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Eleanor Taylor

Ultra Challenge 2025

Help me reach my goal of £2,500

The High Cost of a Life in Hospitality

I’ve lost count of the birthdays I’ve missed.
The weddings I couldn’t make it to.
The friends I lost touch with because work always came first.

For over a decade, my life revolved around hospitality. Long shifts, constant pressure, and the expectation to always give more. It wasn’t just a job—it became my whole identity. But in dedicating so much of myself to the industry, I lost sight of other things that mattered.

It wasn’t just the big occasions I missed. It was the quiet moments too. Friends who needed me. Family going through difficult times. My own health, both physically and mentally.

At the time, I thought this was just part of the job. That working to exhaustion meant I was doing it right. But looking back, I can see how easy it was to normalise stress and burnout. And when it all became too much, I coped in the way so many others do—late nights, a drink after service to unwind, telling myself I just needed to get through one more shift, one more season. Until I realised I couldn’t keep going like that.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

That’s why, on 17 May—my birthday—I’m taking on the Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge, walking 100km over two days to raise money for The Burnt Chef Project.

Their work is so important. If I’d had access to the kind of support they offer, if someone had told me back then that struggling didn’t mean I wasn’t good enough, maybe I would have reached out for help sooner.

The Burnt Chef Project exists because stories like mine are all too common. Hospitality has normalised burnout, stress, and mental health struggles, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Through education, support, and advocacy, they’re helping to create a healthier, more sustainable industry—one where people can thrive, not just get through the day.

So if you’ve ever worked in hospitality and felt this struggle, you’re not alone.
If you’ve lost touch with people or parts of yourself because of work, I understand.
And if you believe hospitality can be different, please consider donating. Every pound helps.

Over the next few months, I’ll be training, sharing my journey, and pushing myself to prove that we can look after ourselves while still doing what we love.

Let’s create a hospitality industry where people don’t just get by—they feel valued, supported, and able to enjoy life too.

#TheBurntChefProject #OpeningNewWays #HospitalityMentalHealth #UltraChallenge #100km #WalkForChange

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£463

My Goal

£2,500

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£50 Raised

My Updates

Caffeine, Burnout, and Borrowing Energy from My Future Self

Sunday 16th Mar
I always knew I was borrowing energy from my future self.

Even in my twenties, working 70-hour weeks in hospitality, running on caffeine and adrenaline, I knew. But I did it anyway. Because I loved my job, or at least, I thought I did. Because I was ambitious. Because I wanted to succeed. And because, at the time, I didn’t know any other way.

I genuinely believed that this was normal. That this was what hard work looked like. That pushing through exhaustion, skipping meals, running on caffeine and adrenaline, was just what you did if you wanted to make it.

I thought everyone felt like this.

The Survival Mode That Breaks You

Every morning, I started my day with coffee. Before water. Before food.

Sometimes, that coffee was my lunch. Sometimes, it was my dinner.

Because when you’re in survival mode, you don’t stop to ask whether you should be doing something, you just keep going. The pace of the industry demands it. And when you’re working 14-hour shifts in a high-pressure kitchen, you don’t have time to think about whether your body can sustain it. You just throw in another espresso and get on with it.

But here’s the thing: caffeine doesn’t give you energy. It borrows it.

And when you spend years borrowing energy, without ever paying it back through rest, proper nutrition, or self-care, eventually… you hit a wall.

The Mental Health Toll

I didn’t realise that the way I was living was affecting my mental health, because I didn’t know anything different.

I thought that feeling constantly wired, anxious, and exhausted was just part of the job. That waking up with a sense of dread, running on empty, and feeling completely detached from my own wellbeing was normal.

It wasn’t.

This is why The Burnt Chef Project exists. Because this cycle isn’t just my story, it’s the reality for so many people in hospitality. The industry is built on unsustainable working conditions, and too many people are burning out before they even realise what’s happening to them.

The Burnt Chef Project is breaking the silence around mental health in hospitality, offering support, education, and resources for those who feel like they have no other way to survive. They’re fighting for a future where hospitality workers don’t have to destroy themselves just to do the job they love.

That’s why I’m fundraising for them, because I wish I’d known, back then, that there was another way.

Breaking the Cycle

Now, at 36, I feel the cost of all those years. The cognitive sharpness I once had? Duller. The boundless energy I took for granted? Gone. The physical resilience I relied on? Not so much.

I worked myself to exhaustion, and I don’t even have stability to show for it.

And yet, even now, I struggle to make the right choices for myself. I know that caffeine wipes me out. I know that I need to eat properly, move my body, and prioritise rest. But breaking the habits of survival mode isn’t easy, because they were wired into me for years.

This is why I’m sharing my story.

Because someone else out there is in the same cycle. Someone else is borrowing energy from their future self, thinking they can keep going forever. Someone else believes that this is just how life has to be.

It doesn’t.

We don’t have to destroy ourselves for our careers. We don’t have to run on empty. And we don’t have to figure it all out alone.

If this resonates with you, or if you know someone in hospitality who’s struggling, please check out The Burnt Chef Project. They offer real support, without judgment. Because no job is worth sacrificing your health.

And if you want to support the cause, I’m currently fundraising for them, because hospitality deserves better.

Thank you to my Sponsors

£100

Li-min Lu

£100

Malcolm

Turning dreams into reality ❤️

£53

Anonymous

£31.80

Mich

Wow, roar like the warrior you are, out over the sea at the highest point. Great cause too. Xx

£30

Grace J

Such a great cause to be contributing too and to help others in need ... You've got this!! Smash this challenge

£28.62

Da-daa-da-daa-da-daa-da-da-dadada-da-daa-da-daa-da-daaaaaa-dave.

💪 🤗 😘

£21.20

Charlotte Edgecombe

Amazing cause, good luck my darling!!

£21.20

Eleanor Taylor

£21.20

Borhen

Great challenge for a great cause! Best of luck

£20

Luci

You are an inspiration, and the work you're doing with The Burnt Chef Project is so needed. Wishing you the best of luck with the Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge - I'll be cheering you on every step of the way! xXx

£20

Toby Adams

Wishing you the best of luck! What a fantastic cause too. You got this 😃💪

£15.90

Bex Benson

Always such an inspiration. Well done 👍🏻

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