We want to move to DR. My husband is an executive chef having cooked for four U.S. presidents during his career. Are there job opportunities available for him? Can we expect a living wage?
Thanks
Thanks
- Thread starter Tammy Kahraman
- Start date
Opportunities for chefs?
i think it would be very hard to make anything close to what you are use to in the US.
Obviously living and working in DR will be different than in the U.S. The cost of living is drastically different. I asked if we could expect a living wage which would be relative to where we live. I mentioned his experience because that does determine his ability and likelihood of getting a good job. As far as "another gringo" owning a restaurant, my husband is not a gringo and not from the United States.
I came here to ask simple questions and was met by such nastiness.
I came here to ask simple questions and was met by such nastiness.
I think it would be hard. If you are coming with a pension, social security, investments, etc it would be much easier. Of course it depends on where you want to live and how you want to live here. Not everything is cheaper here. Gas, cars, furniture, electricitand a lot of other things are more expensive. Help is cheap here. People work for a lot less to clean houses, do yard work, build houses, etc. So to have someone live in your house and cook and clean would be a lot cheaper here then in the US.
Unless you find someone very wealthy dominicans or expats wanting to have a private chef to their house. But for the most part people expect to pay a lot less for services here.
How drastic? It costs me (or used to, and being back in the UK for a week or so for the first time in quite a few years, that hasn't changed, I'm actually finding many things cheaper her in the UK) the same to live in the UK as it does to live in DR and I know most of my US buddies feel pretty much the same. Unless you are starting up something yourself then you are not going to make decent money, nowhere near enough to be comfortable.
Hi Tammy. In effect one of the above posters was right. Your best bet is to open your own little place and let the food and service do the talking. I had an Irish Pub in Sosua in 08' and we did real well but I was hands on daily and created relationships with many expats. Keeping the food consistent and the place very clean & washrooms especially clean for female tourists and female locals alike was "mui importante'."
Restaurants will always change hands just like they are in Cabarete right now. I have met a few gringo operators who "get it
and do well. But, I've also met many that sit around drinking and waiting for people and pesos to fall from the sky and blame everyone and everything known to mankind on their own failures. I met one in particular that was still blaming 9/11 as he sucked on his 8th cocktail of the day/night.
Get over it already ! ! !...Geez
This is a price conscious country except for maybe 3 to 4 months a year where prices do go up in peak tourist season. However, the pro active operators give discount cards to the locals that support them in the off season.
There are always opportunities for hard working, savvy operators who have knowledge or access to knowledge of how it "works" here.
A tidbit of advice for you.....
Cheers and good luck
The reason for the crass responses is for the most part that these questions are asked all of the time. The answer is NO. Do not come here looking for a livable wage. Make your money elsewhere and retire here. The odds of finding a good job are so small that they are not worth considering.
By the way, you could probably live more cheaply in Florida than many places you would like to live in here in the DR.
By the way, you could probably live more cheaply in Florida than many places you would like to live in here in the DR.
I believe you may be disappointed in the pay of a chef in the DR and the limited opportunities. To top it off if you expect to live with us comforts in the Dr you will pay us prices (or more). Visit here, retire here:yes. Work here:no.
I am retired and live a nice blend of us and Dr lifestyles in Santiago.
I am retired and live a nice blend of us and Dr lifestyles in Santiago.
So how many hours a week do you think you were working? I am guessing that was some pretty long hours.
good restaurants may offer livable (relatively) wage. there are also other options, i have a friend who is a chef and she is running hot food section in la sirena, entire north coast area. but her salary is much less than you may expect.
you will also need a bit thicker skin, not only to navigate this site - which offers the best info on all things DR - but also to live and work here. bear in mind that dominicans see lots of people come and go with their business and living ideas, very few achieve their goals.
you will also need a bit thicker skin, not only to navigate this site - which offers the best info on all things DR - but also to live and work here. bear in mind that dominicans see lots of people come and go with their business and living ideas, very few achieve their goals.
Hey Texan. The hours and operations were not unlike those of Canada or the U.S. Your putting in 12 to 14 hours a day for the first couple of weeks, then once your team has the expectations clearly absorbed and understood, then down to 9 or 10 hours a day 6 days a week. Hourly sales trends dictate which 9 or 10 hours you work. We also had job descriptions, checklists and recipes done in Spanish for all cooks, servers and bartenders which they had never seen before.
I did spend a lot of time in the kitchen in the beginning teaching them all the proper food preparation and production procedures. We also had policies about cell phones/texting etc and ultimately trained them to focus on the guests and not stand around and talk jibber jabber between themselves or be texting every 30 seconds.
We went through staff in the beginning but within a few weeks, I was very proud of the food, smiles and service we provided our guests. And this is coming from a seasoned American operator now running a restaurant / pub in the DR.
Cheers and thx......
JD,
You are showing your age.:classic:
But you're not nasty!
He could apply as an executive chef at the AI's in Punta Cana, they all have employment websites.
Alternatively he could be a cup bearer for the Dominican president.
aranoid:I tend to think you would need to market yourself, your experience and abilities in the right circles.
There are wealthy Dominicans here who have their own personal chef. I would tend to think these individuals receive a decent wage. I was in Playero today. A very large Dominican man dressed in linens was shopping with his 2 chefs tagging along, inputting advice. They had 2 carts full. We passed one another several times and chatted in passing. Then, they were in front of me at the checkout. Apparently the man owns a Seahorse Ranch home. He is here for the weekend and he brought his 2 chefs along. The one chef asked where I lived. When I told him, he mentioned that he was thinking of purchasing in my development at one time. That, in itself, told me that he was not receiving typical Dominican wages. I asked what his cooking specialties were. He said that he likes preparing food from Spain (so he is not just making beans and rice.)
Thus, I tend to believe high end chef jobs are available and pay accordingly. But, as in any top of the profession job, (like working for a President.....and there is at least one restaurant owner in Sosua who HAS worked for a President) you need to be at the right place at the right time and mix in the right circles of influence.
Just my 2 bits....
~ Lindsey
There are wealthy Dominicans here who have their own personal chef. I would tend to think these individuals receive a decent wage. I was in Playero today. A very large Dominican man dressed in linens was shopping with his 2 chefs tagging along, inputting advice. They had 2 carts full. We passed one another several times and chatted in passing. Then, they were in front of me at the checkout. Apparently the man owns a Seahorse Ranch home. He is here for the weekend and he brought his 2 chefs along. The one chef asked where I lived. When I told him, he mentioned that he was thinking of purchasing in my development at one time. That, in itself, told me that he was not receiving typical Dominican wages. I asked what his cooking specialties were. He said that he likes preparing food from Spain (so he is not just making beans and rice.)
Thus, I tend to believe high end chef jobs are available and pay accordingly. But, as in any top of the profession job, (like working for a President.....and there is at least one restaurant owner in Sosua who HAS worked for a President) you need to be at the right place at the right time and mix in the right circles of influence.
Just my 2 bits....
~ Lindsey
i guess you have to choose whether your husband wants to cook good food, OR make good money..... I would suspect there is more money in a good pizza delivery service than a high end cooking gig.
regards
dave
regards
dave
If you can show good credentials and have some luck to end up as a chef in one of the top 5 restaurants in SD you can certainly make a good living. These guys earn 250,000 pesos per month (usd6000) easily.
The other restaurants: probably 50,000 to 100,000 pesos per month.
Still better than a call center though.
The other restaurants: probably 50,000 to 100,000 pesos per month.
Still better than a call center though.