The profession of chef is by no means the only but perhaps the most striking example of how the shortage of skilled workers threatens the future of traditional gastronomy. Out of 100 available training positions, only 80 can be filled. Half of the training contracts are terminated prematurely. Of the remaining 40 trainees, eight do not pass the exam. 14 of the 32 fully trained cooks leave the industry completely. This leaves 18 cooks, and the trend is downward! However, this does not mean that they will actually be used in the kitchen. Even those who, for example, switch to sales in the appliance industry or the like are still included here.

This is already having far-reaching consequences. It has long since started to happen that restaurants and pubs - traditional businesses - have to close down, not because they don't have enough customers, but because they simply can't find any more staff. This trend will increase significantly in the foreseeable future.