Benoît Violier commits suicide, fueling more debates on high pressures of the restaurant industry

Not many restaurants get the Michelin guide’s highest honor, three stars. The rating does not come easy, and Benoît Violier’s restaurant was one of the most glittering restaurants. And it is really shocking to see that a person of such high caliber and success can choose death at the young age of 44. Monday came as a shocker for Benoît Violier ’s friends, associates, and family as the news broke that he had shot himself at his home in Crissier.

Monday came as a shocker for Benoît Violier’s friends, associates, and family as the news broke that he had shot himself at his home in Crissier.

Great success, greater expectations, no respite

Benoît Violier was a man of precision and perfection. Two months ago, his restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville in Crissier was designated as the best restaurant in the world in La Liste. The rankings are commissioned by the French Foreign Ministry. He ran his restaurant with his wife Brigitte. This incident again raised questions regarding the industry and the pressure it creates on an individual. The industry is brutal when it demands perfection, ridicules weakness, and promotes cut-throat culture. It also provokes debate about whether the industry provides a sufficient support structure to these chefs as they deal with physical and mental pressures.

Recently, Homaro Cantu, the 38-year-old creative chef behind Moto, hanged himself. Fellow chefs were left is a state of utter shock. Citing the issue, food writer Kat Kinsman started a project called Chefs With Issues. The project is aimed at highlighting the stress levels and pressures of the food industry that lead to depression, anxiety, and addiction to harmful drugs. “It can’t keep happening; it just can’t,” said Kinsman. “The restaurant work posed unique pressures that could contribute to self-destructive behavior, including suicide,” she added.

A chef from London, Gabriel Waterhouse, agrees. He said that Benoît Violier worked in an extremely competitive atmosphere. It is a cardinal sin to talk about fears in this industry. “People are quite macho in the industry and people don’t feel they can really talk about their problems or the stresses of what is being asked of them. It is considered a sign of weakness if you complain, and that is intensified the higher and higher you go,” said Gabriel Waterhouse.

Colleagues and contemporaries talk about Benoît Violier

Benoît Violier was named chef of the year by the Gault & Millau guide in 2013. The investigation around his death has been opened. “It would seem that he has ended his life with a firearm,” a statement by the police said. Top chefs in France paid homage to Benoît Violier. Paul Bocuse and Marc Veyrat expressed extreme grief and shock. They remarked and reminisced his self-effacing demeanor and culinary artistry.

Patricia Zizza also talked about the weight of heavy expectations that burden down the chefs in the industry. “Chefs are in the theater and must produce great work, and there is strong pressure to maintain that excellence. It requires an enormous amount of attention, from assuring the quality of the products to directing teams of people. And it entails many sacrifices, including to one’s personal life,” said Patricia, mourning Benoît Violier’s death. He is survived by his wife and their son Romain.

Benoît Violier was a modest man. After being awarded the top place in La Liste’s ranking in December, he said, “I feel a heavy responsibility to be named number one. This ranking is recognition of seriousness, of delivering the same fidelity and level of excellence from the beginning of January to the end of December. It’s a great tribute to the team.”

 

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