For nearly two decades Krowicka, 35, a fine-dining chef, loved her work. "I love cooking," she said.
"Everyone is burnt out," said Chris Cannon, owner of Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen in Morristown, New Jersey. "After the three years that we had, how can they not be?" Ariane Duarte, 55, fell in love with cooking while watching her grandmother prepare family dinners. Duarte owned her first restaurant, CulinAriane in Montclair, New Jersey, in her 30s; and her second, Ariane Bar & Kitchen in nearby Verona, in her 40s. Both were great successes and won a slew of awards.Last year, she sold Ariane Bar & Kitchen and started a catering business. "I got so burnt out," she said.
How stressful the work is − COVID or no COVID − is something that the runaway FX series "The Bear" has been applauded for accurately portraying. The arguments, the chaos, the bruised egos, the profanity-laced verbiage, the financial struggles − heaps are served up without sugarcoating. "It’s never been this challenging as it is now in this industry," said Schlossbach, 58, a mother of two. It's so challenging that a few months ago she sold five of her New Jersey restaurants. She's down to one restaurant — a pub-brewery-music-art space in Long Branch. She also has a catering firm, an organic kosher chocolate company and a moringa oil business.
Because of the pressures of her job, she said, "I never had a holiday off. I didn't see much of my kids for a decade. They are 11 now. Before you know it, they'll be going to college." She added: "The work-life balance is out of whack more so than it ever was. I want a little more time for myself. I want to travel more, meditate for an hour. This is not what I want in life anymore.
Chef Kenny West, who has worked in restaurants since age 17, also wanted a different lifestyle when All The Smoke Barbecue, his primarily delivery and takeout joint, closed a year ago. We, diners, many of us who came out of pandemic home arrest feeling "entitled," chefs and restaurateurs said, have also played a role in the Great Resignation in the restaurant industry.