Reformed character?

• The Big Story (ITV, 28 September) looked at the issue of kitchen violence. It planted secret cameras in different kitchens and captured examples of verbal and physical abuse between senior chefs, their juniors and their kitchen porters.

• During the programme, Raymond Blanc, chef-patron of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Oxfordshire, spoke out against violence, but admitted to having been aggressive in the past.

Still best of friends? John Burton-Race's team at L'Ortolan, captured on film during a particularly bad service

What did you think about ITV's programme The Big Story?

"Extremely negative and not representative. Okay, violence does exist, and the programme was good in the sense it highlighted this. But now it is up to us to do something about it. It is only by understanding why violence occurs that we will be able to stamp it out."

So what are the triggers which push some chefs into verbally or physically abusing staff?

"It's not an excuse, but the hours chefs work are long. Things get out of hand if you are tired and working 14 hours a day.

"Too many kitchens are dark and there's not enough fresh air. If that is your working environment, how can you be expected to perform well?

"It is easy for violence to develop. You've gone through it and experienced the bullying, so a pattern of behaviour emerges.

"And as a chef, your food is so much a part of you that when a commis vandalises a dish, you get angry."

You too say you've reacted violently in the past. How do you manage your kitchen now?

"One chef can't be in charge of the whole meal. To be a teacher you have to be able to share your skills and you have to be equipped to do this. Often, chefs are not.

"One thing which has been very painful for me to learn is to delegate. But through delegation I have learnt that by trusting people's intelligence, you get a lot back."

What you are saying is that chefs should be trained as man managers.

"Yes. Young chefs should have a training programme in which they learn management skills. Frequently chefs are totally unequipped to deal with a large team.

"The long working hours are one of the reasons that there is violence in the kitchen. How can you expect a young person to be taken from their home environment or from their college, and be thrown into that incredible, stressful environment.

"This person is obviously going to be tired, totally overwhelmed by the pace, and may eventually turn to violence himself.

"As I said on the programme, violence is a criminal offence which you can be prosecuted for. It could ruin your life and your business."

So how did you change your spots?

"I was thrown into an industry I hardly knew, and used violence not really to hurt people, but to hurt their pride. I used verbal violence as well because I was so involved in what I was doing.

"I couldn't comprehend how someone could slaughter a dish, how someone could take short- cuts. So I reacted to it. But I saw what I was doing and I didn't like myself.

"Reading has helped me tremendously to broaden my mind and to understand this type of behaviour. But most of all it has helped me understand that you can achieve greatness without resorting to violence.

"On the contrary, violence is likely to create a team of fearful people who have no means of expression because you have removed it from them. You stamp your personality on them and your team does not even dare to say anything. How can a team, led by fear, perform well?

"I've learnt by my mistakes. I saw I had this problem and I had to change. Yet I had this impulsive side which made me react to situations immediately the problem happened.

"It was only through taking a hard look at myself and being highly critical that I managed to say to myself: ‘Raymond you've got to change'. Kitchen violence is all negatives. You don't gain anything."

How do you react now should a problemarise during service?

"Slowly and painfully, I have learnt to distance myself emotionally from a problem when it arises. It's a technique, a way of thinking. You can then look at the problem objectively and do something about it.

"When there is a problem in my kitchen and a young chef bastardises a dish - sometimes we'll be under so much pressure that someone will forget to taste a dish again, forget a dash of lemon juice, perhaps. It is far better to say: ‘It's unacceptable. I'll see you later.' Nothing more is said at that moment.

"I'm not interested in something good. I want excellence, and the difference between the two are millions of layers which by themselves mean little, but together they make an impact.

"By distancing yourself from the problem and leaving some time between when the problem happens and when you deal with it, the other person will have plenty of time to consider what went wrong. Then it's easier to create a dialogue.

"You can talk - don't shout, scream, bully or shove - and discover why the problem occurred in the first place. Sometimes the chef will explain they forgot that dash of lemon juice because they didn't think about it. The question you have to ask is: ‘Why didn't you think about it?' As a chef you must try to understand the motives of your team more deeply.

"You have to learn self-respect, and respect for the world around you. I teach my young people to respect food not just for its beauty, but the quality and nobility of the ingredients, and the gift that you apply in transforming the raw produce into something beautiful by applying fire and creating wonderful flavours and textures. It's a constant teaching process and that can be tiring, exhausting.

"From the moment we take on the role of a teacher, we have to learn to teach the subtle skills of delegation, caring and communication."

How can a chef run a brigade which recreates to a formula while at the same time encouraging self-expression?

"I am so thankful I am self-taught, because it has made me open to new ideas. Sometimes you have to be a dictator. But you have to be prepared to listen.

"My guys know I mean it when I say, ‘If you feel there's a better way, please tell me.' I've had some lovely ideas where another window was opened for me. That's all about crediting people's intelligence.

"You cannot treat people like transient workers. While people are working for you, your responsibility is to establish a loyalty to fill the gap between the boss and the employee. I like the word ‘team'. It implies you work together for a result. This philosophy translates into commercial gain as well.

"When we do our team appraisals every three months, my people will now speak openly. At first I had to face a meeting where I had loads of people being unhappy. I had to deal with it.

"I've created open meetings for people to tell the truth. It's not necessarily pleasing - but you have to force the issue and look into it.

"There has to be a degree of being autocratic. It's about maintaining control within a framework. I can give someone their space, but there has to be a boundary as well. That's what makes people grow. Create boundaries which are not so restrictive as to kill any form of initiative. Boundaries within which a team can work, and equally evolve.

"I am not the perfect employer, the perfect chef, but I am trying. We have allocated £100,000 for our training budget. I know that within two years the management and the team at Le Manoir will be one of the best in the country."