Is kitchen culture changing?

Is kitchen culture changing?

From The Food Chain by BBC World Service

April 1, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

The episode explores the changing culture of professional kitchens through the experiences of three chefs from different generations.

Is the culture of professional kitchens shifting? In recent weeks, one of the restaurant world’s most influential figures stepped down amid allegations about his conduct at work. It’s been widely reported that former employees accused René Redzepi, founder of Copenhagen’s Noma, of creating a toxic working environment involving verbal and physical abuse. Redzepi has since apologised publicly, saying he has worked to change. Ruth Alexander uses this moment as a starting point to explore a broader question: what is, and what should be, the culture inside professional kitchens? For many chefs, stories of gruelling hours, intense pressure and explosive tempers have long been part of the industry. But are those conditions still the norm today, or is a different kind of kitchen culture beginning to take shape? Ruth is joined by three chefs from different generations and parts of the world, each reflecting on their own experiences of coming up in the industry, and how those experiences have shaped the way they run their kitchens now. Jun Tanaka, chef-owner of Michelin-starred restaurant The Ninth in London, looks back on starting out more than three decades ago. Preeti Mistry, executive…

People in this episode

Host: Ruth Alexander

Guests: Jun Tanaka, Preeti Mistry, Manon Fleury

Topics covered

  • kitchen culture
  • professional kitchens
  • chef experiences
  • work environment
  • industry change

Keywords

  • toxic work environment
  • culinary industry
  • chef culture
  • workplace abuse
  • kitchen dynamics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Noma, Silver Oak, Datil

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