The second season of Hulu’s hit culinary drama The Bear dropped last Thursday, and it’s already grown into a larger phenomenon.
You can enjoy the original Italian beef sandwich from the restaurant that inspired the show. You might even be annoyed that a former Duke head coach is such a consistent presence, in a way, this season. And, of course, if you’ve already finished season two, here’s what to watch for the yet-to-be-announced but probably inevitable third season.
But as much as we enjoy hearing “HANDS” and “CORNER” on our televisions, one Chicago cooking luminary isn’t so keen on The Bear’s influence.
In snippets from an interview at the Wall Street Journal Global Food Forum last week, celebrity chef Rick Bayless — owner of Chicago eateries like Frontera Grill and XOCO — said he doesn’t like how The Bear seemingly venerates the dark side of restaurant life. To Bayless, he believes The Bear unnecessarily focuses on the bad parts, leaving out the sort of life a chef can lead in the industry.
More from the Wall Street Journal Global Food Forum:
“It’s a profession. It’s something that you can work for years and years, and you can work your way up ladders, and you can learn craft and you can make a life for you and your family.
As Bayless would later tell Eater Chicago, he tried to clarify he wasn’t necessarily trying to downplay the more negative aspects of a culinary career. He just doesn’t appreciate the image programs like The Bear convey to prospective professionals.
More Bayless from Eater Chicago’s Ashok Selvam:
“I am trying to point out that how we portray the restaurant business in pop culture is important. Trying to convince people that our profession is not only a viable but positive choice is hard to do when pop culture portrayals and new media coverage only focus on exaggerated negatives.”
This is just one writer’s perspective, but I don’t think The Bear glorifies the negative aspects of fine dining or spends a disproportionate amount of time on them. I think the show strikes a healthy balance between elements of the job that need to improve and things like the wonderful camaraderie and teamwork inherent within a quality staff of coworkers and friends.
If Bayless disagrees, that’s up to him. But this does not read to me like a hyperbolic exaggeration. And if it bothers chefs like him, perhaps that would necessitate more reflection.