Riots

A week on from the riots and I've been listening with fascination to all the debate and reasoning that has been attempted in order to try to make sense of the problem.

It's been a roller coaster ride news wise lately. No mention of the silly season. It can't be a silly season when you have slaughter in Norway, mayhem on the streets of London, and even more tragic slaughter in peaceful Jersey. It was interesting to note the the job titles of those people caught in the riots. This was done to illustrate that these people temporarily tempted off the rails are as normal as you or I.

 

But I didn't see any chefs mentioned. This is because they are all too tired. And whilst there are many calls from people I've talked to to conscript these reprobates into the army, I recommend we get them to work for the likes of Gordon Ramsay, or Jamie Oliver, who has already proved the efficacy of taking kids from the streets and turning them into a positive force with his Restaurant 15.

 

Kitchens provide a kind of gang culture. They provide a surrogate home. There is no other department in our type of hotel which works as long hours and so intensely. No other department where they are producing things for human consumption. Work is so hard and intense in a kitchen they don't have time to riot or do much else, except of course the occasional binge. They are fiercely competitive but don't have to resort to the street because they are measured by the success of their gang through industry gongs and the success of the business.

 

So that's it then. The cure for the industry's shortage of chefs in one go, and the cure for mayhem on the streets.