FNV: Exploitation and Bullying Common in Michelin-Starred Restaurants

• Coen Nij Bijvank

  news editor

Working ten, twelve or even fourteen hours and then not getting paid overtime. Chefs who chastise you for a mistake. Drug use to cope with the long working days. It is all too common in the hospitality industry, and certainly in top restaurants, says trade union FNV.

“This has always been a problem, specifically in star cases,” says Edwin Vlek, director of the FNV Horecabond. “And due to the staff shortage, this has only become more acute in some places. Restaurants want to achieve the same level with fewer employees.”

On Monday, Michelin will award the stars for this year. The Netherlands currently has two restaurants with three stars, 21 with two stars and 94 with one star. The trade union FNV does not know in which part of these cases exploitation takes place. “The problem is big, but it is a taboo to speak out,” says Vlek. “The fear is: if I’m critical, they won’t hire me.”

Young employees in particular are the victims of this. They recognize that in the Star class of the ROC van Amsterdam, one of the highest culinary courses in the Netherlands. “Star chefs strive for the very highest and demand the very best from their employees. If they make a mistake, it reflects on the chef. Then sometimes a ‘damn, bastard’ falls,” says master chef and lecturer Theo van Rensch.

His students, thirty a year, attend classes one day a week and work in star kitchens the rest of the week. Thanks to their stories, Van Rensch knows well in which kitchens the working conditions are (too) difficult. “I don’t keep a blacklist, but I do tell students honestly what to expect.”

“If a student wants to go to a top restaurant where he has to work 70 to 80 hours a week, but where he thinks he can learn a lot, I don’t stop him. Sometimes they come back after a few months. Burnt out.”

Not all Michelin-starred restaurants have such a robust approach, emphasize Vlek and Van Rensch. But wanting to get or keep a star seems to contribute strongly to the pressure to perform.

Vlek: “Fortunately, we see that young chefs in particular understand very well that you have to pay attention to your staff. But there is a group that still adheres to the old culture, in which the chef determines everything. You have to listen and keep your mouth shut. .”

Some star chefs recognize this themselves. “Many young people work in top kitchens at the beginning of their careers who are eager to make a success of their jobs,” says Emile van der Staak, chef of two-star restaurant De Nieuwe Winkel in Nijmegen. “That’s used by the chief. For you ten others, he thinks.”

Even with the staff shortage, many chefs maintain that attitude, Van Rensch sees. Every year, “some” of his students drop out altogether because of the workload during internships. “For example, I had a super talented girl who came back very disillusioned after an internship. She now works in a furniture store.”

“About five years after the training, about 60 to 70 percent are still working at the top level. The rest cannot handle the workload, or deliberately choose a place in the hospitality industry where the pressure is less.”

The “company philosophy” in the top businesses must change, according to the FNV. “You often hear from top chefs: the harsh atmosphere is part of it, this is top sport. But if you have a large outflow of young employees, then you have to ask yourself whether this is still the way we want to work. is not part of our sector. If your employees feel better about themselves, there will be much better performance.”