I was a kid fresh out of culinary school, hired off an internship I was lucky to get, into one of the best restaurants in the country - “a career maker” as it was framed. The team saw themselves as artists performing at the highest level, it was only ever sold by the other, older cooks (who I instantly looked up to) as extreme privilege that I had to earn from them and from the chef (the hazing can be nuts in these kitchens as well, but that’s a different story…). It was made to feel like an honor to participate and you didn’t question the opportunity. The fine dining industry is very insular and the teams are small (we were dinner service only as is common many for fine dining restaurants, especially back then before the 2008 crash).
Another restaurant owner I’d work with eventually actually bought a small apartment complex next to his restaurant, basically poached an entire multi-Michelin starred kitchen from France to America and held them there as essentially indentured slaves looking back on it - kitchen to the apartment and back only or he held your immigration paperwork over your head and threatened to ruin your career in both countries - I was one of only two Americans in the kitchen so I didn’t have to experience that directly. He was eventually forced into “retirement” when several lawsuits for backpay and sexual harassment stacked up and became untenable for him.
You don’t have to believe me stranger, but you’re out of your depth here and applying your indirect POV to a life you know nothing about. This all absolutely happened, unfortunately, with several people in my life as contemporaneous witnesses. But you go win the day with your righteousness, friend. Tell us more about what fragile people in vulnerable situations and broken predatory systems “not having the wherewithal” should have done instead…
I was a kid fresh out of culinary school, hired off an internship I was lucky to get, into one of the best restaurants in the country - “a career maker” as it was framed. The team saw themselves as artists performing at the highest level, it was only ever sold by the other, older cooks (who I instantly looked up to) as extreme privilege that I had to earn from them and from the chef (the hazing can be nuts in these kitchens as well, but that’s a different story…). It was made to feel like an honor to participate and you didn’t question the opportunity. The fine dining industry is very insular and the teams are small (we were dinner service only as is common many for fine dining restaurants, especially back then before the 2008 crash).
Another restaurant owner I’d work with eventually actually bought a small apartment complex next to his restaurant, basically poached an entire multi-Michelin starred kitchen from France to America and held them there as essentially indentured slaves looking back on it - kitchen to the apartment and back only or he held your immigration paperwork over your head and threatened to ruin your career in both countries - I was one of only two Americans in the kitchen so I didn’t have to experience that directly. He was eventually forced into “retirement” when several lawsuits for backpay and sexual harassment stacked up and became untenable for him.
You don’t have to believe me stranger, but you’re out of your depth here and applying your indirect POV to a life you know nothing about. This all absolutely happened, unfortunately, with several people in my life as contemporaneous witnesses. But you go win the day with your righteousness, friend. Tell us more about what fragile people in vulnerable situations and broken predatory systems “not having the wherewithal” should have done instead…