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Chef Homaro Cantu, owner of Moto, found dead

sebastian_palmigiani_21610

i'm from chicago and this is news here.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-famed-chef-homaro-cantu-owner-of-moto-found-dead-on-northwest-side-20150414-story.html

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Brendan_Lee_56950

Saw that last night. Sad news. Seems like he got in way over his head with projects and debt.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

I'm also in Chicago and have been really bummed out about this since I heard last night. He was only 38 and had such an active culinary imagination. A real loss.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

This is tough news to hear.

lfmichaud

It give a funny feeling to my Moto experience! :-( Especially since I was leaving for Chicago tonight...

com-chefsteps

I don't know any details beyond what the news is reporting as a possible suicide.

Depression in US foodservice is a problem.

US population at large: 5.3%

Male restaurant workers: 10.3%

Female restaurant workers: 14.8%

80% of men in restaurants and 64% of women self-reported hazardous rates of drinking regularly (21 drinks or more per week for men, 14 for women). 15% of restaurant workers binge-drink twice a week. (Binge drinking is common for 18-25 year olds - a significant portion of the restaurant workforce - but this frequency is more than double non-food workers.)

Substance Abuse in the USA occurs in about 8% of the general population, but food-service workers abuse substances more than any other job at 17.4% - more than double the national rate. About half of that is marijuana, a fairly low-risk drug. The other half tends to focus on higher-risk, higher-addiction drugs like cocaine and heroin.

The folks most at risk for substance abuse tend to be:

white

back of house staff

16-25 years old

more than a high school education

Partly, restaurant work attracts folks who already have problems with drug and alcohol (quick cash, flexible hours, easy access to dealers, peers who also drink and use). I also suggest that cultural norms of "show up at work whether you're sick, hungover or injured" and "my chef was a jerk to me and I learned a lot, so I'll teach my newbies the same way" contribute to the problem.

sources: CDC, Amer. Journal of Drug and Alcohol Use, SAMHSA, International Journal of Hospitality Management, National Survey on Drug Use and Health

com-chefsteps

For those of you that work in kitchens professionally, this news may increase your awareness of vulnerable coworkers. Foodservice workers in particular who do not receive treatment for mental illnesses like depression, bipolar and addiction tend to have lower performance, higher disruptive behavior, and higher vulnerability to bullying.

Fortunately, treatment is effective, particularly for some of the diseases most seen in restaurant work. Panic disorder treatment is 70-90% effective depending on the study. Depression treatment is 80-90% effective depending on the study. With either talk therapy or medication (or sometimes both), we know how to help these things.

(sources: National Institute of Mental Health, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, International Journal of Hospitality Management, National Alliance for Mental Illness)