Hard work and unsociable hours has led to a regional shortage of chefs in the North-East which could plunge the restaurant trade into crisis.

One business, Sam's on Coniscliffe Road in Darlington, was forced to close its doors for two weeks due to a lack of staff.

Barry Dowson, who runs the restaurant with his partner Sam King, said when the head chef and second chef left he was unable to find replacements of the right standard.

"We could find chefs, but not of the right quality we require, and it's taken us two weeks to find the team we need. But we would rather close than serve sub-standard food."

The restaurant reopened last week after the couple finally found replacement staff.

Mr Dowson added: "The people coming through the catering colleges don't seem to be getting the same standard of training, but the biggest problem is people don't want to be chefs because of the unsociable hours."

These concerns were reiterated by Bill Johnston of North East Chefs recruitment consultancy, who said he felt catering students are not receiving the same standard of training they were 20 years ago.

"The shortage we have is a skills shortage, and that's right across the industry," he said.

"I think it's because of the apprenticeships finishing in the 1980s. The standard of training now has definitely dropped, but the problem is compounded by the fact people don't want to go into the catering industry any more, because of the hours."

Peter Bell, head of the school of hotel catering at Darlington College of Technology, said he is inundated with requests for catering staff. The college has an excellent reputation with employers, as it is among the best catering colleges in the country.

Mr Bell said: "Every day I have several employers on the phone calling for staff and many of the staff trained here are leaving the country to work in restaurants and hotels all over the world."

He added that now was a good time to get into the industry, because students are virtually guaranteed a well-paid job at the end of their training: "If you apply yourself, there are definitely rewards," he said.