David Fields is a recurring character in the first, second, and third seasons of the comedy drama series The Bear. He is portrayed by Joel McHale.
An intense chef with an obsession for perfection, David allows for no error in his kitchen. He drills into his students that "every second counts" and verbally browbeats his students, including Carmen Berzatto.
Background[]
Fields is best known as the head chef of the Empire restaurant in New York City and is a man who demands absolute perfection in their craft of cooking. At some point, when Carmy was staging in numerous Michelin-starred restaurants, he was eventually taken in to Empire, to which Fields gave him the same treatment as all his other cooks.
The constant abuse and harsh words that Fields directed towards Carmy led to him developing "ulcers, panic attacks and nightmares", to which it would ultimately haunt him later on during his career, but would also define his leadership style in the kitchen. Fields, as described by Carmy, is "the fucking worst and one of the best chefs in the world".
Personality[]
A domineering obsessive perfectionist, David expects excellence and perfection from everyone in his kitchen - no matter their skill sets. He is cruel in his critiques to the point where he inflicts PTSD and psychological torture on Carmy, who struggles with a fractured sense of self and confidence as a result of David's teachings.
Physical Description[]
David is a professional chef with slicked back dirty blonde hair, blue eyes hidden behind black frames, and perfectly trimmed facial hair. While in the kitchen, he dons the signature white chef coat.
Throughout the Series[]
Season 1[]
In the episode Hands, Carmy has a flashback of when he used to work under Fields, and hurls a variety of insults and threats to him after serving dishes with broken sauces.
Season 2[]
He reappears in the episode The Bear (episode), where he is seen dining at the eponymous restaurant, unbeknownst to Carmy. This triggers visions of him, and the abusive words he said suddenly swirl into Carmy's mind mid-way throughout the service, especially when he is trapped in the walk-in freezer.
Season 3[]
Flashbacks of Fields are seen again in the episode, Tomorrow, highlighting his experience of Carmy under his tutelage. He reappears again during Forever, where he attends the funeral dinner service at Ever, and is subsequently confronted by Carmy, who thinks too much about Fields, but he does not reciprocate the same thing. He later explains to Carmy that due to the abuse he had suffered by Fields, it ultimately made him a better chef, despite what he had been through with him.
Relationships[]
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- According to Joel McHale, his performance of David Fields is based on real-life chefs Thomas Keller (who cameos in "Forever") and Daniel Humm (whose restaurant Eleven Madison Park is frequently referenced). Keller is known for "whispering" at his employees and having extremely stressful kitchen environments, though he is not especially known for being toxic (although he has acknowledged being a more vindictive chef in the past). Humm likewise shares the idea of distilling dishes to a single ingredient with David Fields, and has credible accusations of being verbally and physically abusive in his kitchens.[1] FX reps and series writer Will Guidara (a former co-owner at Eleven Madison Park) have denied that Fields is specifically based on these chefs, stating instead he is meant as a general depiction.[2]
- David Fields may also likely be based on Enzo Ferrari, known for his perfectionist mentality, brash, hard-talking mannerisms and urge to push the people around him to perfection, even if it means they're past their breaking point. Other potential inspirations include Charlie Trotter, a high-level Chicago chef who was known for being particularly abusive to his staff.
- Carmy explicitly states that Fields has a strong dislike for black pepper, although the reason currently remains unknown.
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