“A generation of chefs that are trying to change that old school mentality”
Honouring World Mental Health Day 2022 Alex Bond and Tom Spenceley discuss changes within the industry and efforts being introduced to remove the stigma around mental health.
Huge changes have been introduced across workplaces to help improve the mental health of staff working within the hospitality industry.
Projects like The Burnt Chef Project have raised awareness on the scale of problems that kitchen workers face across the country, whilst offering training and wellbeing exercises for staff.
It follows findings provided by the charity, which revealed four out of five hospitality professionals report having experienced at least one mental health issue during their career, with over a third of respondents unsure on whether they will remain in the industry.
Talking about some of the recent changes that have been embraced within hospitality, Alex Bond Owner of both the Michelin-starred Alchemillia, and Mollis, said: "I think it's really important. I think that with the changes that are happening in our industry, they're all created to help create an environment or an industry that doesn't crush people's mental health, whether it's paying them better, or reducing their hours, or just generally not being a complete c**t for no reason."
He added: “Your personal life, or your business, or your whatever it is that's put you in a mood is not somebody else's problem to bear.”
For Tom Spenceley, Head Chef at The Ledbury, more awareness doesn’t just help staff on a personal level it’s also helped businesses retain staff.
"I think a massive thing about retaining the team is making sure that you look after them as best you can. Not just in their working environment but personally as well,” explained Tom.
OUTDATED ATTITUDES AND ONGOING ISSUES
"Guys have got this stigma that you can't show emotion, you can't have a breakdown, you can't cry, or you can't show weakness, but I think everyone's the same,” said Tom.
He added: “Everyone has feelings that they need to get out or release at some point and to be able to let them and give them the opportunity to do that I think it's really important."
For Alex days like World Mental Health Day and work from groups like The Burnt Chef Project are essential to address challenges that remain on the horizon.
Alex explained: "For me it's mega important. Days like World Mental Health Day and projects like The Burnt Chef Project are super important. A lot of it comes from grassroots from us as a generation of chefs that are trying to change that old school mentality.”
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