As the beloved and flawed characters from the acclaimed show "The Bear" came together in the final season, many PR professionals perhaps felt a different tug at the heartstrings: a sense of familiarity between their working lives and those of the restaurant industry.
Parallels many communicators may have noticed:
1. You're only as good as your last service. In PR, you're only as good as your last PR hit; clients want to know that you're keeping them consistently in the press. In restaurants, every service resets. If a diner has a bad experience, they may not give you the benefit of the doubt and return. Landing a client a fantastic feature this month doesn't buy patience next month; they'll expect it again.
2. It's about how you make people feel. Richie and his front-of-house (FOH) team were excellent at making guests feel welcome on "The Bear." From making engagements special to greeting guests by name at the door—people remember that feeling. In that same vein, clients want to feel special too. They want to know that you care about them, so if that next PR hit doesn't come as quickly, they still know that you are out there working hard for them. Show clients care by supporting their business, such as making key introductions and helping with out-of-scope projects when possible.
3. Presentation, presentation, presentation. Carmy dreamt up extraordinarily beautiful dishes on "The Bear." He brought the visions in his mind to life. PR professionals don't do a ton of visual work—coverage and opportunity emails are the "product," so they should be perfect. Make sure there are no typos, a beautiful format and include all the important details. That's the presentation. And a pitch with the wrong reporter's name in the email body undoes an otherwise perfect story angle before it's even opened.
4. Stay calm and be resourceful amidst the chaos. Even when the restaurant literally fell apart in a giant rainstorm, Sydney stayed calm and came up with unique solutions. When their uniforms got ruined, the team resorted to wearing the BERF "collector's" t-shirts. When the burner went out, Syd broke out the hotplates. When they ran out of brioche, Carmy made a creative substitute. No problem can't be solved, but one must understand the entire picture to make the best decision. The same is true for managing a communications issue or crisis. Stay calm, lay out all the cards on the table and evaluate the problem from all angles.
5. Every second counts. The FOH has to reset quickly; tables must be bussed; dishes must be made within 10 minutes to avoid a backlog. Similarly, in PR, everything is driven by deadlines. If the deadline is missed, so is the opportunity, or worse yet, the possibility to put a reporter relationship at risk. At least PR professionals can pad deadlines to protect our relationships.
6. Preparation happens long before the spotlight moment. In the kitchen on "The Bear," there's a ton of behind-the-scenes work, like food prep, rolling silverware, table setup and menu planning. PR is the same: research, media training, brainstorming, identifying the right reporters and crafting the perfect pitch all happen behind the scenes before an article publishes. Think of building a target reporter list and lining up embargoes weeks before a launch: no one sees that work, but it's the reason launch day is a success.
7. The standard is the standard, even on the hard days. Even as the building was falling apart and everything that could go wrong did, the team kept their standards high. They didn't call an audible. They got creative, cut portions and identified real solutions. The same is true with good PR. The best spokespeople don't force AI-generated content; they meet tight deadlines and engage thoughtfully with the journalists that matter most. A press release full of typos because the week got slammed reads the same to a client as a dish sent out wrong on a busy night; they don't see "we were busy," they just see the mistake.
8. The team is everything. In the final season, the team comes together to make what they think is their last service a stunning success. When Carmy drops an important dish, Sydney suggests sending out Tina's brussels sprouts recipe from the family meal and Carmy asks Syd to make her famous Coca-Cola short ribs. It's the same in PR. Everything is a collective effort, from writing pitches and press releases to securing a media opportunity. And when one team member wins, everyone wins.
Just like in the kitchen, effective PR colleagues roll up their sleeves and get things done. It's important to have a clear leader, but just as important to leave ego behind and work collaboratively to achieve both the firm's and clients' goals. On that principle, most would agree: "Yes, chef!"
Abbie Sheridan is CEO at Greenrose Communications.