Restaurants in Romania may have to start paying their cooks wages similar to those in Western Europe to keep them in the country, within the next five years. However, this would lead to a doubling of food prices in local restaurants.

The alternative is to bring Chinese cooks, who will be happy with lower wages, and teach them how to cook Romanian dishes such as cabbage rolls (sarmale) and tripe soup, according to Stefan Bercea, president of the Cooks and Confectioners Association in Romania, local Profit.ro reported.

While executive chefs at top restaurants in Bucharest earn thousands of euro per month and cooks at quality hotels at the seaside make over EUR 1,500 per month, the average salary of a cook in Romania is about EUR 500-600, Bercea says. Thus, many good and experienced cooks have left Romanian to work abroad, on cruise ships or in tourist areas, where they make over EUR 2,500 per month.

editor@romania-insider.com

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