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

"I worked in back of house for a decade, and I was a chef for the last four years or so of that time. When you're working in a kitchen, you're always working as fast as you can, you're understaffed, you're doing eight different things at once, and someone is probably yelling at you about something. It's unnecessarily stressful, the pay is low, and you'll always be staying late and being called in on your days off."

"I think most people leave the industry when they realize how much they are being taken advantage of for the lowest pay possible. The passion for the business that kept me there turned out to be unsustainable. Lots of overtime. No benefits, low pay, and repetitive injuries that make you less able to do the job as you get older. Then you realize you'll never be able to retire, and leaving the industry is your only choice."

Kitchens demand constant speed, multitasking, and coping with stress and verbal abuse while remaining understaffed. Pay is low relative to effort, with frequent unpaid overtime, mandatory extra shifts, and broken labor laws common. Benefits are rare and repetitive physical injuries accumulate, reducing long-term ability to work. Pay disparities compared with other trades exacerbate frustration. Passion for cooking often proves unsustainable when weighed against financial instability, lack of retirement prospects, and deteriorating health. Many cooks and chefs ultimately leave the industry to seek better wages, legal protections, and sustainable careers outside the kitchen.

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