Chefs Are Revealing The Breaking Points That Made Them Quit, And This Says A Lot About The Industry

14.

“After eight years in the kitchen, at 30 years old, I stepped into the IT world. I spent two years in customer support, then switched to QA. I loved cooking, and the kitchen shaped my character, taught me how to handle different situations, and gave me lessons I would never trade for anything. But at the same time, it took away too much joy from my own life — spending long hours, many days, in places that belong to someone else. It makes you want to just chill after work. Otherwise, you feel tired all the time. Working on Christmas, bank holidays, etc. I just love too many things in life to sacrifice myself completely to one kitchen. It just wasn’t for me.”

“There are people who are happy living this life. Good. I’m happy for them and see them as warriors. Maybe someday I’ll open my own small place.

Now I take some jobs at events with my old crew, so it’s nice to come back once a month, every time in a new place. But fuck that, I wouldn’t go back full-time — at least not now. I’m happy to have weekends off, to work six to eight hours where the value of your work is measured by impact, not how many hours you stayed or how hard you tried. So… I guess that’s why.”

—u/chefprod