The catering and hospitality sector in Sheffield
- Head chef salary (June 2019) in Sheffield: £31,400 a year / £13.94 per hour
- Sous chef salary (June 2019) in Sheffield: £23,539.79 a year / £11.32 per hour
- Chef de partie salary (June 2019) in Sheffield: £21,840 a year / £10.50 per hour
From a gritty, industrial past to an inclusive, dynamic present, the friendly, down-to-earth nature of Sheffield has always attracted newcomers from far and wide. It may have been forged in steel, but there’s a reason this South Yorkshire city is known as “the largest village in England.”
Given the city’s reputation for open-mindedness, it’s little wonder that one of the UK’s most vibrant art and culture scenes has found root here. From the Sheffield Walk of Fame in the City Centre — a walkway that honours famous Sheffield sons and daughters such as Michael Palin, Sean Bean and Jessica Ennis-Hill — to the Sheffield Botanical Gardens and Weston Park Museum, the Steel City is packed full of cultural treasures to visit on your days off.
It’s impossible to talk about Sheffield without mentioning music. The Human League, Pulp and the Arctic Monkeys all hail from Sheffield, while up-and-coming acts like Otis Mensah (the city’s poet laureate) continue to fly the flag. There’s also a thriving folk music community. If folk music isn’t your thing, the city’s well-known synth-pop and electronic music scene will let you unwind after a long week of work.
As for sports, Sheffield is home to two of the most prestigious clubs in English football, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. Both are steeped in rich history, and United have just made their long-overdue return to the promised land of the Premier League. The city can also lay claim to the world’s oldest football club, Sheffield FC — great news for football hipsters.
Food and drink is also big news in Sheffield. Whether it’s a romantic meal for two at a candlelit trattoria or a quick bite to eat in an artisan cafe, this city has flavours to satisfy all diners and abundant diversity for chefs. Beer and bar lovers will also be in heaven — the city is the birthplace of the UK craft beer revolution, after all. And then there’s the Sheffield Food Festival: an annual celebration of the city’s vibrant food scene that showcases great local produce, talented chefs, mouthwatering street food and outstanding brewers and distillers.
If you’re a talented catering and hospitality professional, Sheffield is a great place to advance your career. With a range of cafes, pubs, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs as far as the eye can see, the city is in no short supply of exciting employment opportunities — whether you’re a head chef or budding barista. And with a host of festivals and sporting events throughout the calendar, there’s plenty of scope for seasonal work, too.
If you’re looking to upskill, a number of industry-recognised training courses to help you master your craft can be found in the city.
As a unique and aesthetically interesting metropolis of almost 700,000 people, it’s no wonder Sheffield has been voted one of the best places to live and work in the UK. For those working in the food and drink industry, there’s never been a better time to move here.
Cost of living in Sheffield
- Average monthly rent in Sheffield: £400-£1,100
- Monthly travel pass: £55 (all forms of public transport)
- Meal for two in a mid-range restaurant: £40
Surprisingly, the cost of living in Sheffield is cheaper than in nearby cities such as Leeds or Nottingham. For an average 1-bedroom apartment just outside of Sheffield city centre, you’ll likely pay around £455 per month to rent. Meanwhile, a high-end 3-bedroom city centre apartment costs roughly £976.73.
As a city built on seven hills, you’d expect public transport in Sheffield to be top quality. Thankfully, the city’s transport network meets that expectation, and then some. With an extensive bus network feeding all neighbourhoods and the surrounding countryside, regular train services to the entire region and beyond, and a tram network (the Supertram) slicing through the city centre, getting from A to B in Sheffield is a piece of cake.
Of course, it’s important for catering and hospitality workers to get up to speed with local grocery costs when moving to a new city. Supermarkets in Sheffield sell food and drink at the same prices you’d expect anywhere else in the country. You can also dine out without splashing out. A meal for one at an inexpensive restaurant costs around £11, while a three-course meal for two in a mid-range eatery is a snip at £20 per person
Council tax in Sheffield depends on a number of factors, including the area you live and the value of the property you buy or rent. The cheapest tax band for residents is £1,217.65 while the priciest properties will set you back £3,652.95 annually.
Clearly, Sheffield represents a bit of a bargain.
Bars, kitchens and restaurants in Sheffield
Just about every kind of cuisine is represented in Sheffield. Hearty English pub grub. Fresh Mediterranean seafood. Sizzling Tex-Mex barbecue ribs. Experimental vegan fare made from seasonable local produce. Sheff’ may have had a gritty, smoke-fuelled industrial past, but the modern culinary scene brings an explosion of flavour to the Steel City.
Set in a shipping container, the iconic Jöro — which has been awarded a Bib Gourmand by Michelin — serves up unique small plates made from the best local produce and creativity of owner and head chef, Luke French. Pom Kitchen is arguably Sheffield’s best vegetarian and vegan restaurant, offering quality fresh food to its satisfied customers (the toasted sandwiches are a particular favourite). For fans of great value, delicious Mexican food, Street Food Chef is the place to go for tacos, burritos and quesadillas.
Set within a former police station, Marco at Milano’s effortlessly blends the old and the new — in the decor and in the delicious Italian food. The city centre gastropub The Wick At Both Ends is ideal for traditional pub food in a quirky, homely setting. And with its banquet dishes (serving up to fifteen people) and eclectic flavours from the subcontinent, it’s easy to see why Woodseats’ Kashmiri Aroma won the Favourite Indian at the Eat Sheffield Awards.
Sheffield is at the forefront of the craft beer scene, with over 400 unique beers on offer at any one time in the city’s bars and pubs. The Sheffield Tap, one of Britain’s best railway pubs, greets new arrivals to the city with 23 cask and keg taps and a list of over 200 bottles. Set in the Cultural Industries Quarter, the yellow-brick architecture and alternative regalia mark out The Rutland Arms as a hipster favourite. For beer aficionados, a visit to The Bar Stewards micropub is a must — its no-frills interior and constantly rotating taps make for a consistently memorable experience.
As a young, cosmopolitan city, it’s perhaps no surprise to hear that the coffee scene in Sheffield is also booming. Steam Yard, an American-style independent coffee shop with high-quality beans, a sunny courtyard and a selection of scrumptious baked goods, is a smash-hit among locals. Bragazzi’s is a charming Italian cafe and deli with some of the best paninis in town, while Upshot is popular a father-and-son business that’s given university students a thirst for the best blends around.
Home to Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield is a student city — meaning that there are various catering and hospitality opportunities in the many campuses dotted around the city. And as a major population centre in South Yorkshire, there are also hundreds of hotels, schools, care homes and health centres that require talented professionals to lead their catering operations.
From restaurant managers to junior sous chefs, and everyone in between, Sheffield is one of the UK’s best locations for catering and hospitality work.
