RU OK Chef? What else is ‘cooking’ in the kitchen?

Abstract

Against the backdrop of growing public empathy and awareness of the prevalence of the individual, community, societal and economic ills of mental health and wellbeing, is the realisation that young entrants to the workforce are particularly vulnerable. Hospitality, the ‘young person’s industry’, is renowned for pressured and stressful conditions – exemplified by those under which chefs and cooks work. In this paper we review the nascent literature investigating the antecedents, coping mechanisms and mental health and wellbeing risks that chefs experience. We conclude this presents a critical theoretical and applied knowledge gap.