Managing People in Commercial Kitchens

Managing People in Commercial Kitchens: A Contemporary Approach uses original research to argue that senior managers (head chefs) should differentiate their people management practices in kitchen brigades from those used in the hospitality industry more generally (induction, socialisation, and performance evaluation) due to the group’s strong occupational identity and culture.


The understanding of chefs’ work from a management perspective is critical for successful hospitality operations but has been historically under-researched. Chapters provide a detailed account of chefs’ work in commercial kitchens from an HRM perspective. Using occupational identity and culture as a vehicle, this book explores the different aspects of managerial work in commercial kitchen settings: general management, leadership, education and training, skills and competencies, managing deviant behaviour, managing stress, and managing diversity (focused on gender segregation). The final chapter looks at future perspectives on this unique working environment and the many challenges arising from the latest developments such as the COVID-19 pandemic.


Providing both theoretical insights and practical applications with the use of case studies throughout, this will be of great interest to upper-level students and researchers in hospitality, as well as a useful reference for current managers in the field.