Kitchen counsel: Hospitality industry struggling with epidemic of anxiety and depression
Credit to Author: Aleesha Harris| Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2019 19:00:12 +0000
On the surface, Anthony Bourdain had everything. He had escaped the grind of commercial kitchens for global renown as an author and television personality. He’d won his fight against addiction. He was a loving father. He had a loyal circle of friends. And still, on June 8, 2018, in a quiet hotel room in Alsace, the 61-year-old chef took his own life.
Bourdain’s death came as a shock to all of us. But for people who work in restaurants, it was also a tragically familiar story.
“Anthony was just one of many chefs in the last 10 years who’ve done the same thing,” says Robert Belcham, president of the Chefs’ Table Society of British Columbia. “We have a very broken hospitality business. And the only people who can fix it are the people who are in it.”
In this file photo taken on May 17, 2017 Anthony Bourdain attends the Turner Upfront 2017 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
So that’s exactly what they are doing.
This month alone sees Kitchen Aide and Shift Change, two industry-led events designed to raise money and awareness for Mind the Bar, a non-profit organization that helps people in the hospitality industry deal with mental health issues. Meanwhile, Belcham is organizing Cooks Camp, a two-day industry-only conference and retreat to be held in Pemberton next September.
“What I have always loved about the hospitality business is everyone in it is so incredibly giving,” Belcham says. “It’s in our DNA. If anyone needs anything, we’re the first people to make it happen.”
Now, perhaps, it’s our turn to return the favour.
Seeking better tools
Christina Cottell, co-owner of Dixie’s BBQ and vice-president of Mind the Bar.
Christina Cottell, co-owner of Dixie’s BBQ and vice-president of Mind the Bar, is blunt: “We’re an industry that takes care of our problems in one of two ways — we get drunk or we get high. We need more tools in our toolkit.”
Depression, anxiety and addiction affect all industries, of course, but people in hospitality are especially vulnerable. The hours are long and often isolating, the tasks physically demanding, the pressure to perform relentless. Worse, there’s a kind of “suck it up” attitude that’s particularly tough on hospitality workers, who are hard-wired to take care of others before themselves.
So it’s no surprise so many turn to alcohol, which is ubiquitous in the industry. There’s an endless flow of free booze in the form of wine and spirit tastings, bartender’s handshakes, boomerangs and end-of-shift drinks. It’s no accident that alcohol has played a role in just about every high-profile story of harassment or assault in restaurants.
Then there’s the money, or lack of it. Margins in restaurants are incredibly tight, especially in Vancouver, where property and food costs are soaring, but diners are still reluctant to spend more than $25 on an entrée. As a result, many cooks make little more than minimum wage and benefits are so rare, they’ve become a recruiting tool for restaurants struggling to hire employees.
“You’re talking about years and years of just using people up,” Cottell says. “And these days, young people, who we’d normally see droves of, they’re too smart for that. I don’t think they’re spoiled. They’re just smart.”
“We have to change the perception of the industry — and we need to change the reality of the industry.”
‘It’s a crisis’
A couple of years back, it was these exact issues that had Gino Di Domenico and Taylor Chobotiuk searching for solutions for their 250-plus employees at Tacofino Restaurants.
“We decided that it was important that we provide our team with more than just standard benefits. We identified a gap where, even with benefits, individuals were hesitant to go and get help or didn’t know how to,” says Di Domenico, who is managing partner in the 11-outlet chain.
Then Chobotiuk, the company’s manager of people and engagement, discovered an employee assistance program app (MyEAP) created by Morneau Shepell, the human resources company headquartered in Toronto. It was just what Tacofino was looking for and, on April 1, 2018, they rolled it out to their staff.
“I think it has really created a culture of trust and caring,” Di Domenico says. “Our team knows we have their backs and our leadership teams are better prepared to deal with difficult conversations.”
Meanwhile, Shoel Davidson, who owns and operates Dixie’s BBQ and Gringo Gastown, was himself struggling with suicidal thoughts. “Shoel had come to me and asked, ‘What do I do?’ I’m a pretty resourceful person and I didn’t have a clue,” Cottell says, adding darkly, “Usually you find out about suicide after the fact, and not before.”
They struggled to find anyone who could help without charging a lot of money. “It was harsh,” Cottell says. In response, Davidson wrote a Facebook post about his experience, saying, reassuringly, “It’s OK not to be OK.”
Hundreds of people responded with their own stories. “He came back to me and said, ‘We have to do something about this. It’s a crisis,’ ” Cottell says.
They created Mind the Bar to provide the help no one else seemed willing to. It has since become a registered non-profit organization and, in November 2018, won a US$50,000 grant from Altos Tequila’s Tahona Society to launch a mental health program for the hospitality industry.
Originally, they wanted to use the money to provide counselling, the way the B.C. Hospitality Foundation helps workers who are sick or injured. But it quickly became apparent that the money wouldn’t go very far — and besides, there were massive concerns about privacy and liability.
Then the Tacofino people told them about the app.
“We think that the more resources available, the better chance that people will get the help they need,” Di Domenico says.
On Nov. 25, Mind the Bar will officially launch the LifeWorks by Morneau Shepell app at Shift Change, a fundraising and awareness event at Tacofino Ocho. The app will be available free to every member of Mind the Bar and provides confidential health and wellness information, interactive tools and a 24-hour online counselling service.
After all, Cottell points out, “At four in the morning, no one’s picking up the phone, and that’s when we need the help. It’s a perfect resource for what we are looking for.”
Breaking the cycle
“I know there is a certain amount of martyrdom we take on as chefs,” says Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, executive chef of the soon-to-open Published. “The physical and emotional demands of the kitchen – you commit yourself fully to it. You work 12, 14, 16, 18 hours a day and when you get home, there’s not much left.”
At least, that’s how it used to be. But a younger generation of hospitality workers isn’t quite so willing to put up with the poor working conditions. It’s a regular topic among chefs in the Instagram group chats Stieffenhofer-Brandson has joined lately. “All of us have been touched by depression or anxiety. We’ve all faced challenges in our working lives that are directly the result of our jobs. We know how hard it is.”
So they decided to “do what we’re good at — throw an event.” On Nov. 18, Kitchen Aide will see about a dozen chefs gathering at Café Medina for a fundraiser for Mind the Bar.
Some of the chefs participating in Kitchen Aide, a Nov. 18 fundraiser for Mind the Bar. From left: Ash Kurtz (St. Lawrence); Phil Scarfone (Nightingale); Justin Lee (formerly of Crowbar); Rhys Amber (Big Day BBQ); Doug Stephen (Downlow Chicken Shack); Alex Ploughman (Legends Haul); and Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson (Published)
But longer-term solutions are essential, too. That’s why, Stieffenhofer-Brandson says, “Most of the people in our crew are working toward paying their cooks better and giving them better work-life balance. We all are in our way trying to break the cycle.”
Similarly, that’s what Belcham hopes Cooks Camp will do by offering a biennial forum for an open dialogue about mental health, mentorship and business development.
“I wanted to create a legacy for young cooks and chefs across B.C.,” Belcham says. “To show younger hospitality people — and older ones, too — that we have complete say in how our business works.”
“It’s been an adventure,” Bourdain once wrote. “We took some casualties over the years.” Let’s hope that no other chef becomes one.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicide, call Crisis Services Canada at 1-833-456-4566 or text “start” to 45645.
Chef Robert Belcham, president of the Chefs’ Table Society of B.C., at the Spot Prawn Festival, just one of many fundraisers chefs support across the city.
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