Let's talk about The Bear...

There is so much.

I seem always to abandon this newsletter because life gets wild funny enough but here we are…

Alright, I am going to preface this by saying I have never worked in a restaurant (I have dreamed of it) and don’t plan on it because quite frankly, I have had fucked up feet my entire life which means I wouldn’t be able to stand for 10-12 hour shifts daily, and I would probably cry if someone yelled at me. However, I greatly adore and appreciate the chefs and cooks I know and don’t know. What you all do under incredible amounts of stress and pressure is insane, and I respect it wholeheartedly.

In skimming a few articles on The Bear some are saying it doesn’t showcase food enough or it is all about the food, or it’s also about alcoholism and anxiety. In a few conversations I’ve had with people, some are saying it was lacking in dialogue with too many nostalgic reels, it was missing the customer experience, it didn’t talk enough about gentrification, and so much more. Firstly, I think it covered all of the above that could’ve honestly been easy to miss if you didn’t pay attention to the small portions of dialogue, silent pans of interactions, and the reels of flashbacks and articles.

The first episode is all about Donna’s alcoholism, and the entire famili’s struggle with anxiety and mental health. Addiction by way of smoking cigarettes to cope with the stressors of the holidays and returning to an environment memorialized with trauma. Honestly, that first episode could have easily given me an anxiety attack if it weren’t for my exaggerated deep breaths and bathroom breaks. Moving onto the food; food is EVERYWHERE in the show, from the seven fishes feast to the R&D Syd conducts, Marcus in Copenhagen, Carmy at the French Laundry, Richie training at Ever, Tina and Ebraheim in a culinary program. I think it honestly focused on the food too much which perfectly reflected Carmy’s obsession with mitigating his feelings of inadequacy that again is a result of his trauma—no excusing him though! It genuinely reminded me of Chefs Table a bit. Aside from the moments where we got to learn Marcus and Tina’s story a little better, the show focuses on Carmy’s thought process (not entirely) and how it affects everyone. Carmy is an extremely anxious person and we learn in this season how damaging that can be to those around him; Richie, Syd, Tina, Nat, Unc, and Claire Bear. His militant style training of degradation and obsessiveness trickles into each relationship he has. Like most avoidant people, the only way to avoid your emotions is to bury yourself in work. Is that healthy? no, but The Bear is not about showcasing healthy.

As far as the customer experience and gentrification go, I think anyone who has seen rent prices, common sense, and a palate understands that is automatically deduced. You get the customer experience with Ebraheim working The Beef window, on the opening night of The Bear, again with Richie’s training at Ever. It may seem like the show doesn’t care for the customer experience but I think it does. For example, when they get rid of mayo, and cutlery, creating an assembly line for the sandwiches, and smaller giardiniera cups is a testament to making the Chef’s life easier so they can provide an even better customer experience. Less shit, better results, happy customer. Which is the opposite of what Carmy is doing with The Bear. After his breakup with Claire, he created his list of non-negotiables and decided to do a new menu daily without the input of Syd, Natalie, or Unc. As a result I think experience begins to “haunt” him—a nice nod to the Faks which were exceptional this season—as reviews pour in, and the photographer wants to photograph “that duck dish.” Carmy wastes so much food in this season, it is ridiculous, and again is only because he is obsessed with feelings of inadequacy and control that are unaddressed. He can’t get ahold of his personal life and attempts to do so with The Bear.

Truthfully, as someone who cares deeply about food, culture, chefs, and everything in between I do think this season glamorized the life of chefs, especially with that final episode. So much so that a few chefs I follow on social media were commenting on how anxiety-inducing it is because this is real life for them. All fine dining kitchen experiences are not the same, but a lot of them are like the experiences showcased and I believe were based on real places and real chefs—militant alchemy! I won’t assume that everyone knows the military history of the kitchen brigade system. The hierarchy in a kitchen is based on the military chain of command, only some take that power and abuse it, as showcased in The Bear. Carmy experienced a lot of abuse from his boss Joel McHale, so much so that in the last episode he states that he experienced ulcers, panic attacks, and nightmares. No one should experience that, and to even consider that “it comes with the territory” just shows how many chefs still believe this sort of hazing is a rite of passage in the industry. It isn’t and shouldn’t.

Overall, the pattern I’m observing from folks is that this season fell short and to be honest, I don’t care if it was a flop or not because we’re going to get a Season 4 most likely. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I laughed—Dystopian butter? amazing, cried, felt anxious, pissed off, etc. I’m not a TV or movie nerd, however, what I thought was a flop was Carmy’s character; we got too much of him and it glamorized the asshole that he became. There are a lot of them in this industry but it does not have to be this way. Yes, there is incredible pressure to survive and do well but you hurt so many in the process and that is what this season shows. The hurt that results from these complicated feelings of inadequacy is fueled by unaddressed trauma. Rent, mommy issues, the dead mom and brother club, relationships, parenthood, debt, career unknowns. Human issues with human reactions.

I’m looking forward to the fourth season and hopefully less asshole Carmy, more Donna, a decision from Syd, a hopefully good Tribune review, and even better food with a little less waste.

If you’ve made it this far in my late-night ramblings, you’re incredible and I’d kiss your face if I could. Remember kids, “Every Second Counts!”