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sobriety tag

→ My Restaurant Was the Greatest Show of Excess You’d Ever Seen, and It Almost Killed Me

I’m always interested reading about chefs who are forgoing alcohol as a way of life. Restaurateurs like David McMillan and Fred Morin were well know for being excessive in their food and drinks. Things change and when they do, it usually is for better.

When the chefs of Joe Beef in Montreal gave up alcohol, their whole restaurant changed.

McMillan- I was never falling-down drunk. I was never belligerent. I always got my work done. I was never unkempt. I was always clean, I was always shaved, I always performed at work. I was always kind and gracious in the dining room. But I lived in hell.

→ What Happens When Five Sober Chefs Share a Kitchen?

Julia Bainbridge writes about a gathering of the top chefs in Portland. It’s an interesting read and I hope one that we will see more often, a booze free environment that is celebrated in a positive way.

None of the men involved in the dinner know what the effect will be, but “if one chef de partie in the US decides to get clean and sober after this, that’s enough of a reason to do it,” says Solomonov. According to Brock, “I want [sobriety] to be something people are proud of rather than shameful of. The simple fact that you have made the decision to take better care of yourself? That should be the proudest moment of your day.”