Apprentice chefs turning to alcohol to cope with bullying and stress: study

New research has found the stress of working in busy commercial kitchens is driving apprentice chefs to drink.

The National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) surveyed first-year apprentice chefs about their alcohol and drug use.

It found 65 per cent of respondents were drinking at dangerous levels, with researchers saying work stress, irregular hours and finishing late contributing to the problem.

Dr Ken Pidd from NCETA says verbal abuse and bullying are common.

"It becomes a fine line to what is deliberate bullying and what is part of the stress of service to where the chef turns around and starts yelling and screaming," Dr Pidd said.

"We also did hear some horror stories of getting tongs heated up in hot oil then given to apprentices to pick up with their bare hands to teach them how to use the proper equipment, which we thought was quite horrific."

Dr Pidd says 65 per cent are drinking more than five standard drinks up to three times a week.

"A lot of these work places are located in night time entertainment areas," he said.

"When they finish work they're finishing at 12:00 or 1:00 in the morning and all the nightclubs and hotels are open, and the pressure is on them a little bit to drink very quickly to catch up with friends that they meet up with.

"But also because of the hours that they're working, there's a traditional wind down type of thing after the stress of service so that they'll drink as a result of that."

The study also found almost one-third of new chefs are smokers and about 20 per cent had smoked cannabis recently.

"Despite the fact that amphetamine use and cannabis use was relatively low compared [to the] 65 per cent risk of drinking, there are still very high prevalent rates compared to national averages," Dr Pidd said.

"They're two and three times as high as national averages."

Workplace communication skills key to battling bullying

As part of the study, researchers ran a course for new chefs at a New South Wales TAFE on how to manage stress and bullying.

Dr Pidd says the lessons had encouraging results.

"[It] assisted them to improve their workplace communication skills so that they recognise what was bullying and what was normal work related stress - [to] come out and give them skills to deal with those issues," he said.

"What we found was over a period of about four-to-five months we noticed this significant reduction in their stress levels, but also that they reported their ability to talk to their supervisors about issues they were having in the workplace also improved."

The study revealed apprentice chefs in smaller kitchens are struggling more than those working in bigger kitchens.

Dr Pidd says it is up to the restaurants as well as the apprentices to learn to manage stress and bullying.

'Work hard, play hard' industry reputation

The head chef at the Statler and Waldorf restaurant in Brisbane, Andrew Tolley, agrees it is a high pressure industry.

"There's a lot of new restaurants in the street so there's a lot of pressure and a lot of competition," he said.

"It's the constant criticism and appraisal, not only from employers and customers, but also the social media aspect.

"Websites like Urban Spoon give people access to easy criticism."

Mr Tolley says there is more recognition of the stresses in the industry than there used to be.

"I know younger chefs tend to try to party a bit more than the more mature experienced guys," he said.

"As you grow older you learn more coping mechanisms."

But he says some chefs still resort to substance abuse.

"Drugs and alcohol are certainly around in the industry - you get this 'work hard, play hard' reputation in the industry you have to hold up," he said.

Mr Tolley says working in a smaller kitchen allows for more hands-on guidance for apprentices.

"Part of the fun of being a chef is that constant strive for perfection and constantly wanting to improve yourself as a person and your food," he said.

"I try to look after and nurture my staff a bit more than just slogging them out for 14 hours a day - I try to give them time off if they need it."

Source: ABC News, 27 November 2013