Dawson City hotel scrambles to find qualified chefs

A Dawson City hotel wants to continue offering European cuisine but it has a problem: it needs skilled chefs.

Paul Wettstein owns the Aurora Inn and restaurant. He says he won't be able to open the restaurant this summer unless the Yukon Government approves his application for foreign workers.

Wettstein says he cannot find Canadians with the skills required to prepare European cuisine in an elegant restaurant setting in Dawson City.

The seasonal hotel restaurant offers meals such as beef carpaccio and breaded schnitzel as well as Mediterranean dishes in addition to steaks, salads, salmon and burgers.

Restaurant has relied on foreign workers

Last summer Wettstein had three foreign workers employed under a Yukon Government pilot program.

The program has since been cancelled. In the fall Wettstein applied under the Yukon Nominee program to bring those employees back but he says it's been a frustrating experience. 

Wettstein says his file was passed among a couple of different government workers, with assurances the matter would be resolved. 

Now he says the tourism season is about to begin and he's without chefs. 

"It is May now, I need to be able to plan the season. I cannot open my restaurant without cooks and I have seven jobs for Yukoners at stake as well because if I can't open the restaurant, all those servers and an additional cook, they don't have a job either."

Wettstein says he might open the restaurant without if he can get at least one chef and an additional helper, but "with a smaller menu."

Applicant 'fails' language test with 4.5 out of 5

One of the German speaking applicants, Christian Schiffner has a Masters degree in culinary arts according to Wettstein. He says Schiffner failed Canada's language requirement test by scoring 4.5 out of 5.

Wettstein says this standard is too strict and doesn't apply to workers in the Nominee Program who are coming for service-level jobs.

"Someone who wants to work at the till at Tim Hortons or Super Store or as a taxi driver, the requirement is a 4 in the language test."

Wettstein says he's still waiting to hear about the other two applicants and hopes Schiffner's rejection is overturned.

'These people are specialized' 

The last-minute scramble worries Nadia Sollosy, a single mother, who has worked at the restaurant as a server part time in addition to her usual day job.  

"I'm depending on it," she says. "It's not as if they're coming in and taking somebody's job these people are specialized in their field of work, they're chefs." 

She adds that the restaurant adds a flair to the northern Yukon town.   

"People have to understand this is Dawson, we don't have chefs and I mean the Aurora Inn is known for its European cuisine." 

The Yukon Department of Education government has declined to comment on the specific case. The government says language requirements are set by the Federal government and cannot be altered in Yukon. 

The department says last year about a quarter of applicants were rejected.