Mental Health Awareness Week: Where chefs and hospitality workers can find support

Mental Health Awareness Week is a timely reminder of the pressures many chefs and hospitality workers continue to face, and the support available to those who need it.

Kitchens, restaurants, hotels, pubs and bars can be brilliant places to work, full of creativity, camaraderie and opportunity. But hospitality can also be high-pressure, with long hours, intense services, financial strain and a culture where many people still feel they need to “push through”.

For chefs and hospitality workers who are struggling, the message from some of the industry’s best-known names is clear: support is available, and reaching out matters.

Great British Menu 2025 champion Amber Francis has been working closely with Kelly’s Cause, a charity focused on mental health support and training within hospitality.

Speaking about becoming an ambassador for the charity, Amber told The Staff Canteen: “I've supported Kelly's Cause pretty much since they started.

“I was lucky enough to be a part of their first ever mental health first aid training.

“I've known the team from the very, very start and they recently this year asked me if I would be a formal ambassador for them.

“My role really is to shout about what they're doing and to share how important it is for people in the hospitality industry to gain mental health first aid training and to be aware of how to support themselves and others with their mental health.

“It's a really wonderful thing that I'm very passionate about.”

‘talk to somebody about it’

Heston Blumenthal, chef-patron of The Fat Duck, has spoken openly about his bipolar diagnosis in recent years. In 2025, he appeared in the BBC documentary Heston: My Life with Bipolar, with Bipolar UK later highlighting his work as an ambassador and his efforts to reduce stigma around the condition.

Heston has also stressed the importance of speaking up, telling The Staff Canteen: “Any advice I would give to chefs who think or know they have a mental health issue is they should talk to somebody about it.

"I think it's really important to get that out.”

That message is echoed by Karl Jaques, head chef at The Fat Duck, who said the restaurant takes mental health seriously and wants staff to know help is there.

Karl said: “Here at The Fat Duck, mental health is something we take really seriously.

"We want to support our team. The first piece of advice I would give to someone struggling with mental health is to reach out to Hospitality Action.

"It's an amazing charity who do a lot of good work and I don't think they get the recognition they deserve or enough people know about it.

"It really needs to be drilled into people that are in hospitality that we have these avenues and we're not on our own when we are in time of need.”

Hospitality Action

Hospitality Action is one of the sector’s best-established support charities. It helps people working, or who have worked, in hospitality with a wide range of challenges, including mental health issues, physical illness, financial difficulty, family problems and addiction.

Since the start of 2020, Hospitality Action says it has spent more than £5m and awarded more than 15,000 grants to hospitality households across the UK. It also provides advice, mental health support and signposting through an online advice hub and 24-hour helpline.

Its Employee Assistance Programme also provides hospitality businesses with access to counselling and expert support in areas such as debt, legal matters and family issues.

The Burnt Chef Project

The Burnt Chef Project was founded in 2019 by Kris Hall and has become one of the most visible mental health movements in hospitality.

The organisation says it provides education, support and resources to tackle mental health stigma and help make the hospitality and leisure industry healthier and more sustainable.

According to The Burnt Chef Project, four out of five hospitality professionals report having experienced at least one mental health issue during their career, with chronic stress, stigma and lack of support cited as major factors.

Its work includes training, free resources and support services for individuals and businesses across the hospitality industry.

Kelly’s Cause

Kelly’s Cause was founded in memory of Kelly, a young chef who died by suicide in 2018, aged 23. The charity says the harsh conditions, long hours and intensity of hospitality took a toll on Kelly’s mental health.

Today, Kelly’s Cause describes itself as a charity “here for hospitality” and a leading provider of Mental Health First Aid training and mental health services to the industry. Its mission is to help create a healthier hospitality industry for all.

The charity’s work is built around training people in the industry to spot signs of mental health issues, support colleagues and help reduce stigma in kitchens, restaurants and wider hospitality workplaces.

Other support available

There are other organisations hospitality workers may find useful.

Hospitality Health is a mental health charity supporting employees and students in the hospitality industry.

The Licensed Trade Charity supports people working, or who have worked, in pubs, bars and breweries with practical, emotional and financial support, including counselling and a 24/7 helpline.

Mental Health Awareness Week should not be the only time hospitality talks about wellbeing. But it is an opportunity to remind chefs, front-of-house teams, managers, operators and business owners that help exists.

Whether it is through a charity helpline, mental health first aid training, counselling, financial support, or simply starting a conversation with someone trusted, nobody in hospitality should feel they have to deal with mental health struggles alone.