Whether you’re a chef or on the service team, restaurant work is physically taxing. You’re on your feet for most of your shift, serving hundreds of customers, zipping back and forth between stations, and often crammed in a hot, adrenaline-fuelled kitchen.

Then there’s the fact that the F&B industry is underpaid and underappreciated. Throw in a pandemic that has, unfortunately, emboldened customers to be more demanding than ever, and it’s no wonder workers are exiting the industry in record numbers across the region.

Chef Dwayne Emuang has worked in a diverse range of high-functioning kitchens, from the fine-dining kitchens of CUT and Spago by Wolfgang Puck at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, to overseeing seven kitchens at the same hotel that operated 24/7 and served up to 1,600 pax daily pre-pandemic.

Emaung began his career in 2008 at a now-closed French-dining restaurant at Hotel Equatorial in Penang. Today, he is the culinary director of Yonder Hospitality and oversees its F&B businesses: Grain Traders and Raw Kitchen Bar in Singapore, and the Else Retreats Kuala Lumpur due to open next month.

Commenting on how restaurant work could be more well-balanced and what the industry should do to improve workplace wellness, he said operators and leaders have a role to play in making sure staff are taken care of, which, in turn, improves employee retention.

“It’s been coming to light how important work-life balance is. Operators and leaders should not shy away from the topic, but be the driver to open up talks with team members,” he told Set The Tables.

A few years ago, he saw friends who exited the industry completely and never came back, moving on to other careers that were not in the kitchen at all. “For them, enough was enough. I think it was burnout and their employers were not taking care of their needs.”

But first, Emaung added, you have to take care of yourself.

“I, too, go through stages where I feel burnt out. It’s something you need to realise is happening and find ways to deal with. As a leader, I want to make sure my team members are happy and that they are able to enjoy their work. By prioritising my own health, mentally and physically, I am able to take care of them.”

The two restaurants he oversees in Singapore don’t operate seven days a week; instead, Grain Traders observes a five-day work week (Mondays to Fridays), while Raw Kitchen Bar operates on a four-day schedule (Thursdays to Sundays).

Grain Traders has been operating for close to seven years now, and seven of its eight staff from the opening team are still with them. Raw Kitchen Bar, meanwhile, has been operating for about a year and a half, and has largely retained its original team.

“Such high retention rates and restaurants that are closed on weekends are unheard of,” Emaung reflected. “However, it is changing mindsets on how to operate restaurants more effectively.

“It’s also cultivating a good work culture and training for the next set of leaders to understand mental wellness and the importance of self-care. The situation now is, ‘Hey, I want you to work hard, but I need you to also go back and have a good rest’.”

The way forward

The industry, Emaung said, is now fighting two battles – getting people in, and stopping people leaving due to burnout. “So, it all starts with us – talking about it, learning, and being aware about the challenges and looking to the future to prevent them.”

He believes the rise of service robots can improve workers’ health, as well as the quality of service provided to customers.

“If we can make a dish with the help of technology and cut down on cooking or prep time, it would help ease the staff to focus on other aspects of the business, such as the guest experience,” he pointed out.

“Unless you’re a fine-dining restaurant where the taste needs to be perfect, with mid-tier restaurants, if 90% of taste is similar to the original method of preparation, it’s a win.”

In the end, Emaung said, it is all about balance: while profit is at the core of the business for operators, those who take steps to care for their employees will see appreciative staff who come together to make the business work.

For individuals, it is all about taking steps to look after oneself and raise awareness. This would, hopefully, make restaurant work be viewed as “not too bad after all”, rather than a profession that destroys its workers physically or mentally.

This article was written by Theri Burhan for Set the Tables. Set the Tables is positioned to inspire and educate those in the industry as well as the aspiring reader who dreams of a future in the food business, and maybe even the merely curious tantalised by the vast and irresistible universe of food and drink. Follow them on Instagram.