Working in kitchens is tough. So tough in fact many chiefs and kitchen staff turn to alcohol and drugs to cope with the intense pressure-cooker environment.

Last night ITV's Tonight went behind the scenes of the hospitality industry with celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli to investigate the heavy price some staff pay for providing customers with a good slap-up meal.

Novelli, Ramsey and other master chefs are known for their tantrums, plate throwing and rage-fuelled rants, but this explosive, testosterone environment is apparently pretty standard in restaurant kitchens.

No surprise, head chefs run twice the risk of suffering serious depression or anxiety as those in other jobs.

Michael Quinn, a former head chef of the five-star Ritz Hotel in London, cooked for the Queen, was awarded an MBE and during the 1980s was one of the first celebrity TV chefs.

As he showed us one of his TV shows, he told us how he remembered downing a bottle of spirits in the dressing room before going on air.

Alcoholism

He was no stranger to the pressures of the kitchen and fell victim to alcoholism and lost everything; his job, home and family and ended up on the streets until eventually the Salvation Army took him in and sobered him up.

Having learnt from his experience he set up the Ark Foundation to educate the hospitality industry's students, employees and management of the dangers of alcohol dependency and other drug misuse.

But for those who doubt the pressures of working in hot conditions under extreme time constraints and public scrutiny, Jean-Christophe decided to show just how stressful working in a kitchen can be.

He took an A&E doctor, a teacher and an IT consultant, and popped them into the kitchen of a top London restaurant on a busy Saturday night to see how they would cope.

Hellish

Before experiencing the hellish atmosphere, each claimed that their job was "more stressful" than working in a kitchen.

But that was until they each received a constant tongue lashing during their stint in the kitchen from the head chef who took no prisoners when it came to driving his staff.

Stress expert, Professor Angela Clow was on hand to monitor their stress levels to see how they coped when it came to handle the pressure.

A ranting head chef, complaining customers and the demands of working in a kitchen saw their blood pressure and heart rate soar to such an extent all three agreed that when it comes to stress, kitchens are indeed hell.

- John Costello