Supply chain issues, Covid lockdowns, and the current round of staff and skills shortages
have all shone a spotlight on the mental health challenges which can affect those working in the high-pressure environment of modern hospitality. Depression and anxiety are common issues, underscoring the need for foodservice workers and business owners to build resilience and self-reliance.
Alan Tompkins is an Australian ambassador for The Burnt Chef Project
– a non-profit social enterprise established in 2019 to help eradicate the stigma associated with mental illness in the hospitality profession and make it healthier and more sustainable. We spoke to Alan to find out more about the project and the role he plays in it.
Globally recognised not-for-profit The Burnt Chef Project has launched hospitality specific mental health first aid training and two accredited suicide prevention training programs - SFA Lite and SFAUSI (Suicide First Aid through Understanding Suicide Interventions) in association with Suicide First Aid and MHFA England.
The Project has also introduced a Global Critical Incident Support Service for hospitality establishments.
The Burnt Chef Project’s second - but first official - Australian trade show outing was nothing short of spectacular. With record numbers flooding through the doors of the final Foodservice Australia in its current iteration, we had a captivated audience. We brought the heat - announcing the groundbreaking news that we are launching a free Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to every single hospitality worker on the planet alongside over 30 free to access mental health and educational modules accessible via The Burnt Chef Academy, we had plenty to discuss.
We talk about mental health and wellbeing as a key priority and area of focus in the post-pandemic world. However, it can often be challenging to navigate the significant amount of information available especially when it comes to self-care or, as we like to call it at The Burnt Chef Project, ‘mental hygiene’.
