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There was an interesting article on the front page of the Toronto Star last Saturday about employee complaints against Susur Lee. Now Mr. Lee runs a swanky restaurant. In fact he is often spoken about as one of the 10 best chefs in the WORLD.
"Some former employees complain that his restaurants cross the line, that Lee has created a real-life Hell's Kitchen where verbal abuse is rampant and several pay grievances have been filed". and "A Facebook group, called "I Worked @ Susur Lee's and Survived!" has 22 members. The group's description reads: "For all of us ... who got yelled @ ... more than a dozen times a night ... or who laughed b/c a revolving door should have been put in for everyone that quit or couldn't cut it."
It seems not all is well in paradise. Mr. Lee acknowledges that he is demanding, but afterall, he is running a very high-end joint. Who is right? I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this story in the coming days.
What's the worst job you ever had? I'm very fortunate these days - I have a good job, and I like the work and the people. The worst job I ever had was right after university. I worked for a while doing break-out cutting in a woodshop that made bad waterbeds. Details to follow, tonight.....
3 comments:
If there's that much complaint, it must be really bad, because kitchen work has a reputation for being extremely stressful and difficult, and chefs are generally known for being exacting, perfectionistic, egotistical, and just plain assholes. I can only imagine what Lee would be like if he's getting this kind of complaints. Since he's so well known and has such a huge reputation he's going to be even worse to work for than the average chef.
That being said, there is still no excuse for treating people poorly or not paying them on time or whatever the money issue is with his staff. Chefs have been trained in a very specific way, but I think the time has come when they have to catch up to the rest of the work force and have harassment policies, sexual harassment policies, and learn to create a respectful and safe work environment despite the stress and pressure.
An artist friend that used to be a caterer told me of some of her chef experiences (seems Chefs are pretty wild!) - it must be that this profession is full of creative but high strung (is that putting it kindly?) individuals!
I work for susur now, and he swears, accuses staff of theft, belittles staff in front of guests and is beyond demanding. His sons are far worse and belittle the crew in multitudes of 20+ per night. Many staff leave in tears. Many, many, quit. They take most of your tips and charge you for errors other crew have rung in (made or otherwise) as well as underpay for over time. The guests are lovely, the management are tools.
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