My favourite TV cook is Nigella Lawson. She makes the kind of food that people want to eat and she does so with charm and a knowing dollop of innuendo.
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I pad to the kitchen and enjoy a sleepy feast in front of the fridge. When Nigella does it on TV, she wears a silk nightgown and is illuminated by strings of fairy lights, her face bathed in the warm, flattering, glow of an expensive fridge-freezer.
I wear a men’s XXXL t-shirt and my fridge light has been broken for months but Nigella has this way of making the aspirational seem homely and delicious food something that’s there to be enjoyed.
In interviews, she is at pains to stress she is not a chef; she is a self-taught home cook who loves food but doesn’t take it, or herself, too seriously.
I wonder how Nigella would fare in a professional kitchen. The food would be delicious and she would rock those whites like nobody else, but would she retain her good humour and playful love of food?
I’d bet she would, that’s who she is. Those monster TV chefs you see, Gordon Ramsay and the like, are not merely a product of their environment.
If you are somebody that derives pleasure from shouting at and belittling those who have less power than you do, then that’s your character.
It’s not an unfortunate side-effect of striving for the perfect saffron lace tuile with truffled pistachio crumb.
Too often though, we see high-profile chefs, who are – it has to be said – usually men, defend bad workplace practices while citing the unique environment of a professional kitchen.
At the weekend, there was an explosive report by Gabriella Bennett for The Times in which 12 former members of staff alleged they had experienced horrific bullying and abuse while working for The Kitchin Group.
Michelin-starred chef Tom Kitchin, is a regular on the TV cooking scene and is also chef proprietor of The Kitchin Group.
In response to the allegations he said: “Top kitchens the world over can be high-pressure, frenetic and challenging environments, where emotions often run high.
“However, the exacting standards of our food and service must be matched by the standards of behaviour in our kitchens and wider operations.’’
Inquiry as Tom Kitchin staff suspended
The report makes for grim reading and includes allegations of violence and sexual harassment.
One former employee alleges that they were deliberately burned by a senior chef.
Another claims that Tom Kitchin manhandled staff because he was unhappy with the pace of their work.
Two senior members of staff at the Kitchin Group have now been suspended and an independent investigation has been launched.
Chef Tom Kitchin has been accused of manhandling his staff and presiding over an environment of harassment https://t.co/w7SeVmMzgs
— The Times Scotland (@thetimesscot) July 5, 2021
Tom Kitchin has yet to respond to the specific allegations he faces but at some point, he will have to.
His name is above the door. If he has allowed – or contributed to – a culture of bullying and intimidation in his restaurants then he has to take responsibility.
Cooking can be stressful at times. It’s hot and messy and you’ve got to remember five things at once. But it’s food – this isn’t life or death stuff.
A kitchen isn’t any more “high-pressure” or “challenging” than a hospital.
Emotions often run high in professional kitchens? Give us a break, Tom. It’s squid-ink pasta, not the intensive care unit
NHS staff have been caring for the sick and dying during the most unprecedented health crisis in our lifetime.
They did so while wearing full PPE, with little rest and on less pay than they deserve.
Nurses and doctors managed to get through their shifts without resorting to violence. They didn’t take out their frustrations on junior members of staff.
“Emotions often run high’’ in professional kitchens? Give us a break, Tom. It’s squid-ink pasta, not the intensive care unit.
This has nothing to do with culinary perfection or the oh-so tortured genius of the Michelin-men in their big white hats.
It’s all about the ego and imagined self-importance of those who make themselves feel big by making other people feel small.
I don’t care how well-presented or technically brilliant your food is, you don’t deserve applause if it has been plated-up in a kitchen that allows the mistreatment of staff.
Strip them of their stars
The chefs’ union, Unichef, has got the right idea. It says that if Michelin-starred chefs are found to have abused their colleagues then their restaurants should be stripped of their awards.
That would soon sort out the culinary greats from the trumped-up wee bullies that have become bloated on their own hype.
If they can’t create a tasty plate of food without blowing a gasket then maybe they just aren’t cut out for cooking at such a high level.
If angry chefs can’t stand the heat, they should get out of the kitchen.
Tom Kitchin: What are the allegations against the top chef and what has he said in response?