- April 2, 2022
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John Mulgrew: The Burnt Chef Project sheds much-needed light on mental health issues within hospitality sector – Belfast Telegraph
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Kris Hall, Founder of The Burnt Chef Project, with Ambassador Kenneth Sharp, owner of Boat House Dining and The Salty Dog in Bangor
Kenneth Sharp, The Burnt Chef Project Ambassador and owner of Boat House Dining and The Salty Dog in Bangor, with Kris Hall, Founder of The Burnt Chef Project
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April 01 2022 11:50 AM
For many people, it’s still something we don’t talk enough about. And it took recent personal experiences to bring hotel and restaurant owner Ken Sharp face-to-face with the stark reality of how prevalent mental health issues can be within the hospitality sector.
It also brought him together with Kris Hall, founder of a new scheme — The Burnt Chef Project — which raises awareness of stress and mental health in the industry, delivering key training to tackle problems in the kitchen and beyond.
“In my late 20s I experienced a mental health issue which forced me into a position where I was sabotaging relationships and work,” Kris Hall tells me over a bite to eat, alongside Ken Sharp, in his popular Bangor spot The Salty Dog Hotel and Bistro.
“I had a successful career supplying fine dining restaurants,” Kris says “I was working with many of the best restaurants in the south west of England.
“I was no stranger to finishing work at 5pm, going to work at 6pm and working through to 3am in the morning.
“I had a breakdown, and it led me into to a position where I needed to get help or quite frankly I was going to take more drastic action.”
While many of us will experience issues during our lifetimes, the proportion of those suffering issues in our hospitality trade appears particularly shocking.
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More than four in five people working in the sector say they have experienced mental health issues of some description, during their career, according to The Burnt Chef Project.
“I wanted to turn my focus on the trade which I’ve grown to love,” Kris says.
A series of black and white photographs which Kris took of those within the sector then spurred on further conversations, then a talk about issues facing the industry, before getting the UK-wide Burnt Chef Project under way.
A host of big name chefs began getting in touch as the organisation took off in the middle of Covid-19 — a period which hit hospitality especially hard.
The non-profit social enterprise delivered training to more than 9,000 people in 2021, and provided one-to-one mental health support to 1,544 hospitality professionals during that period. Some of its other support schemes include a free text-based messaging service, podcast and free online training.
Ken’s own interest in the scheme came about through personal experience, with both the sudden loss of staff members, and his own recent mental health issues. He’s now ambassador for the project.
“Towards the end of lockdown I was feeling rough,” he tells me. “I went to the doctor and he went off-field with the questions.
“He said, yes, you have these problems but it’s a mental health issue… it really did bring home that this can happen to anyone. There’s this stigma about it and it’s better to talk about it than not talk about it.”
Ken then took on board The Burnt Chef Project app and some of its ‘first aid’ mental health training.
And in regards to changes and improvements in the sector, it’s about generally better working environments, and the project says focusing on education, awareness, culture and the physical, emotional and mental health of staff is key.
“To fight the epidemic which we are facing at this moment in time… stress is one of the biggest issues in terms of productivity, labour shortage and team retention,” Kris says.
You can find out more at www.theburntchefproject.com. Anyone in need of confidential emotional support can also call Samaritans free on 116 123 or by emailing [email protected] or visiting samaritans.org
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