France's toxic kitchen culture is questioned worldwide

France's toxic kitchen culture is questioned worldwide

Every year after the Michelin leader publishes his selection of stars awarded with stars in France, journalist Nora Bouazzouni receives a flood of angry and bitter news. This is an unexpected episode of her growing reputation as one of the most influential whistleblowers in the French restaurant industry.

toxic kitchen culture reveals

The news comes from desperate restaurant employees who are angry that abuse, toxic chefs who have made their lives on hell, were rewarded with one of the highest awards in the industry. "It is really the famous drop that causes the barrel to overflow," explains Bouazzouni in an interview. The French food journalist has been reporting on the toxic restaurant culture in kitchens across France since 2017. Your latest book " Violence in the kitchen ", which was published in May, uncovered the topic and revealed the proportions of physical, emotional and psychological abuse in French kitchens - open secrets that are largely unknown to the general public

inappropriate behaviors in gastronomy

The book shows descriptions of employees who are confronted by bosses with violent outbursts of anger, deliberately burn the employees or throw pots for them when they make a mistake during the service. For people with a migration background, this means to endure racism and exploitation. Women, on the other hand, are often exposed to sexual harassment - be it through undesirable touches or offensive comments on their appearance. In some serious cases even through sexual assault in cold rooms by colleagues. Basically, hardly anyone stays without scars.

social consequences and legislative reactions

"The reports that touched me the most were those who quickly aimed to dehuman people in the kitchen," says Bouazzouni. "Because only by dehumanizing the kitchen can you exploit people." However, the toxic kitchen culture is not just a phenomenon in France; It has been uncovered and denounced in other English and European-speaking countries for years. Bouazzouni's work has contributed to creating a national awareness in France that also achieved the ears of the leading legislators: On July 7, the French National Council an application for formation for formation of a Commission for local violence in kitchens submitted.

The system of kitchen brigade

"Behind the smooth and idealized images of the profession, as presented in various entertainment programs, there is a rigid, almost military and brutal hierarchical organization," you can read in the application. This mention of the "military and brutal hierarchical organization" is remarkable because it refers to the system codified by the French cook and writer August Escoffier in the late 19th century. Inspired by his time in the military, the kitchen brigade, as you know it, was modeled after the military in which the rank determines the command structure. At the top are the chef and the sous boss, followed by the bosses de game, which are responsible for specific stations (sauces, seafood, cold dishes, etc.), as well as from the cooking trainees and apprentices.

worldwide effects of French gastronomy

The system inspired by Escoffier is worshiped in French culture. But in many ways, this organization oriented from top to bottom is the cause of the toxic kitchen culture, which enables bosses to abuse their staff without consequences. In addition, the kitchen brigade system was exported worldwide in the upscale gastronomy and hotel industry and reproduced by the legions of international chefs that have been trained in the birthplace of the Haute Cuisine over the decades. "When foreign chefs come to France to learn - be it in schools or during internships - return to their home countries and continue this way of working," explains Bouazzouni. In other words: it is a vicious circle.

changes in the catering sector

Although male dominated kitchens and stressful situations have long been known to promote toxic work environments, offered a Study from 2021 Solution: Creation of open kitchens. For the study, researchers at Cardiff University found that the unique working environment in the upscale gastronomy - isolated, closed and hidden rooms, far from the public eye - goes hand in hand with a feeling of freedom of surveillance in which the normal rules do not apply. "What surprised us in our study was the importance of the workplace of the chefs in the context of bullying, violence and aggression," reported senior researcher Robin Burrow.

planned changes to improve the working atmosphere

The cult of the strong chefs in France also contributed to the silence that brought the victims to silence for a long time. Top chefs are often glorified in long, enthusiastic portraits, documentaries and cooking shows, which makes them "untouchable", Bouazzouni adds. The media contribute to the promotion of this "mythology" of French gastronomy. But in the past five years, the world has turned the script over after pandemic. France is also not spared from the shortage of labor and the "Great Resignation" phenomenon, which is driven by revised, dissatisfied employees and younger generations in the western English-speaking countries. Today, 300,000 jobs in the catering and hotel industry are vacant in France, Thierry Marx, President of the Union of Hotel and Restaurant Professions (UMIH).

Marx, which runs 10 upscale restaurants in Japan and France, including the one with a Michelin star Onor href = "https://www.restaurants-toureiffel.com/fr/madame-brasserie.html?at_Medium=sl&at_source=google&at_campaign=langue_FR_GEOLOC_IDF_PMAX&at_campAign_sl=2109152417" Target = "_ Blank"> Madame Brasserie in the Eiffel Tower, explains that the brigade system is necessary to delegate tasks and maximize efficiency in stressful, high -pressure -emphasized environments. However, he also recognizes that the system can have defects, emphasizing that the best chefs are not necessarily the best managers. "We have to add management courses and recognize that professional competence is not necessarily associated with leadership skills," emphasizes Marx.

changes on the way to safe kitchens

In recent years, the #metoo movement in the field of film and the emergence of younger generations, which are more willing to defend themselves against abuse, has promoted the discourse on the creation of safe kitchens in France. Since 2021, the non -profit organization Bondir.e, which was founded by French cooks, has organized violent prevention seminars in culinary and hospitals in order to raise awareness at an early stage and break through the cycle of violence. In France, students can start vocational training at the age of 15, an age in which teenagers can still be influenced.

"At 15 you are still a child," says the spokeswoman for Bondir.e, Vittoria Nardone. "You do not know what work is, but is confronted with violence, in which strict rules are imposed. You are taught that suffering is normal and a necessary part of the success. If you are only 15 years old and that is the only example to be based, it is easy to accept that."

practical approaches to improve

The group has also set up a hotline to support victims of violence in the kitchen and offers specialist courses for communication and management. Both Nardone and Bouazzouni emphasize that while individuals and minorities in need of protection are easy goals, violence and abuse of men and women of all ages and from all ranks can be committed.

One of the founding chefs of the group, Manon Fleury, 34, has meanwhile opened her own restaurant, datil in Paris, which was awarded a Michelin-Stern. As boss, Fleury is trying to run her restaurant differently than her predecessors: the restaurant closes on weekends to promote a balanced work-life balance. All new employees receive a conduct guideline that emphasizes mutual respect and cooperation, and management training is offered for managers. Communication is also a central component of the work environment, with advanced and debriefing as well as monthly individual discussions. The restaurant is also led by women.

"When I opened my restaurant, I wanted to bring women to management positions. My goal was to set an example and show that women can and want to take these positions," said Fleury in a statement. "... in Datil there are men in the restaurant and in the kitchen, but all management positions are occupied with women."

marx realizes that times have changed: the employees have more influence and various attitudes to work. "Bad leadership is a reflex of fear," he says. "Pressing the weakest no longer works."