differently. When a line cook knows tonight's food cost target is 28% and can see the actual number during service, they plate differently.

In most kitchens I know, the numbers are kept from the team. The chef knows the food cost, maybe the sous chef, and that's it. So 80% of the team, the people who actually handle every ingredient, have no idea what their work costs.

Teaching a cook to think about cost doesn't make them anxious, it makes them a more complete cook. Someone who understands food cost, yield, margin and waste can run part of the business, not just a station. There aren't many people like that and they are hard to replace, so they usually get paid more, move up faster and are treated better. Open numbers help both the restaurant and the cook.

05 — The Opportunity

Why Now

The shortage is real, and it won't go away soon. Europe's working-age population is shrinking. Immigration helps in part, but brings its own questions of integration and training. In 2030 there will probably be even fewer people available for kitchen work than today.

There is an opportunity in this too: the kitchens that sort themselves out first will find good people more easily. Not because they are fashionable, but because they are healthier places to work. When everyone is competing for the same few people, the kitchen that offers clarity, a way forward and respect has the edge.

Young people aren't lazy, they are choosy, and they are right to be. Someone who asks “What will I learn here? Where does this lead? Am I respected?” isn't entitled, just sensible. Kitchens that can answer those questions honestly will find people more easily.

The rest will keep saying the same sentence every month: “I can't find people.”

A kitchen doesn't need louder chefs, it needs better order. In a kitchen like that, cooks stay longer, learn faster and care more.

That is what I work on at AsketCuisine. I don't find staff for kitchens; I help set up the work so that people want to stay. If your kitchen struggles to find and keep good people, a louder job ad won't fix it. A clearer way of working will. Start with the methodology.

Skoro svaki šef kuhinje koga znam bar jednom mesečno izgovori istu rečenicu: „Ne mogu da nađem ljude.“ Vlasnici restorana kažu isto i obično krive generaciju, ekonomiju ili pandemiju. Sve to postoji, ali mislim da koren nije tu.

Koren je jednostavniji, a teže se popravlja: kuhinja se, kao radno mesto, nije promenila. Hrana jeste, i to mnogo: tehnike, nabavka, tanjir, ono što gost očekuje. Ali u većini kuhinja koje sam video način rada je i dalje iz 19. veka: odlučuje onaj ko je glasniji, uči se izdržavanjem, a vodi se pritiskom.

Mladi danas imaju više izbora nego mi nekad. I biraju da ne uđu tamo gde je posao iscrpljujući, a niko ne kaže jasno šta se traži ni kuda to vodi.

Zato ne pitam „gde su svi mladi kuvari?“, nego „u kakvoj kuhinji bi mlad čovek želeo da ostane?“

01 — Problem

Šta zapravo ne valja

Tu nema jednog problema, nego nekoliko njih koji se nadovezuju jedan na drugi. A brojevi pokazuju isto što se u kuhinji već oseća.

Prema podacima Biroa za radnu statistiku SAD, stopa napuštanja posla u ugostiteljstvu bila je 2023. godine 5,6%, skoro dvostruko više od nacionalnog proseka. U Evropi je slično: po studiji HOTREC-a (Evropske konfederacije za ugostiteljstvo) iz 2024, 61% ugostiteljskih objekata u EU ima ozbiljnih teškoća da popuni mesta u kuhinji. U Velikoj Britaniji Nacionalna statistička služba četvrtu godinu zaredom vodi kuvara kao „deficitarno zanimanje“. Kod nas, u Srbiji i na širem Balkanu, tome se dodaje i odlazak: dosta dobrih mladih kuvara ide u Zapadnu Evropu, gde je posao isti, ali je bar plata bolja.

U kuhinji to izgleda ovako: dve prazne stanice, šef kuhinje koji pokriva tri mesta, prep lista koja se nikako ne završi jer nema ko da je radi. Problem je u tome kako je kuhinja postavljena, ne u generaciji.

Ne vidi se put napred. Kuvar dođe, radi na liniji i možda posle nekoliko godina postane sous chef, a da mu niko nikad nije rekao šta se od njega traži. Put od početnika do iskusnog kuvara retko je dogovoren, a skoro nikad zapisan. U mnogim kuhinjama „napredovanje“ znači da izdržiš dok neko iznad tebe ne ode. To je više lutrija nego put.
Znanje se prenosi usmeno i usput. Učiš gledajući, grešeći i tako što ti nešto kažu jednom. Recepti nisu zapisani, nema priručnika za obuku, nema zapisanog reda rada. Kad iskusan kuvar ode, njegovo znanje ode s njim, i kuhinja jednom ostavkom izgubi mesece ili godine iskustva.
Plata ne prati posao. Sati su dugi, telo se umara, a plata ne može da se meri sa poslovima koji nude manje stresa i više slobode. Koliko ja znam, kuvar na liniji u većini evropskih gradova zarađuje između 1.200 i 1.800€ neto mesečno, za 50–60 sati nedeljno, podeljene smene, vikende i bez rada od kuće. Radnik u magacinu zarađuje više, uz stalno radno vreme i klimu. Račun je prost, a mladi umeju da računaju.
Ceni se izdržljivost, a ne znanje. U previše kuhinja i dalje je stvar ponosa to što si „preživeo“, a ne to što si nešto naučio ili napravio. Patnja se romantizuje: smene od 16 sati, opečene ruke, šefovi koji viču, kao da bol nešto uči. Ne uči. Kuvara grade ponavljanje sa redom, jasna povratna informacija i zadaci koji postepeno postaju teži. Upravo ono što većina kuhinja ne nudi.
Nema reda u radu. Kad kuhinja nema jasne uloge, jasne prep liste, tačne kalkulacije i ujednačen način servisa, haos nije kreativan. To je samo haos, i iscrpljuje ljude koji su u njemu. Sous chef koji ostaje do ponoći zato što niko nije zapisao kako se kuhinja zatvara nije posvećen. On nadoknađuje red koji ne postoji.

02 — Istorija

Zašto i dalje radimo po modelu iz 1890-ih

Brigadni sistem, kuhinjsku hijerarhiju po kojoj i danas radi većina restorana, uobličio je Auguste Escoffier 1890-ih. Za ono vreme to je bio veliki korak. Escoffier je kuhinju uredio po uzoru na vojsku: jasno ko kome odgovara, posebne stanice, disciplina u radu. Haos hotelskih kuhinja 19. veka zamenio je redom koji je radio.

Ali sveta za koji je Escoffier to smislio više nema. Brigada je pravljena za velike hotele sa 80 zaposlenih, koji služe 500 kuvera klasične francuske kuhinje. Računala je na tržište rada bez izbora, na muškarce koji u kuhinju ulaze sa 14 godina i drugi zanat nemaju. Računala je da se nadzire jedino tako što si fizički tu, i da onaj ko komanduje ujedno najviše i zna.

Ništa od toga 2026. ne važi. Današnja kuhinja je manja, brža, raznovrsnija, i za iste mlade ljude bori se sa svim drugim poslovima. A mi i dalje unapređujemo po stažu, a ne po znanju, očekujemo da ljudi posao „pokupe“ usput umesto da ih učimo redom, i posvećenost merimo odrađenim satima, a ne onim što je urađeno.

Escoffier nam je dao brigadu. Nije nam dao način da razvijamo ljude, jer su u njegovo vreme ljudi bili zamenljivi. Danas nisu.

03 — Mit

Strast se ne zapošljava

U ugostiteljstvu se uporno ponavlja da je rešenje „naći ljude sa strašću“. Kao da se strast iskopava kao ruda.

Po mom iskustvu, strast dolazi posle, ne pre. Ljudi zavole posao u kome osećaju da nešto znaju, da napreduju i da pripadaju. Strast se ne zapošljava, za nju se prave uslovi.

Video sam to više puta. Kuvar dođe bez volje, već razmišlja o odlasku. Daš mu jasnu ulogu. Pokažeš mu tačno šta se ove nedelje od njega očekuje. Učiš ga jednu tehniku dok je ne savlada. Pustiš ga da sam iskalkuliše jelo i vidi gde je marža. Posle tri meseca isti čovek dolazi ranije, pita, predlaže. Nije našao strast, našao je red, i to mu je dalo razlog da mu bude stalo.

Video sam i obrnuto: talentovane mlade kuvare, koji su u kuhinju ušli sa pravim žarom, kako izgore za godinu dana, jer im tu niko nije ponudio ni red, ni povratnu informaciju, ni put napred. Strasti su imali. Nedostajala im je kuhinja vredna tog truda.

Uslovi o kojima govorim su sasvim konkretni:

Kuvar zna šta se od njega očekuje danas, ove nedelje i ovog meseca.
Obuka posle koje veština može da se prenese, a napredak da se vidi.
Pravila su izgovorena i zapisana, a ne nepisana i u rukama onoga ko je tog dana najglasniji.
Posao je težak, ali se zna zašto i kuda vodi.

04 — Promena

Kako izgleda moderna kuhinja

Modernizovati kuhinju ne znači kupiti novu opremu ili promeniti jelovnik. Znači srediti način rada, onaj neizgovoren dogovor koji određuje kako se tim drži kad je gužva.

U AsketCuisine metodi to počiva na jednoj jednačini i pet stepeni učenja. Jednačina kaže ko šta radi i zašto: ista formula koja zapisuje jelo deli i posao. Stepeni pokazuju šta kuvar postaje dok raste. Zajedno, umesto magle nasleđene iz brigade, daju nešto jasno, merljivo i, što je najvažnije, naučivo.

04.1

Uloge, ne samo titule

U klasičnoj kuhinji „kuvar na liniji“ je titula. Ne kaže ništa o tome šta taj čovek zapravo radi, za šta odgovara i kuda ide. Dva kuvara na liniji mogu godinama da rade jedan pored drugog, a da svaki drugačije zamišlja svoj posao.

U AsketCuisine načinu rada posao prati jednačinu jela. Terra je namirnica i ostava: nabavka, prijem, sezona, osnove poznate koncentracije, cena svakog grama. Ars su stanice, a svako mesto na tanjiru ima svoju: sidro, topla stanica za osnovu i sos, hladna stanica za oštrinu, koru i dah, poslastičarnica za slatko, i svaka izvodi reakcije sa brojem iznad svake strelice. Modus je proba: line check, bilans soli zalogaja, povratna informacija o tanjiru, nikad o čoveku. Mensa je sto: pas, tempo hodova, veza sa salom. Šef piše kartu jela, koja spaja sva četiri dela, i razvija ljude koji ih nose.

Kad su uloge jasne, sukoba je manje. Kuvar koji tačno zna šta je njegov posao, a šta nije, prestaje da nagađa, da ulazi u tuđe i da se povlači. Po meni je jasnoća najpotcenjeniji alat u vođenju kuhinje. A kad je sukoba manje, ljudi ostaju duže: retko ko ode sa posla na kome zna šta radi i gde ga cene.

04.2

Zapisani standardi, ne znanje u jednoj glavi

Svaki recept treba da bude zapisan, sa kalom, postupkom pripreme, izgledom tanjira i oznakama alergena. I svaki posao, od prijema robe do zatvaranja kuhinje, treba da ima pisano uputstvo. Nije to birokratija, nego način da kuhinja ne zavisi od nekoliko određenih ljudi.

Kad se iskusni kuvar razboli, staje li kuhinja? Kad sous chef ode na odmor, pada li kvalitet? Ako je odgovor na bilo koje od ta dva pitanja da, kuhinja ne radi po redu, nego visi na ljudima. A to se lako pokida.

Zapis daje još nešto: mlađi kuvar može sam da napreduje. Kad je standard zapisan, može da ga čita, vežba i da se poredi sa njim. Kad postoji samo u nečijoj glavi, mlađi kuvar zavisi od toga da li je taj čovek tu i kako je raspoložen.

04.3

Obuka kao investicija, ne trošak

Kad predložim obuku sa redom, najčešće čujem: „Nemamo vremena.“ Mislim da je obrnuto: nemate vremena baš zato što ne obučavate. Neobučeni ljudi greše, rade sporije, treba ih stalno pratiti i odu za nekoliko meseci. Onda se zapošljava iznova, pa opet, a to košta mnogo više od bilo kakve obuke.

Obuka sa redom znači: posmatraš, proceniš, vežbate baš ono što fali, i posle proveriš. Znači da za to odvojiš prave sate, a ne „kad bude mirniji dan“. Znači da šef ove nedelje provede dva sata učeći kuvara kako da pravilno rastavi jagnjeću plećku, umesto da je po petnaesti put rastavlja sam dok kuvar gleda sa strane.

U kuhinji se obuka brzo isplati i to se vidi: manje grešaka, brži rad, niži food cost, ljudi ostaju duže. Kuvar koji je dobro obučen za stanicu može sam da je vodi za nekoliko nedelja. Kuvar koga su pustili da se sam snađe može da se muči mesecima, a greške usput koštaju pravi novac.

04.4

Otvoreni troškovi, ne samo naredbe

Kad kuvar zna da jagnjeća plećka koju čisti ima 30% kala i da svakih 10 grama otpada košta pravi novac, drugačije je čisti. Kad kuvar na liniji zna da je ciljani food cost za večerašnji servis 28% i vidi pravi broj tokom servisa, drugačije slaže tanjir.

U većini kuhinja koje znam brojevi se kriju od tima. Šef zna food cost, možda i sous chef, i to je sve. Tako 80% tima, ljudi koji svaku namirnicu drže u rukama, ne zna koliko njihov rad košta.

Kad kuvara naučiš da misli i o trošku, ne praviš od njega nervoznog čoveka, nego potpunijeg kuvara. Ko razume food cost, kalo, maržu i otpad, ume da vodi i deo posla, ne samo stanicu. Takvih ljudi nema mnogo i teško se menjaju, pa se obično bolje plaćaju, brže napreduju i s njima se bolje postupa. Otvoreni brojevi koriste i restoranu i kuvaru.

05 — Prilika

Zašto baš sada

Nedostatak ljudi je stvaran i neće skoro proći. Radno sposobnog stanovništva u Evropi je sve manje. Doseljavanje delimično pomaže, ali donosi svoje brige oko uklapanja i obuke. Verovatno će 2030. biti još manje ljudi za kuhinju nego danas.

U tome ima i prilike: kuhinje koje se prve srede lakše će naći dobre ljude. Ne zato što su moderne, nego zato što se u njima zdravije radi. Kad se svi bore za istih nekoliko ljudi, prednost ima kuhinja u kojoj se zna šta se radi, kuda se ide i gde se ljudi poštuju.

Mladi nisu lenji, nego biraju, i u pravu su. Ko pita „Šta ću ovde naučiti? Kuda ovo vodi? Da li me ovde poštuju?“ nije umišljen, nego razuman. Kuhinje koje na ta pitanja mogu iskreno da odgovore lakše će naći ljude.

Ostale će i dalje svakog meseca ponavljati istu rečenicu: „Ne mogu da nađem ljude.“

Kuhinji ne trebaju glasniji šefovi, nego bolji red. U takvoj kuhinji kuvari ostaju duže, brže uče i više im je stalo.

Time se bavim u AsketCuisine. Ne nalazim kuhinjama osoblje, nego pomažem da se posao postavi tako da ljudi žele da ostanu. Ako vaša kuhinja teško nalazi i zadržava dobre ljude, glasniji oglas za posao neće pomoći. Pomoći će jasniji način rada. Počnite od metodologije.

Nenad Živković

Chef · Hospitality Consultant · AsketCuisine