Hello Friday,
And hello again from Bali, where all the beautiful people ride mopeds, and no one celebrates the Fourth of July, which…. is why I forgot to tell you there would be no Family Meal last Tuesday, on account of the long weekend. Sorry!
It is our penultimate day here. Tomorrow we begin our six week rush around SF, DC, Baltimore, NYC, and St. Louis. Thanks so much to everyone who has reached out with recommendations and ideas!
These are chaotic times for our little family, so what follows — especially the Blue Hill part — may read a bit more like a first draft than my usual polished, flawless Family Meal. Have mercy, friends and enemies, and reply with your thoughts!
I am, occasionally, wrong.
Let’s get to it…
The Fable — Headline in Eater: “Chef’s Fable. Blue Hill at Stone Barns’ alluring story — that a fine dining restaurant could be a model for changing the world — seduced diners, would-be employees, and thought leaders alike. But former employees say that narrative often obscured a more complicated reality.” This is part one of a three part investigative series by Meghan McCarron, with the other two focused on the Stone Barns farm, and the Stone Barns Foundation (and their relationships with Blue Hill). I only had a chance to skim those, so can’t comment much, but did try to get into the Chef’s Fable piece as much as possible and…
Sorry to disappoint everyone, but my gut is telling me to all-sides the shit out of this thing.
To disappoint the Toxic Work Environment focused: I have serious sympathy for people with bad bosses, and always try to frame my writing here in a way that makes that clear and hopes for a better future. But…. to say workers were “dismayed” or somehow surprised to learn the Blue Hill kitchen might be a tough / shouty environment, and then a few paragraphs later list all the times Barber has publicly said some version of “I have a terrible temper! It comes out at work! It is bad!” feels like a bit of a stretch. This is victim blaming, I know, and is not to excuse Blue Hill management’s behavior. I just can’t find a way around it in my reading of the article.
To disappoint the Blue Hill supporters: No matter how you read this, including factoring in the many denials — “a statement about the butter… totaled nearly 1,000 words and began with the sentence, ‘We want to further explain our butter.’”(!) — it is very hard to get around the fact that the truth was being stretched an awful lot in some places at Blue Hill. And I think McCarron’s main point here: That fake-it-till-you-make-it doesn’t quite work if your stated goal is telling people how to make it, is fair.
To disappoint the media: I reached out to McCarron — very last minute — to ask how all this reporting got started, and she told me, “In terms of reporting, I am not able to comment at this time.” I really hope “at this time” is a short-term stipulation, because journalists refusing to talk to the media about their own work is… chef’s kiss?
And finally, to disappoint HR pros (and Monday morning HR QBs): I really have no idea how the company should have properly handled that rape allegation (especially based on the disputed accounts of how it was handled in the story). Genuinely would love to hear from people who do know, with the idea that I could share a best practice here at some point. andrew@thisfamilymeal.com if you have thoughts.
More (hopefully more thoughtful) thoughts from me when I have them. Link to the piece again here.
Meanwhile… – Eater NY’s Ryan Sutton says that after a recent cornucopia of bad press, Eleven Madison Park is raising prices. “A spokesperson for Eleven Madison says the price increase will allow for a 7.5 percent hourly pay increase on average before the onset of August dinner service. ‘This will be our third wage increase for culinary employees within the last 14 months – a 21 percent pay increase overall,’ the spokesperson said.” Sounds like a fact-checkable promise to me!
And on the other side of this spectrum… – The SF Chronicle’s Elena Kadvany dove into the books at SF’s Good Good Culture Club, where prep cooks make $28.56 an hour(!), but they’re having trouble recruiting servers because of a no-tipping policy and shared BOH side-work (servers mopping, taking out trash, etc.). One thing that stuck out to me here: When I read that using QR codes makes servers less busy, what I hear is, “We are using technology to lower labor costs.” Always sounds like the double edged sword of: Lower headcount, higher wages.
Some Sad News – A few people sent me news from the Twin Cities, where chef Justin Sutherland was in a bad boating accident over the weekend, and his friends are organizing a GoFundMe to help pay the bills. Justine Jones has details in Eater. “Sutherland, a celebrity chef and Iron Chef America winner, is known locally (and much loved) for his elegant, Southern-style restaurant Handsome Hog, [and] his close involvement with the Twin Cities restaurant community… Like so many in the restaurant industry, he had no health insurance at the time of the accident.”
Friends please note, per the GoFundMe: “While he would love to talk to everyone as he is recuperating, his jaw is currently wired shut, so don’t take it personally if he can’t call you back just yet.”
The Media (Opportunities) – “Boston magazine… is seeking a Food Editor to oversee food and dining coverage in print, online, and at events.” Details here.
And last but not least: That Delivery $$$ – Per Adam Satriano in the NYT, “Financial turmoil in the food-delivery industry is presenting new opportunities for Amazon. The e-commerce giant struck a deal on Wednesday with Grubhub that allows Amazon Prime subscribers in the United States to forgo delivery fees on orders from certain restaurants... The deal gives Amazon the option to purchase over a 2 percent stake in Grubhub at an undisclosed but negligible price, the statement said. Amazon can also buy an additional 13 percent stake in the company at an unspecified ‘formula-based price,’ which depends on Grubhub’s hitting certain performance targets like adding new customers.”
So, after all the noise about Grubhub being up for sale, it looks like it very well could simply fade to Bezos?
Just like the rest of us.
And that’s it for today!
I’ll see some of you in America soon, paying subscribers on Tuesday, and everyone else on Friday for next Family Meal.
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and send tips and/or an undisclosed but negligible price to andrew@thisfamilymeal.com. If you like Family Meal and want to keep it going, please chip in here. If you got this as a forward, sign up for yourself!