JBF's wages, DoorDash's vig, Wizard's work, Henderson's empire, and more...
Family Meal - Friday, February 11th, 2022
Hello Friday,
A slightly wordier one today, but it ends with Gwenyth Paltrow eating a candle for Uber Eats at the Super Bowl, so bear with me, folks!
The Tuesday Family Meal that went out to paying subscribers only is copied / pasted below as usual. If you wish you were getting Tuesdays’ on Tuesdays too…
Let’s get to it…
The Opacity – I regret to inform you that I have gone back and forth several times with reps for the James Beard Foundation over the business arrangement for their upcoming NYC Food Hall and still am not entirely sure what exactly is going on there. One minute they are an “anchor tenant” and “in full control” of one kiosk in the hall, the next we are talking in third person about wages.
I’m zeroed in a bit on wages (Will any employees be paid via the tipped minimum? What will minimum wage at the JBF kiosk be?) because I think it’s fair for the restaurant industry to know what the most visible industry non-profit “pushing for new standards in the restaurant industry to create a future where all have the opportunity to thrive,” thinks is actually doable when it comes to paying staff.
If the James Beard Foundation, with its big (good!) goals and expectations, thinks the best they can do for their own food service employees is minimum wage, or that taking the tip credit is the best way to make the numbers work, I think that’s a helpful data point in the larger conversation.
To be fair, the one thing I have gotten out of them is that, much like for awards nominees, they expect each prospective tenant to sign on to this Mission and Values Alignment document. In it, they ask that tenants strive “to make the industry a more viable career choice through the furthering of sustainable wages and benefits.” And that tenants join the JBF in being “open and honest about the ever-evolving nature of creating a more equitable industry and invite others into the process.”
Open the books, fearless leaders! (Or at least give me a call...)
The Vigorish – Story from Amy McCarthy in Eater: “As part of the company’s ongoing push for growth and expansion, DoorDash announced that it’s getting into the financial services business with plans to offer cash advances to restaurants that will be automatically repaid via deductions from every DoorDash order the establishment fulfills. DoorDash Capital will offer what the company describes as ‘fair, fast and convenient financing’ which they say can help restaurant owners cover payroll and rent if revenue comes up short, to establishments that use DoorDash to handle delivery and pick-up orders.”
You can probably guess Eater’s standard take from the headline: “Attention Restaurants: DoorDash Will Eat Your Profits and Loan You Money.”
The Wizard’s Tower – Not a great sign when an article about “how far is too far to be pushed for the sake of fine dining,” begins with a trigger warning about suicide, but here we are (and that’s your warning). The restaurant in focus is LA’s Vespertine, and the head chef doing the pushing is Jordan Kahn. Re that suicide: Eater LA editor Cathy Chaplin does give a cook and friend of the deceased a chance to say that, “we can’t blame the restaurant for… whatever was going on with [Jonathan, the man who took his own life],” but that almost feels like too little too late after several paragraphs of accusations building on the way Kahn singled out and bullied Jonathan — accusations Kahn denies. I have no personal connection with Kahn or Jonathan, and this part of the story absolutely broke my heart, but to be clear: Ben, the friend, is right. You can’t lay all that on Kahn.
That said, it’s a long, detailed piece worth reading, mostly full of the kinds of accusations that will divide readers (and staff) into “Yeah, there are standards at this level, get over it” vs “This is exactly what the industry needs to leave behind,” camps. Kahn denies almost everything, but he does so via a crisis PR firm that you probably shouldn’t hire if you get called out. (Asked about Kahn’s decision to go on with service the night the staff learned of Jonathan’s death, the firm’s response was basically: “What? And make the guests sad?”)
And some of his denials feel almost laughable. One particularly tough accusation worth pulling out: “Typically, former employees say, whenever a guest was unable to scale the stairs [to the allegedly ADA-contravening rooftop], the restaurant enacted what was called the ‘rain play,’ which involved shutting down the roof for an entire seating... On October 30, 2018, the late Top Chef contestant Fatima Ali, who publicly had stage 4 cancer at the time, had an 8 p.m. reservation. She was assumed to be in a wheelchair and, according to service notes for the evening that Eater has reviewed, slated for the ‘rain play.’ Earlier that same evening, fellow Top Chef alum Mei Lin was set for the full Vespertine experience, which included appetizers, drinks, and conversation with Kahn on the rooftop deck. Kahn, several former front-of-house employees allege, directed staff to exhibit discretion to ensure that Ali didn’t catch on to the discrepancy.”
Kahn “claims that the roof was closed that night because of the weather,” but I’ve got five American dollars for the first person who can look at historical records of weather in Culver City that night and tell me how that’s true…
The Honor System – Changing gears and continents for a quick hop to London to check in on an incredibly emotional Wednesday tweet from the official account of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (Chuck and Cam): “Chefs Margot and Fergus Henderson both received an OBE today for services to the culinary arts. The married couple have founded a number of restaurants in London.” Is there dust in this room?
And Last but not Least: V-Day and The Big Game – No context headline in People (via Expedite): “Gwyneth Paltrow Takes a Bite Out of Her Vagina Candle in New Uber Eats Super Bowl Commercial.”
Quoth Paltrow: “This candle tastes funny. Not bad, but funny.”
And that’s it for today!
I’ll see paying subscribers here 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 a more viable career choice through the furthering of sustainable wages and benefits 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!
Here begins the Family Meal that was sent to paying subscribers on Tuesday, February 11, 2022. If you’d like to get Tuesdays’ on Tuesdays too…
MENA's 50, Hospitality's 8.2, Cointreau's 2022, WCK's SXSW, and more...
Hello Tuesday,
And hello to paying subscribers only! An extra short and airy one today as a slow restaurant news weekend was made even slower by the double food-media whammy of an impending Valentine’s Day / Super Bowl weekend combo.
That, and here in Hong Kong I’m digesting more bad news this afternoon in the form of not only the strictest COVID restrictions yet, but also some pretty clear messaging from on high that the city’s “dynamic COVID-zero” policies are here indefinitely. In-person dining at restaurants is down to two-tops max and lunch only, and I’ve been hearing of police raids getting testy during service.
SNAFU.
Let’s get to it…
The Big Picture – “Foodservice and bar employment grew by 108,000 jobs in January, but leisure and hospitality employment remained down 1.8 million, or 10.3%, since pre-pandemic February 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.” Details via Ron Ruggless in Restaurant Hospitality. While nationwide unemployment remained around 4%, the Independent Restaurant Coalition’s Erika Polmar issued a statement saying the “unemployment rate for leisure and hospitality works is 8.2%,” and added: “When people working in leisure and hospitality are more than twice as likely to be unemployed, it’s hard to argue the economy is thriving.”
Meanwhile… Ian McLernon, the CEO for the Americas of Remy Cointreau (the company which partnered with IRC on its Super Bowl ad last year) told Bloomberg TV that while between 50-90k accounts (i.e. restaurants and bars) have closed in the U.S., “the average check is about 15% more than it was before the pandemic,” and the company is raising prices to meet demand again in April. He also says they’ve got a new Super Bowl ad coming this year called “Spirit of Community” aimed at “supporting the on-premise and the bartenders and the restaurateurs across the U.S.”
Woohoo?
The (International) Lists – The World’s 50 Best people are out with their first 50 Best list for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), plus a few individual awards (including an obligatory “Best Female Chef” entry). Of note off the top of my head: The top two restaurants are sushi-centric places in Dubai, one of which doesn’t serve alcohol (3 Fils), and the other of which is a Zuma. Rounding out the top 10: OCD (Tel Aviv); Trésind Studio (Dubai); Sachi (Cairo); Orfali Bros Bistro (Dubai); Fakhreldin (Amman); LPM (Dubai); George & John (Tel Aviv); and Gaia (Dubai). Almost a third of all restaurants on the list are in Dubai, and none are outside major cities (with the exception of one that’s about as far from Tel Aviv as Stone Barns is from Manhattan). 50 Best’s usual issues apply, I assume...
The Books – It’s time for the annual “SPRING COOKBOOK PREVIEW!” from Paula Forbes in the Stained Page News, and it’s a doozy (I lost count at 50)! But here’s a quick sample of (North American) restaurant and bar names I spied while skimming: Matt Horn; Kenji Lopez-Alt; Pat Martin; Adrienne Cheatham; Kevin Bludso; Jason Bangerter; Suzanne Barr; Natasha David; Sally Schmitt; Nyanyika Banda; Reem Assil; and more. And, as always, highly recommend SPN if you are considering writing (or just interested in) cookbooks.
The TV – On top of everything else he’s had going this past year, José Andrés got Ron Howard to make a documentary about World Central Kitchen? “We Feed People” will be premiering at SXSW in March before going to Disney+. Oddly enough, it was announced as part of a long Twitter thread from Disney+ that included new travel shows, nature shows, fiction shows, but… no new cooking, restaurant, or food shows? Some of you oughta pitch those guys…
And Last and Least: The Metaverse – Headline in the NYT: “How The Sims Became the Internet’s Most Exciting Place to Eat.” Story from Nikita Richardson: “In the last year, Kayla Sims [that’s her actual name] began raising her own cows and chickens. She did a bit of traveling, trying dishes like bhel puri, tuna maki rolls, beef yakisoba and feijoada for the first time. She even did some cooking; one day, she made a crown roast and baked a birthday cake shaped like a hamburger. But she didn’t need a farm or an airline ticket or a stove — just The Sims, the long-running video game that allows players to create characters, called Sims, and build a virtual life around them…”
Hm. I’m not a big scare quotes guy, but try reading all that aloud without your fingers going full Bennett Brauer on words like “raising her own cows and chickens”; “did a bit of traveling”; “trying dishes”; “did some cooking”; etc. etc. If the metaverse lives up to the hype, we’re going to need some new typography to signify the difference between eating at Noma 2.0 and “eating at” Noma Web3. This Luddite suggests “wingdings.”
And that’s it for today!
I’ll see all of you here Friday for next Family Meal.
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and send tips and/or “a farm” or “an airline ticket” or “a stove” 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!