Helpful information for Chefs to start working in London

Helpful information about London

How to find a flat or room
Need a cheap affordable place to stay for a few days?
Opening a bank account
Apply for a National Insurance number “NI.”
Oyster Travel Card
General information about London
Shopping for new Chefs knives or kitchen uniforms

How to find a flat or room

To find a flat or room in London is very easy to do. There are hundreds of rooms on offer every day. Plus, there are fantastic websites that we will list and explain to you how each and every one works. We are only going to list a few of the most popular websites that we think are the best ones to use. London is a big city, but they have an excellent transport system in place. It means that even if you live on the outskirts of London it will only take you about 30 min to 45 min to get to most places in London. You can also go on the TFL website, and they will find the quickest way to and from your house and show you the timetables. (New this year starting from the 12 September you will be able to travel on the Jubilee, Victoria, Piccadilly, Central and Northern Tube lines all night on Fridays and Saturdays.)

However, we do suggest that you look for a place in zone one, two or three as this will give you more and quicker options to travel around London. "Bicycle or walk."

Easy Roommate

Find a Roommate or Room for Rent - Post a free ad on EasyRoommate (the largest Roommate finder website). They have 1000s of Roommates and Rooms for rent. They offer a great service. You will need to create a profile with them, and they will help you find a room or roommate. Easy Roommate also has a 24/7 customer service. It is great if you don't want to spend a lot of money on rent.

Gumtree

Their website is one of the biggest and most popular sites out there. A lot of people use it because it is free, and anybody can go and search for rooms, flats, etc. No obligation required what so ever, all you need is a telephone. You do however need to check your computer quite often as the rooms will sell very quickly on this site, and you don't want to miss your opportunity.

Spare Room

Find a flatshare or flatmate fast! They have 1000s of rooms for rent in flatshares across London. This Website is more or less the same as Gumtree. All you need is a telephone and some spare time to view the flats. This site is very easy to use, and you should have no trouble finding yourself a flat.

P.s. Please do not pay anybody a deposit or rent money upfront. Please make sure you can trust the person and that you have physically been inside the flat and spoke to the landlord or people that you are going to rent the room or flat from. For example: “Could you please pay the first-month deposit and rent into my account and you can pick up the keys from me at the local shop” No!!!

Affordable place to stay for a few days

Hostels are a fantastic way to stay in central London at affordable prices. It is an excellent option if you don't have a friend or family member to stay with when you first arrive in London and need a few days to get your own flat or room. We will list a few places that will make it easy for you to access tubes, buses or even walk to where you need to be.

Smart Hostels

This website offers a few fantastic hostels in central London. Their prices range from £9.99 a night with free WiFi, and breakfast included but make sure you book as soon as possible because they do tend to sell their rooms very quickly.

Hostel World

LondonHostelworld.com is a website that you can choose from a broad range of affordable hotels and hostels. Their prices are on average between £20-£40 pounds per night, and most places include breakfast and WiFi. You should have no problem finding a decent place to stay with them for a few nights.

St Christopher's Inns

St Christopher's Inns offers seven hostels in London and is a great place to meet new people. The price is around £20 per night including breakfast and WiFi and specials on food and drinks in the restaurant bar.

Opening a bank account

There are so many ways you can do this, but we are only going to list the one that we think is the easiest and works the best.

When you start working in a company or restaurant in London, go to your Head Chef and ask for a letter of employment and let them know it is for you to open a bank account. The company will have no problem giving you this letter. The letter just states that you are currently working for that company.

Take a signed copy of your contract the letter of employment a photo ID (passport) and the address that you are currently staying at (Hostel, your friend’s house, etc.). You can then go to any bank near you and ask to speak to someone about opening an account.

Please also note the way they handle customers can change a lot, and not just between banks but between branches as well. So don't just stop at the first bank that doesn't want to help you. Go to the next one until you find a bank that will help you. A very useful tip will be to ask your Chef to find out what bank branch the company uses and with your contract and letter of employment you should have no problem opening an account. Once you have opened one account, you can then use that information to change to another bank if you wish to do so.

Apply for a National Insurance number “NI.”

Applying for a national insurance number is a very easy process but do it as soon as you get to the UK because it can take a few days for you to receive the number. The good thing is you can start work before your National Insurance number arrives if you can prove you can legally work in the UK. You should tell your employer that you have applied for one and give it to them when you have received it.

You can only apply once you are in the UK by phone. You must have the right to work or study in the UK to get a National Insurance number.

National Insurance number application line

Telephone: 0345 600 0643

Textphone: 0345 600 0644

Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm

Oyster Travel Card

An Oyster card is a transport pass for London that gives you unlimited travel in London. The prices vary according to the number of zones you need to travel through. We will also advise you to buy a weekly Oyster card straight away as this will work out the cheapest.

Oyster cards are valid for one day, seven days or 1 month and are available from the following places:

Underground Stations
London train stations
Newsagents
London Travel Information Centres

Your Oyster card is valid for travel on all types of transport in London including:

Underground (the tube)
Local suburban trains within London
Docklands Light Railway (DLR)
London Overground
Buses all over London. Any Oyster card allows you to use the buses in all zones (zones 1-6)

When you get a new Oyster card, you'll need to pay a £5 deposit. If you decide you don't need it anymore, return your Oyster card to an Underground Station ticket office and they will refund your deposit.

Weekly Oyster cards

Zones 1–2 £32.10
Zones 1–3 £37.70
Zones 1–4 £46.10

Monthly Oyster cards

Zones 1–2 £123.30
Zones 1–3 £144.80
Zones 1–4 £177.10

There are many different options, and we have only mentioned a few of them but they are also the most important ones you will need.

General information about London

There are hundreds of things to do in London and it will be impossible for me to go through all of them but here is a few that we like:

Borough Market

Borough Market is one of the best food markets in London and you will be able to sample some of the best produce, enjoy a beer and get something to eat for less than £5. “live music”

Opening hours: WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY: 10am-5pm FRIDAYS: 10am-6pm SATURDAYS8am-5pm

Brick-Lane Market

Brick-Lane Market is a fantastic Sunday plan. The market is open from 9 a.m to 5 p.m only on Sundays. Almost anything can be found on Brick-Lane, from antique book to eight-track cartridge decks. They have the most incredibly cheap but tasty street food from different cultures. Hundreds of young people go there every Sunday to enjoy a beer or just to watch the local street artist perform.

Camden Town

Camden Town is open every day of the week and offers many different things, from street markets to nightlife. Go up to Camden Lock and you will find small interesting shops and get something to eat for under £5. The best days to go are on Saturdays or Sundays.

Visit London

Visit London is an excellent website and they have a great selection of things to do in London. On their website you will find information about places to eat, general tourist attractions and nightlife, how to get there and how much it will cost.

Friday, September 18, 2015