19 January 2012

University of Queensland School of Tourism lecturer Dr Richard Robinson has received international recognition for his research on the occupational mobility of chefs.

Dr Robinson was judged the winner of the 2011 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Award in the field of hospitality and tourism, one of 12 subject categories, for his thesis titled “Investigating Creativity as an Alternative Explicator of the Mobility of Chefs”.

“While cookery is traditionally perceived as a creative occupation various industry practices such as standardisation, cost control and the introduction of technologies, can undermine the creative ambitions of chefs.”

The internationally competitive awards were sponsored by a selection of Emerald journals and included a cash prize, as well the prospect of publication in the subject category’s sponsoring journal.

Dr Robinson’s previous career as a chef provided a firsthand insight into the issues of high labour turnover and job dissatisfaction for chefs, and revealed a potential link to restrictions on creative license.

While past literature has focused on the perceived poor working conditions as a primary catalyst for turnover and attrition, Dr Robinson argued that the intrinsic job reward of creativity may also explain the turnover behaviours of chefs.

Additionally, his thesis examined the research problem from an occupational perspective, rather than an organisational perspective, as found in much human resource management literature.

“Their (chefs) roles, in many sectors, have become structured and systematic, closer representing assembly lines rather than a collective of skilled craftsmen with flexibility to create, innovate and interpret dishes.”

“Chefs become bored quickly if their creative energies are not utilised— they can also move from employer to employer in rapid succession,” he said.

Dr Robinson believes if employers and managers of chefs can balance the cost management imperatives of the business through mechanisms by which their chefs can be stimulated during their daily routines, allowing them to apply and innovate with their skill sets; the boredom issues revealed in his study could be allayed.

Dr Robinson plans to disseminate his research findings to broader industry audiences with the goal of improving the quality of occupational experiences for chefs and increasing retention rates.

Media: Claire Shuter, c.shuter@uq.edu.au or (07) 3346 9259