204: Kris Hall | The Burnt Chef Project

Chef Life Radio: Strategies to Empower Culinary Leadership for Success, Sanity, and Satisfaction in the Culinary Industry

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Kris Hall, the founder of the Burnt Chef Project, joins us to discuss his work in making the hospitality industry a safer and more sustainable place for everyone. Hear how the project makes a difference and learn what you can do to support their efforts.

"To understand that if something doesn't sit right with you, that's okay, and no one else can tell you otherwise. You've got to live with yourself. It's okay not to be okay"

Kris Hall is the founder of the Burnt Chef Project, a nonprofit social enterprise working to make the hospitality industry safer and more sustainable for everyone. Kris has worked in hospitality for over ten years and has seen firsthand the challenges that hospitality professionals face.

The Burnt Chef Project offers free online training, support services, and independent business reviews to help hospitality professionals thrive.

This is Kriss Hall's story...

I'm Kris Hall, the founder of the Burnt Chef Project. Our goal is to make the hospitality industry a safer and more sustainable place for everyone to work in. We do this by challenging the stigma around mental health, raising awareness for mental health issues, and providing support services.

The hospitality industry has been through a lot in the past year, but I believe this is a unique opportunity to address some of the systemic issues that have been holding us back for a long time. I'm encouraged by the chefs who are already making changes in their workplaces, and I hope we can continue to make progress in creating a healthier and more sustainable industry for everyone.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. The Burnt Chef Project's mission is to make the hospitality industry safer and more sustainable for everyone.

2. The impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry and the challenges faced by those working in it.

3. The importance of having clear core values in order to create a successful business.

Resources:

The Burnt Chef Project Surveys

Chapter Summaries:

1) Kris Hall is the founder of the burnt chef project. Chris got a t-shirt from the project. The money raised goes to a good cause. Chris often gets called out for being an overweight 60-year-old driving fast Ferraris. But he's not.

2) The Burnt Chef Project is a nonprofit social enterprise based in the UK and operating internationally. Its aim is to make the hospitality industry safer and more sustainable. It's been going on for about two years now. It challenges the stigma attached to mental health issues within hospitality as a result of high levels of stress and poor operational setup.

3) Covet put a lot of people out of work in the hospitality industry. But it's a unique time for the industry. The Burnt Chef Project was started because there were fewer people in the profession. People were leaving the industry at a much earlier age and had problems with their health.

4) Kris worked in some busy bars on the south coast of the UK in Costa del Bournemouth. He also worked in business consulting for the travel industry. He was a sales development guy for the mechanical engineering sector and worked in the large corporate insurance sector. About ten years ago, he fell into hospitality from a food wholesale supply point of view. And he was supplying some of the best Michelin Star restaurants on the south coast.

5) His new podcast talks about his core values and how they helped him overcome depression and self-harm. He also talks about the importance of having the well-being of the staff as a business. Core Value he would like to see more companies talk about their core values in their job applications. According to her, being transparent and honest is a core value that she also instills in her children. She believes in not being afraid to speak up and help other people enrich other people's lives and make a tangible change, even if no one thanks her for it.

6) The industry has a big conversation around work-life balance and mental health. Some high-profile chefs in the UK are making changes to their workplace practices. It's not if the culture or management style is wrong, but if the leadership treats people as unique individuals.

7) As a nonprofit director, he can't take any profits as a director, but he can take a small number of profits from the merchandise and training modules to address the skill gap shortage. He was 20 years old when he was working for a large insurance company, National Insurance Company, in the UK. Three of his oldest members of his team were 50 and 60 years old, waiting for retirement. And his youngest members were 1718.

8) Hospitality has a high turnover of staff and a low skill set with regard to management. Man, management, people, and communication. Four out of five people in hospitality have had a mental health issue during their career. One of the things that he was most proud of was creating a mentorship program for hourly associates who wanted to get into management. This whole idea about acting as opposed to talking is important.

9) The academy is a free app on Google and Android. It provides free modules on any subject related to the Bench Chef project.

The project has reached 112 countries across the world. It's mainly funded by one person and supported by an entire industry. More modules are coming as soon as they can get enough revenue to expand his team. Kriss is working on a network of life coaches to help people find their way in the hospitality industry.

Kris studied psychology and the Stanford Experiment.

• I Got Your Back Project – Supporting Mental Health Awareness in the Hospitality Industry
• Home | Not 9 To 5 Organization
• Mental Health Survey | Chefs With Issues
• May | 2022 | Chefs With Issues
• Burnt Chef Academy App | Burnt Chef Project
• Free 24/7 Support Service | Burnt Chef Project
• Education | Burnt Chef Project
• The Burnt Chef Project | Hospitality Mental Health Awareness

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