"He takes a palta and whacks me". Chef Kunal Kapur recalls the trauma of early years in the food business

There was a time when the profession of a chef was often narrowed down to being a 'halwai' or a 'khana bananewala'. People born in the '80s and '90s were hesitant to make the career choice of being a chef. Then, with time, things changed, popular shows like MasterChef India not only glamorized the profession but also made people understand the name, fame, and money it could bring into their homes. That awareness resulted in colleges offering a wide range of hotel management courses and the landscape of the hospitality industry started changing. Amidst all the changes, something toxic kept building in large scale commercial kitchens, where timeliness, perfection, detailing and taste were always a priority. In a recent conversation with Vir Sanghvi for the Culinary Culture Co podcast, celebrity chef Kunal Kapur recalled the trauma of his early years in the food business. Scroll down to read the details.Talking to Vir Sanghvi, he said, "At the time when we joined, it was okay to hit chefs." In response, when Vir Sanghvi asked, "Is that really true? I've heard that was true," Chef Kunal said, "There was an HR, but there was no HR. He takes a palta and whacks me." Vir responded, "Really?" Chef Kunal added, "Yeah." He continued, "Kitchens are a brutal place, let's admit that. It's like M*B* and get this done."When Vir asked him how he reacted? Chef Kunal responded calmly, "For me, it was to zip up. I don't want to lose my job. This job is all I have got. So you quietly gulp down, suck it in."In the reel, Vir states, "You're a deeply sensitive person. So what did it do to you?" To which, Chef Kunal replied sensitively, "It broke me. It broke me."While Chef Kunal took it all in his stride and shined through the hardships and toxic work culture, somewhere he made up his mind to change it for the future generations. He chose empathy over fear and protecting the next generation of Indian chefs. And that's why, in the concluding note of the Instagram reel he said, "Now I tell my team, I made a mistake. It's okay. Laugh out loud. Make mistakes, learn from them, move on. It's okay. At the end of the day, it's only a meal."