I’ve worked in the events and hospitality industry for about 15 years now. There’s no one I’d rather be in the trenches with than the gregarious, helpful, caring professionals I’ve worked alongside.

But can chefs be a little tetchy? Yeah. Not every single one, mind you. But just like in The Bear, chefs are infamous for being demanding, losing their temper—surrendering to the nonstop pressure of working a kitchen.

Many are wonderful, lovely people who keep their calm and run a kitchen in a professional manner, for sure! But allow me to show you some telling headlines about the latest and not so greatest chef behavior, including a chef who ran the best restaurant in the world (literally).

There are many more where this comes from. And in my book, the grumpy chef, while he loses his temper, he does not abuse his team. The abuses listed in the above articles are so uncalled for that had I written a chef who acted like that, he would just stay the enemy in this enemies to lovers romance – my heroine woudl find another guy to be her lover, that’s for sure.

One rule that every chef should abide by – echoed in the fantastic chef memoir by Marco Pierre White – is that if a chef does snap and yell at his staff, he must perform a public apology in front of the entire staff. My hero does exactly this, and feels immense guilt, and his outbursts are few and far between (Versus Chef Marco, who recounts throwing cheese at a wall out of anger. And a lot of other outbursts…)

In my experience, I’ve never witnessed outbursts by chefs. I mostly worked in offsite catering, where the kitchen came to the venue where my clients were celebrating their wedding or event, and as long as the kitchen was quiet, I knew things were okay – if there’s a lot of banging, yelling, then that kitchen is in chaos. There’s no excuse for this with catering kitchens – the quantities and timing are preplanned. No variables to worry about. ONe of my friends is a classically trained chef (both cooking and pastry! her desserts are insane) and loves catering for this reason. It’s controlled creativity, where you can play outside the lines without risking a burnt roast or a last minute request from a VIP client.

I did however have some issues with a restaurant team catering an offsite event. Often, i worked with catering cmopanies, not restaurants moving their food prep to an offsite setup. Restaurant cooking is a LOT different than catering. A copule times, my clients would insist on rbinging a restaurant team to cook for them, and just based on how they were talking about the event, I knew they were underestimating the work. (And not planning effectively – for example, one restaurant said they’d make blended margaritas att the bar. It’s best practice to NEVER make blended drinks at a social event when the bar will be constantly crushed with guests.) And yet, sometimes, a restaurant crew is so multitalented and experienced, they can operate swiftly and easily in a pop up kitchen. Coming to mind is the team from Republique, who made the best duck I’ve ever had in a small kitchen at a renovated former smog shop (called….SmogShoppe 🙂 ).

A restaurant was an ideal setting for my Paris-based romance. Tight, loyal found families form in kitchens over a matter of days; I love writing about food; and I love events, being an event pro myself. (And, I planned weddings, intimate events that took place in restaurants in Paris, so, yeah – write what you know!)