The Bear is an American drama television series created by Christopher Storer. It premiered on FX on Hulu on June 23, 2022, and captures the stress of a struggling Chicago sandwich shop. It has to be one of the rare scripted shows that perfectly captures the frantic, stressful chaos of a professional kitchen. Given the plethora of competitive cooking shows on almost every platform, such as Master Chef, Chef’s Table, The Great British Bake-Off, and Netflix’s recently rebooted Iron Chef, viewers are not strangers to the pressure of the kitchen, the yelling across tables (mostly shown from Gordon Ramsay), the ticking of the timer, and humanity’s naturally competitive nature we all have in us. Although, it is rarely brought to scripted television, but there is no denying that we get that stressful buzz from The Bear.
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The show’s eight half-hour episodes manage to capture the visceral, adrenaline-pumping intensity of the food industry, the financial responsibility of restaurant businesses, and the drive and real experience restaurant workers have when producing amazing food. The Bear is definitely one of the best scripted cooking shows and dramas in recent television. So brilliant that it has even been renewed for a second season very quickly after its premier, but what exactly makes the show turn cooking into a fiery drama?
Collaboration Over Competition in The Bear
Disney Platform Distribution
A large part of the show’s success is the excellence of its cast. The story follows young Michelin-star chef Carmy, who returns home from the world of fine dining to Chicago when he has inherited his family’s Italian beef sandwich shop after his brother Mikey’s suicide. He is aiming to work on the staff’s collaboration as he hires Sydney, a culinary school-trained sous chef, who has not had much of a chance yet to showcase her ambition and talent; nonetheless, he throws her straight into the deep end. Even us viewers feel like we’re being thrown into our first day on the job, a sauce to stir here, food to prep there — the show is not afraid to emphasize the chaos even from the first episode.
The Bear remains a refreshing look into a distinct world with a great ensemble, as we are given multiple different characters to unpack, something seen when Carmy attempts to rein in a crew of old employees from his late brother’s debt-ridden management: curious pastry chef Marcus, Somalian immigrant Ebra, line cook Tina, and his non-biological “cousin” and street-smart, grief-ridden manager, Richie. Even reading that list feels chaotic in itself. As we watch the growth of these restaurant workers, we are instantly given an insight into the workings of the kitchen, and how difficult it is to manage staff and work collaboratively as a team. The audience easily becomes accustomed to the rhythms of the kitchen and the restaurant lingo, like “yes, chef,” “corner,” “hands!” - all of which are never explained; you just need to learn on the job.
Thank You, Chef
Hulu
Throughout the episodes, as dishes clang, chef’s shout at each other and food is served, it becomes clear that as a society, we might be quite unaware of how stressful the hospitality industry really is. This is especially relevant when, in episode seven, the director conveys a particularly stressful day by maneuvering the camera through the shop as orders pile up and stress begins to rise. As the audience, it seems unimaginable that anyone could ever work in such stressful conditions (especially the recent ’essential workers’ who endured this hell during a global pandemic), and that only a handful of people could control and serve all this food. We begin to ask ourselves, how? How do they manage to do it? Why? Why scream, stress, and sweat over this job?
Rather than being spoon-fed, the audience are forced to watch as Carmy attempts to keep everyone sane and together; us viewers are the ones who have to try our best to keep up. As we are made to feel like part of the staff, when things start to fall apart, we can’t help but feel a little guilty. Yet, cooking is an art, and that’s why (despite the stressful working conditions) chef’s love it, and don’t we all love being served amazing food? As a great cooking show, The Bear will undoubtedly make you hungry, but also appreciate the work and talent that goes into producing such beautiful food. The FX original series makes us want to get up and start cooking, trying new things, and if someone smiles and appreciates your food, that is a beautiful feeling.
Each staff member must always expect the unexpected, and it’s that very feeling which makes this series so compelling for its audience. Every scene is tense and magnificent at the same time. But more importantly, it shows us an incredibly realistic rendition of what it is like in real life, and we don’t have a choice but to respect these workers more than anything. All eight episodes might leave you feeling stressed, claustrophobic, and a little bit dizzy, but they should also leave you inspired and exhilarated. Next time you go to a restaurant, you’ll know exactly what is going on in the kitchen, and it might even have you saying, “Thank You, Chef.”
