Nobody Told Me This is What Making Money in Europe Actually Looks Like

 

How I Make Money as an Indian Chef in Europe in 2026

by [Ravi Bhardwaj] | Personal Experience | Career & Lifestyle

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This article is based entirely on my personal experience as an Indian hospitality professional working as a chef in Croatia, Europe. The numbers, situations, and stories shared here are real.

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Let me be straight with you from the start.

Nobody back home in India fully understood what I was doing when I packed my bags and flew to Croatia alone to work as a chef. Some thought I was running away from something. Others thought I was being unrealistic. A few genuinely thought Croatia was somewhere near Africa.

But here I am — over a year later — living and working on the island of Mali Lošinj in Croatia, making money in Europe as an Indian chef, and building a life I genuinely did not think was possible when I first landed here.

This post is for every Indian hospitality professional who has ever wondered — can I actually make it work abroad? Can a chef from India earn real money in Europe? What does the lifestyle actually look like?

Here is my honest answer. All of it.

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How I Got Here — The Agency Route

First things first — I did not have a contact in Europe. No uncle working in a hotel, no friend who could pull strings, no backup plan.

I came through a hospitality recruitment agency that places international workers in European hotels and restaurants. As an Indian professional, this is honestly the most realistic route into the European hospitality market — especially if you are starting without connections.

The agency handled my work permit, connected me with an employer in Croatia, and sorted my initial accommodation. In return, they took a placement fee — something you need to factor into your early financial planning.

What to know if you are considering the agency route:

• Research the agency thoroughly before committing — check reviews from other placed workers, ask for references, verify they are registered
• Never pay large upfront fees before a contract is confirmed in writing
• Make sure your contract clearly states your salary, working hours, accommodation arrangements, and contract duration
• Ask specifically about what happens at the end of the season — whether your contract is renewed, extended, or finished

The process took a few months from application to arrival. It felt slow and uncertain. But it worked.

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The Income Breakdown — Real Numbers

Okay, let me talk money. Because this is what everyone actually wants to know.

Chef salaries in Croatia vary depending on your role, experience, location, and employer. Here is a realistic breakdown based on my experience and conversations with other hospitality workers on the island:

Role	Monthly Salary (EUR)	Approximate INR
Commis Chef (entry level)	€800 – €1,200	₹70,000 – ₹1,05,000
Chef de Partie	€1,200 – €1,800	₹1,05,000 – ₹1,58,000
Sous Chef	€1,800 – €2,500	₹1,58,000 – ₹2,20,000
Head Chef	€2,500 – €4,000+	₹2,20,000 – ₹3,50,000+

These are gross figures — after Croatian income tax and social contributions, you take home roughly 75–80% of your gross salary.

The seasonal reality: Croatia's hospitality industry is heavily seasonal. Peak season runs from June to August — this is when hotels and restaurants are full and the money is good. Many employers also offer overtime during peak season which can significantly boost your monthly earnings. Off-season work is harder to find, especially on islands  where many businesses close completely between October and April.

My personal approach: I save aggressively during the season — treating off-season as a planned financial quiet period rather than a surprise. Think of it like a farmer who harvests in summer and lives carefully through winter.

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The Lifestyle — What Does Life Actually Look Like

Here is the part that does not show up in any agency brochure.

The good days:

Waking up on a Croatian island and walking to work past the Adriatic Sea is genuinely something I never take for granted. Mali Lošinj is strikingly beautiful — crystal clear water, pine forests, old stone buildings, clean air. On my days off I can swim, explore the island, sit at a cafe by the harbour with a coffee, or take a ferry to a neighbouring island. The quality of life on the days when work is not overwhelming is something most people back home in India cannot imagine.

The hard days:

Peak season in a professional kitchen is brutal. Sixteen hour shifts are not unusual when the island is packed with tourists. The heat — both from the Croatian summer and the kitchen — is relentless. You are on your feet all day, under pressure, cooking for hundreds of covers, maintaining standards that do not drop regardless of how tired you are.

And then there is the loneliness. Croatia does not have a large Indian community. There are days — especially in the early months — when the isolation hits hard. You miss your family. You miss familiar food. You miss people who understand your culture without you having to explain it.

I solved the food problem by stocking up on Indian spices and basics from an Asian grocery store in Rijeka — the nearest city on the mainland — every few weeks. Cooking Indian food for myself on days off became a ritual that kept me grounded and sane.

The honest truth: the lifestyle is a rollercoaster. But it is one that has made me stronger, more adaptable, and more confident than I ever was before I left India.

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How I Manage Money Living in Europe as an Indian

Living in Europe sounds expensive — and it can be. But on an island like Mali Lošinj, if your employer provides accommodation, your monthly expenses drop dramatically.

Here is roughly how my monthly budget looks during the working season:

Expense	Monthly Cost (EUR)
Accommodation (employer provided)	€0
Food — self-cooked	€80 – €120( varies some provide fooding as well)
Eating out occasionally	€50 – €80
Transport on the island	€20 – €30
Phone and internet	€20 – €30
Personal items and clothing	€30 – €50
Entertainment and leisure	€30 – €50
Total monthly expenses	€230 – €360

When your accommodation is covered by your employer — which is common for hospitality workers on Croatian islands — your ability to save is significant. This is one of the biggest financial advantages of working in island hospitality in Europe that nobody talks about.

What I do with the savings:

• A portion goes back home to family in India — this is non-negotiable for me
• A portion goes into an emergency fund — because unexpected situations abroad are expensive
• A portion I am slowly building as a savings base for the future — whether that means investing in a skill, starting something of my own, or eventually moving to a bigger European city

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What Skills Actually Made Me Valuable in a European Kitchen

Being an Indian chef in Europe is both an advantage and a challenge.

The advantage is that Indian culinary training is intense and rigorous. The discipline, the volume cooking experience, and the flavour knowledge that comes from working in Indian kitchens is genuinely impressive to European employers — once you prove it in the kitchen.

The challenge is that the food style is completely different. Croatian and Mediterranean cuisine is about simplicity, ingredient quality, and restraint. Less spice, more technique. Less volume, more precision. It took me real time and humility to adapt.

The skills that made the biggest difference for me:

• Strong knife skills and mise en place discipline — universal in any professional kitchen anywhere in the world
• Willingness to learn and adapt — employers notice and reward genuine curiosity
• Understanding of allergens and European food safety standards — this is taken very seriously in Croatian hospitality
• Basic Croatian language — even ten words changed how my colleagues related to me
• Consistency under pressure — the ability to deliver the same quality on a quiet Tuesday and a fully booked Saturday night

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Using Technology and AI to Boost My Income Beyond the Kitchen

Here is something not many chef bloggers talk about — but I think it is important.

My salary from the kitchen is my primary income. But I have started building secondary income streams alongside my hospitality career — and technology, specifically AI tools, has made this possible even with limited free time.

This blog is one of them. Writing about my experience as an Indian chef in Europe costs me nothing except time — and it is an asset that can earn through advertising and affiliate income while I sleep.

AI tools I use to make this work with a busy kitchen schedule:

• ChatGPT and Claude — for brainstorming blog post ideas, structuring articles, and editing my writing quickly on days off
• Canva — for creating simple graphics and images for blog posts and social media
• Google Keyword Planner — free tool to find what people are actually searching for so my posts get found
• Substack — I am building a simple newsletter for Indian hospitality professionals thinking about working abroad

The combination of a stable chef salary plus a growing blog income is my long-term strategy. The kitchen pays my bills today. The blog is what I am building for tomorrow.

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What I Would Tell Any Indian Chef Thinking About Working in Europe

I get messages from people back home asking me about this all the time. Here is what I always say:

Yes it is possible. You do not need to know someone. You do not need a European degree. You need your skills, your work ethic, and the courage to actually go.

Be financially realistic. The first few months are the hardest — financially and emotionally. Have savings before you go. At least three months of runway gives you breathing room.

Go through a verified agency. Do your research, ask questions, and never pay large fees before a contract is signed.

Your Indian culinary background is an asset. Own it. The discipline, the flavour knowledge, and the work ethic that comes from Indian kitchens is something European employers genuinely respect once they see it in action.

The loneliness is real but temporary. Build small routines that connect you to home — cook Indian food, call your family regularly, find expat communities online. It gets better with time.

Think beyond just the salary. The experience, the skills, the confidence, and the perspective you gain from working abroad is worth more than any number on a paycheck.

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Final Thoughts

Making money as an Indian chef in Europe in 2026 is absolutely real and absolutely possible. It is not glamorous every day. It is not easy most days. But it is one of the most rewarding professional decisions I have ever made.

If you are sitting in India right now reading this and wondering whether to take the leap — I hope this post gave you something honest to hold onto.

You do not need a perfect plan. You just need to start.

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Are you an Indian hospitality professional thinking about working in Europe? Drop your questions in the comments — I answer every single one from real personal experience. And if you found this helpful, share it with someone who needs to read it today.

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Tags: Indian chef in Europe, make money as a chef abroad, working in Croatia as an Indian, hospitality jobs Europe for Indians, chef salary Croatia, Indian chef lifestyle Europe, working abroad 2026, side income for chefs