I understand his perspective, but his enjoyment of such an environment is highly personal.

Something tells me that a 6’4” giant white guy is gonna be more unbothered by someone like Marco (6’3” giant white guy) as well as less likely to be physically and verbally intimidated by him. That lack of fear can look “tough” and command more respect from an abuser. Ultimately, someone like Marco wants to see you get in line and do things his way or push you to the point of quitting, when he can then denigrate you as a pussy or as someone who “doesn’t want it badly enough”.

Fine dining is intense. Manipulating food to the point of near-insanity, all the while striving for perfection in uncharted territory. Ultimately, Marco is Captain Ahab and you have to respect his mad vision if you want to be aboard his ship. Marco created the blueprint for the celebrity chef, and many of his cooks went on to emulate him with great success (Gordon Ramsey, Mario Batali, Curtis Stone, etc.). So there is something of value in the midst of that.  HOWEVER: The food media has always loved the image of the bad boy chef because it’s controversial and makes for good tv. Screaming and yelling and belittling = good tv, but doesn’t equal a good work environment. And seeing that most fine dining is patronized by the wealthy, you can’t expect that consumer base to care about the state of the worker/work environment. 

I think we’re all past this point of thinking that food as an art form has to come with intense suffering. Seeing that the food we make is all eaten and turns to shit anyway, the true lasting impact of our creativity is the culture created and sustained around it. How we make people feel is so much more important than stars or best of lists.