What Restaurant Kitchens Taught Me About Team Sports
by Jensen Cummings
Read Time: 3 Minutes
Working in a restaurant kitchen is a lot like playing team sports. Both environments demand discipline, cooperation, and a relentless work ethic. In my time as a chef, I learned lessons that went beyond cooking; these lessons translated directly to the world of sports, particularly team sports like football, baseball, and basketball.
When I started working in kitchens, I quickly realized that it wasn’t just about making food. It was about being part of a unit where everyone has a role, and if one person fails, the whole team suffers. The pressure in a kitchen during a busy service is immense—orders flying in, timers going off, the heat from the stoves, and the constant noise. It’s chaotic, but within that chaos, there’s a rhythm. Just like on a football field or a basketball court, you have to find your place within the team, understand your role, and execute it with precision.
In sports, especially for young athletes, there’s a tendency to focus on individual performance—how many points you scored, how many yards you gained. But in the kitchen, I learned that individual glory means nothing if the team isn’t functioning. You can cook the perfect steak, but if the other elements of the dish aren’t ready, it’s worthless. This taught me the value of timing, teamwork, and communication—skills that are just as crucial in sports. You have to know when to push, when to support your teammates, and when to step back.
Another parallel between the kitchen and the sports field is the mental toughness required. Kitchens are tough places. The hours are long, the work is physically demanding, and the pressure to perform is constant. But this pressure builds resilience. You learn to handle stress, to keep your cool when things go wrong, and to stay focused no matter what. These are the same traits that make a great athlete. The ability to stay calm under pressure, to push through fatigue, and to keep your eyes on the goal—these are things I learned in the kitchen that have served me well in sports.
Finally, there’s the camaraderie. In a kitchen, just like on a sports team, you form tight bonds with the people you work with. You go through the grind together, face the same challenges, and celebrate the victories. This creates a sense of brotherhood (or sisterhood) that’s hard to find elsewhere. It’s this sense of belonging and mutual support that makes both environments so rewarding.
In the end, what I took from the kitchen has made me a better team player, whether I’m on the line or on the field. The lessons of teamwork, resilience, and camaraderie are universal, and they’re what make both cooking and sports so fulfilling.
Jensen Cummings is a fifth-generation award-winning Chef, Public Speaker and Restaurant Industry Strategist based in Denver, CO. He is the host of Best Served Podcast and Restaurant Idea Factory.
He is committed to reflecting on his own culpability in the status quo of the industry, to reimagining restaurant culture, investing in our unsung hospitality heroes and building a better mode, what he calls a Workplace Worth Working.
He began his career at 17 years old as a dishwasher. He spent the last twenty-plus years working across the industry from cook to server to bartender, Cicerone, Fermentationist, General Manager, Owner, Consultant, Podcast host, even kitchen burnout.
