Under the Dark Kitchens model (also known as ‘ghost kitchens’ or ‘delivery-only kitchens’), meals are ordered online and prepared, ready for delivery, with no space for customers to enter and dine. These kitchens are usually located away from busy streets, in areas with low footfall, such as within shipping containers in car parks or industrial estates.

Whilst the rise in work derived from such platforms has not necessarily created a significant amount of new jobs, it has instead transformed the places in which work happens, by altering how it is organised, managed, and performed. The increased remoteness and decreased visibility of these kitchens compared to traditional restaurants may be leading to less scrutiny, sociality, and security for those who work in them. Whilst studies on changing consumer trends and the rise in dark kitchens exist, there is very little research available on first-hand experiences of working in these emergent kitchens.

FLEX’s previous research into high-risk sectors has included participatory research with workers in the hospitality industry and couriers in the app-based delivery sector in the UK. Research with workers in both sectors uncovered issues with pay including underpayment, lack of access to employment rights like sick pay and holiday pay, dangerous working conditions, including health and safety risks, as well as workplace violence and discrimination. Insight into the issues workers face in the wider hospitality sector and in app-based or ‘gig’ work can contribute to the understanding of the working conditions for chefs in delivery only kitchens. Whilst dark kitchen chefs work for a restaurant rather than directly for an app, the dynamics of how the restaurant derives business through the app-based delivery platform influence how the work is performed and experienced.

Rather than identifying specific cases of labour exploitation, this report seeks to understand the general conditions of dark kitchens work, and identify how regulation and labour market enforcement could improve conditions for the dark kitchen staff around the UK, cooking thousands of meals every day, behind closed doors.