Before Covid, the median Chef wage in the UK sat comfortably below the national median salary. A competent Head Chef might have been earning £23,000 to £26,000. The UK median for full-time workers was around £30,000. That gap mattered. It created an incentive.

The franchise pitch was compelling: "You're stuck on a low wage in someone else's kitchen. Take the keys. Run the operation. Work hard and you can earn £35,000, maybe £40,000. Build something for yourself."

For someone entrepreneurial, someone willing to graft, it was a genuine step up. A chance to move from below the median wage to above it. Own your own business. Create something. And for the club? Stable F&B without the complexity of direct employment. No pension obligations. No holiday cover headaches. The chef carried the risk, and the economics were wide enough that both parties could win.

Everything.

Chef wages have risen significantly since the pandemic; and rightly so. A good Head Chef can now command £40,000 or more on a straight salary. I regularly see talented chefs earning significantly beyond that. The UK median full-time wage sits at roughly £39,000. Chef pay has gone from clearly below the national average to sitting right around it; in many cases comfortably above.

The gap that made the franchise model attractive has all but disappeared.

The High Street has changed too. Quality gastropubs, restaurant groups, hotels; they're all competing hard for the same talent. Premium wages. Extra weeks of holiday. Better working conditions. Structured career progression. Attracting and retaining great people isn't a buzzword anymore; it's become an absolute necessity for any business dependent on food and beverage. The operators who understand this are doing everything they can to keep their best staff.

So the question I'd ask any chef considering a franchise opportunity is this:

Why would you take on all the stress, all the risk, all the problems of running what is ultimately a business with razor-thin margins... when you can go and work for more money, less stress, and more holiday in a quality gastropub?

The honest answer? Most won't. And increasingly, they don't.

I want to be clear about something. I think the rise in Chef wages post-Covid is a genuinely brilliant thing. For too long, incredibly skilled people were undervalued and underpaid. The fact that a talented chef can now build a proper career; raise a family, have a work-life balance that would have felt unrealistic as recently as six or seven years ago... that's progress. Real progress… I for one, love that!

Chefs are increasingly happy to build lives around the industry rather than sacrifice everything for it. That's good for them, good for the profession, and ultimately good for all of us. Better-paid, happier people deliver better experiences. It's that simple.

But it does change the equation for golf clubs relying on the franchise model.

If your club has a great franchise caterer at the moment, that's brilliant. Hold onto them. Value them. Don't take them for granted.

But I would still very strongly advise every club to start thinking about what the structure would look like if you eventually had to move in-house. Because I genuinely believe the in-house model isn't going to be a choice anymore. It's going to be a necessity.

The pool of chefs willing to take on franchise risk is shrinking. The economics don't support it the way they used to. And when your current caterer decides to move on; whether that's in a year or in five years; you need a plan.

Succession planning isn't just sensible. It's urgent.

Think about what your staffing structure would look like. Think about the costs. Think about the systems you'd need in place. Think about your pricing. Because when the time comes, you don't want to be scrambling.

The franchise catering model served a purpose for a long time. I'm not saying it was wrong. But the economics that made it work have fundamentally shifted. Wages have risen. Opportunities for talented chefs have expanded. The incentive to take on franchise risk simply isn't there anymore.

The question isn't whether the franchise model is dying.

It's what comes next.

Those clubs that start planning now will be the ones best placed to thrive when the transition inevitably comes.

Tony

If you'd like dedicated time to work through your club's F&B challenges, book a Power Hour Strategy Call. One hour, focused on your situation, with benchmarking, guidance, and a clear action plan to take away. £245 + VAT.