One of the central ideas of Slow Food, is about the sense of community and of family.
I have written before about the importance of eating around the table, how that shared time fosters better relationships, bonds families, and leads to better eating habits. But the elephant in the room, is perhaps how we ourselves in the hospitality industry nurture our own mental health.
We work long hours, in a high pressure environment, where we let off steam at the end of shift with alcohol, and then do a double the following day because we are short staffed and it’s a Friday night.
We also often don’t eat that well in the trade – the chefs amongst us graze; whereas front of house very often get food that would never be served to guests – though perhaps we have improved from the Spaghetti Pie that I was served daily in one venue when I first entered the business.
Yet things are improving, and there are positive calls for further change: we recognise the need for first aid training; and industry stalwarts such as Barry Hancox, former GM of the Lygon Arms are calling for Mental First Aid training.
Indeed the candid openness of his own experiences can only be positive for the industry, and his highlighting of Mental First Aid mhfaengland.org/ could literally be lifesaving.
A kitchen is more than the food it produces; it is about the people who prepare it, serve it, and are involved in all parts of the business – lets foster the very best environment we can; from appointing a mental health champion (just as we have first aiders) to making sure that we never serve anyone spaghetti pie.
