Most chef recruitment agencies charge a percentage of the chef's first year base salary, usually 15 to 25 percent, on a contingency basis, which means you pay only if you hire someone they introduce. The fee is invoiced once the chef starts, and a good agency backs it with a rebate if the placement does not last. Paying up front is for retained search, which is rare at chef level. Cairnity charges a flat 20 percent, invoiced on the start date, with a 20 week sliding rebate and no retainer.
When I was cooking, I never once got a straight answer about what a recruiter would charge my employer. The number seemed to move depending on who was asking and how desperate they were. It irritated me then, and now that I am on the other side of it I have decided to just tell people plainly. Here is how chef recruitment fees work, what the going rate is in 2026, what to watch for in the small print, and exactly what Cairnity charges, so you can budget properly and spot when you are being taken for a ride.
01Contingency or retained, and which one you are being offered
Almost all permanent chef hiring runs on contingency. You pay only if you hire the candidate the agency introduces, the agency carries the risk of doing the work for nothing, and there is no charge until someone starts. Retained search is the other model, where you pay in stages up front to secure a firm's exclusive time, and it is used for senior, confidential or genuinely hard to find appointments. At chef level you will rarely need it, and if an agency asks for money up front for a standard head chef search, that is worth questioning.
02What the percentage is a percentage of
The fee is calculated on the chef's first year base salary. On a £45,000 head chef, a 20 percent fee is £9,000. Simple enough, but two things are worth pinning down before you sign anything. First, the basis. It should be base salary only, not total package, so watch for any agency that folds in tips, service charge or the notional value of live-in accommodation to lift the number. Second, VAT. Fees are almost always quoted excluding VAT, so where the agency is VAT registered, budget for that on top.
03When you pay, and the rebate that protects you
On contingency the fee falls due once the chef starts, usually within a week to a month. The part that actually protects you is the rebate, sometimes called a guarantee. It refunds part or all of the fee if the placement ends early, and across the market it typically runs 8 to 12 weeks on a sliding scale, so the earlier it goes wrong the more you get back.
Read the exclusions carefully, because this is where agencies quietly protect themselves rather than you. Many rebates do not apply if the role is made redundant, if the business restructures, or if you move the chef to a different job. A short rebate full of exclusions is close to worthless. A longer one with clean terms tells you the agency actually backs its own work.
04What the fee is really paying for
A recruitment fee is not a finder's fee for handing over a name. Done properly it pays for reaching the chefs who are not looking and will never answer an advert, for the market mapping and the screening calls that check notice periods and salary expectations and whether someone will actually fit your kitchen, for taking references that mean something, and for managing the messy end of a hire, the notice period and the counter-offer, where good placements are so often lost. Most of that work happens before a single CV reaches you, and none of it shows up on the invoice.
05The fee against the cost of getting it wrong
The fee only looks expensive next to the wrong comparison. Set it against the cost of a bad hire instead. Industry figures put the average cost of filling a single role at around £6,000, rising to roughly £19,000 for a managerial appointment, and that is before you count what a poor senior chef costs a kitchen in practice: months of salary paid for underperformance, covers lost to inconsistent food, good juniors walking because the section has become miserable, and then the whole search run again from scratch. A well handled placement is as much about avoiding that as it is about filling the gap.
06The small print worth reading twice
A few things reliably separate a fair agreement from a costly one. No rebate, or a very short one riddled with exclusions. A fee based on total package rather than base salary. Registration fees, advertising charges or background checks billed on top of the percentage, when they should be part of the service. And the oldest trick of all, an agency talking a candidate's salary expectation upward, since a higher salary means a higher fee for them and a bigger bill for you. Briefing several agencies on the same role feels like covering your bases, but it usually just starts a race that pushes salary expectations up and quality down.
07What Cairnity charges, plainly
A flat 20 percent of the chef's first year base salary. Invoiced when the chef starts, never before. Backed by a 20 week sliding rebate if the placement does not hold, which is roughly double the rebate most agencies offer. No retainer, so nothing is payable up front, and no charge to the candidate, ever. It is one rate, stated openly, rather than a 25 percent opener quietly waiting to be negotiated down. Cairnity handles permanent luxury placements across the UK. Non-luxury and relief work we route through our partner brand, Fulliant, so you always deal with the right specialist for the role.
Want the number before the pitch?
That is rather the point of this page. Cairnity places head chefs and senior kitchen teams into luxury hotels, restaurants and private estates across the UK, on a flat 20 percent fee with a 20 week rebate and no retainer.
Start a conversation at cairnity.co.uk.
Frequently asked questions
How much do chef recruitment agencies charge in the UK?
Most charge a percentage of the chef's first year base salary, usually 15 to 25 percent, on a contingency basis, so you pay only if you hire someone they introduce. On a £45,000 head chef that is £6,750 to £11,250, normally quoted excluding VAT. Cairnity charges a flat 20 percent.
Do you pay recruitment fees up front or only when you hire?
On the contingency model that covers almost all chef hiring, you pay nothing up front and nothing at all unless you hire the candidate. The fee is invoiced once the chef starts, usually due within a week to a month. Paying in stages up front is retained search, which is reserved for senior or confidential hires and rare at chef level. Cairnity works on no retainer.
What is a rebate period and how long should it be?
A rebate, or guarantee, refunds part or all of the fee if the placement ends early. Across the market it usually runs 8 to 12 weeks on a sliding scale. Always read the exclusions, since many rebates do not cover redundancy, restructuring or a change of role. Cairnity's rebate runs 20 weeks, roughly double the common window.
Is the recruitment fee based on salary or total package including tips?
It should be based on first year base salary. Be wary of any agency that calculates the fee on total package, including tips, service charge or the value of accommodation, because that inflates the bill. Confirm the basis in writing before you sign. Cairnity charges on base salary only.
What does Cairnity charge to place a chef?
A flat 20 percent of the chef's first year base salary, invoiced when they start, backed by a 20 week sliding rebate if the placement does not hold, on no retainer so nothing is payable up front, and never any charge to the candidate. One rate, stated plainly. Permanent luxury placements are handled by Cairnity; non-luxury and relief work is routed through our partner brand, Fulliant.
Market figures drawn from 2026 UK recruitment sources, including New Millennia, Inspire Resourcing, FutureFill and industry fee benchmarks, alongside cost per hire data reported by Talent Insight Group. Ranges are indicative and vary by role, sector and agency. Cairnity's own terms are set out in full in our Terms of Business.