Plot

During the busy run-up to Christmas, a single-take snapshot of the immense stress and skills of a talented head chef reveals that things are about to burst behind the restaurant's flash façade.

Johnny, The Head Chef, rides in an elevator with Jane, the Maître D, who briefs him on the overbooked restaurant during Christmas time. During the ride, he continues to sip from a white drink bottle. Jane complains about the noise from the kitchen affecting the dining experience and chastises Johnny for spending too much time in his office instead of the kitchen. She tells him that the customers have raised complaints about the food, while Johnny is in denial.

Johnny enters a bustling kitchen with over 15 chefs working very busily. A line cook asks Johnny to look after the duck in the oven while he attends to a different task. Johnny is then briefed by the Sous Chef, Freeman, of all the orders. The two chefs bond over complaining about the front-of-house staff being unaware of the pressures of the back-of-house staff.

Another line cook asks Johnny to taste the salad he has made and is educated on how to balance the acidity of his dish. A female server enquires about the status of the orders where she is berated by the Freeman for rushing them. The server messes up the plating of the dish but appears unfazed by the verbal abuse from the chef. Meanwhile, the male chefs ogle the server as she leaves. Johnny notices a distracted cook preparing fish with the incorrect knife and yells at him for sloppy presentation.

Johnny then excuses himself to go to his office before being interrupted to introduce himself to guests in the restaurant. Johnny is friendly with the guests around the restaurant, including those with disabilities. Jane introduces Johnny to her friends that she has invited to the restaurant. The friends are not impressed with the fine dining dishes and request off-menu burgers instead.

While Johnny returns to the kitchen, other guests complain that they have been waiting 40 minutes for their meal. Johnny offers them complimentary drinks to placate them. The cooks refuse to cook the off-menu burgers until Johnny screams at them. He then panics when he cannot find his white drink bottle. Another server tells the kitchen that the previous table continues to complain about their long wait times so Johnny redirects another table's starter dishes for them.

The line cook from earlier returns to the oven to find out the duck has been burnt. Freeman is furious and yells at him for setting back the schedule. Jane chastises Johnny again for being rude to her friends and for the kitchen staff disrespecting her. There is commotion in the kitchen where a pastry chef from France has bumped into a line cook, dropping the dessert onto the floor.

Johnny berates the dish-washing staff for behind on their work due to her co-worker being late, so he asks a line cook to assist while the kitchen ridicules the cook. A European chef misunderstands Johnny's feedback due to the language barrier. The late dish-washing staff finally arrives, only to be berated by Johnny who also threatens to reduce his paycheck.

Another line cook infuriates Johnny by asking for time off. Johnny has a mental breakdown after he realises that he has spent all his time at work and has not seen his children for a long time. He then goes back to his office to calm down. Johnny fills the white drink bottle with alcohol and snorts cocaine. Johnny then has an overdose where he collapses and has a seizure. The kitchen stops service to call for emergency services and provide first aid.