Cook Meat, Not Meth –
JUNE 06, 2019 – Gabriel Rucker, whose restaurants Le Pigeon and Canard are about a mile away, read a preamble and then opened the only West Coast chapter of Ben’s Friends, an alcoholism and addiction support group for those in the restaurant industry. Rucker talked about the stress of working over the Memorial Day weekend, and the discussion soon broadened to familiar issues of long hours, difficult kitchen situations, wage concerns and the toll the job takes on family life. The thread of not drinking or using drugs wove through the conversation like kitchen twine … Rucker, a tall, forthright guy with arms covered in requisite tattoos, jumped up and poured coffee for those whose cups were empty, then ran downstairs to make another pot. I’ve been to countless Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, but this was the first where the speaker doubled as server and barista. Welcome to the service industry.
