In my restaurant days, I learned that the food business can be very isolating and infuriatingly dysfunctional, but also incredibly holy. In the television show The Bear, all these aspects of the restaurant industry – the loneliness, the chaos, and the beauty – take center stage. There’s relational breakdown, and veiled drug dealing. Most people seem isolated and alone outside of their work environment. However, in the restaurant, there’s a sense of family and sacrificial love. Among those who feel like they don’t belong, there’s a sense of camaraderie. And despite the ugliness of many of their backgrounds, they can deliver a beautiful (and delicious) product.

Christopher Storer’s The Bear made me want to get back in the kitchen, to make someone’s day every night.