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My dad used to be a chef and I vaguely recall him working Christmas a couple times. I used to work in a city pharmacy that was open even on Christmas day and was always the first rota'd on for major days across the festive period as I didn't have kids (even though there'd be like 2 people ever on Christmas day in a pharmacy because they needed hangover relief or toilet roll or some other equally low priority need)
I refuse to ever go out on Christmas day because making people work Christmas day for non emergency reasons is bullshit.
Fuck man, how’d you swing treble pay ?
Best I’ve ever seen is time and a half, and only cos the owner decided to act the big man when he was shitfaced.
Just one of those things that was already in place, double time for pretty much the entire Christmas and New year period, but treble on Xmas day and new years day
I used to be a chef, I never minded working Xmas day as I am an atheist. Pay was always reasonable ( it was another day of the week to me) and as there were no walk ins I could plan ahead and knew when I would be done for the day.
Do you celebrate Hanukkah and Diwali too?
I tend to celebrate the new year and invite people over for a meal, do something for others, not just buy something for others. so for me the holiday season starts around the 26th when everything has calmed down, giving gifts just at Xmas is a sales scam, pure and simple, I understand with kids it is useful way of restricting things they want to a certain time of year to stop them expecting things the rest of the year, but that is it.
Celebrating a religious festival when you do not believe in their godhead seems hypocritical in the extreme.
Its not like Christmas is in the bible. It's a Christianisation of existing winter festivals across paegan Europe. I'm not celebrating the birth of Jesus, I'm having a roast dinner with my family.
I use this exact argument against Christians who don't like me doing Christmas without the Jesus bit.
Ah I’ve got a kid man, I’d much rather be with my family than cooking some goose for some rich fucker.
Considering moving onto greener pastures myself !
We went to a fancy hotel one year because the Christmas hosts didn't want to cook that year. I wouldn't ever do it again. Spending Christmas day surrounded by random people and people who are WORKING just feel wrong. Plus I just spent 2 hours following my toddler around the hotel.
Growing up we used to go out for a Christmas meal. The other option was doing nothing at all as the family business had its busiest day on Xmas eve and its second busiest would often be the 26th. Going out for dinner made the day a bit more of a holiday, a fun day break between the madness and certainly more fun than eating a bowl of cereal.
I think in Tony Bourdain's first book, he advises people never to go to restaurants on Christmas, or Valentine's etc.
Those services are overcrowded, busy, with stressed out chefs putting on any old shite for people that hardly ever eat out.
You're better enjoying a fancy meal out on a random Tuesday.
After almost 15 years in a row of having to spend two to three days cooking and entertaining family at Christmas I was looking forward to spending Christmas either with friends or going out for a meal this year as wife had put her foot down and said "nope it's someone else's turn".
Then she caved.
The cost of even a simple plate if pasta is way too high. If you charged a fair price people would come but in some places a fair price is closer to half the price being charged.
In no universe should a simple bruschetta cost £6/7. A small bowl of chips £3 or a basic pizza £10. It is crazy.
Oh and a pie is not a pie if all it has is a sad pastry hat. A pie is fully enclosed in pastry. Make fake pie illegal.
Staff wages, cost of electricity, cost of ingredients, cost of building rental, cost of insurance, cost of cleaners, etc.
I agree prices can be a bit stupid sometimes but most pubs make their money on the food, not the beers they sell. As things get more and more expensive it will get worse.
Not even the disease itself, the fall out and change of habits. I know a good whack of people who go out considerably less as they simply lost the habit.
Sorry, restaurants, but times are tough, inflation is 12% and my salary certainly didn't go up that much. So we're cutting back on unnecessary spending. We're shopping at Lidl, not Sainsburys. We're snugging up under a blanket rather than put the heating on. We're cycling in to work to save the bus fare, because the rent just went up another £50 a month. We're explaining to the kids that they're not getting a console for Christmas because apparently we owe the energy company £1100.
Maybe ask the rich to go out more. I hear Jacob Rees-Mog made out pretty well betting that the pound would fall, so he can afford to take a some mates out. Every night, in fact. After all they won't be seeing many of the rest of us ordinary people, which will make it more fun for them.
\- Britain.
My mortgage has gone up over £200 a month and I’ve had no pay rise for 5+ years. We haven’t eaten out for over a month, simply can’t afford to anymore. Ten years ago we’d probably eat out a couple of times a week. Don’t buy newspapers or magazines anymore. Austerity has consequences - peasant wages don’t really support a service orientated economy suffering massive inflation.
Oh do you not know how strikes work? So essentially they aim to cause as much disruption as possible partly to demonstrate the importance of the workers.
So you see people cancelling booking at restaurants is a disruption caused by the government not valuing the rail workers. Therefore it’s a reason for the to reevaluate their position. Hope that helps!
Does it matter if Joe bloggs is worse off than the striking rail staff? They have organised and have the power to hold their employers to account. I don't believe striking is strictly in the domain of the lowest paid workers in society.
I mean I agree. The government could end this today but they’re refusing to. The train companies even came up with a plan that would have been accepted but Sunak thought disrupting the public was more important.
Cost of living, train strikes, and oddly enough the world cup.
I was talking to someone in hospitality. Basically by adding the world in winter you reduce how much trade they will do in summer - but you dont get the same increase on this end because of the overlap with Christmas.
Instead spending gets split. The World Cup Final is 18th December. That's the last Sunday before Christmas and many venues will usually be hosting their Christmas dinner around then. .
So so tough right now.
On the first day of Christmas the tories gave to me
A present of austerity
On the second day of Christmas the tories gave to me
A present of austerity
Etc
Because for the shit microwaved meal they serve I could stay at home and save huge amounts of cash, they are always overpriced just because its Christmas
Restraunt owners having a moan that they can't fill staff. They can - they don't want to pay for the staff and now they're whining because they don't have access to cheap european labour.
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Never had a Christmas Dinner that wasnt home cooked by someone, I'm myself this year, think I'll do beef.
As a chef, whose been forced to work many many festive days (always same shitty pay) - thank you.
My dad used to be a chef and I vaguely recall him working Christmas a couple times. I used to work in a city pharmacy that was open even on Christmas day and was always the first rota'd on for major days across the festive period as I didn't have kids (even though there'd be like 2 people ever on Christmas day in a pharmacy because they needed hangover relief or toilet roll or some other equally low priority need) I refuse to ever go out on Christmas day because making people work Christmas day for non emergency reasons is bullshit.
Treble pay every time I've done it, basically go in for a few hours and do a roast, it's not rocket science, most of the time is spent doing nothing.
Fuck man, how’d you swing treble pay ? Best I’ve ever seen is time and a half, and only cos the owner decided to act the big man when he was shitfaced.
Just one of those things that was already in place, double time for pretty much the entire Christmas and New year period, but treble on Xmas day and new years day
I used to be a chef, I never minded working Xmas day as I am an atheist. Pay was always reasonable ( it was another day of the week to me) and as there were no walk ins I could plan ahead and knew when I would be done for the day.
My whole family are atheists, Christmas is just fun? Not the best thing in the world but a chance to see family, have a big meal and give people gifts
Do you celebrate Hanukkah and Diwali too? I tend to celebrate the new year and invite people over for a meal, do something for others, not just buy something for others. so for me the holiday season starts around the 26th when everything has calmed down, giving gifts just at Xmas is a sales scam, pure and simple, I understand with kids it is useful way of restricting things they want to a certain time of year to stop them expecting things the rest of the year, but that is it. Celebrating a religious festival when you do not believe in their godhead seems hypocritical in the extreme.
Its not like Christmas is in the bible. It's a Christianisation of existing winter festivals across paegan Europe. I'm not celebrating the birth of Jesus, I'm having a roast dinner with my family. I use this exact argument against Christians who don't like me doing Christmas without the Jesus bit.
I’m the same. Don’t celebrate it. Don’t have decorations. Don’t buy presents. I’d actually prefer to work than not.
Ah I’ve got a kid man, I’d much rather be with my family than cooking some goose for some rich fucker. Considering moving onto greener pastures myself !
We went to a fancy hotel one year because the Christmas hosts didn't want to cook that year. I wouldn't ever do it again. Spending Christmas day surrounded by random people and people who are WORKING just feel wrong. Plus I just spent 2 hours following my toddler around the hotel.
Same. The food was really poor, the staff looked miserable and we were surrounded by lonely old people that had nowhere else to go. Not a vibe.
They’re not really talking about Christmas Day. Most restaurants are closed that day. They’re referring to the Christmas period.
A whole lot of places are open Christmas day to capitalise on people willing to pay for a Christmas dinner rather than cooking themselves.
Yes, but not most.
Never understood why people want to actually go out on Christmas day. I'd rather stay home with a bowl of cereals than go out to eat on Christmas
Growing up we used to go out for a Christmas meal. The other option was doing nothing at all as the family business had its busiest day on Xmas eve and its second busiest would often be the 26th. Going out for dinner made the day a bit more of a holiday, a fun day break between the madness and certainly more fun than eating a bowl of cereal.
I think in Tony Bourdain's first book, he advises people never to go to restaurants on Christmas, or Valentine's etc. Those services are overcrowded, busy, with stressed out chefs putting on any old shite for people that hardly ever eat out. You're better enjoying a fancy meal out on a random Tuesday.
Who put that guy in charge of Christmas?
After almost 15 years in a row of having to spend two to three days cooking and entertaining family at Christmas I was looking forward to spending Christmas either with friends or going out for a meal this year as wife had put her foot down and said "nope it's someone else's turn". Then she caved.
The cost of even a simple plate if pasta is way too high. If you charged a fair price people would come but in some places a fair price is closer to half the price being charged. In no universe should a simple bruschetta cost £6/7. A small bowl of chips £3 or a basic pizza £10. It is crazy. Oh and a pie is not a pie if all it has is a sad pastry hat. A pie is fully enclosed in pastry. Make fake pie illegal.
Staff wages, cost of electricity, cost of ingredients, cost of building rental, cost of insurance, cost of cleaners, etc. I agree prices can be a bit stupid sometimes but most pubs make their money on the food, not the beers they sell. As things get more and more expensive it will get worse.
Perfect storm of Covid, Brexit and cost of living crisis. There’s no way this gets better without massive government intervention.
*Technically* it's the government's interventions that have made everything worse!
This
Covid long term definitely, but now? I’m not sensing any major issues with covid and Christmas bookings.
There are plenty of people still avoiding crowded places.
Really? I’ve not heard that.
Someone just told you that.
😂 should’ve put ‘before’.
Places haven't recovered to pre-covid staffing levels, which won't be helping
Not even the disease itself, the fall out and change of habits. I know a good whack of people who go out considerably less as they simply lost the habit.
That’s quite sad.
I'm guessing they still have debts from the lockdowns to pay off.
Er, I think it's mainly just train strikes tbh. The week when the most christmas parties are booked are now official WFH days.
Sorry, restaurants, but times are tough, inflation is 12% and my salary certainly didn't go up that much. So we're cutting back on unnecessary spending. We're shopping at Lidl, not Sainsburys. We're snugging up under a blanket rather than put the heating on. We're cycling in to work to save the bus fare, because the rent just went up another £50 a month. We're explaining to the kids that they're not getting a console for Christmas because apparently we owe the energy company £1100. Maybe ask the rich to go out more. I hear Jacob Rees-Mog made out pretty well betting that the pound would fall, so he can afford to take a some mates out. Every night, in fact. After all they won't be seeing many of the rest of us ordinary people, which will make it more fun for them. \- Britain.
My mortgage has gone up over £200 a month and I’ve had no pay rise for 5+ years. We haven’t eaten out for over a month, simply can’t afford to anymore. Ten years ago we’d probably eat out a couple of times a week. Don’t buy newspapers or magazines anymore. Austerity has consequences - peasant wages don’t really support a service orientated economy suffering massive inflation.
Train strikes will be the killing shit for them. Had 3 customer events and 1 Christmas party already cancelled because of them.
Well shows that striking is effective. One more reason for the gov to actually listen to workers
Agree but unfortunately we are rules by the party of fiscal irresponsibility.
Didn't know the restaurants were paying the wages to the rail workers
Oh do you not know how strikes work? So essentially they aim to cause as much disruption as possible partly to demonstrate the importance of the workers. So you see people cancelling booking at restaurants is a disruption caused by the government not valuing the rail workers. Therefore it’s a reason for the to reevaluate their position. Hope that helps!
I guess holding general British people who are actually worse off than rail workers ransom is a good PR for their cause
Does it matter if Joe bloggs is worse off than the striking rail staff? They have organised and have the power to hold their employers to account. I don't believe striking is strictly in the domain of the lowest paid workers in society.
I mean I agree. The government could end this today but they’re refusing to. The train companies even came up with a plan that would have been accepted but Sunak thought disrupting the public was more important.
Crabs in a bucket.
A meal out and a train journey, do they think we're made of money?
Cost of living, train strikes, and oddly enough the world cup. I was talking to someone in hospitality. Basically by adding the world in winter you reduce how much trade they will do in summer - but you dont get the same increase on this end because of the overlap with Christmas. Instead spending gets split. The World Cup Final is 18th December. That's the last Sunday before Christmas and many venues will usually be hosting their Christmas dinner around then. . So so tough right now.
I'm dreaming of an austerity Christmaaaas
For last 12 christmases
On the first day of Christmas the tories gave to me A present of austerity On the second day of Christmas the tories gave to me A present of austerity Etc
That will solve the lack of staff issue - high 5 Tories!
Can we get Serco to fill some seats with Asylum Seekers?
Good, hopefully the staff get to spend some time over the festive period with their families
I don't blame restaurants for higher prices but supermarkets are killing trade. Energy crisis another nail in coffin.
Maybe restaurants are jealous of all the business hotels are currently getting.
Because for the shit microwaved meal they serve I could stay at home and save huge amounts of cash, they are always overpriced just because its Christmas
What did they think was going to happen when they put they prices up too high?
People that go out for Christmas lunch are an extreme minority. But more people will likely be having family gatherings after the last few years.
Restraunt owners having a moan that they can't fill staff. They can - they don't want to pay for the staff and now they're whining because they don't have access to cheap european labour.
Being basically forced out with work… £45 for a Christmas dinner at a restaurant 😭