If I had half a dozen more staff I could have them on full time. In fact, the shortage of good chefs has impacted the operations of restaurants and hotels. There are a lot of hotels that are restricting their access to in house guests only, Mr Karras said. Australia has relied on backpacker chefs here for too long. President of the Australian Culinary Federation s Cairns branch, Brian Down, said trainees could get a start as a basic cook by completing a Cert II in cookery at TAFE. You can complete courses quickly according to your ability, Mr Down said.