The Burnt Chef Journal

Dr Sian Edwards - Platfform Wellbeing

On The Burnt Chef Journal this week, Kris is joined by Dr Sian Edwards, Head of Training and Delivery for Platfform Wellbeing.

Sian has a background in psychology and has worked across a number of sectors, including Clinical, Forensic, and Sport Psychology.

Her specialism is mental health in performance environments, and her PhD explored the mental health experiences of high-performing athletes and part of Sian's role at Platfform is to use this learning to help change organisational culture and create environments that help people to thrive.

Through research, practice, and her own personal experience of mental health challenges, Sian has become a firm believer that our mental health cannot be separated from our social context and she is proud to be part of an organisation that challenges the medical model of mental health.

We hope you enjoy this episode as we explore personal wellbeing!

Find out more about Platfform Wellbeing here: https://www.platfformwellbeing.com/

Nadine Benjamin - Neurodiversity Celebration Week

This conversation was dominated by Neuro-diversity. Nadine talks about how she manages with it and she suggests ways to cope on a busy schedule.

Neurodiversity is a popular term that's used to describe differences in the way people's brains work. The idea is that there's no “correct” way for the brain to work. Instead, there is a wide range of ways that people perceive and respond to the world, and these differences are to be embraced and encouraged.

Hospitality is a very busy, hectic sector and particularly if you work backend in the kitchen. So for someone who may have challenges, and may not even know they are neurodiverse, Nadine suggests what can they do and how can they recognise this.

British soprano Nadine Benjamin recently made her Royal Opera House debut in 'A new dark age' and her Glyndebourne Festival Opera debut in the title-role 'Luisa Miller'. At English National Opera Nadine’s roles have included Clara Porgy & Bess and Mimi.

Nadine was made an MBE in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours for her work as a soprano and the Founder of Everybody Can! - a mentoring, concert series and professional development programme for creatives. Nadine is currently doing an Executive Arts Innovation MBA with the Global Leaders Institute where she is focussed on the financial sustainability of artists over 35 to retirement.

What is Compassion Fatigue? An International Women's Day Special.

Compassion Fatigue a type of burnout that occurs when we experience prolonged exposure to the suffering and trauma of others.

 

This week’s episode is from our guest host series. Hulya interviews...

Hulya is a Burnt Chef Project Ambassador and has over 20 years hospitality experience as a professional chef, teacher, mentor, apprenticeship leader, business owner, consultant and coach. Hulya has joined The Burnt Chef Journal as a guest host to launch her own mini-series focussed on speaking with guests who can delve deeper into mental health and wellbeing.

 

𝗛𝘂𝗹𝘆𝗮’𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲.

Jennie is a qualified counsellor, wellbeing, and mindfulness coach, with an expertise in addiction and trauma and she is passionate about reconnecting and resetting our wellbeing and mental health.

Her purpose and mission is: “Everything, and anything to do with mental health.”

If that wasn’t enough, Jennie also spent 11 years working in the hospitality sector, in professional kitchens, pubs, corporate events, and wedding venues.

Jennie is currently developing workshops for young people “Wellness Tools for Life" with an ethos to help the younger generation with skills, techniques and ways to develop emotional intelligence.

All the things we’d wished we had been taught when we were younger.

You can find Jenny on:

Instagram and Facebook: @Jenniferraindletherapy 

Website: www.wellnesstoolsforlife.co.uk 

 

Dr Reiner Kraft - The Mindful Leader

In this episode, Dr Reiner Kraft discusses the importance of becoming more aware of both the mind and the body to increase body awareness. He explains this as a foundational principle for making upgrades to both the mind and the body, emphasizing that limited awareness keeps people trapped in their thought activity without reflection. This lack of awareness, he suggests, is a significant barrier for many people, limiting their ability to recognise and address the imbalance between their mental and physical states. By becoming more aware, people can begin to observe and manage their thoughts and physical sensations more effectively, leading to better overall health and well-being.

Reiner is a seasoned technology leader, engineer, scientist, technical advisor, trainer, executive leadership, micronutrients expert, human potential coach, and teacher who shares transformative principles of presence, mind-management, and biohacking using the latest science of epigenetics. ​

During his tech career, he spent 20 years in the Silicon Valley and the past 6 years in Berlin, Germany, working for top high-tech companies (e.g., IBM Research, Yahoo, Zalando) and startups while exploring novel approaches to leadership and new work methodologies to build purposeful and impactful organizations. ​

He is considered a top innovator with more than 120 U.S. patents, making him one of the most prolific inventors in Silicon Valley. Both IBM Research and Yahoo recognized him as a Master Inventor. The prestigious MIT Technology Review (TR 100) in 2003 also nominated him as a top innovator under the age of 30 to shape the world.

 

Thank you Dr Reiner Kraft for sharing this with us - we hope you all find this episode insightful.

Find out more here: https://www.themindfulleader.net/

Resilience Unmasked: Fabian Martinez's Journey Through Workplace Gun Violence

TW: Gun Violence

This week on The Burnt Chef Journal we are joined by Fabian Martinez from Wisconsin, who shares his very unique story of being impacted by a shooting within the restaurant he worked.

Fabian talks about how this has affected his overall mental health, and the steps he has taken to try and recover from this horrendous event.

This is a sensitive topic, so if you feel comfortable listening to this episode, please feel free.

We are so proud of Fabian for sharing this with us.

If you need support, or you would like someone to talk to, we have a list of worldwide support numbers available to you here.

If you enjoy our podcast and would like to hear more, please do follow us for latest episodes and rate us which will allow other people to find this great stigma burning content. ⭐

The devastating menace of substance abuse within the hospitality sector.

Kris Hall, Michelle Righini and Adam Simmonds discuss drug misuse in hospitality - the openness in which drugs are used to excess, the acceptance, the ‘rock and roll’ image of the chef and the dangerous culture that these attitudes over time has created.

Adam recently shared his own experiences of drug addiction on Shell’s podcast We Recover Loudly and it became the most downloaded episode of season one, hitting home the importance of sharing our stories as they help others who may be suffering in silence.

Shell also highlights ways we can support team members who are in trouble, linking to the excellent work she currently does with The Burnt Chef Project as well as announcing her new training modules you can now book on alcohol and drug addiction safeguarding through The Burnt Chef Project.

Originally recorded live on LinkedIn on Wednesday 1st November.

The importance of sleep - Kris Hall is joined by Dr Sarah Gilchrist FBASES.

The much anticipated episode of The Burnt Chef Journal is out now!

Joining Founder, Kris Hall, is Dr Sarah Gilchrist FBASES.

Dr Sarah Gilchrist FBASES, spent over 20 years working in the high performance sport industry, latterly as a Technical Lead for the UK Sports Institute (formerly the English Institute of Sport) and Senior Physiologist with British Rowing. Her doctorate specialised in sleep and athletic performance and she now provides consultancy on a range of performance areas, particularly relating to sleep health, through her own consultancy, Gilchrist Performance. She is on the Advisory Board for the Sleep Charity, a fellow of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences and is High Performance Sport Accredited.

 

This conversation covered the importance and accessibility of naps, and why sleep is much needed for our cognitive system.

 

Let us know if you found this topic insightful!

 

 

References for conversation:
Why sleep matters — the economic costs of insufficient sleep: A cross-country comparative analysis | RAND
The Sleep Charity  & National Sleep Helpline 03303 530 541
Home - Teen Sleep Hub
Sleepio or Sleepstation – CBTi
NHS: Insomnia
NHS: Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Royal College of General Practitioners
Mind
Mental Health First Aid England

Live from Commercial Kitchen - Anna Haugh

This episode of The Burnt Chef Journal was recorded live at Commercial Kitchen when Kris Hall was joined by Anna Haugh.

 

Anna started her career at Derry Clarke's Dublin restaurant and has since worked for  Gualtiero Marchesi, Shane Osborn, and Phil Howard. 

 

Anna has also become a familiar face on television, having acted as a guest judge on Gordon Ramsay's Hells Kitchen, starred as part of the relaunch of Ready, Steady, Cook, and also a regular on Saturday Kitchen.

 

In 2022, Anna made her debut as a judge on Masterchef: The Professionals.

 

We hope you enjoy this extra special episode!

James Sharman - addressing the resource crisis in hospitality.

Joining Kris Hall this week is James Sharman. James reached out to us with an interesting proposal, discussing how we start to address the resource crisis in hospitality.

James is an English Chef & Economist and owns three restaurants in Asia. His time in economics has unearthed an alternative explanation for the global staff shortage plaguing hospitality, and he is certain that this information has been influencing the lives of every wage earning worker for years.

James implemented an unconventional solution as a response to this problem for a year in one of his restaurants & experienced extraordinarily good results.

We would love to hear any questions you have following this episode.

Live from Commercial Kitchen - Tom Shepherd

This episode of The Burnt Chef Journal was recorded live at Commercial Kitchen when Kris Hall was joined by Chef Tom Shepherd.

Tom was born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham and trained locally.
His work experience includes time as Development Chef at 2 Michelin Star Sat Bains in Nottingham, prior to that he was Sous Chef to Michael Wignall at Surrey’s 2 Michelin Star restaurant, The Latymer and Head Chef at Birmingham’s 1 Michelin Star restaurant, Adam’s.

After winning an Acorn Award in 2018, he went on to open his own restaurant, Upstairs by Tom Shepherd, in Lichfield in 2021 and was awarded a Michelin Star just four months after opening. This represents the first Michelin star for Staffordshire.

In 2023, Tom represented the Central Region on the BBC’s Great British Menu. He went on to win the main course round and cooked at the Banquet where he served his infamous take on Desperate Dan’s Cow Pie. The Pie was inspired by Tom’s childhood favourite cartoon, Desperate Dan, illustrated by Dudley D. Watkins who studied at Nottingham’s School of Art.

 

We hope you enjoy this episode!