Chefs and cooks really are a different kind of breed. Not only because of the stressful and demanding nature of their job, but because it takes a certain kind of person to get into this line of work. As Anthony Bourdain described in his now-cult classic bestseller Kitchen Confidential, working in a kitchen means you belong to a subculture.
"We're used to doing what we do in private, behind closed doors. We're used to using language that many would find... well... offensive, to say the least. We probably got into the business in the first place because interacting with normal people in a normal workspace was impossible or unattractive to us. Many of us don't know how to behave in public—and don't care to find out."
If you have ever watched Hell's Kitchen, you have at least some idea of how fast-paced and stress-inducing a chef's job can be. While the conflicts and shouting are undoubtedly played up for entertainment, there is some truth in the show about how professional kitchens operate.
Working in a kitchen is not for the weak. As a 2023 survey by Cozymeal shows, 44% of American chefs say that working in a restaurant has impacted their mental health negatively. 71% of the respondents said they have dealt with depression, 48% said their job has given them a sleeping disorder, and 42% even reported chronic pain as a result of working in a kitchen.
When we see such statistics, it's easy to understand why people have been talking about 'toxic restaurant culture' more and more. In the past, those who wanted to become chefs had to pass certain initiation tests. For Chef Simon Rogan, it was sandpapering oyster shells and then squeezing the juice out of a box of lemons.
"Thinking about it now, I'm sure it was an initiation to the kitchen that said: 'This is as good as it gets. You've got to earn your stripes. It's gonna be hard. We're gonna push you,'" he recalled to CNN Travel. But nowadays, people are asking: is such brutality and dog-eat-dog mentality really necessary?
At this point, burnout is almost the norm in the restaurant world. San Antonio area chef Stephen Paprocki says it's a crisis. "We talk about burnout like it's a buzz word, but in food service it's actually trauma from long hours, verbal abuse, no benefits, high turnover, and that grinds people down."
When he passed out from a heart attack after a 100-plus workweek, Paprocki decided it was enough. He launched a nonprofit, Cafe86sa, to advocate for the mental health of workers in the food sector. At the end of the day, Paprocki believes that chefs are givers, but first they have to give to themselves.
Bourdain echoed that sentiment in Kitchen Confidential, too. According to him, the best part of cooking for a living is enjoying "the instant gratification of making something good with one's hands—using all one's senses. It can be, at times, the purest and most unselfish way of giving pleasure."
