Breaking the Mould: Chefs, Hospitality & Mental Health
2020 has already been a HUGE challenge to the hospitality industry - with closures, redundancies, curfews, and now new lockdowns.
If you work in hospitality, you know that we are a highly resilient industry, constantly adapting and changing to find ways to push on. But this comes at a cost. The stress is ever-increasing, finances aren’t there, and an archaic ‘macho’ culture hangs over us like a dark cloud.
This doesn’t discriminate between the genders, but I have seen most often that it is the male chefs that struggle to ask for help. And it makes sense, once you look at the scary figures about our mental health. 76% of all deaths caused by suicide are men and is the highest killer of men under the age of 35. 8.7% of men are alcohol dependent. 1 in 4 men suffers from mental health issues. These figures go on and on, all as equally bad as the next. It’s time to open up, start talking and turning to each other for help.
That is why I’ve joined The Burnt Chef Project as an ambassador. This really cool project is working with individuals and businesses across hospitality to help improve everyone's mental health, destroy the stigmas and make the industry a better place for the future generation of chefs!
So, if you’re a chef, what can you do to help this issue? Just START TALKING. Don’t be scared to speak out. It doesn’t mean you have to bare all for everyone or have hours-long deep conversations about your emotions. It is about talking about things that bother us, stress, pressures, money - anything that can be worrying you. If we all start talking, it becomes the norm!
Of course, with Lockdown 2.0 now in full swing and we’re not in our kitchens around each other, what can we do to stay mentally healthy and look after one another? Here are some good tips from the Burnt Chef Project:
Exercise, preferably outside if you can - walk, run, take the dog out or follow some online fitness videos. It really doesn’t matter what you do, just do something. Healthy body, healthy mind!
Plan your day with your own mise en place list - a structure will help maintain focus and keep you in a routine.
Remember it’s ok to not be ok - not every day is going to be a good day, and it’s ok to have a bad day! But reach out, talk to someone. Send a message or make a quick phone call, there's always someone out there to talk to!
Keep cooking!! Sourdough bread seemed to be the chef’s choice from the first lockdown. Along with bread, I’ve started making pickles, jams & chutneys. Anything to keep busy, focused and creative!
The Burnt Chef has some other good challenges on their website here - check them out for good ideas to stay physically and mentally healthy.
The last thing you can do, whether you’re a chef or a business, is take some education to promote more awareness of mental health in our industry. Loads of resources can be found online and there are free courses. The Burnt Chef website is a great start. You too can be trained and become an ambassador or sign up and become a member to have even more resources. Hospitality Action is also a great resource, and home to the invisible chip campaign! Check it out here.
2020 is a challenging year for our industry and for each of us. But we will come out of this stronger than before, especially if we all use this time to educate ourselves and make some meaningful conversations about the mental health challenges we face and how to build better, healthier kitchens.