‘Hidden in plain sight’: Ben Shewry describes poor hospitality culture

Photo: Attica

Bullying and sexual harassment are all behaviours ‘hidden in plain sight’ according to one of Australia’s most renowned chefs.

Ben Shewry entered the world of hospitality at just 10 years old and says he’s witnessed such behaviours for most of his career.

A self-described ‘sensitive’ person, he was determined to change this culture in his kitchens.

Listen to The Briefing’s chat with Ben Shewry here:

Shewry joined Antoinette Lattouf on The Weekend Briefing to discuss hospitality culture – a subject he goes into detail in his new memoir, Uses For Obsession.

He said he often hadn’t fitted in the kitchen, and behaviours he witnessed as a young cook were “incredibly rough and brutal”.

“[People were] being drunk on the job frequently, being inappropriate in a variety of ways, he said.

“[I saw] yelling and bullying and exclusionary tactics. I wasn’t a smoker, and I was never allowed to take a break because I wasn’t a smoker. So most of the kitchen would leave and have a smoke, and then I’d be forced to stay in the kitchen and work.”

In some instances, the behaviours were much worse. In his memoir, Shewry called a chapter ‘Pig’, where he described instances of bullying and sexual assault.

“I think there’s been a little bit of a problem with our culture not believing women and victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault, not just in restaurants but in the broader society,” he said.

“When we look at somebody’s social media, for example… if they portray businesses as an excessive party type of place, I think sometimes that behaviour is being echoed behind the scenes and inflicted on the teams that they lead.

“For me, this is enormously disappointing. As a professional, it’s devastating for the victims of this behaviour and the things that we’re hearing. But I’m glad that they have been outed in this way, too.

“I think a lot of us, including media, knew about this already, and so I think there’s another question about who gives these people the platforms because we’ve actually promoted a lot of bad actors in our industry and we need to be more thorough.”

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