What Needs to Change

– The abuse. The hazing. The ego-driven tyranny that treats people like disposable parts.

– The silence. The silence that kills careers, kills passion, kills people.

– The idea that burning ourselves down is the price for making beautiful food.

What Will Stay the Same

– The flame that draws us in. The thrill of the line. The hum of a kitchen when every person is moving as one.

– The pride in making something that nourishes and delights.

– The belonging that can be found when a team chooses to stand together, to rise together, and to honor the craft as much as the person making it.

This industry can evolve. Not by accident, but by design. Not through fear, but through strength. Not by silence, but by voice. Not by repeating the trauma, but by reshaping it into resilience.

If you’re reading this as a chef, cook, owner, server, or guest, this is your call.

– Will you stay quiet? Will you accept broken as “normal”? Will you hand down the knife as it was handed down to you?

– Or will you stand up? Will you draw a line? Will you carry forward the lessons learned and put an end to cruelty for good?

Because this is the truth:

We don’t own cuisine. We don’t own heritage. We don’t own the flame.

We’re stewards of it. All of us. And the flame can destroy, or it can illuminate. The choice is ours.

Here’s to ensuring that the next generation inherits more than scars and silence.

Here’s to making sure the next chef doesn’t have to break to belong.

Here’s to making sure the flame we pass down doesn’t consume the hands that carry it.

Break the silence. Break the cycle. Build better.

For you. For them. For all of us.

🗣️ Your Turn

This isn’t just my story—it’s ours.

👉 Have you witnessed or experienced this culture?

👉 What would you keep—and what must we leave behind?

Comment below. Share your truth.

Because someone out there needs to hear that they’re not alone.

#justonelife