Skip to content
Vero
Order

Journal  /  Behind the Pass

What paying people properly looks like

Our starting pay is €1,250 a month, well above the national minimum. Here is the maths behind it, and what it has done to staff turnover.

Dimitris Oikonomou, Co-founder · · 6 min read

A chef plating food at the pass

Fast food has some of the highest staff turnover of any industry, and in Greece the summer season pulls cooks to the islands every year. We decided early that we could not cook carefully with a team that changed every three months.

The numbers

  • €1,250 a month to start in every city, well above the national minimum
  • Private health insurance from month three
  • A free meal every shift and a second to take home
  • Average tenure on the line: 2.4 years

It costs more on paper. In practice, experienced cooks waste less, train faster and make better food. The maths works.

Share

Keep reading

  • Cooks prepping in a busy kitchen

    Behind the Pass7 min read

    A morning on the line at Psyrri

    From 06:00 deliveries to the first ticket at noon, here is what happens before the doors open.

    Dimitris Oikonomou ·

  • Golden fries fresh from the fryer

    Kitchen Notes6 min read

    Why we fry in beef fat

    The fast-food industry quietly dropped tallow in 1990. We brought it back, and the fries have never been better.

    Marina Vlachou ·

  • Fried chicken glazed with chilli honey

    Recipes4 min read

    Make our hot honey at home

    Three dried chillies, one jar of good Greek honey and twenty minutes. Here is the exact recipe we use in every kitchen.

    Thanasis Karras ·