A recent article from our sister publication Catersource magazine discussed the importance of building mental health into your business strategy. The author, chef Jeffrey Schlissel, writes:
"Growing up, my parents always told me there were two things we should never talk about: religion and politics. The funny thing is these two topics were still brought up a lot.
The one thing we never mentioned or spoke about, however, was Mental Health. Now, please note: we usually do not capitalize those two words, but I think we should start.
Let’s take a trip back to 2018, specifically June 8, 2018. If you do not remember that date, that is the day Chef Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. Later that same year, the American Culinary Federation was having their convention, and they turned the spotlight on Mental Health. That day the conversation started.
During that convention, a chef that I had just met broke down across the table from me. At first, I thought it was about Bourdain. He then made it very clear why he was so bereft. He looked directly into my eyes and said, 'I tried to kill myself, and this wonderful woman beside me, my wife, saved my life!' If that doesn’t grab your attention, I have no idea what will. I grabbed the microphone and said it is about time we turned a spotlight on the pink elephant in the room."
