The restaurant industry has long been known as a high-stress environment, but the advent of social media and the avalanche of toxic reviews have made chefs even more vulnerable to severe anxiety and depression. Now some of Australia’s leading chefs are sharing strategies to safeguard their mental health.
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00:00Veteran chef, Neil Perry, with 47 years under his belt, worries about the challenges facing
00:09younger chefs.
00:10You know, you can just pick up a phone, take a few photos, and if you've got enough followers
00:15you're an expert.
00:16While most reviews are positive, Jackie Chaloner says it's the negative and unfair ones that
00:21haunt you.
00:22Worst steaks, rancid seafood smell, overpriced, magical, long may it rain.
00:29It was sending me crazy, I just couldn't, it was hurtful to see it.
00:34After struggling with mental health issues, Jackie's psychologist gave her an important
00:39tip to help her staff.
00:41I think what we've started trying to do is, for every bad review that we might bring up
00:48with a team, I encourage to sandwich with two good reviews.
00:53In the last eight years, Ben Shuri has lost two friends, both chefs, to suicide.
01:00The pressure that comes from being reviewed several times a year for eternity by food
01:06reviewers and that kind of make or break mentality that comes with that, is not a good thing
01:14for a person's mental health.
01:16It's not just the barrage of reviews that causes anxiety and distress, the long hours,
01:21the misuse of alcohol and the treatment of women are causing young chefs to think twice
01:27about a career in hospitality.
01:30It's still very, very, very tough for women in kitchens.
01:33We hear terrible stories every year.
01:37The Good Food Guide has now introduced a new cultural change champion award to foster safe
01:43and empowering workplace cultures.
01:46We need to set a higher standard today, so that in the future, the people who we're training
01:52and the kids that are going to come into our industry, actually have an industry that's
01:56worth inheriting.
01:59Trying to take the heat out of the kitchen.