Meet the woman trying to fix hospitality’s toxic kitchen culture

Can a company backed by some of hospitality s biggest names push the industry to clean up its act, asks Carys Sharkey This autumn some of the most influential figures in London’s hospitality scene gathered to discuss the issues hitting the industry. But for once, cost pressures weren’t top of the agenda. Instead, chefs and restaurateurs looked at how to raise standards across the workplace, and how to shake hospitality’s very real image problem. The event was put on by Verifair, which has just come out with its biennial report on working conditions in hospitality. And some of the figures are hard to swallow. I’ve experienced the Wild West of hospitality firsthand, and the conditions that turn the screw: the long hours and intense pressure. But also blurred lines between work and social life in a boozy industry that is hard to switch off from. Still, Verifair’s finding that over half (52 per cent) of respondents had experienced inappropriate, unsafe or unacceptable behaviour in t