Mental Health Awareness Day: kitchens run on people, not plates
Mental Health Awareness Day on October 10 is a reminder that kitchens and dining rooms are people-powered.
The day is more than a calendar moment for hospitality - it’s a chance to take stock of how teams are really doing. Kitchens and dining rooms run on people, not plates, and the pressures of long hours, high expectations and thin margins can take their toll.
Across the industry we’re seeing encouraging shifts: better language, clearer policies, more honest conversations. But stigma still lingers, and silence can be costly - for individuals and for businesses.
Voices from the industry
From inside a three-star kitchen, head chef Karl Jaques, The Fat Duck puts it plainly: “Here at The Fat Duck, mental health is something we take really seriously and we want to support our team. My first bit of advice, if someone is struggling, is to reach out to Hospitality Action - it’s an amazing charity.
“They do a lot of good work and don’t get the recognition they deserve, and not enough people know about them. It needs to be drilled into people in hospitality that we have these avenues of support - and we’re not on our own when we’re in a time of need.”
Chef Heston Blumenthal has also spoken publicly about his bipolar diagnosis and the years building The Fat Duck, noting periods of extreme hours and lack of sleep, and making it a mission for the Fat Duck Group to help raise awareness around mental health and neurodiversity.
He said: "Any advice I’d give to chefs who think - or know - they have a mental health issue is simple: talk to somebody about it; it’s really important to get it out."
Chef and writer Anthony Bourdain spoke openly about depression and addiction throughout his career; his death in 2018 was a stark reminder that even the most admired figures in our industry can be struggling. His legacy should push us to talk earlier, intervene sooner, and make support easy to access.
Ben's story
Ben Martin was the head baker and development chef at Wilsons Bread Shop in Redland, Bristol.
He was known for his incredible talent and dedication to his craft before sadly committing suicide at 31 earlier this year after battling with his mental health.
Ben’s passing has left a hole in Wilsons heart, owners Jan Ostle and his life partner Mary Wilson are urging others to speak up and spread awareness about the ‘pandemic’ of issues affecting mental health in hospitality.
Jan said: “Ben was as close as it gets to being my right hand. We’d worked together for years, longer than anyone else I’ve worked with. He wasn’t someone who worked for me, he worked with me. He built something incredible, and I was just proud to witness it, to support it. He was a friend. A really close friend. And that’s what made everything that followed so hard - because even now, I don’t quite know how to put it into words.”
His death has sparked an important conversation that must be heard to protect workers in the industry, Jan added: “Let’s be honest about it: there’s something going wrong in our culture. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 35. That’s not a statistic, that’s a fucking crisis and a pandemic.
"It’s not just in hospitality, but our industry doesn’t help. The industry has built this macho, no-days-off, push-through-the-pain culture, and it’s killing people. Ben is gone - and the silence around mental health is killing us. People assume that because a chef wins awards or their name’s on a menu, that everything’s fine. But we know - we all know - that’s not the reality.
Read more: Ben Martin’s suicide highlights industry struggles
Roux Scholarship's support to the cause
In July, the Roux Scholarship announced a partnership with charity Hospitality Action, providing support for existing and future Roux Scholars.
That support includes ‘comprehensive wellbeing assistance’ through the charity’s industry-leading Employee Assistance Programme.
Every existing Roux Scholar and each new winner now has access to a raft of practical, emotional and counselling support with physical and mental health issues, financial and legal problems, dependency, bereavement, familial and relationship issues, elderly care and more.
This support will extend to their partners and dependents.
Michel Roux Jr said: “My father and uncle were patrons of Hospitality Action and my cousin and I are continuing that tradition but taking it one step further.
“Our partnership cements our commitment to the wellbeing and future of all our scholars, at a time when it is most needed.”
Alain Roux added: “More than a competition, The Roux Scholarship is a community. In these challenging times, our shared values make Hospitality Action a natural, vital ally, offering essential wraparound support to our scholars.”
Read more: The Roux Scholarship partners with Hospitality Action
What the latest data tells us
Fresh analysis from Hospitality Action shows the culture is shifting - yet fear still keeps many colleagues quiet about how they’re really doing.
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Openness is up. 66% of workers say their workplaces are now more open to mental-health conversations.
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But psychological safety lags. The same research found two-thirds still worry that speaking up could harm their career progression.
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Confidential routes matter. 40% of staff specifically want access to a free, confidential Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
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Support works - and pays back. For those referred to counselling via Hospitality Action’s EAP: absence fell from 44% to 19%, 82% reported improved performance and 73% reported better attendance.
To find out more about Hospitality Action’s Employee Assistance Programme, visit www.hospitalityaction.org.uk/eap or call 0203 004 5515
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