I was born for this business. It’s in my blood that my father’s family owned a restaurant long before I was born. I have been fortunate to have had an incredibly unique and successful career in the food and hospitality world for over 30 years. As a chef and restaurateur, I have created multiple concepts from scratch, employed hundreds of employees, and served over 1 million customers. I have had a successful career in television and media for almost 20 years. But now, like many of my colleagues, I am facing my own mental health crisis. It threatens the very thing I love: overseeing a restaurant, taking care of my family and employees, and serving my customers.
We need to talk about mental health in the hospitality industry. It’s the elephant in the room that impacts an industry that generates more than $1 trillion a year. For centuries, restaurants have been places of rest and socialization where patrons can enjoy delicious meals, celebrate, and sustain themselves. There is an implicit trust and social contract, an exchange of goods and services, and an expectation that restaurants will serve their customers to the best of their ability. But what if something is changing behind the curtain and an alarming crisis is actually unfolding before our eyes?
My restaurant on Maui burned down in August 2023, and my community is still struggling in the midst of a very difficult and long expected recovery. The impact of this event has crept up on me after months of ignoring my trauma, but this is unprecedented and anxiety now seeps into me every day. I struggle with the stress and balancing act of being a mother, wife, head of household, and chef trying to figure out what’s next while juggling multiple restaurants and projects. doing. I usually deal with these things pretty well, but this time the situation is different and the question arises as to what kind of help is available for someone like me.
Anyone who has worked in a restaurant understands that stressful situations are part of the job. With performance pressure, working 12- to 15-hour shifts, service demands, staffing, insurance, permits, bill payments, and other deadlines, it can feel endless. As young chefs, we don’t think about business models or look at averages or health insurance. We want to climb the kitchen ladder, learn how to make great food, and lead a team. Restaurant jobs these days are much more complex and demanding than the restaurant jobs of yesteryear. Often, the price of success can lead to physical illness, mental health problems, substance abuse, and even death.
I am a vocal advocate for restaurant workers. Because this job continues to evolve and requires real interpersonal skills and a certain level of patience to succeed at it, whether it’s on the front of the house or behind the scenes. Our industry is second only to construction workers in opioid and drug-related overdose incidents. Stress, anxiety, diabetes, insomnia, sleep disorders, long-term debilitating injuries from standing all day, and heart-, liver-, and kidney-related problems are all at increased risk for those working in the hospitality industry. I can tell you from personal experience that I haven’t slept well in years.
The challenges of running a business, whether it’s a small mom-and-pop situation or the most popular restaurant in a big city, pose the same problems. Perceptually, being at the top of one’s game is disconnected from how happy one is. Every year on Anthony Bourdain’s birthday, social media is flooded with tributes, a stark reminder that we can’t always see or recognize when someone is suffering. It’s something you can do.
Hollywood’s pop culture portrayal of our industry is no different, even in movies like; menu or a hit tv show bear It highlights the dark side of our technology and calls attention to the impact that devotion and obsession have on real life. An Entertainment review called it a “gripping drama.” I call it trauma. Like many people, I don’t need to see it because I live it in some way every day.
The pandemic has caused unimaginable damage to our industry, and many companies are still trying to bounce back. We’re seeing a massive exodus of workers and labor, and spending that has doubled and tripled almost overnight. The current restaurant backlash and tipping exhaustion are just examples of the common misconception that we are all getting rich at the expense of our customers, when in reality we are all struggling financially and otherwise. I’m just trying to keep my head above water.
Calls for better wages, health care, equal opportunity, and equity are all heard and often supported and delivered by business owners who recognize the value of healthy, happy employees. Beyond health insurance and mental health support, our commitment to workplace wellness includes flexible scheduling and leave policies, creating a supportive work culture, monitoring workload and stress levels, supporting colleagues and team building. This includes the encouragement of I am passionate about encouraging my employees to take advantage of mental health insurance, and I always check in with each employee to see how they are doing.
But not everyone in this field has access to health care, and too many fall through the cracks. I have said publicly that more needs to be done to support our industry internally and externally to identify those most in need and get them the help they need, regardless of whether they have health insurance or not. Masu.
After all, all a therapist can do is listen. Resourceful solutions, coping mechanisms and tools, direction, guidance, and execution are all needed to move forward. As the captain of a ship, these are things I need for my own health and recovery. There should be more mental health care professionals who specialize in strategies specific to supporting people working in the hospitality industry.
We can all come together to address this issue, but the entire industry is under unprecedented pressure. We all share a strong understanding that we all face difficult situations beyond our control. Advances in communication and technology make it easier to reach more people than ever before, and innovations have the potential to help millions of workers struggling with mental health and substance use disorders. We need to bring medicine, technology, and hospitality together in the same room to create new tools and resources for those in need. We need to eliminate the stigma that there is so much healing happening in our communities but we are not allowed to talk about it.
We are millions strong. We must give each other the skills and awareness to recognize when we have a fellow human being who is suffering. With millions of employees dedicated to satisfying customers, this conversation is critical to the future and survival of the industry.
I know you’re ready to talk about it. This is my call to action and I am asking for help.
Chef Lee Ann Wong is a renowned culinary talent and passionate activist known for her innovative approach to Asian cuisine, with a diverse range of work ranging from fine dining to appearances on television shows such as I have a background. best chefand tournament of champions.
