RYAN Blackburn, chef-patron of Ambleside’s Michelin starred restaurant The Old Stamp House, is lending his support to a project designed to raise awareness of mental health issues in the hospitality industry.
Ryan, alongside the likes of acclaimed chefs including James Golding, Jean Delaport and Adam Handling, have each provided a signature recipe to The Burnt Chef Project’s Recipes For Mental Health recipe book.
The all new book is set to launch on Friday (22nd May) initially as an e-book as part of Mental Health Awareness Week 18th to 24th May 2020. The e-book aims to raise funds to support the vital work being undertaken by the Burnt Chef Project, to raise awareness of mental health issues in the hospitality industry. This will then be followed up with an expanded hardcover version of the book, containing even more recipes, planned for launch In June 2020, helping to raise further funds and awareness to help combat this hugely important issue.
The Burnt Chef Project was launched in May 2019 by former hospitality industry supplier Kris Hall with the sole intention of eradicating mental health stigma across all sections of the UK’s hospitality industry.
Kris, prior to launching his project, spent nine years working in the sector as a supplier, where he witnessed at first-hand the issues friends and colleagues faced day in and day out. Issues including the impact of long and antisocial hours on an individual’s and their families, tough highly pressured working conditions due to slim margins and a lack of staff willing to work in the sector, as well as numerous issues of addiction linked to both drink and drugs. All of which contribute to the alarming incidence of mental health issues found across the sector.
A recent survey of 1273 hospitality professionals showed that 8 out of 10 or 84% of respondents had experienced some form of mental health issue during their career and more alarmingly 46% stated that they wouldn’t feel comfortable talking about their health concerns with their colleagues.
Against this backdrop Kris set out to do something to enable hospitality staff to discuss the state of their mental health and gain support from their peers and employers removing the stigma of mental health from hospitality once and for all.
Ryan Blackburn commented, ‘’It’s great to be asked to provide a recipe for inclusion in the Burnt Chef Project Recipe book and help the project raise funds and awareness of mental health issues in the hospitality sector. I’ve grown up in and around kitchens all my life, it’s a well-known fact that life in a professional kitchen is fraught, there are all sorts of pressures and as a result mental health issues are a very real and ever-present problem. Problems I’ve witnessed at first hand, unfortunately several chefs I’ve worked with have experienced problems, ultimately this is an issue that needs to be confronted head on otherwise there can be disastrous consequences for all concerned.
Consequently, as an industry we need to ensure we put health and well-being at the top of the agenda and let our teams see that we are serious about their welfare. After all it’s a virtuous circle and we can all play our part in helping to put the industry on the right track and look after our people, by putting a few simple things in place we can make a huge difference and hopefully ensure the future of those coming into our profession, which is why I’m fully supporting the Burnt Chef project.’’
Kris Hall founder of the Burnt Chef Project, said: ‘’ Working conditions in the hospitality industry are a breeding ground for psychological issues, brought about by high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and not forgetting the impact that long working hours and stressful working conditions have on personal relationships with friends and families. There has long been a stigma within the hospitality trade epitomised by the term ‘Badge of Honour’, which refers to an individual who suffers in silence at great personal cost rather than let the team down. We want to change that and redefine the term. It is our belief that hospitality staff should be able to discuss their state of their mental health and gain the support of both their peers and employers. It’s important that although mental health can’t be seen it is regularly discussed and that policies are put in place to deal with the issues it presents to enable those suffering to speak out and define this as the new ‘Badge of Honour’.’’
