CINCINNATI — The restaurant industry can be tough, working evenings and weekends, dealing with customers and burnout.
But there’s a new effort to bring together chefs to both commiserate and open up about mental health challenges in the restaurant world.
What You Need To Know
Chef and Coffee started with an idea by Chef Jeff Harris to bring together chefs to discuss the challenges of the industry
It’s grown and is open to all workers in the service industry
Many of the topics discussed are related to mental health
Walking into Starlight Doughnut Lab, you’ll see all sorts of creations, from savory to sweet.
Ben Greiwe started the business four years ago, but with little background in being a chef, he knew he needed some extra support.
Ben Greiwe fills a doughnut at Starlight Doughnut Lab (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“I could meet some other chefs, I could get into this community more,” Greiwe said. “This is what I want to do, so I don’t feel as much of like an outsider to other chefs in the city.”
Through a new set of doors, Greiwe sought that community thanks to the organization Chef and Coffee. It’s a group created by chef Jeff Harris, who has been nominated for a James Beard award, one of the highest recognitions in the industry.
Greiwe hugs Harris at a Chef and Coffee meeting (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“Why not have a community and a place where your vulnerability is not looked upon as something weak or something, less than what it is, but also something to be like, hey, I go through that too,” Harris, the owner of Nolia said.
Data shows over 50% of servers in upscale restaurants deal with anxiety, including more than 70% of chefs. The stress often comes from long hours, irregular schedules and tenuous work environments.
The monthly gatherings allow those who are affected to connect, collaborate, and discuss common struggles.
People from the service industry in the Cincinnati area listen during the Chef and Coffee meetup (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“Very good for the mental health and the growth of the business and keeping things going in the right direction,” Greiwe said.
Chef and Coffee now provides three therapy appointments to restaurant workers in Cincinnati who are struggling or need someone to talk to.
For Harris, it’s a way to create more community in a competitive business.
Harris meets and sits down with a fellow service industry pro (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“We’re all competitive, don’t get me wrong,” Harris said. “But, like, it’s not about the competitiveness; it’s all about the community of all of us because it takes all of us to feed the whole city anyways.”
Beyond the mental health aspect, the program encourages collaboration, something Greiwe now does monthly thanks to the chefs he’s met. Growing his business alongside, rather than against, his competition.
“Getting to work with the other chefs and them teaching me something that I didn’t know how to make yet or I haven’t been able to do in my career yet, it’s a lot of fun,” Griewe said.