5 Reasons why I love The Bear

Carmen Berzatto is an excellent chef trained at some of the finest Michelin starred restaurants in the world. He is obsessed with his work, which for him is not work but a labour of love. All his time is spent on crafting new dishes that will appease the palate of the discerning food lover. He has no time for anything but to imagine and deliver superb fine dining.

Am happy to share my top 5 reasons why I loved the show but, spoiler alert — there will be facts about the engrossing storyline that will get discussed here!

Family

The Bear is a story about a chef who is searching for perfection in the cut throat world of fine dining, where no excuses are accepted and none given. But at its heart, it is a story about family and the bonds of love that connect members — even as and especially when — they don’t see eye to eye.

The story while revolving around Chef Carmy also showcases his close-knit “crazy” family who are always fighting with each other yet who cannot ignore each other for too long. The love that they have for each other shines through brilliantly — Carmen for his nonchalant brother Michael and his loving sister Natalie, the mercurial and caustic mother Donna’s parental love for her children while battling addiction and trying to keep her relationships afloat all come together in a crazy, cacophonous delicious recipe of turbulent and raging love which encompasses the whole family.

This central idea of family being the number 1 priority is what I love. In current times, when pretence is ubiquitous and everything including relationships are designed to be superficial, the family is the pillar that is genuine and good. My family shares its love and dislike in equal measure and every member is entitled to her share of love, loud arguments and hellfire.

But when all the dust has settled, it is family which loves you truly as you are — warts and all. There is no judgement, pretense or ill-will involved (although it certainly doesn’t seem like it when I am busy defending myself against the wife and kids on the issue of who hoards the most snacks at home).

A family that fights and argues constantly and yet stays together provides a bedrock of love and unconditional support to its members, essential to navigate the pretentious and fickle waters of the world outside.

Transformation

The Bear is a compelling tale of a small family run sandwich business (The Original Beef) turning into a fine dining restaurant (The Bear). The transformation is messy, chaotic and stressful much like any major change that occurs in our lives.

You could compare it to a home renovation. Do you recall the stress and difficulty that you faced when you went in for such an overhaul? Everything that is old and familiar yet loved is torn down and there is a great deal of anguish at the loss.

However, from the ruins of the torn down house, a beautiful and modern home emerges. Rather like the way an uninspiring caterpillar evolves into an exquisite butterfly. The metamorphosis is difficult (I expect for the caterpillar) but the end result is always a joy to behold. It also shows us that while all change is difficult to accept at first, it is inevitable if you want to grow into a better and stronger version of yourself.

No job is menial

The series brilliantly drives home the point that no job is lowly or no work is menial. In a kitchen, everyone participates in the daily deep clean, the intern as well as the sous chef and the Head Chef.

In one instance, Carmy while working at a famous restaurant earlier, comes across the Head Chef Terry (played with panache by Olivia Coleman) peeling a mound of mushrooms. Upon asking her why she does it, she replies it’s a great way to start the day. Without hesitation, Carmy joins her in the mushroom skin- peeling operation.

In other scenes which involve the chaos which is cooking in the kitchen, Carmy throws his weight behind his team and volunteers to either sear the beef or to plate a dish while the other team members are hustling to push out the orders on time.

There is dignity of work in whatever you do to make ends meet. A janitor mopping floors is doing as important a job in keeping the corridors of the school clean, as is the powerful CEO who is making important decisions for his organisation.

Emotions rule us

We as humans are highly susceptible to emotion and this causes all sorts of upheavals for us. The Bear depicts the emotional turmoil that Carmen undergoes due to his brother’s demise. His love for his brother clearly shines through but at various intersections in his life it is countered by an unexpressed rage at Michael for having deserted the family and for having taken the easy way out.

Emotions are always running high in the kitchen. Tina is initially hostile towards Chef Syndey and she projects her insecurity of being supervised by a much younger chef (Sydney), who however brings a breath of fresh air and new ideas to the restaurant. Tina’s gradual acceptance towards her younger colleague is well demonstrated.

Throughout the series, the constant high pitched, intense interaction between the staff in the kitchen makes it a riveting watch — a cauldron of emotions where tempers are constantly running high and people swearing at each other to make sure that the food is going out on time and is excellent.

It brings home the fact that even at work, emotions rule us more than we would care to acknowledge.

Ownership

The transformation of the Bear from its humble beginnings in Chicago to an upscale restaurant is difficult. The entire look and feel of the Beef is stripped away to make way for an elegant and beautiful dining space. The staff are encouraged to work hard and they all do, without any prodding.

Each team member is totally invested in the idea that a new beginning is required. And they fall to work with a fierce dedication and love for their work which is tremendously inspiring. While Tina is sent to upskill herself at a preparatory school, Marcus goes to Denmark to stage (train) and gains the knowledge and techniques for preparing exquisite desserts.

The icing on the cake is when Richie is sent to stage at a fine dine and does nothing but clean and place forks in the restaurant for 4–5 days!

His anger and frustration at having to do this “lowly shitty work” slowly coalesces into the stunning realisation that his contribution of only cleaning forks contributes to elevating the dining experience for each guest. Thereafter Richie is a changed man and takes complete charge of himself to train and learn how to become the best host.

Each individual takes ownership of his or her station and development. There is a fierce desire to do well and to serve the customer the best dish he or she has ever eaten. This ownership and sense of taking responsibility for one’s actions is what propels the crew to a successful launch.

What would our workplace look like if each employee took such pride and ownership in whatever they do? How would productivity and morale improve if everyone treated their work station as the altar to perfect their skills and achieve heights of perfection?

To summarise, The Bear is an absorbing series that works because it shows the struggle and hardship required to scale heights and achieve excellence. It calls out that in any workplace it is humans that are working together towards a common goal. So yes there will be fights and tempers flaring when things don’t go our way. We remember each slight to our ego and look for a chance to get even. But we also laugh and support those who are good and kind to us.

Carmy and his team of combustible personalities demonstrate that a shared vision and taking pride in whatever you do, having a learning attitude and being proactive and nimble are the hallmarks of a great team. Together such a team can and will scale new heights of excellence and provide the ultimate recipe for success.