From London Punk & Piercings to London’s Pop-Up Darling - With Gizzi Erskine

We Recover Loudly

This is the final episode of Season One, and it was a pleasure to have Gizzi Erskine, a renowned chef as a guest. Gizzi's passion for food and cooking started at a young age and she credits her mother for instilling this love in her. She began her culinary journey at Leith's School of Food and Wine in her early twenties and had the opportunity to work in some of the top Michelin-starred kitchens in London. However, she also witnessed the darker side of the industry during this time. Gizzi got caught up in the high-pressure environment and indulged in drug and alcohol use. This eventually led to her becoming a difficult and sometimes volatile chef to work with. Despite these challenges, Gizzi has achieved great success in her media career and has written seven acclaimed cookbooks. Currently taking a break from the industry after facing difficulties with her recent business, our conversation delved into the harsh realities of our profession and its culture.

We discussed:

• The challenges we face in the culinary field, especially when confronted with toxic workplace dynamics that are too common.
• The positive side of the brigade system, such as discipline and hierarchy but how there needs to be a more balanced exchange of respect between different roles.
• How being a passionate and driven chef can sometimes lead to being labelled as "too pushy" or "too loud," especially for women in the industry – And the damage that does.
• The normalization of substance use within the industry and the difficulty of calling out such behaviour due to its systemic nature.

Ultimately, we circled back to the core reasons why people like Gizzi and I love the hospitality field— the passion for food, the love it brings, and the connections it fosters.

To connect with Gizzi, follow her on socials @gizzierskine

@werecoverloudly www.werecoverloudly.com

Want us to come into your business and talk to your teams about addiction in the workplace?? Send us an email at [e-mail] and we will be in touch!

This episode is sponsored by The Burnt Chef Project.

@theburntchefproject www.theburntchefproject.com

For more information on We Recover Loudly and to reach out for speaking engagements or support email [e-mail]

@werecoverloudly
www.werecoverloudly.com

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