My post was going to be about the importance of the cookbook but then I read this,this morning – an article about Noma the restaurant we discussed last week that I think is important to our class for many reasons: food as a class distinction, worker rights and power dynamics.
Question: Why was Rene Redzepi not held accountable for his actions?
Susan, you beat me to it! This was going to be the article that I was going to post, too. The toxic kitchen trope always rubbed me the wrong way, from David Chang to Gordon Ramsay. Rene Redzepi is no better! Noma was built on the backs of unpaid labor; they operated through unpaid internships for a long time, where they had interns (about 30-40) every season who would work 17-hour workdays to get experience under such a renowned chef. However, in the hopes of paying their dues, they were subjected to verbal and physical abuse.
I think it’s so disgusting to think that this is the norm in the food dining industry and is a standard that is upheld through every chef that is churned out from this model. Because they experienced it as a rising chef, they do not feel the need to change it but rather continue this toxic cycle.
Made me think – how is it that these chefs can care SO much about fresh ingredients, seasonality, ethically treating animals, but behind closed doors have absolutely no regard for human life, for their employees?
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.