Is a 'return to normal' going to be good enough for the hospitality industry?
How to fix an industry that might have already boiled over
Boiling Point, which was released earlier this month, is the new film by the British director (and ex-chef) Philip Barantini. Here’s the trailer:
Barantini has said that his aim with the film was to “shine a light on that world and make it as truthful as possible in terms of what I've witnessed.” And while many film critics have concentrated on the film’s central ‘gimmick’ i.e. that it’s shot in one, continuous 90-minute take, anyone who’s had any experience with the hospitality industry has tended to focus more on the film’s realism.
Last week, Jonathan Nunn of Vittles offered up his take on Boiling Point (which he watched with two chefs) and his overall view seems to be that it’s “extremely well-observed” with “the squeamish reactions” of the chefs sat next to him being the best indicator of authenticity.
The till running out of receipts, the unexpected VIP sitting down on the busiest night of the year, the arrival of the health inspector… All of these incremental pressures are completely believable (although, admittedly, they might not normally happen on the same evening). But ultimately it’s the behaviour of Stephen Graham as head chef Andy Jones, and the effect his behaviour has on those around him, that seems to be hitting home for those who work (or have worked) in the industry.
Nunn quotes the “‘my bad, I was wrong’ apology following flashes of anger, which only furthers the sense of unstable footing;” while over at Eater, James Hansen notes the “dialogue peppered with ‘I’m sorry,’ ‘I’ll get on it,’ and endless drinks offered and catch-ups proposed that will never actually take place.”
In the Times an anonymous reviewer who “worked for years in restaurants” recognises the drinking and the drug taking as coping mechanisms for “an industry that takes everything from you and does not, often, say thanks”.
In every single one of these articles though there’s the same caveat offered up: That while the restaurant business used to be like this, it’s not that bad anymore.
In Nunn’s review there’s a quote from chef Nick Bramham of Quality Wines, who says that he can tell that Barantini worked at restaurants, “some time ago” because the film contains “every trope of how bad a kitchen could be” but that this “seems already dated.” In Eater, Hansen says that “For some chefs, it’s an outdated paean to the kitchens of 15 years ago”. While in The Times, Neil Rankin, the chef behind Temper is quoted as saying that while “everything that happened in the film has happened to me over the years,” Boiling Point is “probably less relevant in today’s kitchen”.
Is it really that dated?
In July of last year Tom Kitchin suspended two members of his staff and launched an independent investigation “after a string of anonymous allegations from former staff that include historical claims of bullying and physical assault in his restaurants”. So far thirteen kitchen staff have brought claims that Kitchin and the chefs under him mistreated them.
The Instagram account Hospitality Bullshit has published first-hand accounts from people who claim to have worked at Kitchin’s restaurants, and they’ve also shared stories of people who say they have experienced similar behaviour from the chef Tom Brown (Brown’s wife recently made a number of allegations of assault against him).
Tom Brown was the chef consultant on Boiling Point.
How bad is it really?
Is Boiling Point outdated and irrelevant or is it an all-too-real account of toxic behaviour in the hospitality industry? To try and get a read on what’s actually going in we spoke to Kris Hall of the The Burnt Chef Project.
Kris “fell into the hospitality industry” around thirteen years ago where he experienced mental illness first hand. “I was in my late 20s, and mental illness forced me into isolation through the stigma and shame,” he tells us. “To the point where, even when I went and got some private help, I was double checking before I went into the therapy office just to see if there was anyone there that knew me. It was a really, really strong sense of shame.”
That experience made Kris want to “shine a spotlight” on the subject of mental illness, to drive away some of that stigma and to “let people know that if you have got certain thoughts or you feel certain ways then it’s okay to talk about it.”
What started as a small, local project quickly snowballed, and in late 2020 Kris quit his job to focus on The Burnt Chef Project full time. Last year the project established a 24 hour text-based support service that provides free, immediate advice. They’ve also designed training modules with psychologists and nutritionists that are provided free to the industry through an online academy app.
When we ask Kris why hospitality in particular suffers from such a high rate of mental illness he acknowledges improvements have started to be made but believes we shouldn't stop there. “We've got close to 100 years of processes and systems that haven't changed or have barely changed,” he says.
The idea of ‘that's the way hospitality is and that's the way it’s always been’ is something Kris is all too familiar with, and he acknowledges that there’s an expectation that “you’ll do between 60 and 80 hours a week with very little breaks for sustenance, being managed by someone who probably hasn't had any formal training… And you've just got to go along with it.”
Until, that is, COVID came along and shifted many people’s perspectives.
“All of a sudden people realised that there was a life outside,” says Kris. “People who were doing 60, 80, 100 hour weeks were being thrust into a position where they had to spend time with a family they probably didn't really know and they were spending more time looking after their health and their wellbeing, which they’d never really needed to do before because they’d always had a distraction and a reason not to.”
When the first lockdown eased and the Eat Out To Help Out scheme began things went from “zero miles an hour to 120 miles an hour,” says Kris. “People were jolted back into hospitality and a lot of people realised they just didn't want to do this anymore, that their may be more to life than this”
The recruitment crisis
The twin pressures of Brexit and the pandemic have created a massive shortage of staff in the hospitality industry. Especially in London. But, somewhat ironically, that crisis has also forced businesses to change working environments for the better so they can attract the talent they desperately need.
“Businesses now are looking at more dynamic ways of working,” says Kris. “Offering four days on, three days off, increasing pay to way above the minimum wage, and increasing the amount of resources that they're able to provide.”
While Kris acknowledges that “a four-three working week sounds like something chefs would have dreamed of having this time four years ago.” he also knows that fixing the hospitality industry’s problems is going to take more than that.
“You can have four-three working weeks, but if your team is still doing 50 to 60 hours during those four days, it's not achieving anything,” says Kris. “You're still burning through people as a result of high levels of chronic stress. Business owners and leaders need to be a little bit more mindful that there isn't going to be a quick fix for this resource crisis. It’s not going to be solved overnight.”
So while, anecdotally at least, there seems to be fewer instances of bullying, aggression, harassment and substance abuse in kitchens than there was in the ‘bad old days’ of the 80s and 90s, it’s clear that the industry still has an awfully long way to go (especially if you’re a woman).
Kris’s advice to business owners is to “invest in your teams because it's abundantly clear that they are the greatest assets that your business has. Without them the business doesn't survive. And when I say ‘invest’ I mean give your team a voice, give them a say on how they want to see the business run and how they want their role to be managed. Look at their needs, their support mechanisms, the relationships they have in the business and try and make it an environment whereby they want to stay long term.
N.B. While all this might sound like common sense to some, literally as we were writing this the news came out that staff at Andi Oliver’s restaurants in Hackney had to wait weeks for “over at least £6,000 in tips” to be handed over to them after they went on strike after a pay dispute.
Don’t be a dick
What about those of us who don’t work in the hospitality industry? Can we do anything? Nik’s advice is blunt: “Just be a bit kinder. Don't be a dick. Be mindful that your server is a human being. That person that greets you and smiles, and might make some mistakes? That person is a human being. They have feelings, and you can have a great impact on their day by doing something that doesn’t necessarily cost you a single penny. By using their name or by thanking them or, if they make a mistake, by acknowledging that mistake and letting them know that it’s okay.
“Because no one comes to work to be abused or to be told that they're not good enough. Especially if they’re working long hours for low wages. It's just not fair.”
If you want to find out more about what Burnt Chef does there’s more information here. To support them you can buy from their online store (we can recommend the New London Light non-alcoholic spirits if you’re doing dry January).
Showtimes for Boiling Point are here.
News Bits
More upsetting and shocking news coming out of the Met this week. On Monday the force apologised to the academic Dr Konstancja Duff for “sexist, derogatory and unacceptable language” used by officers about her when she was strip-searched. But the horror of this case goes beyond the comments made by the officers, and extends to the fact that the officers aggressively strip-searched Duff “for her own safety” because she would not give them her name and then the Met denied the officer’s acted inappropriately FOR YEARS until Duff’s claims were substantiated by CCTV recordings. The Sergeant who ordered the search appeared before a disciplinary panel in 2018, where he was cleared of gross misconduct.
So excuse us if we’re not overly optimistic about the news that the Met has finally decided that it will be investigating the Downing Street parties after all.
London is no longer at ‘Major Incident’ status. Sadiq stood the city down over the weekend as “pressures on critical services” has now been reduced to “manageable levels”.
In related news, there is now less discrepancy between the more “affluent areas” of the country and “poorer cities”. But it’s not because those less affluent areas have been ‘levelled up’. According to the Centre for Cities, places like London, Birmingham and Edinburgh, which are reliant on commuters and tourists, have struggled the most during the pandemic, and have not been given the support or investment they need to recover.
The UK’s first LGBTQ museum is opening later this year at Granary Square in Kings Cross. The museum, which is founded by Queer Britain, will house four galleries, a workshop, an education space, gift shop and offices.
A mural has been revealed in New Cross, to honour the 14 black men who were killed by a fire there in 1981.
Risen is a new one-day festival that will take place across multiple venues across Hackney on 9th April. The festival will feature a “100% non-male line-up” and will be a celebration of “the divine feminine” and “an exercise in love vibration”. Boy, do we need that right now.
The Lore of the Land pub, Guy Ritchie’s pub on Conway Street, keeps catching fire. Fire fighters were called “to tackle a blaze at the Fitzrovia pub” last Sunday, which is seven months to the day after “a huge blaze” broke out in the pub. No one was hurt in either incident.
These pictures of parakeets taking over trees in Grove Park are pretty incredible.
