Arthur Pereira edited by Wassila Belhacine 2:53 p.m., June 01, 2022

Faced with the shortage of waiters, cooks or bartenders, more and more restaurateurs are recruiting foreign workers.

To welcome them in the best possible conditions, some take care of finding them a furnished apartment or managing administrative matters.

A permanent contract and a fully equipped apartment is what Éric Armelin offers to his new employees.

Director of a first restaurant in Saint Quentin en Yvelines, this 50-year-old turned to Italy to find the workforce for his second pizzeria which will open in mid-June.

A few days before the opening, he comes to check on the progress of the construction site.

"Here are the marble slabs that have been delivered and which will allow you to create the airlock at the entrance", he explains next to the lights.

These same light fixtures that need to be installed.

Right next to it, the tables just have to be set up.

In the future room, nine people will welcome customers with a tray and menu in hand.

>> Find Europe Matin in replay and podcast here

"They have a seven-minute bus ride between the apartment and the establishment"

A rare workforce that Éric had a lot of trouble finding.

"We looked for bartenders, heads of rows, room clerks, runners with great difficulty. This is what made us go for recruitment abroad and more particularly in Italy", justifies the restaurateur at the microphone Europe 1.

>> READ ALSO - 

Catering: in Cabourg, the shortage of waiters and cooks is raging

Four waiters and a pizza maker who crossed the Alps.

To convince them, he found them furnished accommodation a few steps from the restaurant.

"They have a seven-minute bus ride from the apartment to the establishment," he says on the steps of his restaurant.

Full employer support

It is the manager himself who paid the deposit, the agency fees.

And that's not all.

“We took care of registering employees so that they get their vital card number. We are going to free them from this task because they arrive in France, they do not speak French, so it "It's complicated. And in return, we ask them to be actually available, to work in relation to their know-how", he argues with a smile on his face.

>> READ ALSO - 

Faced with the shortage of staff, the catering sector is trying to adapt before the summer

A method that convinced him since Éric collects the keys to a second apartment to welcome two new Italians at the end of next week.