The dining industry has earned a bit of a steamy reputation—and we’re not talking about the dish room. Some view the long, odd hours and tight quarters of the profession as a breeding ground for romances.
Both chefs and foodservice managers have earned a slot on PayScale’s lists of jobs with the most co-worker canoodling. At Old Carolina Barbecue Company, Shirley Hug, vice president of human resources for the chain’s Midwest-based restaurant group, recalls three couples that have married, two that have been disciplined for making out in the back of house, and, recently, a formal complaint that was lodged against an employee after a relationship soured.
People are going to date whom they want regardless of company policy, Hug says, but the restaurant group and others have a few safeguards to help brace for breakups and other relationship drama.