A pub manager has opened up on his struggles in the hospitality industry as he prepares to raise money with his colleague.
Karl Slack from Southport is the assistant manager at the Gulder Rose on Marine Drive and is raising money for a recently formed charity that has set out to help people who work in the hospitality industry with any mental health struggles they may have.
The 31-year-old spoke to the ECHO about how there is "always something else to do" before opening up to people at work. Karl told the ECHO: "There's always something else to be doing.
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"We're quite lucky that we have an open-door policy [at the Guelder Rose] with the general manager and myself where we say we're always there for a chat. In the kitchen, it's predominantly men who don't like speaking which adds to the stigma. It's getting over that and the fact that there needs to be time in the day to speak to someone."
The charity, The Burnt Chef Project, offers support and courses for people working in the industry. The charity's website claims that four out of five people working in hospitality report they have had mental health problems at least once in their lives.
Karl and supervisor Abi Flynn, 19, are set to take on a skydive this summer as they try and raise as much money as possible for the charity. The pair have set up a GoFundMe with the goal of raising £1,000 before they hurl themselves from a plane 10,000ft in the air on June 15.
Karl said: "The person that founded the charity used to be a chef and started it as a project to help other people and now Marsdens has backed the charity and making it readily available to those in the industry.
"I've had to use something like that in the past before when I've called a helpline with how stressful it can be."
The Burnt Chef Project has also launched The Burnt Chef Support Service. A free text-based service available 24/7 to anyone involved in hospitality who wishes to talk about their mental health. To read more about the skydive or to donate, click here.
