How Easy Is It To Become An Addict

Addiction in the hospitality industry has been well documented, yet still the numbers of individuals addicted to alcohol and drugs are on the rise. Stress at work, the fast-paced environment, rude customers and long shifts to counterbalance low wages are key contributors, but perhaps we have fallen foul of reading so many articles about addiction that we are almost becoming numb to it and are failing to see how truly easy it is to slip into.

Take the man for example, who is covering extra shifts to help pay for the rising cost of living and in the last hour of his day has had a customer hurl unnecessary abuse at him. His colleagues console him with a drink or two to help ease the stress. The next day, he is repaying the favour for a colleague who fell out with the chef. Before long, it becomes all too easy to use alcohol at the end of a shift to wind-down or to keep you going during a long day. With alcohol readily on the premises, ‘supplementing’ a shift with a drink quickly turns a one-off pick-me-up into a habit. Not convinced yet? Let’s look at another scenario – the teenage girl who has just started her first job as a waitress. While teenagers would never want to admit to being impressionable, they are – especially when immersed in an unfamiliar environment with people who are more experienced and blasé in their attitude to alcohol and drugs. Seeking to impress, it’s all too easy to transition from smoking a cigarette to marijuana. What might start as sharing a joint on a shift with a co-worker, can lead to more frequent use of substances to relax, unwind, and decompress.

The fact remains that people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol are ordinary people. Ordinary people who, in the hospitality sector (in the main), have easy access to alcohol and (for some) drugs, making substance abuse both attractive and convenient. A survey by The Caterer magazine in 2007 demonstrated just how widespread substance abuse is in the sector, with 40% of individuals having witnessed others taking drugs at work and 89% feeling that alcohol and drug misuse is a problem in hospitality. These results are doing nothing to improve the reputation of the industry’s image, and at a time when staff availability is under pressure, it’s time we faced up to the fact that substance abuse isn’t something that is happening on somebody else’s doorstep.

Substance abuse can lead to workplace accidents and injuries, absenteeism, theft, and a loss in productivity – and then there is the final price - loss of life. It is important to take the issue seriously and introduce methods to support your staff and their mental health. For example, rather than continuing with the tradition of buying staff a drink after their shift, put that money into a pot and pay for a quarterly team building event. Managers should also talk openly about the issue, actively engaging with the broad range of charities and support networks available to encourage staff who need help to seek it. Organisations such as Hospitality Action and Hospitality Health not only provide assistance but also understand the causes of addiction in hospitality, or you can speak to charities such as Avenues Recovery, Action

Addiction or We Are With You, who provide

much needed support.

By understanding how easily addiction starts and the deep roots it has within hospitality, as opposed to the broad reasons for addiction in the sector, preventing it becomes achievable.

Despite the rising energy prices, we must all keep the spotlight firmly on addiction, only then can we make a difference to those affected today and save the lives of those who may fall tomorrow.

TOP of the CLASS

| SERVES: 10

INGREDIENTS:

• 40g McDougalls Vegetarian Strawberry Jelly Crystals

• 200ml Boiling water

• 300g strawberries, chopped

• 175ml cold water

• 75g Angel Delight Strawberry Mousse

• 2 litres vanilla ice -cream

• 100g meringue crushed

• 100ml strawberry coulis

METHOD:

1. To make the jelly, add the McDougalls Vegetarian Strawberry Jelly to the boiling water and whisk until dissolved.

2. Divide the strawberries in half, then share between 10 glasses. Top the strawberries with jelly and leave to set.

3. To make the Angel Delight, pour the cold water into a mixing bowl fitted with a whisk. Add the Angel Delight® Mousse and whisk for 30 seconds on slow speed.

4. Scrape down, increase the speed to high, and allow to whisk for 5 minutes (do not over whisk). Once the jelly is set, top with Delight.

5. To serve place two scopes of vanilla ice cream on top of the Angel Delight layer, sprinkle with crushed meringue, remaining strawberries and coulis.

ALLERGENS: (Eggs, Milk, Sulphites)

Please check the ingredients declaration on the products you use making this recipe.

SUITABLE FOR: Vegetarian.

By Katy Moses, Founder & Managing Director of KAM