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One of Scotland’s top chefs is currently out of work – and he can’t even get a job picking fruit.

Graeme Cheevers, who has held a Michelin star at two Scottish restaurants for eight consecutive years, first applied for work at several Scottish farms after news emerged in April that there was a need for thousands of UK-based fruit and vegetable pickers to replace the overseas workers who normally arrive to pick crops during the season but had been prevented from travelling due mainly to the coronavirus lockdown. UK Government advertisements urging furloughed and out of work workers to Pick for Britain ran in the mainstream media, and the campaign was backed by Prince Charles. By May only around one-third of overseas workers had arrived, and there was a shortfall of supply from the UK. The National Farmers Union in Scotland (NFUS) also helped suport the industry by flagging up vacancies on its website fo link applicants with farms.

Yet Chef Cheevers, 30, who gained a Michelin star first for Restaurant Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond at Cameron House and more recently at Isle of Eriska in Argyll, has been repeatedly told there is no work available at the 20 Scottish farms he has applied to from the start of lockdown. Even now, at the height of the strawberry season, several farms are still advertising for workers. And it’s not just for soft fruit: many need people to harvest other fruit and vegetables right into the autumn.

The NFUS says Scotland needed 10,000 seasonal workers to get its world-class soft fruit and fresh produce out of the fields and into shops and supermarkets. A spokesman added: “I can’t think of any barriers to people in the food industry applying for these jobs.”

Cheevers, who is based in Glasgow, said: “I’m very hard-working and physically fit, and find myself unemployed for the first time in my life.

“I’m trying to do something to help the economy recover and to keep the food chain running smoothly. Unlike many of my chef friends I’m not in a position to start a takeaway service or do online cooking tutorials, although I applaud them for doing it. I’d rather go back to basics and help keep the local food chain running smoothly. To do my bit, as it were, especially when it appeared that British people weren’t interested in helping this sector.

“I’ve always been interested in where our food comes from and how we get food from the farm to the table, so I am keen to use this as an opportunity to not only extend my knowledge, but also help the Scottish economy and potentially earn some money while the lockdown remains in place.

“However, I’ve discovered it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. After applying to 20 Scottish farms, I’ve been turned away by all of them. I’ve said I would be happy to work any shifts they required me to do and that I could stay for as long as needed. Most haven’t replied. Some have thanked me for my application but have said onsite accommodation was full. When I said I could stay with family nearby, they then said there were no vacancies left.” This has happened three times, the last being only yesterday [June 17].

“I get the feeling they don’t want local workers and would prefer to recruit from abroad,” said Cheevers.

“The online application form for overseas workers ask when they can start, but for Scottish hopefuls like me they seem to be throwing up hurdles. Maybe they are worried that we’ll abandon ship as soon as we get work in our own field. But I don’t have any other plans or commitments, and I have made it clear that I’d commit to staying for the season or as long as required.

“I keep being put off. At first I was advised to wait until the middle of May when more jobs would come up, then it was mid-June. Now I’m told all jobs are taken. And the same has happened to many of my own chefs also looking for work.

“It seems to me that all those government advertisements were meaningless. It really annoys me when people say British workers are lazy and don’t want the work.”

A spokesman for the NFUS said: “We still have farms advertising places. We did have almost 30 at the start but every week or so we contact the farms asking if they still want the availability of jobs kept on our website.

“There is a feeling that once furlough starts to roll back some more places will become available in Scotland.

“We are only just getting into peak season for strawberries – raspberries are later in the season, and veg will be a bit later again – so the 10,000 places is across the whole fruit and veg season rather than all being required on day one.”

ENDS