Queer Leaders in Hospitality
This week we teamed up with Fair Kitchens on their series on Queer Leaders in Kitchens. We felt it would be a great opportunity to catch up with Beth, Head Chef of EDIT and Mental Health First Aider, to share their knowledge about leading in the industry.
What have you learned about yourself in a senior position?
The biggest thing I have learnt is that I am a challenge for this industry - and that’s become my greatest strength. As a young, neurodivergent queer woman, I present a threat to a very old school culture in hospitality, and I’ve run with that! I constantly question what is going on around me, and why. It helps my kitchen team to have someone who will advocate for them, and understands what it means to have to carve out your own spaces in hospitality.
What top tip would you give to someone stepping into a leadership role in the kitchen for the first time?
Be kind. Your team is your greatest strength, if you let them be - trust them to tell you what they need. One management style won’t work for everyone you are managing, so be prepared to listen, switch things up, and constantly evolve. If you stay open to the idea that you don’t know everything, and learn to treat people as individuals with different needs, methods, and experiences, you and your team will thrive.
Can you signpost a resource, either a book/podcast etc. or an organisation to recommend for folks in the queer community who might be struggling with their mental health right now?
I’ve struggled hugely with my mental health, and still do, and the greatest resource I have ever found is community. Platforms such as Queers in Food and Beverage, and initiatives like Kelly’s Cause running a free LGBTQIA+ Mental Health First Aid Training for hospitality staff, have given me resources and a real community that let me help both my queer coworkers, and myself. Community is everything, and finding spaces both online and in person, to discuss problems, find peers, and organise how we can help each other, is exactly what the queer community does best.
If you want to hear more from Beth you can read their blog post Abuse, Autonomy and Capitalism in the Hospitality Industry.
Interested in improving your leadership skills? Fair Kitchens offer free leadership training. They also offer an LGBTQIA+ inclusion and ‘did you know’ video series which explain the basic of understanding including how to use appropriate language and pronouns, how to be a good ally and the importance of educating yourself for your fellow chefs and the chefs of our future.