Yeah, I work at a brewery/brewpub. Needless to say, hard-core trigger to the nth degree. Brew flows, is basically free. I think the biggest problem working in the restaurant industry is they all come with a bar attached to them. Alcohol is always offered at the end of the shift. I’ve gone sober before and refused to have drinks at the end of a shift, to the utter shock of some people. A chef that doesn’t drink is an oddity. This industry is pretty toxic, on many levels. Currently trying to break out completely.
Is this the ultimate test or am I playing with fire?
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Hi George, and welcome to Talking Sober. People have gotten sober and stayed in the restaurant industry, have worked as servers and bartenders, even. It can be done, but you’re right, being in that environment with external pressure to drink can make getting sober a lot more uncomfortable.
But you can get sober, no matter what. When being sober became my very first priority, I could then adapt my behavior and change my situations to meet that goal. Being a drunk, I looked to outside conditions and people to make me feel better and to shift responsibility onto when I screwed up again and again. Being sober was an inside job for me. I had to change my thinking and behavior and attitudes.
If you need to take a break from working, like going to a rehab for 2 or 3 weeks, I hope you allow yourself to do that. If you need to start cooking somewhere else, somewhere alcohol free, you can do that. But you can start your sobriety in your own skin and inside your own head at any time. You can get sober no matter where and no matter what.
Check out these lists of ideas for getting sober if you want. Blessings on your house 
as you begin your journey.
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There is a sober community called Ben’s Friends for people in your industry. Might want to check it out.
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Toxic surroundings don"t have to be an impossibility.
I’m working on board a sea goung ship, merchant navy. An environment where many alcoholics make a living…
Yet I’m sober for amlost 3 years and 3 months.
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I stayed in a drinking environment when I quit. I decided I wanted to quit and I quit. I was okay being around it. If you can handle it, you can handle it. If it is torture for you and makes you lose your sobriety then look for plan B.
Always keep in consideration WHY you quit and WHY you want to stay quit. You are more powerful than your addiction.
Editing to add: Be proud of yourself and your sobriety! You are not an oddity. The people who are wasted and all that are the real oddity even though it is such a norm in many places…
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