WHILE WE ARE NOT INCLINED TOWARD OFFICIAL JOB TITLES . . . 

it's common in our culture for folks to casually ask, 'So, what do you do?' We've tried to think of ways to express what we do in a way that is succinct enough not to result in glazed-over eyes, but in-depth enough to provide context to the value we hope that our work at Good Food Jobs holds. In many ways, we think of ourselves as tour guides of sorts (after all, Dorothy and I did meet through our work as campus tour guides in college).

While we no longer traverse a physical campus, we do help others to navigate a broader food landscape. And the fundamentals of our roles are surprisingly similar: provide a platform for people to convene, understand who they are and get a feel for what they need, determine the subtext behind what they are saying / asking for, and figure out how to communicate useful information so that they can make the most of the resources at hand. 

Over the past two weeks, we've been following this cycle through the newsletter. Two weeks ago, we (re)introduced a conversation around an ever-growing Line Cook Shortage. Last week, we compiled responses from you, outlining many of the major issues that are contributing to the shortage. This week, we read between the lines (more on that below) and next week, we'll offer examples of solutions that can help people make their way through the current landscape. 

Last week, from countless conversations with people who relayed personal experiences working in restaurant kitchens (and some who never made the leap for the same reasons), we distilled 4 major factors contributing to the line cook shortage: 

Money, Hours, Conditions, and Stigma 

Now we are reaching a little bit deeper. At the root of it, it's not just an Us (Cooks) again Them (Restaurant Owners) situation. In fact, it's a lot more complicated than that. 

When we look at the role that restaurants play (and have played) in our culture, a glaring fact presents itself: the role of the restaurant has changed, but the system has not evolved with it. Here are two insights that naturally follow:

#1 WE NEED TO PROFESSIONALIZE A FIELD THAT HAS NOT HISTORICALLY BEEN CONSIDERED PROFESSIONAL

Last week we spoke of the stigma surrounding service. The system is currently built around a precept that the one serving is less valuable than the one being served. This is rooted in complex cultural and historical systems at the intersection of class and race. 

If we simply demand better wages and working environment for all restaurant staff, we are ignoring one important thing: most restaurants aren't currently set up to operate in this way. It is not a sustainable thing to implement if one of the consequences is that the businesses can't ultimately sustain themselves. 

We cannot solve these problems with the same thinking that we used to create them. It appears that we have to rethink / reshape the whole system, rather than simply adjusting individual factors.

#2 MAYBE THERE ARE TOO MANY RESTAURANTS

Those of you with eagle eyes may have noticed a totally half-baked surprise fifth factor in last week's newsletter reading 'THERE ARE TOO MANY RESTAURANTS'. That typo was entirely my own (Taylor) and we'll hope that you appreciate it as a reminder that there are real, live, imperfect humans writing this each and every week. That argument ultimately belongs in this email, so here it is, in it's full form:

We actually borrowed this idea from one of the responses to our original Line Cook Shortage newsletter: there are too many restaurants.

Can it be true? It seems as though we've built a system where the most viable option for career growth is to work through the line as quickly as you can, and learn as much as you can, so that you can then go on to open your own establishment - in hopes of then having better hours / more control / bigger payoff. 

As any restaurant owner can probably attest, this path is largely unrealistic and unsustainable in so many ways (the huge amount of resources required to open a restaurant, the major differences in skill sets required to be a cook vs. a business owner). Still it has resulted in throwing things out of balance. The incessant refrain of pervasive culture - more, more, more (for less, less, less) - means there are far more restaurants than there are people willing and able to work in them. 

The other side of this issue is that as a culture we have begun to treat restaurants as an everyday right instead of a special occasion treat. Have restaurants have gone the way of clothing? It seems cheaper to buy it out than to make it yourself. But that doesn't factor in the hidden costs of artificially low priced items - the people making the items can be exploited and the knowledge of making them ourselves falls by the wayside. Even simple food costs more when someone else is preparing it for you, because that someone else needs to be compensated for their time. People often assume that we are paying for the food, but the purpose of a restaurant is to pay for a meal, which goes well beyond the food on your plate - it's the indescribable warmth that you feel when being nourished and care for. 

If we all went to restaurants less frequently, would we value more highly the service that they provide? Would we pay a premium for it (or more accurately, just pay what it actually costs to have everyone there be paid a livable wage - an argument eloquently outlined in this article by Chef/Owner Jason Hammel)? 

What would happen if we promised to pay more, but eat out less? What restaurants might lack in immediate revenue, they would reap in staff retention / low turnover and the ability to create a stable and sound work environment for staff, and a more valuable experience for customers. 

****

We bring up these broader cultural concerns to set the stage for how we can all rethink the way that restaurants currently operate. 

Next week we'll close out our formal coverage on the topic with examples and ideas of ways people are actively shaking up the system - well beyond the 'no tipping' policy that initially sparked the in-depth conversation.

As always, we appreciate being surrounded by a thoughtful, creative, and engaged community. This challenge is infinitely easier and more meaningful with your company.

Cheers,

   Taylor & Dorothy
   Co-Founders, Good Food Jobs