Our culture informs how we view our service: some of our beliefs imply that a chef can only add value to the kitchen by keeping busy. How we relate to productivity could possibly be both the cause and the effect of our gruelling workloads.
Maybe I am wrong, but this approach could also be driving how women and young chefs are valued in the kitchen, unfortunately. If the perception is that you are weaker or that you have not reached your full capability, perhaps you are seen to be less productive.
In the current crisis productivity means nothing. Many of the people currently keeping our world afloat are professionals like us – undervalued, under-compensated and under-appreciated. It is easy to quantify our work – we prepared 500 meals today – but will that ever capture what being nourished meant to the vulnerable person or frontline worker who received that meal?
All this and more in our Fireside Chat on Monday. Join me, chefs!