Going

In an attempt to deal with unsociable hours and the pressures of kitchen life, a worryingly high number of chefs are turning to drugs. Gaby Huddart investigates

William Deans, executive chef at the Buttery in Glasgow, has a knack of being able to spot when someone is under the influence of drugs. His unusual talent comes from the decade he spent in the education sector, lecturing in Glasgow.

"Drugs were a big problem," he says. "In every new intake of students there would be at least one or two taking drugs and I even had guys in my class selling drugs. I could always see the signs - the wide eyes, or shaking hands, or the up-and-down mood swings or aggressiveness."

If Deans thought he was going to leave all that behind him when he went back to work full-time in the kitchen, he was to be sorely disappointed. He was recently faced with a member of his brigade who smoked cannabis at work, and another who suffered serious mood swings and who had great difficulty concentrating. "The guy would go out until 4am and would then smoke a joint to get him through the day at work," says Deans. "On his days off he was taking a cocktail of tablets and other drugs, including heroin. He'd often phone in sick, or would come in and be really up and down."

Deans' experience is by no means extraordinary. It is symptomatic of a growing trend of drug use among those working in the UK's kitchens, and countless other chefs also tell stories of encounters with drugs, either at first- or second-hand.

Of course, it could be argued that drug-taking is on the increase in society as a whole and, therefore, it is only to be expected that increasing numbers of chefs are also indulging. Recent research by the Health Education Authority found that 45% of 11- to 35-year-olds had taken drugs at some time in their lives, and among 16- to 25-year-olds the figure was more than 50%, with a quarter of this age group saying they had taken drugs within the previous three months.

Drugs At The Top Of The Industry

But if the anecdotal evidence is to be believed, the proportion of chefs taking drugs could be even higher than these national statistics. Certainly, in some pockets of the industry, particularly at the top end, drug use seems to be very common indeed.

Many chefs, for example, now admit to smoking cannabis after work to unwind and relax, often because they prefer it to alcohol. "I'd rather go home and have a spliff than a beer, and there are a lot of people in my age group who do the same," says one 28-year-old sous chef at a top London restaurant. "Cannabis relaxes the muscles and is a lot better for you than half a bottle of vodka."

Daniel Clarke, 22-year-old head chef of Chapters restaurant at the Forte Crest Heathrow, says that many of his friends are of the same opinion. "Personally, I prefer a glass of wine," he says, "but lots of people I know like to have a smoke now and then after service."

For most employers and restaurateurs, the occasional joint after work is now accepted and, they claim, it causes them few problems as long as it remains occasional. "One lad I had working for me was completely open about taking cannabis after work, and he was fine," says Kevin Viner, chef-patron of Pennypots restaurant in Maenporth, Cornwall. "He was only off form the next day if he drank alcohol as well."

Geoff Balharrie, executive chef at Stapleford Park near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, says he too accepts young chefs smoke cannabis. "Lots of guys have a little spliff at a party or socially," he says, "and I don't have a problem with that at all."

But, he adds, not every cannabis-smoking chef seems able to keep the habit in moderation. "I used to have a guy working for me [at a previous establishment] who was smoking cannabis all the time," he explains. "He even had a joint in the afternoon between shifts sometimes. He was totally dependent on his habit and so laid back it was a real problem. He had no edge at all."

Cannabis smoking is just the tip of the iceberg, however, according to many chefs. Among youngsters working in the profession, ecstasy and amphetamines (speed) are also frequently taken. What's more, the hours and nature of the job hold much of the blame for this, claim some. "I used to finish work at midnight and go out and take ecstasy and speed to catch up with my mates, who'd been in the pub since 8pm," says one head chef of a country-house hotel. "Then, if I was on service at 6am, I'd take speed to keep myself going.

"I was young and felt I was losing my social life through the job. When you're 16 or 17 years old and are working until midnight, you feel left out."

This chef says that although he never took drugs while in the kitchen, it did affect his performance. "When I did it," he says, "I was abysmal the next day. I had no motivation and was good for nothing."

Deans also believes that some chefs could turn to drugs because they find the lifestyle difficult to deal with. "Chefs have to work long hours and are under pressure, and often have little life outside work," he says, "so maybe that encourages it."

Claire Clark, head pastry chef at London's Claridge's, says she came across drug-taking in a number of prestigious kitchens, and agrees that the hours chefs work are partly responsible, along with the pressure they are under.

"You see it [drug taking] a lot in the industry, especially when people are working double shifts, seven days a week without a day off," she says. "I know of one place where all the boys were taking drugs - speed and uppers, and one or two took cocaine. They did it to keep themselves going, because they wanted a good reference from there. They didn't eat, they just kept working."

More sinister, Clark says, she knows of young chefs being almost forced to take drugs by more senior brigade members. "It becomes a culture in some kitchens where it's really hard work and tense," she says. "You see pressure coming from more senior people, like chefs de partie giving drugs to commis. They are young and impressionable and feel they have to fit in."

Clark says she was lucky being a woman, because she was never offered or expected to take drugs - it was very much about "being one of the boys".

Another chef also thinks peer pressure comes into play in some kitchens. When Daniel Clarke left college, he was fortunate in going to work at Kevin Viner's Pennypots, but a friend of his had an altogether different experience. Clarke says his college mate went to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant where everyone else in the brigade was taking cocaine before service, including the head chef. "My friend was told to take it or bugger off," Clarke reports. "The head chef said everyone needed to take it to cope with the pressure."

Some in the industry greet such tales angrily. Northern-based chef-restaurateur Paul Heathcote abhors chefs who claim that drug-taking is an antidote to pressure. "The only reason anyone takes drugs," he says, "is because they like it. Anyone worth their salt should enjoy some pressure. That's what this industry is all about and we're trained for it."

Henrik Iversen, executive chef at London's Quaglino's, shares similar sentiments. "The Roux brothers, Anton Mosimann and Pierre Koffmann all managed to get to the top without drugs," he says, "and the hours and pressure now are no worse than they were 20 years ago."

Iversen's intolerance of drugs is easily understood when he explains that he has twice seen chefs badly injure themselves in the kitchen because they were under the influence of drugs. On the first occasion, in New Zealand several years ago, one of Iversen's colleagues severed the ligaments in his hand with a knife. And on the other occasion, back in the UK, a chef Iversen worked with "who was into all kinds of drugs" sliced a large part of his finger off and hardly seemed to notice.

Other chefs also vouch for the negative effects that drugs can have, both on those taking them and on those who work alongside them. Viner says one commis he employed started experimenting with drugs and became a different person. He says: "His personality changed, his work went downhill, his interest went downhill, he became increasingly erratic and one night he even disappeared."

Heathcote, meanwhile, had one member of his brigade who became extremely aggressive with other staff because of a drug habit.

As well as these effects, some of those taking drugs are also getting into huge financial difficulties. While ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis are relatively cheap - £10 buys a tablet or enough cannabis for several joints - chefs buying cocaine are paying about £60 a gram.

financial problems

Chef learnt of one senior chef who is currently £15,000 overdrawn because of his cocaine habit, and when Marc Renzland, proprietor of London's Le Petit Max and Chez Max, died of a drug overdose in November 1995, his brother told the inquest he had been spending about £40,000 a year on drugs.

On top of all these problems, those who get in too deep with drugs are also putting their careers at risk, warn many senior figures. Heathcote and Balharrie say they have both dismissed people because, despite talking to them about how drugs were badly affecting their performance, and giving them a second chance, there was no improvement. Iversen, Clark and Clarke all similarly say they would not tolerate staff whose work became unreliable because of drug use.

Deans says he, too, feels forced to fire people in his brigade who take drugs. "If someone won't come off it, they have to go because they can't perform, and everyone around them suffers the consequences. The sad thing is that it is such a waste of good potential."

• For drugs information or advice, call the National Drugs Helpline on 0800 776600.