https://la.eater.com/21575422/vespertine-chef-jordan-kahn-fine-dining-los-angeles-workers
“Balancing trays of meticulously plated stoneware while gracefully marching up and down multiple staircases was challenging, but doing so a hundred times a night on tiptoe — to muffle the sound, as dictated by Vespertine’s service routines — was proving to be impossible. “I began to have serious issues with my feet,” Alex said. The treadless leather shoe hugged his size-14 foot like a too-small ballet flat, and he began finding blisters and blood at the end of each service. Eventually, even the ibuprofen he routinely took before and during shifts stopped alleviating the pain, and outside of work, he began to walk with a limp.
That April, when Alex informed Kahn of his injuries, he was provided with a different brand of soleless flats. They also battered Alex’s feet, so after enduring several more pain-ridden services, he decided to wear his own black shoes. Kahn noticed them almost immediately, and told Alex to change. “We can’t have any guests see you in those,” he recalls Kahn saying. “It’s just too distracting for the experience.”