Blitzed. Faded. Smashed. Blasted. Whatever you call it, some people seem to feel that getting your metaphorical rocks off at work with a wee taste of sweet relief is what being a productive member of society is all about. After all, what in the hell is the point of a break room if it isn't being used to escape bitter reality by getting loaded?Thirty-six-year-old Ľubomír Herko certainly seems to agree. The Slovakian celebrity chef is finding out the hard way that getting your work-time Andre Nickatina on, without using the utmost discretion, is probably not the best of ideas. Especially if your line of work involves appearing live on daytime TV.During a recent interview segment for the Slovakian TV show Telerano, the camera suddenly cut over to Herko in the studio's kitchen, who was right in the midst of cutting a line of what certainly looks like cocaine with a credit card. The chef looks up after prepping his powdery mise en place—which has an artfully placed rolled-up banknote lying next to it—only to discover that the camera is dead on him. The wide-eyed Herko—we're talking gaping pupils and all—smiles and turns to another chef as he points at the camera, which just televised him prepping his fat rail.
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The craziest part about this whole ordeal may be the fact that the television station on which Telerano airs, TV Markiza, is claiming Herko was only joking around. Even though the whole thing was caught on tape. Tatiana Tóthová, a spokeswoman for TV Markiza, told Slovakian tabloid Topky.sk, "We consider this an entirely inappropriate 'joke' that has no place in such a broadcast."The people of Slovakia agree this certainly doesn't seem to be a joking matter. A recent poll revealed that roughly 85 percent of Slovakians polled think Herko should be dropped from Telerano.Substance abuse is quite prevalent in the food service industry. According to a 2015 study, it is the industry in the US with the highest rates of "past month illicit drug use," with a whopping 19.1 percent of restaurant workers using drugs—nearly one in five. The food industry also ranked highest for substance-use disorder at 16.9 percent. According to the study, food workers used illegal drugs at more than twice the rates of the general population.TV Markiza insists, "there will be consequences" for Herko's behavior. What those consequences are remains to be seen.Does all of this mean Herko will no longer be going ayo for his yayo? We sure as hell hope not. His behavior makes for some unexpectedly interesting TV. And as the saying goes: A little spice is nice, but booger sugar is…Well, we'll just let you figure it out.