Thanks to blogger ChefSandwich who has brought to my attention to a tragic news story of a young chef dying from working 100-hour week.
Nathan Laity was only 23, and worked as sous chef at the Tate Modern. Nathan from Cornwall, came down with a sore throatm but continued to work 14-hour days from 27 straight days without anytime off.
He then contracted tonsillitis, and because his body was so exhausted he was unable to fight the infection. He died in his sleep and doctors say his immune system had simply shut down.
I totally get that these young chefs are driven and ambitious, but this is one story that didn't have a happy ending. Surely a head chef should have identified the signs and stepped in before this tragic outcome?
Is there too much pressure for chefs to achieve? Is the industry doing enough to nurture young chefs? Is there still this macho attitude in kitchens that you must not let your team down?
I dont' think that the pressure is just on chefs, I have just recently left a large hotel group based in the northwest and the pressure the GM's were put under to be in work was comical. To the point that I would get text's and phone calls from the owner asking why the F@@k I was not in work, if I took a day off in the week, even if I was going to be in all weekend. And it wasn't just that company, other companies that I have worked for expect the GM's to do a 60 hour week as standard. It seems as though a lot of Hotel and restaurant companies think that the law doesn't apply to them, I laugh when I join a new company and get asked to sign a contract that says.. Hours : Needs of business. Its about time the catering industry caught up with the rest of the country and they may find it a little easier to retain staff.
Thanks for your comments Adam. As an observer of the hospitality industry, I think it talks a good game when it comes to positive employment practices, but the reality is too often rather different. We run our Best Places to Work in Hospitality awards every year and, while we are always pleased with the number of entries we receive, there are many, many more businesses that choose not to enter. Indeed, every year we see the same companies re-entering. Perhaps other businesses need to look at what these enlightened few do to attract, train, motivate and retain employees and learn from them.
Hi,
We are in the process of what can only be described as a massive post, we've asked some of the biggest names in the industry (both up & coming & established globally) 5 questions - 1 of which relates to this subject.
As of yet, only 1 Chef has replied.
What does this say about the industry, I'd like to think these names are given a chance to a) give an insight to junior chefs on how & what it takes to get to the top & b) use their own words in a frank discussion.
Chef Hermes Blog
Oh my God, this is truly awfull! The chef and mangers didn't notice? There is no need for 'Down and Out In Paris and London' extreem working conditions in 2010! Duty of care?! ....it's close to, if not, manslaughter. I for one will not be eating there again and it's one of my favourite hang outs.
Needless & cruel!
After reading the initial story & then doing a post on our blog, we decided to take it a step further.
We composed 5 Questions, mainly aimed at helping more junior staff within the industry. We then emailed some of the high profiled chefs within the industry, who many believe (rightly or wrongly) are the architects of this culture within kitchens.
There is no doubt that working in the types of kitchens such as "michelin" type kitchens, requires dedication & long hours. But of all the chefs I've been in contact with so far, they seem united in the same opinion;
Tom Aikens - "I think its very important that chefs get to rest as much as they work, I cannot believe chefs still work 100 plus hours!"
Nathan Outlaw - "I think the industry is changing and it certainly has in my kitchens. I dont agree with working 100 hours a week..."
Interesting stuff, Chef Hermes, and heartening to hear that Nathan and Tom are against 100-hour weeks in principle. Also interesting to read Nathan's thoughts on the media:
"I have been cooking for 18 years now and in that time I have seen a massive rise in customers' expectations and knowledge. That comes from media. It's got to be a good thing when people are becoming more aware of what we do. I think good food shows are great."
For more on the positive impact TV appearances can have to your business, here's a link to the cover feature of this week's Caterer.
A day = 24 hours. A week = 168 hours. 100 hours = just over four full 24-hour cycles. A 100-hour week = 20 hours a day for a five-day week, and 16.6 hours for a six-day week.
Big numbers.
Assuming we take an hour a day to shower, shave, brush teeth etc (= 7 hours), an hour and a half to eat each day (= 10.5 hours), an hour each day to travel to and from work (= 7 hours), this leaves just over six hours' sleep a night, with zero leisure time.
Or something.
Yep, thats about right.
I've slept in laundry rooms before now & worked past 2am. And had a run of 24 days without a day off
For what? just to say I've worked somewhere which has such & such accolade.
Thankfully doing the 5 Questions,not one chef has endorsed it & have recognised the need for resting their staff.
That's some calculations Northern Sky, but definately highlights just how little time we have these days, and for chefs to be working these incredible hours is crazy.
Chef Hermes is pulling together some great comments from chefs at the top of their game, and thankfully they are all not endorsing this crazy work ethic.
Let's hope that we hear from more chefs... which will in turn offer great advice to anyone thinking of a career in this great industry.
Toworrow is Michael Wignall from the Laymer Restaurant, Pennyhill Park.
Wed or Thursday is going to be Tom Aikens.
Shaun Rankin may be at the weekend.
Hows that for a line up.
Unfortunately, Michel Roux Jnr & Gordon Ramsay have both said No, is it because they are worried that they maybe portrayed in a bad light?
Michael Wignall's '5 Questions' are now up and posted.
He brings up the the consequences of too many hours.
I've got some great responses to Chef Hermes questions emailed to me today from Alan Murchison.
I will post them up shortly.
K
So here are some of the answers from Alan Murchison. Thanks to Chef Hermes for the questions and thanks to Alan for taking the time to respond.
What would be your best piece of advice for a fresh face school leaver who is looking to get into the industry? My advice would be to get a variety of experience in different levels of the food chain, pub, hotel, contract catering and fine dining , this way they can see the different levels of the industry and also the amount of commitment required to make it in their chosen field, we are very lucky that our industry is hugely varied.
What qualities are you looking for in your more junior chefs when recruiting new staff? Attitude is by far and away the most important element in recruitment at any level, whether they have come from a 3* in France or a country pub in Shropshire they must have the right mental attitude, we have seen chefs who could have enhanced the product but were not team players, that’s not for us. Nobody likes a smartarse.
In light of the recent death of a young chef through excessive hours (on average 100+ per week, for multiple weeks) does the industry need to change & what changes have you made to reflect this in your own kitchens?
It saddens me greatly that somebody has lost there life over effectively food! However, at the top of any profession there is level of commitment and dedication that comes before anything else in your life and if you make that choice then so be it. Your own personal quality of life comes second, any chef sitting with a Michelin star has had to make huge personal sacrifices to get to that level, hence the fact that very few chefs ever achieve that level. There is not a right and wrong way to cook just different levels of commitment and personal sacrifice required.
The life of a Michelin or aspiring Michelin starred chef revolves around attention to detail and constantly striving to make everything at least 1% better. It is not getting out early on a Friday night to go on the piss with the boys and then turning up with a hangover on a Saturday morning and doing an average job.
In our business we encourage the guys to take all their holidays, any birthdays/special occasions that they want off we would try and honour, we close Christmas and New Year and increase annual holiday entitlement by 5 days per annum after 2 years service. If we can get them out early, then fantastic, however we won’t compromise on quality for the sake of an early night.
I wish I had a solution to the long hours required, however, excellence will always come at a price.
Do you think that the media (in particular television) have raised the profile of the industry in a positive light?
Overall television and the raised media profile of the industry is a very good thing, personally doing a high quality food based programme like Great British Menu had been both very enjoyable and more importantly hugely positive for the business, it is a very different discipline though and should not be confused with being a restaurant chef. There are very few chefs that have managed to be on TV a lot and keep a level of integrity in the trade and continue to run very high quality operations, Raymond Blanc, Mr Ramsay, Mr Blumenthal and Mr Rhodes have all in my view managed to do this very successfully.
It saddens me greatly that someone would come into our great industry with the sole intention of getting on TV.
Learn your craft well and if you get a chance to showcase your talent to a bigger audience then you would be a fool not to go for it, however never forget about your guests and remember bums on seats pay the bills not being on TV.
To read more "Words of Advice..." from some top chefs on Chef Hermes blog
Many thanks to Katherine for passing on the '5 Questions' to Alan Murchison, he is great value and goes quite in depth on the subject matter.
Alan Murchison's '5 Questions' are now posted, tomorrow is Tom Aikens & Friday is Shaun Rankin