Abstract
The TV series The Bear has received significant acclaim, earning ten Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards for its achievements in production, writing and acting. Currently available on Hulu (with the third season recently released), the series follows the journey of Carmen Berzatto, known as ‘Carm’ or ‘Bear’ in the show. Carmen, an acclaimed chef, is forced to return to his family restaurant, ‘The Original Beef of Chicagoland’ or simply ‘The Beef’, following his brother’s tragic passing by suicide. The restaurant is on the brink of closure, with scenes depicting dirty pans and floors, broken toilets, unfixed doors and a smoky atmosphere, with cooks hastily wrapping sandwiches.
These images contrast with Carmen’s memories of working in fine-dining kitchens. Unlike the other chefs at ‘The Beef’, Carmen has a distinguished culinary background, having worked at renowned restaurants like Noma in Copenhagen, known for pioneering the New Nordic cuisine movement. He also worked at an unnamed restaurant in New York. Carm’s recollections of the high-end culinary sector depict kitchens operating like well-oiled machines, with all chefs dressed in white and responding in unison to the head chef’s commands (even amid verbal aggressions) by saying: Yes, chef!
The series follows Carm as he transitions from being a high-end chef to taking on the role of cook and owner of his late brother’s casual establishment. In the first season, Carmen struggles to manage the restaurant’s finances while also asserting his authority as head chef. The ‘old guard’ at The Beef, including Richie, his brother’s best friend, dismisses Carm’s pursuit of order and culinary artistry (ridiculing iconic haute cuisine figures like Auguste Escoffier, the father of modern French cuisine, and ingredients like foie gras!). Despite the resistance, a ‘new guard’ emerges, led by Sydney, a chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), who recognizes Carm’s culinary talent and supports his vision for the restaurant.
In the second season, the restaurant transitions into fine dining. Viewers are introduced to high-end cuisine, including the meticulous use of tweezers for plating dishes and the tradition of staging (apprenticeships at other chefs’ restaurants) to acquire new skills. Additionally, the episodes depict the influence of cultural intermediaries, such as receiving positive reviews from critics, which triggers a sudden surge in demand and a collapse in service. The show also explores the chefs’ contemplation of receiving a Michelin star, with one of The Beef’s chefs expressing with excitement, ‘We’re dialed’, while Carm remarks with apprehension, ‘I’m trapped’, reflecting the bittersweet emotions surrounding such an achievement.
An Organizational View of The Bear
The most evident interpretation of The Bear is that of a chef grappling with the loss of his brother and a dysfunctional family, desperately attempting to revitalize his life by fixing the restaurant. However, the series also sheds light on another relevant phenomenon – the organizational transformation of the restaurant itself.
From an organizational standpoint, the restaurant’s lack of structure leads to chaos and fosters abusive behaviour among coworkers. Task assignment is unclear and team morale is low. Moreover, there is a notable absence of a coherent vision and strategic direction. The memory of the former charismatic (yet obnoxious) leader, Carm’s brother, is the only cohesive element among the organizational members.
In the face of these challenges, the new leader (head chef Carm) embarks on a specific type of organizational change: transitioning the restaurant from a casual diner to a fine dining establishment. This transformation involves a process known as ‘recategorization’, which entails an effort to enhance an organization’s reputation and to elevate its standing within its industry (see Delmestri & Greenwood, 2016 for recategorization of a product category; Lane & Opazo, 2023, 2024 for recategorization of organizations; and Slavich, Svejenova, Opazo, & Patriotta, 2020 for achieving field-level category membership).
What strategies do leaders employ to encourage their organization’s upward movement in their respective fields? What does this process of ‘elevation’ entail? As viewers, we discover that achieving organizational transformation through elevation requires not only a shift in internal structures and culture but also a change in taste.
Changing the Organization’s Structures and Culture
Chef Carm’s initial step towards realizing his vision for a high-end restaurant involves implementing a ‘brigade de cuisine’. Originating in 19th-century France to organize work in upscale kitchens, this concept, akin to Taylorism, aims to optimize task efficiency and productivity. Previously operating with a flat structure and unclear assignments, ‘The Beef’’s team now sees the new sous-chef assigning specific roles: ‘You’ll be the pâtissier’ (pastry chef), ‘You’re the chef de partie’ (station chef) and ‘You’ll be the garde manger’ (in charge of the pantry). This intervention creates a hierarchical structure, with each chef adhering to a strict chain of command. The sous-chef also introduces daily routines like a ‘pre-shift meeting’, ‘front-of-the-house walkthrough’ and ‘end-of-the-day review,’ fostering internal work coordination.
Initially, the new work systems faced pushback, with one chef even responding, ‘No hablo inglés’. However, over time, the implementation of the kitchen brigade and clear role distribution improved operations and enhanced team culture. Chefs meticulously time their movement between stations for efficiency (‘It needs to be under 5 minutes!’ chef Carm emphasizes), exchange used pans with ‘professional’ ones, and maintain floor cleanliness diligently.
As these changes are implemented, the team’s culture transforms. The restaurant’s décor shifts to a modern design, swapping old signs and photographs with wooden tables and dimmer lights, reflecting the contemporary trend towards casualizing fine dining (Pearlman, 2013). The previous atmosphere of constant yelling and swearing is replaced by new communication practices. Phrases like ‘corner!’ or ‘behind’ now guide the busy kitchen, with team members promptly acknowledging each other’s commands with a ‘Yes, chef!’. New gestures are also integrated into the team’s vocabulary, drawn from chef Carm’s high-end kitchen experience. For instance, the team learns that circling a fist near the chest can signify ‘I’m sorry’, and they start using this gesture to address conflicts efficiently.
These cultural elements – new artifacts, words and signs – become integral to the team’s dynamics, signalling a shift towards professionalization in the restaurant’s operations. They also reflect chef Carm’s efforts to move away from authoritarian practices often associated with high-end kitchens, instead aiming to instill a sense of ownership and to seek team input. Critical to elevate an organization’s industry standing is the leader’s focus on familiarizing the team with the standards of excellence in their field.
A Change in Taste
In transitioning from a sandwich joint to fine-dining, The Bear team needed to expand their ‘cultural capital’ (Bourdieu, 2018). With experience in fine-dining restaurants, chef Carm knew that his team needed to grasp the intricacies of high-end kitchens, excel in service management and refine the craftsmanship required to produce haute cuisine recipes. This process would provide his team with a shared system of knowledge and appreciation, enabling them to consistently produce and recognize ‘good taste’.
‘Taste’ extends beyond the simple act of enjoying food. As emphasized by Bourdieu (1984), taste is not subjectively defined but socially constructed. It refers to our capacity to make aesthetic distinctions, which is determined by several actors in a field – in the case of high-end cuisine, these include diners, critics, culinary professionals, culinary rankings, among others. Gaining familiarity with a field’s norms of excellence makes it possible to discern what is valuable and worthy within a particular domain, and both producers and consumers utilize it to signal social status.
To enhance an organization’s position within its industry, leaders must curate experiences to equip team members with the skills and resources needed to realize the organization’s elevated vision. At The Bear, chef Carm actively looked for ways to train his team and enhance their understanding of the knowledge and conventions of high-end cuisine. For example, he encouraged the sous-chef to ‘go out’ and ‘reset her palate’ by dining at casual and high-end establishments, and sampling various foods and preparations. Chef Carm also sent the pastry chef to his former restaurant in Copenhagen for a stage, where he received mentorship from a highly skilled chef. Team members lacking formal culinary training were enrolled in culinary school, where they learned proper station hygiene, knife skills and classic recipes. Even Richie, chef Carm’s main detractor, gained an appreciation for fine dining by training at a prestigious restaurant as part of the dining staff. Through repetitive tasks like cleaning forks and participating in blind taste tests, Richie discovered the meticulous process of creating haute cuisine dishes, the seamless coordination between kitchen staff and servers, and the importance of eliciting surprise and excitement in diners.
Through these training experiences the chefs at The Bear acquired fundamental knowledge, practices and skills characteristic of high-end cuisine. Upon their return, we witness them wearing white coats, diligently collaborating to prepare a nine-course meal. The team’s newly gained ‘cultural capital’ is vividly showcased in the final dish served on the opening day of the new restaurant. This dish reinvents the traditional Italian ‘cannoli’, a staple recipe at Berzatto’s torturous family gatherings. The chefs at The Bear refined the recipe by turning it into a savoury dish: instead of ricotta, the cannoli were filled with mortadella and parmesan, finished with mostarda ‘caviar’ and a pistachio topping. This distinctive culinary creation demonstrates the chefs’ acquired expertise and symbolizes the restaurant’s upward movement into the fine-dining segment.
Management Insights from The Bear
Insights from The Bear can be applied to other organizations and industries, particularly those seeking to elevate their status and redefine their market presence. The concept of stimulating a ‘change in taste’ is especially pertinent in organizations operating in creative fields (like gastronomy, fashion or art), where the intrinsic value of products lies primarily in aesthetics rather than functionality. However, it also holds relevance for business transformations more generally.
Consider, for instance, an apparel company shifting its corporate strategy from price competition to emphasizing high-quality, premium offerings. This shift may involve utilizing proprietary fabrics, offering customized alterations and delivering personalized shopping experiences. Effectively navigating this organizational transformation requires more than just structural adjustments and cultural realignment. The leader must also provide comprehensive training and immersive experiences to familiarize employees with the elevated standards the company aims to embody. These experiences and newly gained skills cultivate a shared understanding of what constitutes ‘high quality’ across various roles and functions, guiding subsequent actions and decision-making within the organization.
In sum, The TV series The Bear reveals that organizational transformation encompasses both structural and cultural adjustments. Introducing new working systems and cultural features (artifacts, symbols and signs) into a team’s dynamics can enhance organizational performance and interactions among staff, especially when they reinforce positive behaviours aligned with the organization’s new strategic vision. Specifically, The Bear highlights the importance of purposeful leadership in driving organizational change. Elevating an organization’s standing in its industry requires leaders prepared to provide training and experiences that familiarize their team with the standards of quality the organization seeks to achieve.
