It all exploded after earlier this week, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Colin Fassnidge placed blame on Gen Y for the lack of new chefs coming through the ranks, labelling them as lazy.

In his interview Colin said: “A lot of young people don’t want to work hard — it’s now all about kids with tweezers wanting to put dots on plates. So when they start out, they’re like ‘oh this is hard’. Being a chef is like being in the army. You have to get stuff done, and it has to be good.”

A report released by Deloitte Access Economics stated that the industry needed another 38,000 across Australia which is forcing businesses to look overseas for quality staff.

Young cooks around the country are refuting this claim saying that it comes down to a multitude of reasons, one of which being TV shows like MasterChef who aren’t showing what it’s really like to be a chef. They are saying that people are dropping out after realising that the industry isn’t quite as glamorous as it appears to be on television.

After hearing these comments from budding chefs and also comments from parents who have taken to Twitter to talk about how their children aren’t lazy, it’s coming from many angles as to why there aren’t enough chefs in Australia.

Colin has since fired back with a Facebook rant saying:

“I know ur little Johnny works hard and is a great kid !!!!! But his mate Larry pops 10 pingers on the sat and 4 bongs on the Sunday ……. Then he’s at work …….and cooks the the fucking bejesus out of the broccoli til it resembles a brown soup which get sent back and I have to write a sorry email ( w terrible spelling ) via ur golden Johnny and fucking Larry went out all weekend , and now the 2 little fuckers want Tuesday off ( eccky Tuesday ) and I’m paying for them , I should have just gone to double bay w them on sat. And we could of all watched Netfix all day Tuesday !!!!!! But thanks to all the johnnys mums for their comments today ……… Now make sur he’s brushed his teeth and nothing under the bed !!! Oh shit tomorrow’s Tuesday , he’s off sick !!!!! Get well soon Johnny ”

It should be noted that Colin runs free TAFE classes along with allowing budding chefs to do work experience in his kitchen to get them a foot in the door.

What are your thoughts on this debate? SHARE with us in the comments below.

Main image source: Twitter