Olive Garden chef commits suicide via deep fryer
On January 30th, a US man committed suicide by plunging his head into a deep fryer while working on a shift at Olive Garden.
The unidentified man was in the kitchen at an Olive Garden in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, when he suffered the burn injuries that would later take his life.
According to the New York Post, the employee first took off his clothes before thrusting his face into the boiling hot fryer. They cited a grim 911 audio, in which a dispatcher could be heard saying, “A male victim went headfirst into the fryers.”
Another operator added grimly, “I don’t have a lot of details, lot of people screaming, some kind of a burn victim.”
Though the cook was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, he later died from his injuries. Additionally, a female employee suffered minor burns after she tried to prevent the cook from committing suicide. Other workers reportedly helped her attempt to stop the incident. Allegedly, one customer also tried to intervene.
Olive Garden has remained stoic about the event, calling it a “suicide attempt” and nothing more. The restaurant closed for several days following the incident, but is now operating back to its usual schedule.
Working in the food industry is notoriously difficult due to high pressure and a fast-paced work ethic. In 2016, one of the biggest chefs in the industry, Benoit Violier, was found dead by suicide.
The chef, who had three Michelin stars to his name, appeared to have shot himself. Only days later, he was due to attend the launch of the new Michelin guide in Paris.
A 2019 study suggested that eight in ten chefs suffer from poor mental health during their career. Almost one in two believed that not enough was being done to support their mental well-being in the workplace.