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Seattle chefs say 'The Bear' realistically portrays the dark side of restaurant kitchens

caption: evin Benner, a chef at The Lakehouse, a restaurant located in Bellevue, Wash., carries a tray of potato cakes as he works in the kitchen at Lumen Field, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Seattle. Benner was one of the chefs taking part in the inaugural night of the "Field To Table" event at stadium, which is home to the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team.
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evin Benner, a chef at The Lakehouse, a restaurant located in Bellevue, Wash., carries a tray of potato cakes as he works in the kitchen at Lumen Field, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Seattle. Benner was one of the chefs taking part in the inaugural night of the "Field To Table" event at stadium, which is home to the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team.
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Running a restaurant has never been an easy business, and these last few years have been especially hard.

But FX's new TV drama "The Bear" goes a level deeper than the slim financial margins that can derail a restaurant.

It calls out the abuse, dysfunctional leadership, toxic-masculinity, and grief that affects the people making the food we eat.

The show follows Carmy, played by Jeremy Allen White. He's a talented chef who's worked in some of the best fine dining restaurants in the world. But Carmy leaves that glitzy world behind, moving back home to Chicago to take over his family's Italian beef sandwich shop.

The show has been praised for its depiction of the behind-the-scenes chaos that happens in kitchens.

And that realism is dredging up memories for viewers in the restaurant industry. Soundside host Libby Denkmann spoke to food and restaurant reporter Bethany Jean Clement about how local chefs are responding to the summer TV hit.

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