Dystopian Kitchens

It started ( for me) with Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. The private college grad decides cooking is for him, so he goes to NYC to work in the kitchens and learn the trade.
Of course he also has a degree and he is talented enough to turn this all into a very engaging book. Bourdain describes the hard work that kitchen staffs do. He describes the worksites hot, cramped, and dominated by dictatorial chefs. the chefs are under pressure to control every detail and produce top quality consistent meals as quickly as possible. Needless to say, the priority is not on comfort for the staff.
Frequently kitchen staff are drawn from new immigrants. They are paid minimally. Working exploitive schedules allows restaurants to continue to offer affordable meals to appreciative customers. Bourdain did not reveal a pretty picture of the kitchen work staff.

And since then more writers are taking up the setting in Fiction and non fiction. The theme is that the kitchen is a nasty place to work - but that it part of restaurant culture and restaurant life. Working while everyone else is 'playing' bonds the kitchen staff into a select group. They get off work 2-4 AM. They start either 6AM or maybe - with luck 4PM.  They work closely with a small group of people who share the praise when all goes well, pulls together to save each other from disasters and feel the pain jointly when things go colossally wrong.

Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line by Michael Gibney  is continues the dystopian kitchen story.  Written in the second person this book pulls the reader into the rhythm of the long long day. Starting with supervising prep work in the morning 'we' work through to 2am. Moring shift starts 8am. It hardly seems worth going home.

Chop Chop: A Novel by Simon Wroe  is a new novel set in a London restaurant. Aside form some of the slang and places names- this novel could be set anywhere. It plays the themes of eccentric chefs, outrageous co workers and the bonding into a team that happens in kitchens across the globe.

What I see in this genre of books is that the authors never complain about conditions - they never plot lawsuits or strike against unfair conditions.  The staff seems to develop pride of having survived in tough conditions. they are challenged by the work -- not overwhelmed by it. Staff members are free to be as much themselves as the chef is -- as long as the job gets done on time and with quality. If things are not working out, kitchen staff move along to other restaurants. The turn over is high and the ambitious staff move up from station to station in kitchen. Hard work is appreciated and rewarded.

In sum, the kitchen staff is very similar to 19th C sailors. Crews work hard, play hard and bond together as a unit. I expect this genre will continue as it appeals to a wide band of readers.