FEATURE // Front of house Parlour Group venue Stanton & Co
Front of mind Kitchens may be referred to as pressure cookers, but front of house also feel the effects of stress. WORDS Madeline Woolway MENTAL HEALTH HAS rightly become a
with the normal pattern of life — it can be
hard to swallow for most people.”
high-profile discussions on the topic have
relationships outside of the industry, so it
times, too, adding to the pressure felt by
team is strong, it can be a really supportive
“From a front of house perspective, we’re
focus for the industry. While many of the
come from chefs including Lûmé’s Shaun
Quade, Subo’s Mal Meiers and Oakridge’s George Wintle, front of house managers
are also taking steps to reduce the impact of job-related stress.
In late 2015, research from China
suggested waitstaff roles were among some of the most stress-inducing occupations in the world. The statistics were well-
circulated at the time, however, practical
advice on how to combat the epidemic was thin. To begin, an understanding of the nature of stress is necessary.
According to Appetite for Excellence
co-founder Lucy Allon, there are a range of job-related causes, many of which are
industry-wide. “The hours are incompatible 26 | Hospitality
isolating,” she says. “It’s difficult to sustain can make your world a bit narrow. If the
environment, but if you don’t have a strong leader, it can be a problem.”
While some challenges are common to
front and back of house, others are unique. “Food is extremely volatile and customers
are more demanding,” says Jules Damjano, venue manager at Parlour Group’s Stanton
Expectations have evolved with modern
front of house professionals to perform. dealing with people who have access
to information and therefore have high
expectations,” says Allon. “We have to not only fulfil these expectations, but exceed
them. It’s easy to feel you might not have achieved your best night after night.”
There’s no denying there has been a
& Co. “The standards are higher across
meteoric rise of appreciation for chefs,
everything is a ticking time-bomb if not
widely accepted as a career path. Allon
the board and competition is stronger,
dished out like precise clockwork. Front of
house have to deal with customers face-toface and you always have to put your best foot forward and lose your ego, which is
but front of house has yet to become
faced resistance from family, who felt
she should use her university education to pursue a ‘profession’. “I think the big issue in Australia is that front of house
